Page 88 of Rebel Heart
The corners of his eyes crinkled with his smile beforehe touched his lips to mine in a chaste kiss. “I’m quickly learning there isn’t much I won’t do for you.”
Warmth bloomed inside me at the appreciation I felt for him and how much he’d changed in less than two months to be this man for me.
I tugged on his hand, and the two of us continued our journey to the backyard.
Unsurprisingly, and much to my relief, my niece was the first to spot me. “Auntie Jules!”
Beau and I came to a stop as Rosie ran across the freshly manicured grass on her bare feet toward us. “Hi, Rosie.” I crouched, arms outstretched, waiting for the collision. The second her body collided with mine, I scooped her up and showered her with kisses all over her face and neck. The sound of her giggles helped to ease some of the tension I’d been feeling. “I love this dress you’re wearing today.”
“Daddy bought sparklers.”
My eyes rounded. “He did? Oh, I bet those are going to be so fun to light up later today. Can I do some with you?”
She nodded, her eyes sliding to Beau.
My niece didn’t need any of the confusion, so I merely said, “Rosie, this is Beau. Beau, this is my adorable niece, Roselle. We all call her Rosie.”
Beau lifted his hand and touched Rosie’s. “It’s nice to meet you, Rosie. I’m a big fan of sparklers, too.”
“Can you say hi to Beau?” I asked her.
“Hi, Beau.”
She barely got the words out before she wassquirming in my arms, ready to be put down. I set her on her feet, and she took off to where it seemed someone had set up a bubble machine for her. I watched her for a few seconds before shifting my attention to my family, nearly all of whom had their eyes on us.
Beau and I made our approach, and everyone stood to greet us. I took that to be a good sign. I reached out to my parents yesterday to let them know I was going to be bringing someone with me, but I hadn’t given them any specifics. I didn’t think it was the type of thing to do over the phone.
“Hi, Jules,” my mom greeted us with a smile on her face as my dad stepped up beside her.
“Hi, Mom. Dad. I’d like you to meet Beau. Beau, this is my mom, Evelyn, and my dad, Malcolm.”
Beau immediately extended his hand to my dad. “It’s nice to meet you, sir.”
“Likewise,” Dad replied, shaking Beau’s hand.
After he had a pleasant exchange with my mom, I looked around the space and took in the rest of my family. Except for Ava, who appeared tentative but supportive, and Skye, who looked beyond excited about this as Rosie had been to see me, the rest of my family was either curious, unreadable, or downright angry, in Tate’s case. He, unfortunately, had information the rest of them didn’t.
Deciding it was best to rip off the bandage, I extended my hand and pointed to each person as I introduced them. “Beau, this is my grandfather, Larry, and my grandmother, Wendy. And this is my oldest brother, Wyatt, his wife, Rhea, and their son, Jack. This is mybrother, Cooper, his wife, Skye, and their newest daughter, Lillian. We call her Lily. Rosie’s their daughter, too. This is my brother, Liam, and his wife, Layla. That’s my brother, Tate, and his wife, Ava. And that’s my sister, Ivy, and her husband, Marco. Everyone, this is Beau.”
He dipped his chin in greeting and said, “It’s very nice to meet all of you.”
“Beau?” Ivy said.
“Yeah,” he replied.
My sister wasn’t looking at him, though. Her eyes were on mine as she repeated, “Beau?” Tipping her head to the side, she asked, “Is this the same Beau you told us about on your birthday?”
Beau’s body tensed beside mine.
On the bright side, at least it was the same Beau. But it didn’t take a genius for me to determine just how quickly this conversation was going to dissolve into chaos.
“Yes. This is him.”
“Wait a minute,” Wyatt cut in. “This is the guy who’s ten years older than you.”
I held Beau’s hand tighter and corrected him. “Nine.”
Wyatt’s eyes flared as Cooper added, “The same guy who was the reason you were in tears on your birthday?”
