Page 73 of Reckless

A little bit of panic edged her tone, so he took her hand and pulled her to him. “I only found out myself about five minutes ago. A whole crowd of them will arrive in a few hours. Right now, it’s just my parents and Erin, Todd, and Ben.”

“Go be with them. I’ll see you later.”

He frowned at her, edging even closer so he could wrap his arm around her waist. “Don’t leave. They want to meet you. You’ll like them, I promise. You’ve already met my dad.”

“I look like crap.” She squirmed. As she currently looked beautiful, he had a differing opinion.

“Hush. You’re gorgeous. Also, you know they’ve all been backstage before a million times. They’re not expecting anything fancy.”

“Miles, I look like a racoon. My hair is a mess and I’m in sweats.”

She wasn’t usually this nervous about stuff. “Are you all right?” he asked quietly. “You were okay going to the big dinner with everyone at the end of the tour.”

“I’m just going about my day, no makeup, hair in a messy ponytail, wearing sweats and a ratty shirt when Imeet your parents. How does that equal all right? I probably have a mustard stain!” She kept her voice low because she must have realized they’d be coming any moment as well.

“I didn’t know until right now or I would have told you. They’re going to see you perform at your set. You’ll be fully made up and dressed up and all that then. But it won’t matter. They aren’t going to care about that. And I repeat, you look beautiful.” Her idea of ratty and messy were in a different universe from his.

He heard Poppy’s laughter and then the rumble of his dad’s voice. He might be fully grown and living on his own but hearing his parents’ voice still filled some empty space inside when he was away from them for long periods of time.

They came around the corner and Harlow let go of his hand, but he kept hers. Did she think he’d just forget she existed the moment he saw his family or something? She knew she meant more to him than that.

She held on again and he relaxed as he moved them both out into the hallway fully.

“Hello, darling,” his mother said as she approached him with a big smile and a sparkle in her eyes. Since Poppy had moved next to Harlow and he knew she wasn’t going to run away, he did let go to hug first his mum and then his dad.

Erin waited, mostly patiently, for Adrian to finish before she hugged Miles and kissed both of his cheeks. Naturally, when Todd and Ben hugged him, Miles was reminded that while he was considered tall, both his uncles were giant, broad shouldered, and could be scary as fuck when they were protecting someone, including Miles.

“I wasn’t expecting you,” he told his dad.

“Well, you should have.” Poppy snorted. “I told you this would happen.” She slung an arm around Harlow’s shoulders and Miles figured his sister had picked up on her nervousness, he’d noticed the two getting closer at the tour had gone on.

It was probably where his family was getting their information from.

“Everyone,” Miles said as he took Harlow’s hand and pulled her a little closer to his side. “This is Harlow. Har, that’s my mum, Gillian. You know my dad already, my aunt Erin, my uncles Todd and Ben.”

She blushed and freed her hand to hold out to everyone, ending with his dad. “It’s really nice to see you again, Adrian.”

His dad gave her a charming smile, designed to put her at ease. “Thanks for letting us crash your show tonight. Even though we didn’t ask so I guess there’s nolettinginvolved,” he teased.

Harlow laughed and it wasn’t strained, so that much was going okay. He hadn’t seen her nervous like this except…before they went over to her brother’s house. “After touring with Miles for the last few months, I can see where he gets that from now, I guess.”

His mum’s scoff made Miles snort. “Yes, Mum, I guess you’re not the only one who makes that comparison.”

Gillian said to Harlow, “To be fair, you’ll have to see Adrian with Erin and Brody. You’ll meet him later tonight. He’s the original who taught it to them. As for Miles, bossiness is in his DNA.”

Miles could see Erin wanted to hug Harlow and he gave her a subtle shake of his head. She was nervous enough, so he wanted to give her a little time to adjust.

“Come through.” He indicated the room Earthquakes had set up in.

“I’ll be back in a bit,” Harlow told him quietly.

“Oh no you don’t. Don’t run off,” he said as everyone else got settled.

“I was on my way somewhere when you grabbed me just now. I just came in here to say hi and drop off some grapes on my way to procure some chocolate. Nora and I are working.”

“You brought me grapes?”

“Yes.” She pulled some out of the tote bag she had and handed them to him. “I told Nora I’d be right back.”

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