Page 78

“It’s nothing to be nervous or worried about, though,” I assure.
“I’m not worried.” She smiles again, shaking her head. “Just wondering why you didn’t tell me before. We’ve known each other for, like, an entire year now.” Her tone feels admonishing, but she seems more amused than anything.
“Not for any reason in particular.” I shrug. "I guess I’ve just always found it strange to go around offering up the information. You don’t typically find anyone else saying,hey, by the way, my parents are hearing.”
A breath of laughter escapes her. “Okay, yeah. That makes perfect sense. I guess I’m only wondering because I like you, Jude, and Ilikelearning all about you, and that feels like something that would be pretty significant in your life.”
My chest warms with her admission. “It is, I suppose. But again, it also isn’t. It just is. Just as anything else is. She’s my mom, end of story.”
Her smile climbs higher, tugging wider at the edges. “Well, I can’t wait to meet her—and everyone else, too.”
I can’t wait for her to meet them as well. And for them to meet her. This is a huge leap for me, taking a girl home to meet my family when I’ve never done it before—outside of Brenna,who my parents already knew. Making this jump with Declan, though, feels more right than I could’ve ever imagined.
______
We pull up to my parents’ home, and I kill the engine. It knocks softly beneath the hood before settling.
“Ready?” I question.
“As ready as I’ll ever be,” Declan responds with a nervous smile, and I take her hand in mine to reassure her before we leave the car and head toward the house.
We don’t make it even halfway up the driveway before the front door is thrown wide open, my mother beaming on the other side of it. “My baby!” she signs as I lead Declan up the walkway. It doesn’t matter how old I am, how far I’ve travelled from home, or how many inches of my skin are covered in tattoos saying anything but—I’ll always be my mother’s baby. The youngest of the family.
I pull her into a hug with my free arm, grateful for the embrace, kissing her cheek as we part.
Her warm eyes land on Declan and then dart back to mine. “Wow! She’s beautiful,” she signs.
“The most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen. A knockout, right?” I sign back.
Declan bites back a smile and suppresses a giggle, and I narrow my gaze. She steps closer into my side, and signs—fuckingsigns,“It’s really nice to meet you. Thank you for having me.”
My mouth falls wide the fuck open, my chest filling with a buzzing sensation I can’t explain. “You know sign language?” I barely manage to ask her with my hands, dumbfounded.
“Yes.” She finally lets that giggle of hers slip free. “I know sign. Pretty well, too. Enough to know that you think I’m a knockout, and that you might be kind of obsessed with me.”
I tip my head back and laugh. “Yeah, well, jokes on you, because you already knew that. It’s no secret that I’m entirely fucking into you, Little D.”
The blush rushing through her cheeks is every reason I feel pulled in deeper by her.
But my mom cuts in with her hands and sweet voice, too excited about this new discovery. “She knows sign!”
"Fuck, am I in trouble,”falls from my mouth as we head inside. My head still tipped backward as I shake it at the ceiling, a smile splits my face.
“You’re right on time!” my father shouts, rounding the corner into the entryway. “I was just about to fire up the grill,” he says out loud while signing the same for my mother to see.
“Honey, meet Declan! She knows sign!” she tells him.
“Oh, do you now.” He chuckles, interpreting the words at the same time. “She’s not going to let you out of her sight now. It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Henry, and this is my wife, Elena.”
Declan’s bright smile is impossible not to be affected by. “It’s so nice to meet you both. Your home is beautiful,” she speaks and signs, turning toward my mom once more.
“That’s so sweet! Thank you! Come on in and let me hang up your purse and jacket.” Mom takes our things and hangs them inside the small coat closet behind her.
With that, we head into the backyard, and I notice Elijah and Thomas have both beaten us here.
“Hey, fucker!” Thomas shouts with a wide grin. He comes to a stand, beer in hand, and pulls me into a back-slapping hug. “And who is this?” He pulls away, attention on Declan.
“Little D, this is my brother, Thomas. Thomas, this is Little D—or, Declan.”