Page 91

“What areyoudoing here?” A cultured woman’s voice caught my attention.

Jai stiffened.

Well, this isn’t going to be good.

Together, we turned to face an older Indian couple. Despite the gray hair and slightly stooped stature, I had no doubt I was facing Jai’s father. And, therefore, likely his mother as well.

“Hello Mother. Father.” Jai did a weird head bob.

“Why are you here?” Her voice was a little shrill, and her scowl didn’t match the happiness of her vibrant pink sari.

“Rashmi invited me. You remember I’m friends with Arnav?” He pressed his hand to my arm. “May I present my boyfriend? This is Demetrius Fulton. Demetrius, these are my parents, Mr. and Mrs. Prasad.”

“That boy was a bad influence on you. Look how you turned out.”

Apparently she was simply going to ignore me. That was fine—I didn’t care for her much either. But, red flashed before my eyes. How dare she insult two men I cared for deeply? Jai, obviously. We were headed to the altar in the not-too-distant future. The sooner the better, as far as I was concerned. As well, Foster and Arnav had become dear friends. We went back and forth between our houses all the time—them claiming they needed practice parenting. For which Keegan and Alaina were mighty pleased to get the extra attention.

Which gave Jai and me desperately needed alone time as we worked to establish a relationship that worked for both of us.

Before I could react, though, she continued. “Does this one know you pretend to be a dog and like it?”

My jaw dropped.

Jai’s cheeks turned dark crimson.

I cleared my throat. “Oh yes. Jai is my beloved pup. And since you’re his mother, I guess that makes you a bitch. I ask you to steer clear of Jai and my family. We don’t need people like you in our lives. Good day.” I grasped Jai’s arm and guided him away from the two people who were supposed to love him the most in the world. “Jesus Christ, is she always that bad?” I’d maneuvered us right out of the hall and into the bright daylight. The water reflected off the water, as we were down at the wharf.

A long silence followed, and I worried Jai might be in trouble, but he started laughing.

“You just called my mother a bitch.”

“Uh…” I winced. “Sometimes I speak before I think. It’s a fault of mine.”

He shook his head. “That was fucking brilliant. I could never have done that…but I’ll never regret that you had the courage to. I’ve been worried about what might happen when I ran into them. Mission City is small enough that it’s bound to happen.” He grinned. “And now I know. I’ll just remind her she’s a bitch, and he’s…” He frowned.

“The bitch’s husband.” I wrinkled my nose. “Or something. Oh, I know. We’ll ask Arnav—he has the best lines.” While Foster was placid, Arnav could stand up to anyone. With all those sisters, as well as a thriving law practice, he’d had plenty of experience.

“What if…” He winced. “What if one of the kids overheard? What if they tease Alaina and Keegan?”

I sighed. “That’s a legitimate concern. No one was near us when we spoke. If your mother insists on telling everyone, there’s not much we can do except be honest with the kids. I hope, though, that my comment gives her pause. There’ll be blowback, and it’ll hit them right in the face. You know Arnav’s not going to put up with that shiteither.”

He pursed his lips. “The kids.”

“Will always be our top priority, Buttercup.” I feathered his hair and used his nickname since we were alone. “We’ll deal with this when and if it comes up. Personally, I’m just fine with my kids never knowing what we’re up to in our own time.” I pressed a kiss to his temple.

“Is all okay here?” A tall Black man in jeans, a T-shirt, and a windbreaker approached.

I cocked my head.

“Oh, I’m Isaac. The harbormaster. I did the setup for the event, and then I’ll hang around in the background until it’s over.” He shrugged. “I apologize for intruding—”

I stuck out my hand. “Demetrius. And this is my boyfriend, Jai.”

Isaac shook first my hand, then Jai’s.

“Do you ever hold wedding receptions here? Heck, maybe even the ceremony?” Jai held the man’s gaze.

“If you want something small, we can certainly do that. There are larger venues—”