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Dallas snorts, and I shoot him a glare.

“What? We’re just hearing about him, but you’ve been talking us up?”

“Dal, don’t fuckin’ start shit. I can keep things private.”

“Yeah, dumbass, kinda like you kept Blaire a secret until you brought down the barrel house,” Sawyer snaps.

Ahh, fuck, here we goddamn go. The group collectively takes a large step back, Ivy and Hannah rolling their eyes and joining my parents and Blaire on the couch. Finn looks around confused as fuck, so I grab his arm, pulling him to give my brothers space. He leans into me, whispering in my ear, “Am I missing something?”

“These two have a bad habit of getting physical over the dumbest shit, just give it a moment.”

“I don’t want to hear her name out of your goddamn mouth, shithead!”

“It’s not like you haven’t walked in on me and Ivy, dumbass! God forbid you utilize knocking like a normal fucking human!”

“Ever heard of a lock? Oh, whoops! CEO shithead doesn’t need to lock his door because he’s special and everyone should respect his space!”

“At least we use my office and not the spare barrel house, you dumbass Neanderthal!”

“The fuck did you just call me?”

Dallas steps into Sawyer’s space and gives him a shove, Sawyer unmoving, the fucking beast.

Tilting my head into Finn’s, I whisper, “Aaand 3-2-1.”

Dallas’ arm clocks back swinging a quick jab toward Sawyer’s cheek. Sawyer dodges, landing a hard punch to Dallas’ stomach.

“Holy shit, you weren’t kidding. They take it seriously,” Finn says next to me. He’s standing there watching my idiotbrothers fight each other on the deck of our parents’ house with his arms crossed, bemused.

“Definitely wasn’t lying.”

I roll my eyes and rush forward, grabbing Sawyer’s arms and hauling him back. Liam does the same to Dallas, shoving them apart.

“Nice first impression, idiots. Thanks.”

“Hey, I didn’t mind it, just remind me not to piss you two off,” Finn says, making Dallas smirk at him.

“I like him. Keep him,” Dallas insists.

Sawyer grumbles. “Jury’s still out.”

I walk back over to Finn, reading his unaffected facial expression.

“He’ll come around. You kinda bombed it with him. There was an issue when Ivy came back involving Reid, and you probably just reopened a sore spot. Don’t worry about it. Let’s go meet everyone else.”

We walk side by side up to my parents, and I don’t know why, but I’m suddenly nervous.

“Dad, Mom, this is Finn Nash. Finn, my parents, Craig and Amy.”

It’s eerily quiet for a moment, my usually outspoken, welcoming mother waiting to see how my father will react. Even though we spoke already so that they weren’t caught by surprise, I’m nervous. I hold my breath, Finn appearing otherwise stoic, but the slight tick of his jaw tells me that he’s just as nervous about this meeting.

My dad starts to speak, and even with his stutter, his voice is strong and sure.

“So, you’re Griffin’s son?”

“Yes, sir, unfortunately. It’s nice to meet you.” Finn sticks his hand out, unwavering, and waits for my dad to shake it. I still haven’t taken a breath, the anticipation a steady pulsebetween my ears, my brain foggy.

Finally,finally, my dad extends his shaky hand and clasps Finn’s, and my body immediately settles. This can work. This is going to be okay.