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CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

ATLAS

The last time I brought a woman home had been never, which was probably why my mom had lost her shit over the idea of me dating someone.

And not just someone, but a Starlight Cove resident.

Though she was eager as hell to meet my girlfriend , a sick librarian she’d had to cover for and a rogue raccoon causing trouble in the stacks had pushed this meet-and-greet back for two weeks.

Not that I’d minded.

The longer I could put this off, the better.

“Meeting your family feels a little real for this whole fake dating fiasco,” Sutton said as we stood in my mom’s driveway, waiting for Laurel to get out of the SUV.

I glanced down at her—at this woman who was only supposed to be a means to an end but was turning out to be a whole fucking lot more than that.

“Is that what this is? A fake dating fiasco?”

She tipped her head to the side, her gaze assessing as she studied me.

“You tell me, big guy.”

The problem was, I had no fucking idea.

I was flying blind here, and I hated every minute of it.

Hated that I didn’t know what she thought about our arrangement.

Hated that when I called her mine , it was just for show and not in response to the pull I always felt in my chest whenever she was around.

Hated how much I loved that we’d taken our clear rules and broken every single one of them.

Before I could respond to Sutton—with what, I had no idea—Laurel stepped out of the SUV and shut the door behind her.

Time was up.

I cleared my throat, leading the two of them toward my mom’s back door.

“Are you two ready for this?”

Laurel pointed at her blank expression.

“My game face is on.”

With a laugh, Sutton squeezed my tense forearm.

“Relax. You worry too much.”

I couldn’t even deny that was true.

Not when we were walking into the lion’s den, and I couldn’t do anything to stop it.

Lincoln was going to flirt with Sutton just to piss me off.

Declan was going to encourage him.

And my mom—well, I worried she’d see right through this whole charade.

Worse, I was afraid I wouldn’t remember it was supposed to be one in the first place.

“You gonna open the door, Daddy Grump, or are we supposed to eat out here?” Laurel asked, yanking me out of my thoughts.

“I’ll give you a hundred bucks if you don’t call me Daddy Grump in front of my brothers.”

She raised a brow.

“Make it a new DSLR, and you’ve got a deal.”

“That’s a hell of a lot more than a hundred bucks, kid.” I pressed my finger against the scanner and unlocked the door, shooting a glance at Sutton.

“Did you teach her how to be a hustler?”

Sutton held up her hands and shook her head.

“Honest to god, she’s been like this since she could talk.”

Laurel offered me a serene smile so at odds with her personality, I nearly laughed.

“Just one of my many talents, Da?—”

“Fine,” I cut in before she could finish.

“We have a deal.”

And I couldn’t even be mad at her for it.

Not when that serene smile turned into the self-satisfied one she usually reserved for her mom.

I opened the door and stepped inside, nearly running into my mom as I did so.

“Oh!” She jerked back before shooting a smile at the three of us.

“You’ve been out there for so long, I was just coming to make sure everything was okay.”

“We told her you probably had your hands full, dragging them in here against their will,” Lincoln called from the dining room.

Mom spun around and pointed a finger at my shithead brothers.

“You two, shut it.”

“I didn’t even say anything,” Declan grumbled.

Ignoring him completely, Mom turned back to us with a beaming smile.

“Come in, come in. You must be Sutton. I’m so happy to finally meet you.”

Sutton held out her hand toward my mom.

“It’s nice to meet?—”

Before Sutton could get the words out, my mom wrapped her in a hug and squeezed.

From the wide-eyed look Sutton shot me, I could tell exactly what was going through her mind.

First, my mom was a lot stronger than she looked—her hugs were bone-crushing.

And second, how the hell did a five-foot-nothing ray of sunshine birth a giant ogre like me?

Mom pulled back, holding Sutton at arm’s length.

“I am so happy to have you here. You can call me Holly.”

“Thanks for having us, Holly.”

“Of course, you’re always welcome.” She turned toward Laurel with a smile.

“And Laurel, it’s so nice to see you outside of the library.”

“Um, yeah. Hi. Thanks.”

Mom hooked her arm through Sutton’s and led her to the dining room, seemingly oblivious to Laurel’s stammering.

But I wasn’t. I caught Laurel’s attention as we followed, raising a questioning brow.

With a roll of her eyes and an elbow in my side, she mumbled, “Shut up.”

“Didn’t say a word.”

“I don’t know how to meet my mom’s boyfriend’s parents, okay? I’ve never had to, so leave me alone.”

Laurel’s whispered admission nearly sent me stumbling.

While I’d been contending with the fact that this was the very first time I had ever brought a woman home, it hadn’t even entered my mind that Sutton had never experienced this either.

Something I couldn’t quite name filled my chest as I stared at Sutton, watching her hold her own while my brothers did exactly what I’d known they would.

While my mom laughed and Laurel smiled and everything just felt…

right.

Perfect.

And when Sutton reached back to grab my hand, lacing her fingers with mine and tugging me to her side, I shoved aside the whisper in the back of my mind that reminded me this wasn’t real.

Sutton had handled the pre-dinner small talk with an ease that was lost on me.

Though that wasn’t a surprise.

She had a way of charming anyone who met her, and my family was no different.

Sutton sat to my right, Laurel next to her, as Lincoln smirked at me from across the table and Declan stared with disinterest.

When Mom strode in and placed a bowl of her homemade spaghetti in the middle of the table, Lincoln immediately reached for it.

“Looks great, Mom.”

With a quick slap to his hand, she said, “Guests first. What’s the matter with you?”

“Yeah, Linc, what’s the matter with you?” Declan parroted like he was ten years old all over again.

“It’s Mom’s spaghetti.” Lincoln gestured to the bowl of pasta.

“And I’m hungry.”

“I’m sure Sutton and Laurel are too,” Mom said.

“I hope you both like spaghetti. I asked Atlas what your favorite meal was, and all he did was grunt before dashing out the door.”

Sutton shot me an amused look before smiling at my mom.

“It is one of Laurel’s favorites, so you made a good call. It’s usually one of the first meals I make when we get settled in a new place.”

“Atlas told me you’re a traveling nurse. How do you like it?”

Sutton dished up a helping of spaghetti before passing the platter to Laurel.

“It has its ups and downs like any job, but I’m happy with it. It’s allowed us some adventures we wouldn’t have had otherwise.”

“And how about your next adventure? What are your plans for that?”

Sutton glanced over at me, an emotion I couldn’t name in her eyes.

Then she shot my mom a smile.

“Haven’t quite figured that out yet.”

The thought of her and Laurel leaving at the end of her contract at the clinic made this boulder in my stomach sink even deeper.

But maybe that was exactly what I needed—a reminder that she’d never intended to stay.

Before my mom could poke any more and ask the questions I was afraid I already knew the answers to, Sutton said, “Atlas told me you all get together for a weekly family dinner. It’s nice you’re able to do that.”

“Isn’t it? I wish Xander didn’t live so far away, but you have to let your babies fly. I’m sure your parents feel the same.”

I stiffened, my gaze darting to Sutton.

I knew enough about her relationship—or lack thereof—with her parents to realize she probably wouldn’t want to discuss it.

And definitely not at first meeting.

But her expression was calm, her body relaxed as she said, “I’m actually not sure. I haven’t spoken to them since Laurel was born.”

Mom split a glance between the two.

“Ah. That must’ve been hard. I’m sorry.”

“I’m not.” Sutton leaned her shoulder into Laurel.

“We make a pretty good team.”

My mom smiled.

“And now a trio with Atlas.”

“That’s been a nice surprise. I hadn’t been counting on him when we moved to town.”

“ I hadn’t been counting on him looking like he was going to murder someone in the bar,” Lincoln said before shoveling a forkful of pasta into his mouth.

“I wasn’t going to murder him,” I grumbled.

At least not in front of all those witnesses.

“Looked kinda like you were, man.”

Sutton laughed.

“He does have that look about him, doesn’t he?”

“Always has,” Mom said, the fondness in her voice unmistakable.

“So, how are you two liking Starlight Cove so far?”

Laurel stuffed her mouth full of spaghetti and gave a noncommittal shrug.

Smart kid, that one.

“She’s being a bit of a teenager about it,” Sutton said with a smile.

“It’s different from what we’re used to, but we’re settling in. You sure do have a lot of festivals, though, don’t you?”

Dec snorted.

“Too fucking many, some would say.”

“Declan!” Mom snapped.

“Not at the table in front of guests. And a child, at that!”

“Please,” he scoffed.

“Laurel’s what, sixteen, seventeen? I guarantee she said worse before first period today.”

Considering she’d been running around the house that morning wondering aloud where the fuck her shoes were, that was an accurate statement.

Laurel lifted a single shoulder in a shrug.

“He’s not wrong.”

Mom raised her brows, splitting her gaze between Laurel and the not-at-all-surprised-by-that-information Sutton.

“Oh. Well, then. I guess we do have a lot of fucking festivals here.”

Laurel barked out a surprised laugh before clapping a hand over her mouth, her eyes wide as she darted her gaze around the table.

“ Mom ,” Lincoln said in a scandalized tone.

“Not around the child!”

Mom waved him off.

“Hush, you.”

Grinning, Sutton picked up her glass of wine and lifted it toward my mom in a silent toast. “I like you, Holly.”

“Well, let’s just hope you keep liking this son of mine.” She tipped her head toward me with a smile.

“He’s not exactly the most easygoing guy, is he?”

Sutton smirked.

“That’s putting it mildly. I don’t know if you know this, but he’s a little bit of a grouch.”

The two of them laughed like they were in on some joke, and my traitor brothers joined in.

Even Laurel, the little shit.

“I’m not that bad,” I grumbled.

Sutton glanced at me with raised brows.

“You remember when I told you the kids call you Coach Asshole, right?”

“Oh my god, is that true?” Lincoln asked, splitting his gaze between Sutton and me.

“Please tell me that’s true.”

“It’s true,” she confirmed with a nod.

“So you don’t have fans everywhere , I guess,” Mom said.

“Thank god, or the fan mail would be even worse. By the way, I brought home the most recent deliveries for you to go through tonight.”

Sutton snapped her gaze to me, her eyes bright.

“I want to go through your fan mail.”

“No.”

Fuck no, actually.

I didn’t want Sutton to see half the shit the jersey chasers sent me, let alone Laurel.

“Oh, come on,” she said.

“It’ll be fun.”

“For you .”

“Exactly.” She rested her chin in her hand and shot me a soft smile.

The same one she gave me after I made her come.

Evil little temptress.

“Don’t you want me to have fun?”

I stared at her, and she stared back, a glint in her eye that told me she knew exactly what she was doing.

And she was going to win.

“Fine.” I shoved back from the table and gathered our plates.

“But I’m not going to watch. You shouldn’t either, Laurel.”

“Yeah, I’m totally going to watch,” Laurel said with a shrug.

Without a word, I stalked into the kitchen and tried to ignore the murmured conversation in the other room.

It was damn difficult, especially when my brothers listed off some of the more…

interesting…pieces of mail I’d received loud enough for me to hear.

Too distracted by Sutton’s laughter, I didn’t realize my mom had joined me until she laid a hand on my forearm.

“Need any help?” she asked.

“I’m good.”

“You are, aren’t you?” She smiled as she studied my face.

“It’s nice to finally see you happy.”

I shot her a scowl as I loaded the plates in the dishwasher.

“I’m always happy.”

Pressing her lips together to hide a grin, she nodded once.

“Of course, my mistake.”

After closing the dishwasher, I braced my hands on the counter and huffed out a breath.

“Can’t believe you brought up my fan mail around Sutton.”

“You thought you could hide it from her forever?” She laughed.

“Besides, I don’t think it’s going to faze her. You two make a good match.”

“We couldn’t be more opposite.”

“Maybe that’s why it works.” Mom bumped her shoulder against my arm.

“And why you should let it happen.”

I glanced into the dining room.

Sutton’s head was tossed back in laughter as she clutched an envelope to her chest and leaned into Laurel’s side.

Lincoln was chuckling along, and even Declan was smiling, which was usually rarer than a solar eclipse.

Sutton and Laurel fit so perfectly here.

With them. With me .

As if they belonged.

There was only one problem.

“I’m just not sure it’s real,” I admitted quietly.

Mom hummed. “Well, I see the way Sutton looks at you when you’re not watching her. Which, by the way, isn’t very often. The only time you’ve taken your eyes off that woman is to glare at your brothers.”

“They’re being shitheads. They deserve the glare.”

“And you deserve to be happy, Atlas.” She squeezed my arm and waited until I met her eyes.

“Start by trusting it’s real.”

That was easier said than done.

Especially with a painful past that had a way of sneaking up on me.

The family we’d had with my dad had felt real too.

We’d had laughter and fights and connection and compromises.

With a rock star father, we’d never been a typical family, but we’d been a family, nonetheless.

Or so I’d thought.

But after a decades-long relationship with my mom, after having all four of us boys, after being in our lives for years, he left.

Walked away and never looked back.

While he’d still been around, he’d taught me a few things.

To look out for my mom and brothers when he was busy chasing his next thrill.

To be a rock for my family to lean on because he’d been nothing but quicksand.

To stand as a shield, protecting the people I cared about most from his unforgivable deceit.

But the lesson that stuck with me the most was that nothing lasts.

Not love, not family.

Sure as hell not promises.

Everything was temporary.

In a blink, the people you loved without exception could decide you didn’t matter anymore.

And there wasn’t a damn thing you could do about it.

After that, how could I trust anything to be real?

No matter how desperately I wanted it to be.