Page 121 of Reluctantly You
“So what do we do now?” I manage to ask, and they all turn to look at me.
“We confront them,” Matt says, and Max bobs his head.
“We do it as a united front. With Magnus too. Maybe bring Sem along, really scare Dad.”
I snort and then run a hand across my jaw.
“We’ll plan it. We’ll have a come-to-Jesus meeting with them both,” Max says just as Matt asks, “Do you know who your bio dad is?”
I nod my head and then shake it. “I mean, no. I don’t. I can find out though. The PI I hired knows who it is. I just need to ask for the information.”
“Do you want to meet him?” Max asks, and I shrug.
“I dunno.”
“Well, if you decide to do it, we can be there. With you. Always with you.”
I blink rapidly and nod, feeling Gideon’s hand land on my thigh.
Everyone stares at it, the place where our bodies connect, but this time I don’t pull away. I just let him ground me.
“So, how about we tell Mitch the news?” Beau says, and all eyes move from me to him. I like him more than I thought I would.
Max picked a good one.
“What news?” Matt asks, and Max rolls his eyes.
“Beau and I are going to adopt…another dog.”
My eyebrows rise and Matt punches him in the shoulder. “Fuck off. I thought I was gonna be an uncle.”
“You are an uncle.”
He beams and rubs at his chest. “I am. We all are.” He turns his gaze toward me and smiles softly. “Magnus’s kids are so fucking cute. You’re gonna love them.”
I shift in my seat, Gideon’s fingers pressing into the muscle of my thigh, and I roll my lips between my teeth. “Don’t know if he’ll let me meet them.”
“He will. He wants his family back,” Max says, and I shake my head.
“Don’t say that when you don’t know if it’s true. He may want you back, but not me. I was always the worst to him. I’m not redeemable.”
“Mitch…” Max begins, but I stop him with a wave of my hand.
“It’s fine. I’m…” I set my plate aside and scrub my hands down my face. “I was awful to him…despite being just like him.”
They freeze and blink at me.
“What do you mean?” Matt asks.
I peer over at Gideon and wet my lips.
“I’m just like him,” I repeat, Gideon’s hand tightening on my leg, and I let out a shaky breath. “Doesn’t matter anyway, just…I’m a hypocrite.”
“We all are,” Max says finally and nudges me with his foot. “I’m sorry you went through that all alone. It’s a shock, isn’t it?”
“Well…I’ve always been like this.”
“No shit,” Matt whispers, and Coop covers Matt’s mouth with his hand.