I nod. “It’s true.”
She waves me off, and then we stop to order drinks and appetizers. The conversation turns to Angie’s work at the internship and how great things are going. I enjoy listening to her talk about her work. She’s so damn good at it. So smart, it’s scary.
Lucy looks at me and asks, “How’s Evan doing? He seemed great on the plane.”
“He is. And while it sucks he’s not here playing, I’m thankful that Angie was able to help him realize where he needed to be.”
Angie beams up at me, and I wink at her. Lucy continues, “Elli said something about you getting involved in Angie’s program.”
“I am. I’m going to host a few seminars this summer and some golf activities, paintball event, stuff to bring awareness to the program. But also, I want my teammates and the rest of the league to know it’s okay not to be okay. That there is help out there.”
Lucy threads her fingers thru Benji’s. “Incredible, huh, babe?”
He doesn’t seem impressed in the least. He takes a long drink of his water, and Angie leans in, turning so he can’t see her, and apologizes.
I shake my head. “It’s fine.” She makes a face of disagreement, and I ask, “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” she says quickly, but when our appetizers come, everyone digs in but her. If it weren’t fried cheese, I wouldn’t question her, but it is, and my girl loves herself some cheese. I look over at her as she listens intently to Max’s play-by-play of their last diving competition. It’s really interesting, but I’d rather get Angie to eat. I hand her the fried goodness, and she takes it, placing it on the plate in front of her. I watch her, and when Lucy asks Max a question, I lean in.
“Eat.” She shakes her head, and I give her a look. “Why?”
She looks the other way so they can’t hear or see her lips moving. “They’ve already made a comment about my weight. I don’t want them to think I’m a fat-ass.” I glare at her, and she gives me a pleading look. “Let it be, and I’ll eat these off you later.”
A lesser man would have taken that deal, but I want more for Angie. “Angie, they love you the way you are.”
“I know. I do, I promise, but I don’t want to eat in front of them.”
To my surprise, Lucy hears her. “What? Why? Eat.”
“That’s what I told her,” I say, giving her a look, and Angie smiles politely.
“I’m not hungry.”
“You are,” I say, pushing the cheese toward her. She glares at me, but it’s Lucy’s eyes that have me pausing. Something moves in her gaze, and she looks over at the kids and then back at Angie.
“Angela.”
I don’t know what it is about moms, but they’ve got that voice that can send chills down your spine. I’m not even Lucy’s kid, and I straighten up. Hell, everyone does, even Benji.
“Mom, really—”
“Answer me this,” she demands, holding her daughter’s gaze. “Did you stop seeing us because of your weight gain?”
Okay, throwing it out there like that. Here we go.
I go still, and I notice her siblings are looking anywhere but at Lucy, Benji, or Angie. Not even me. I stroke my thumb along the inside of Angie’s thigh as she holds her mother’s gaze. Is she going to tell the truth? I have to admit, I’d lie if Lucy was looking at me the way she’s looking at Angie. It’s scary as hell.
“Yes.”
Oh. Okay.
I look back at Lucy as she glares. “Angela, you know we don’t care about that kind of stuff. We love you, no matter what.”
“I know, but I’m not the same. I already embarr—”
Benji speaks up this time. “Embarrassed us? Please, Paxy, that’s not true, and you know it.”
Angie scoffs. “I broke my wrist, and poof! There goes my hockey career. I almost got raped and cost y’all so much in legal fees. And then after loads of therapy, I drop out of college in Nashville anyway to come to South Carolina. Still costing you money.”
Her dad looks as if he is about to blow, and even Lucy is fighting her emotions. I feel as if I should say something, but it’s actually Charlotte who speaks first. “So? We love you, Angie. None of that matters. No one is embarrassed by you. We love you. We are proud of you.”
Angie scoffs. “Char, you’re a gorgeous YouTuber, and the boys are divers. I’m just a fa—”
“An outstanding researcher in mental health,” Max says, interrupting her. “Mom raves about your grades all the time.”
“She tells us to make your grades,” Ryder says, and Charlotte agrees.
“And you’re helping people, Angie. You’re inspiring.”
Angie looks at me then, and I smile. “To me, you’re perfect.”
Angie looks down at her cheese and picks it up. “I’m sorry.”
Lucy grips her wrist. “You have to stop being so mean to yourself, honey. We love you. Owen loves you. You’ve got to love who you are.”
Benji holds up a finger. “I’d rather Adler be removed from the picture.”
I grin over at him. “Not happening, sir. I love her.”
I feel all the eyes on me as Benji stares me down. “That’s a very bold promise, Owen Adler.”
“He is a bold, gorgeous man,” Angie says, kissing my cheek. “And I love him too, Dad.”
I hold Benji’s gaze, and he isn’t the least bit happy, but I don’t care. “I want to be completely transparent with you, sir.” I clear my throat and squeeze Angie’s knee. “I know my dad made a pact with you to keep me away from her, and he failed you. But now I want to make one with you.”
He wants to cuss me out. But for some reason, he doesn’t, nor does he stop me.
“I have every intention of marrying this girl when we’re ready. I want to have kids with her and build a life with her. I know that’s hard to hear and even accept, but I need you to know it. And here is my pact.” I swallow hard, surprised by the emotion I feel. “I promise never to hurt her or make her feel anything but completely worthy. I will take a page from your book and love her the way she deserves to be loved. I’ll make sure she eats, takes her meds, and that she’s happy. I’ll buy her a jungle if she wants one. I will bring her home to see you whenever you want, and one thing is for damn sure, she will never, ever feel alone. I will always be beside her, supporting her and loving her. I told you if she wants me, I’m there. But I’m so in love with her, if she didn’t want me, I’d be sending a ton of plants and fried cheese to get her back. But I doubt that’ll ever happen. We’re too good together. We’re happy.”
I take in a deep breath, impressed by myself, but by the looks I’m getting, I realize I just word vomited all over everyone. Charlotte is looking at me like I belong in a Disney movie, the boys are two seconds from gagging, and Lucy is in awe. Meanwhile, Benji is probably plotting how to hide my body. But then I look over to Angie, and a tear rolls down her cheek. I flash her a strained grin.
“Too much?”
She cups my cheek. “So damn much, but I love you.”