“Lady,” Dad warns.
“Easton,” Mom scolds him.
“I’m sorry, sir,” Griffin speaks up.
“You don’t have anything to apologize for. I kissed you, and it was just a peck on the cheek.”
“Baby, he’s your dad. One day, I’m going to need him to tell me I have his blessing to marry you, and I kinda need him to like me for that to happen.”
My mouth drops open in shock, and from the silence of the room, I think everyone else is too. It’s my mother who breaks the silence.
“I can’t tell you how happy it makes me to see that each of my girls has found men who care about them.” She turns to look at my dad. “All three of them remind me of you when we were dating. In fact, I can hear you saying something similar. Easton, look around you. Our daughters are happy and healthy, and the men in their lives are honest and respectful and treat them like the queens we’ve raised them to be.”
“She’s too young for talk about marriage.”
“He didn’t say today, Dad,” I sass.
“She’s an adult, and she has a good head on her shoulders. We have to trust that she’s making the best choices for her,” Mom counters. “Read the room, Easton. Look at how these three young men are looking at our daughters.”
“I married mine,” Cam chimes in.
“Show off,” Holden grumbles, making us all laugh.
“Regardless, our daughters are happy and in healthy relationships. What more could we ask for?”
“For them to all still be living at home?” Dad offers.
“Stop.” Mom leans over and kisses his cheek. “I love you, Easton Monroe.”
“Stop.” Parker covers her eyes. “We don’t need to see all of that.”
“Like it’s not something we’ve seen every single day of our lives,” Paisley adds.
“You taught us what it means to be loved the right way. You have to trust that we’ll accept nothing less than what you and Mom have.”
I watch my father as he swallows hard and nods. “You’re right. The three of you are strong, independent women, and I trust that you know what’s best for you.” He makes a point to look at me and then each of my sisters. “However, for the three of you, and you” Dad points at Oliver for good measure. “they’re my entire world. If you hurt them, you’ll never get near them again.”
“What, no death threats?” Cam jokes.
“Taylor,” Dad warns.
“Dat’s my name.” Jett points at his chest. “Jett Taylor,” he says proudly, and my dad visibly softens.
“Yeah, buddy,” Dad agrees. “That’s your name.”
“And you know our kids’ names are going to be Bailey, right?” Holden says, just to get under Dad’s skin.
Cam and Holden both have a great relationship with my father, and he may act annoyed, but he secretly adores them.
“And you know, if this thing works out,” I wave between Griffin and me“mine will be Anthony.”
Dad points at me, his lips lifting just slightly. “Too soon, lady. Too soon.”
The table erupts with laughter, and we finish our meal. Everyone pulls both Griffin and Oliver into the conversation as if they’ve known them for years, and it turns out to be the best birthday yet.
CHAPTER 16
Griffin
I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous about meeting her dad. From the stories she’s told me, I knew he was protective. I’ve never met my girlfriend's parents before, so I didn’t know what I was up against. I was grateful Oliver came with me and that Parker was the one to meet us. She was on our side. At least Peyton says that she is.
I was sweating bullets until my girl got here. It was her sister’s idea to lock the door and have me answer it. Her dad didn’t agree, but her mom was able to convince him. He’s this protective bear when it comes to his family, but it’s easy to see that Larissa, his queen, can talk him off the ledge.
Thankfully.
We had dinner, and we’ve all been sitting around talking. I’m sitting on the floor, leaning my back against the couch between Peyton’s legs. Her dad keeps eyeing me, but I ignore it. I’ve been away from her for five long, agonizing weeks. I’m not leaving her side.
She leans forward, placing her hands on my shoulders. “You about ready to go?” she asks.
I turn to look at her. “Where are we going?”
“My place.”
“Griffin.” Her dad speaks up. I turn back around to give him my attention. “Where are you all staying?”
“With me,” Peyton answers.
Easton Monroe’s face is blood red. “Lady,” he starts, but he’s cut off when Larissa places her hand over his mouth.
“She’s an adult, Easton.”
“I don’t like it,” he grumbles.
“You don’t have to like it, but you do have to deal with it.” He grumbles under his breath but doesn’t say another word.
I don’t tell them that I didn’t reserve a room. I was hoping that Peyton would be okay with us crashing with them, but if not, we could have just found a hotel to stay in. Karina assured me that she would be, and she was right.
“We’re going to go,” Peyton says, tapping my shoulder for me to stand. I climb to my feet and offer her my hand, helping her from the couch. Not that she needed the help, but it’s another excuse to touch her without her father trying to shoot me. Okay, “shoot” might be a little over the top, but he’s definitely not happy that I’m here.
“Thank you for dinner and the gifts,” Peyton tells the room. She then hugs every person in the room until she ends up back beside me. She slides her arm around my waist and smiles up at me.
“Ready?” she asks.
I nod and step away from her and move toward her father. I hold my hand out for him to shake. “It was nice to meet you, sir.”
Easton gives me a curt nod but shakes my hand. I offer my hand to Larissa with the same sentiment, but she pulls me into a hug. “You’re welcome here anytime,” she assures me.
I hug her sisters, shake hands with Cameron and Holden, and fist bump with Jett, and we’re out the door.
“We’re moving in,” Oliver says as we step inside the girls’ apartment. “This place is quadruple the size of our dorm room.”
“Well, it’s only a two-bedroom, so we’re going to need to talk sleeping arrangements if the two of you move in.” Karina laughs.
“That’s easy. I’m rooming with Peyton,” I tell her.
Oliver grins. “And you and I can share,” he tells Karina.
“Just like that?” she asks.
“Yup.” He doesn’t even blink as he gauges her reaction.
She laughs. “Well, all right then. You get the couch tonight unless you promise to behave. I have a queen, so if you can stay on your side, you can sleep with me.”
I watch as my best friend opens his mouth to speak, but no words come out. Instead, he nods and buries his hands in his pockets. We talked on the flight here, and he said he was going to tell her he liked her and wanted to test the waters. It looks like he’s going to get his chance.