He stood and enveloped me in a hug. “I agree with Jonas about Rory, by the way.”
“Thank you. And congratulations. We’ll have the ‘don’t hurt my brother or I’ll castrate you’ talk later.”
He chuckled, and somehow, I knew this guy and Jonas were going to be a great match.
Mum and Dad both got up and congratulated my brother and his fiancé, asking them about wedding plans, of which there were none yet. But they soon sat down and turned their attention back to comparing how nice Simon was and bitching off Rory.
I gritted my teeth when my dad once again started on his unsuitable home life. “He told me he stole when he was younger.”
“To eat, Dad. He was a kid, and he had no food in his junkie parents’ house. He wasn’t out stealing computer games for shits and giggles. Does that not show you resilience? Yes, he fucked up and to an extent—he hurt us all when he walked out of our lives—but he’s sorry, and he’s not a silly young man anymore. He’s responsible. He never stopped loving me.”
“So he says. How many women has he slept with in the interim?” My mother raised an eyebrow.
Ouch. That hurt.
“I don’t know. It’s none of my business. He was single and free to sleep with whomever he wanted. As was I.”
“But you haven’t, have you?”
I rolled my eyes. I really didn’t want to have this conversation with my parents in front of my wee brother. “I’ve not been celibate. Once you’ve tasted the food of the fairy-folk, it’s hard to come out from under the mountain.”
“What does that mean?” my mother asked, her gaze darting towards my father before coming back to rest on me.
I glanced at Jonas who was grimacing and shrugged. “Once you’ve had sex, it’s kind of hard to go back to being celibate.”
“I could be celibate easily,” said Mum, looking out the window and blushing.
I turned to my dad. “Clearly you’re not doing it right.”
“Lacey,” Jonas’s warning tone pulled me from what I was saying.
This wasn’t me. I was never rude to my parents. “Sorry. That was uncalled for, but so is asking about my personal life and baiting me about Rory’s while we were apart. It’s none of my business and certainly none of yours. I thought you wanted me to be happy.”
“We do sweetheart,” said Dad, his brow scrunching in unhappiness. “But he won’t make you happy. I know his background isn’t his fault, but he’s always had instability so he will always be unstable. A nice girl like you needs someone who’s grown up with two parents.”
Simon coughed. “Umm, my parents divorced when I was two. I see my dad every couple of years.”
My parents looked at each other, then Mum turned to Simon. “Was your mother a junkie?”
“Uh, no. She was a carer for old people. Still is.”
“There you go then. There’s a big difference. Your mum gave you a stable home life despite her circumstances. Lacey needs someone from a good home.”
I closed my eyes for a moment and gathered my thoughts so I would speak in a way that didn’t disrespect my parents but let them know I wasn’t giving up my boyfriend.
I liked that word. Boyfriend. I liked that once again Rory Thompson was my boyfriend.
I glanced at my brother who was typing away furiously on his phone. Who was he talking to in my moment of misery?
Turning back to my mum and dad, I said, “I need him. I need Rory. If you can’t accept him and be civil to him at the very least, then I can’t visit you. And you know how much staying away from you both will break my heart. I love you.”
Tears welled in Mum’s eyes, and she turned to my father. She must have known her argument was as weak as piss. “He hurt you so much, baby girl.”
“I didn’t exactly fight for him. He barely had the words out of his mouth, and I chucked him out the car without even asking why. I drove off up here, blocking him on social media and cutting him out of my life for six years. For someone who had a stable upbringing, it wasn’t very mature. Maybe it was a cry for help and I ignored it. Why would I not find out where his sudden need to break it off with me had come from? God, he could have been having a breakdown or anything, and I ignored it. That makes me a terrible person. I’m lucky he was okay.”
“You can’t blame yourself, baby girl,” Dad said, but I could tell he was noodling on that.
“Right. I’m going to go. It’s been lovely meeting you, Simon.” I stood. “I don’t need you to see me to the wigwam, Jonas. It’s just down the road.”
“I’m coming,” Jonas insisted, getting to his feet and glancing at Simon. “I’ll be back in a minute.”
Once outside, I turned to Jonas. “Who were you texting when we were talking?”
“Just a friend. I was giving him some sage advice about relationships and how to land his girl for good.”
“What do you know about landing girls?”
He slung his arm around me. “Listen, Big, all relationships are the same. Doesn’t matter what your genitals look like. You have to know what the other person really desires and give them it.”
“What does Rory really desire?”
He shrugged. “What he never got as a child. Unconditional love. Unfortunately, he had it and lost it. If you ask me, which I know you didn’t but I’m going to tell you my opinion anyway, Mum and Dad will come round. However, it will always be conditional on him not hurting you, and Rory knows it.”
“So he’ll never get it?”
“Not from them, but you never stopped loving him. He’s already got what he wants. You’re the one who loves him unconditionally. He broke your heart. He abandoned you. And yet, here you are, fighting his corner because you love the big eejit. Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to make sure he knows it.”
I nodded. “Thanks. You’re incredibly wise for a wee brother.”
“Well, I was always the clever one in the family.” He winked, and I punched him on the shoulder.
“See you tomorrow, you little shit.”
“See you then.” He watched as I walked the short distance to the wooden hut structure known as a wigwam and unlocked it. I grimaced at the sight that welcomed me.
Chapter 23
Lacey
RORY LAY ON THE BED, shirtless, a bottle of Jack Daniel’s in one hand and his phone in the other. His jeans were open, and the tip of his hard cock peeked out of his boxers to lay over his belly.
He raised the bottle in a salute. “Welcome to my party, darlin’.”
“A party for one, I see. Sex and booze, but no girl.”
“The girl has just arrived—an incredibly beautiful one, I might add. Sadly, her parents fuckin’ hate me, so there’s that.” He looked back at his phone.
“Why are you getting drunk on straight Jack? You don’t even like whiskey.”
“Jack and I are old friends. I like pissing off your dad by drinking American whiskey—whiskey with an E. It always upsets Scottish whisky snobs like your Dad who can’t see past their single malts.”