He was right, of course, but the idea of confronting my family about anything made me sick.
“They’re going to accuse me of stirring up drama. They’re going to think I’m greedy.”
“They’re wrong.”
“You guys okay up there?” It was Chief Paige’s voice, booming in his no-nonsense work voice.
“All clear, Chief,” Saint called down. “Be there in a second.”
His hand cupped my cheek. “Will you let me take the lead on this? Please?”
“What do you mean?”
“I think we should arrange a meeting with your grandfather at the Landen offices.”
“Why? We can just go to my aunt’s birthday dinner tonight and stay after?” I’d forgotten all about Prima’s birthday celebration that night, but Saint’s mention of his own family dinner the following night had reminded me.
Saint’s face widened in a grin.
“What?” I asked. “Why do you look like you just pulled one over on me?”
“You said we. You invited me to dinner with your family.”
Fuck.
“No,” I said, trying desperately to backtrack. The very idea of taking Saint to a family event where surely everyone would be able to see me giving him heart eyes made my stomach butterflies manic. “I meant me and… Milo.”
He pulled me in close until our chests were pressed together. “No you didn’t.”
“Saint, I…” How did I tell him I wasn’t ready to come out to my family while all this other shit was going on?
“Baby, relax. I’m not going to be anything other than your security presence if that’s what’s most comfortable for you. But I’m sure as hell not allowing you around your cousin without protection.”
Maybe I should have been annoyed at his bossiness, but I totally wasn’t. I loved every fucking minute of him wanting to protect me.
“Will it bother you if I don’t introduce you as… something else?”
Great, now I was talking in prude code. I needed to grow the hell up.
“Augie, it will bother me more to see you upset. Whatever you need is fine with me. You forget that I lived plenty of years under Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, and even when it ended, I still understood many people’s choice to stick with it. When, how, and if you decide to come out to your family is completely up to you. I support whatever is best for you.”
Of course he did. It only really mattered in a long-term relationship, and he wasn’t planning on sticking around. The man lived in Dallas and traveled all over the world with his job. Once this assignment was over, he’d be back in some pop star’s world getting lusted after by thousands of rabid fans.
“Fine,” I muttered, seriously depressed all of a sudden at the reminder this was all temporary. As soon as we solved the danger I was in, there would be no reason for Saint to stick around in Hobie. “Whatever. Let’s go to Dallas.”
Saint’s smile faltered and he looked at me with concern. Before he had a chance to ask me about my sudden mood shift, I faked a smile and leaned up for a kiss. “Sorry, just stressed about seeing my family if they’re the ones behind this.”
Lie.
I’d face a thousand jackass Stiels if it meant I could keep one baby-faced Wilde.
Chapter 32
Saint
Augie was lying. Of course he was stressed about his family, but there was something else going on with him too. When the two of us were alone at his house, things were easy and perfect. But for some reason when we were in public, his insecurity came screaming in at breakneck speed. I had to assume it was because he wasn’t fully out yet, but he’d told me he was out in Hobie. Was this moodiness just a symptom of his trying to get used to being out? Or did he have another reason to get uncomfortable around me?
I’d tried hard to reassure him of my feelings for him. We’d even talked about the trouble I was in if Lanny found out the two of us were sleeping together. I’d explained Lanny was a good man who would be able to understand this wasn’t the same thing as a quick fuck with a personal security client. Augie meant something to me, and Lanny wouldn’t have a problem with me finding someone special, even if it was a client. Augie seemed to relax a little bit about it, but I knew he still had insecurities about my feelings for him. I didn’t blame him. It wasn’t like I had a history of commitment to relationships. Unfortunately, before Charlie realized Augie meant something to me, he’d told Augie I had a history of sleeping around. It would take time to prove myself to him. I hoped to start by proving myself to his family whether they knew we were an item or not.
I left Augie at the shop with a promise to pick him up later that afternoon for the drive to Dallas. I headed back to the ranch to shower and change in order to help Doc and Grandpa prep for the chili dinner the following night. When I pulled in to the drive, I recognized MJ’s car, which surprised me. She’d been spending almost all her time at Neckie’s house since the baby was born three days before. I entered the big house and heard chatter coming from the direction of the kitchen as usual.