“Daphne, you don’t have to give him your rings.”
I know if I asked Max for the money, he’d give it to me. I knew it before he just admitted to already trying to pay off my father’s debt. But I’d never take it from him. “I know. And I love you. But I want to do this.” I turn back to my father. “This severs our ties. Don’t come back.”
* * *
Later that night, Max and I are cleaning up the dinner dishes after we finish our takeout. We didn’t end up with Fat Jack’s after everything simmered down. Luka took my dad to Sam and confirmed he was still alive and in one piece when they left after that. That’s all I wanted to know. At least for now.
I guess this roller coaster of a day was an appropriate way to end this insane week.
At least, I thought it was over before the doorbell starts incessantly ringing.
Max closes his eyes before leaning his face up to the ceiling. “I’ll get rid of them.”
I tug on the pocket of the sweats he changed into when we got home. “Get rid of who?”
“Whichever sibling is at the door.” He takes a step away, then stops. “Who am I kidding? There’s probably more than one.” I follow Max with my eyes as he leaves the kitchen, then decide “Screw it,” and follow him to the foyer, where he’s now standing with a very pregnant Scarlet, flanked by Lenny and Becks.
The girls rush to my side, fawning over me. “Are you okay?” Lenny wraps her arms around me in a hug, and I may die a little on the inside. I’m not the biggest hugger if I don’t know someone well.
“Back off, Len. We don’t all like to be touched.” Scarlet looks me over before settling on my hand and points. “What is that?”
My cheeks heat as I smile at Max, expecting him to tell his siblings. But I’m learning anything goes when there’s more than one Kingston in a room.
“How did you guys hear about this already?” He takes my hand in his and pulls me next to him.
Scarlet walks right into the living room, sits down on the couch, and puts her feet up on the ottoman as she rubs her side. “Sorry. This little girl has been killing me these past few days. Anyway... Amelia was with Sam when you called him. She may have overheard the conversation—”
“Even though we’re not supposed to know that,” Lenny adds.
“Yeah.” Becks looks between Max and me. “She called Scar at work, and the three of us were together, so we figured we’d come check on you.”
“Oh, God.” I cover my face with my hands. “Does your whole family know?”
Becket laughs. The asshole. “Not yet.”
“Yes, they do,” Len corrects him.
“Ughhh,” I whine.
Then I look at Max, who pulls me into his arms. “They’re going to love you because I do.”
“Ha,” Scarlet scoffs. “They already love you because you smacked the shit out of Becket. Do you have any idea how many people would line up to do that?”
“Now,” Lenny drops down onto the couch next to Scarlet, “What do you have to eat? And let’s talk about that ring on your hand.”
Two hours later, when the three of them leave the house, I feel like I’ve been in the center of a hurricane and survived. And as Max shuts the door behind him, throws the lock, and then arms the alarm, I think he might feel the same.
“You still wanna marry me? Knowing you’re going to have to deal with them all for the rest of your life?” He picks me up, and I wrap my legs around his waist.
“I’d marry you tomorrow, Max Kingston.”
He seals his lips over mine, and I melt. “We’ve got the team party tomorrow night. What about Sunday?”
“What?” I laugh as he takes the steps up to our room, two at a time.
He sits down on the bed with me still wrapped around him. “We’ve got a one o’clock home game. We could do something small here, after the game, and then, if you want something bigger, we could throw it together whenever you’re ready.”
“Really?” Hope blooms in my stomach. I love the idea of not waiting. “You’d be okay with something that small?”
“Baby, I want whatever will make you my wife. What do you want? Do you want a big wedding? We can do that too. It’s completely up to you.”
I push him back on the bed. “Nope. I just want you. Let’s get married.”