The smile on her lips turned down. “My dad isn’t going to let me marry you, Lyric.”
“Let me worry about your dad. All I need is a yes from you.” I cupped her ass, giving each firm globe a squeeze. “Say yes, my Mila. Tell me you’ll marry me and be mine forever.”
“Yes,” she breathed. “But…”
My heart stopped as I waited for her to finish.
“But…only if my dad says he will give me away.”
“Is that all?” I asked, confused. If that was all she wanted before she would marry me, I’d make it happen.
She sank her teeth into her bottom lip for a moment before she nodded. “Yes. If Dad says he will walk me down the aisle, I’ll marry you. But if he won’t…”
“He will,” I gritted out. “I promise. Your father will walk you down that aisle to me, or I’ll die trying.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of,” she grumbled with a pout.
“Um, Lyric?” Aunt Emmie called through the door. “Who did you say Mila’s parents were?”
“I didn’t!” I yelled back and stood. Keeping one arm around Mila’s waist, I pulled the door open. But all eyes were on the driveway where a black Suburban was now parked.
The vehicle was turned off, and a woman who was slightly shorter than Mila with the same gray eyes stepped out of the passenger side. Moments later, Mila’s dad opened the driver’s door and slammed it shut behind him.
I felt Aunt Emmie tense, and Dad stepped in front of her and Mom protectively. My aunt’s green gaze went from Masterson to Mila before turning on me. “You didn’t tell me Mila was related to the MC, Ric.”
“Why does that matter?” I demanded.
“It matters,” she whispered, her face as pale as death.
“Everyone in the house,” Masterson commanded, his black eyes glaring at Dad and then Aunt Emmie. “Now.”
“James,” Mila’s mother admonished. “Cool it, or I’m going to take you home.” Putting on a smile, she held out her hand. “Hi. I’m Willa Masterson, Mila’s mom. You folks must be tired. Why don’t we go in and get some refreshments?”
Mom shook her hand after only a small hesitation. “It’s so nice to meet you. I’m Layla, Lyric’s mom.”
“I’ll make coffee,” Mila offered. Taking my hand, she tugged me out of the way, letting our parents and Aunt Emmie into the house. “You guys make yourself comfortable in the living room, and Lyric and I will get drinks for everyone.”
“No coffee for you,” I told her as we walked into the kitchen. “You want juice?”
“I want a shot,” she muttered, rubbing a hand across her brow. “This is a nightmare, Lyric.”
“How so?” I asked as I grabbed the canister of coffee.
“I’m meeting your parents for the first time, and my dad is here,” she hissed, glancing over her shoulder as if she expected someone to walk in on us. “He had a gun to your head yesterday, or have you forgotten that little detail?”
I snorted out a laugh. “He’s a father. Of course, he held a gun to the back of my head. If we have a daughter, I’d do the same thing.” I added water and switched on the machine. Crossing my arms over my chest, I turned to face her. “I’m seriously hoping we only have boys, though. It will keep me out of jail.”
“Oh my God,” she groaned. “Please let us have only boys.”
Laughing, I crossed to her and kissed the top of her head. “Let’s go put on some clothes while the coffee is brewing. I love that shirt on you, but I don’t think your dad would appreciate us having this conversation with you only wearing my shirt.”
“Yeah,” she mumbled, licking her lips as she eyed my bare torso. “And I’m pretty sure Mom was checking out your chest. Dad is very jealous. He’d cut off your balls just because Mom was looking at you.”
“Noted,” I said with a laugh and tugged her up the back stairs. “Always wear a shirt around the MIL.”
Chapter 18
Mila
I hated this sick, nervous feeling in the pit of my stomach.
For the first time in my life, I was terrified of my dad. The man who had rocked me to sleep when I was a baby, held me close and wiped my tears whenever I was sad. The man who told me every day of my life there was nothing to ever be afraid of because he was always going to be there to protect me.
But it wasn’t myself I was scared for.
It was Lyric.
The guy who had become my whole world after a single night together months before. I could admit it now that my heart wasn’t hurting, but I’d fallen for him that night. Love at first sight used to be something I scoffed at. Lust at first sight, sure. That was a hell of a lot more believable than thinking someone’s heart became engaged the moment their eyes locked.
Yet, it had happened to me. And now there I sat, practically shaking, on Lyric’s couch, across from our parents and his aunt, with him right beside me. Every move Dad made, I tensed more and more, bracing myself for when he pulled his gun again.
Or worse, his knife.
Fuck, I used to think he was so cool when he started waving that damn thing. My dad was the biggest badass in the universe. My dad was Spider Fucking Masterson, the Angel’s Halo MC enforcer. He would kill you for simply looking at him wrong.
Now, I wished he were a boring old man like everyone else’s dad in the world.
“Okay, this tension is killing me,” Mom finally spoke up. Placing her mug of coffee on the side table, she sat forward and folded her hands between her slightly parted legs, her gaze going straight to me. “Mila, is there anything you want to tell your father and me?”
I inhaled slowly, trying to buy myself a little extra time as I attempted to rehearse in my head how I was going to tell them…everything. Lyric’s huge, warm hand wrapped around mine, his fingers cupping my fingers into a fist before bringing our joined hands to his lips.
Opening my palm, he kissed the center, and I couldn’t stop myself from stroking my fingertips over his stubbled jaw. Losing him was my biggest fear.
“I love you,” I whispered, and his lips tilted upward in a happy grin.
“I love you too, baby.” He touched his lips to my brow, then rubbed my nose with his. “Now, tell your parents our news.”
My gaze went quickly back to Mom. I saw complete understanding in her eyes along with tears. Happy tears, for me. It was Dad who had me gulping, however. I saw the way his gaze kept shifting to Lyric with that predatory glint in his eyes that were so black, they looked nearly demonic. Ironic, considering my Demon father-in-law-to-be was sitting only a few feet away.
Which was something else I needed to tell him.
Fuck.
“Babe,” Lyric encouraged, his fingers tightening on my own.
“Mom, Dad…” I closed my eyes and just spat it out. “I’m pregnant.”
“Fuck,” Dad muttered. Leaning forward, he combed his fingers through his beard. Lyric had blurted it out to him the day before, but I could tell he hadn’t mentioned it to Mom. Just as I was sure he hadn’t mentioned putting a gun to the back of Lyric’s head.
Mom made a distressed noise. “Honey, are you okay? Have you seen a doctor yet? Wait… Is that why Doc saw you at the hospital yesterday?”
“I saw a doctor down in Redding a few weeks ago when I first found out,” I admitted. “But I’ve been having some low blood pressure issues. And after I nearly passed out on Lyric yesterday, he made me go to the emergency room to make sure everything was okay.”
“And is it?” Mom demanded, blinking back tears. “Are you okay? Is the baby?”
“We’re all fine,” I rushed to assure her. My free hand went to my lower abdomen, touching the babies lovingly. “All three of us.”
“Ah fuck,” Dad groaned again. “Twins?”
Mom put a hand to his back. “Spider, we knew this could happen. From the time the girls got their first periods, the doctors all told us the likelihood of an identical twin having twins of their own was higher.”
“But she’s having issues like you did,” Dad muttered, and I realized the look in his dark eyes was worry…maybe even fear. “I was so scared something was going to happen to you or one of our babies, Willa. What if something happens to our baby girl now that she’s having babies of her own?”
“I think all grandfathers freak out when their little girls tell them they’re going to have a baby,” the redhead sitting beside Lyric’s dad said. It was only then that I actually remembered we weren’t alone. “My husband was a nervous wreck when Mia told him she was pregnant. He wasn’t even that freaked out when I told him I was pregnant the first time.”
“Definitely,” Layla Thornton agreed with a kind smile. Her long, burnished red-brown hair fell over her shoulder, and she quickly tossed it out of her way. “And our daughter Lucy couldn’t breathe wrong without this one nearly losing his mind. Especially during the last months of her pregnancies.”
“See?” Mom tried to soothe Dad. “Daughters have babies every day. Mila is going to be fine. I survived having triplets, and obviously, Layla survived having twins. It’s nothing out of the norm.”