Eyes Wide Open: The Blackstone Affair, Book 3 (15 page)

“Ahhh . . . well—um . . . we wanted to tell you a few things. actually, Tom.”

“Well, I’m dying to hear it,” Dad said, obviously loving that he had Ethan squirming on Skype, a monstrous grin on his handsome face. God, I hoped he was happy once he heard the words.

I went for it. A big ole fat belly flop into the deep end of the metaphorical swimming pool that was my life.

“Daddy, you’re going to be a grandpa.”

I felt Ethan’s fingers grip my shoulders a little harder , and watched the big grin on my dad’s face morph into a look of complete shock.

14

♠
I
pulled up to the redbrick house where I’d grown up in Hampstead and parked on the street.

“This is my dad’s house.”

“It’s lovely, Ethan. An elegant English home, just like I imagined it. The yard is beautiful.”

“Dad likes to keep his hands dirty with it.”

“I’ve always admired people with a green thumb. I’d like to have a garden someday but I don’t know much about plants. I’d have so much to learn,” she said wistfully from inside the car. “Do you feel good when you come here? Does it still feel like home to you?” She sounded a little homesick to me.

“Well, yeah, it does. It’s the only one I ever had until I bought mine. And I know my dad would be happy to teach you anything. My mother’s garden is in the back of the house. I really want you to see that.” I swept my eyes over Brynne, looking beautiful as usual in a flowery dress and some purple boots. God, I loved when she wore her boots. The clothes could go but the boots could stay . . . any time. “Are you nervous?”

She nodded. “I am . . . very.”

“There’s no need, baby. Everyone loves you and thinks you are the best thing to ever happen to me.” I gave her a slow kiss on the lips, tasting her sweetness before we had to go out in public, and my constant need to have my hands on her would have to be curbed for the next hours.
It sucks to be me, then.
“Which you are,” I added.

“Oh, come on; I remember how my dad interrogated you . . . and how your voice cracked.” She giggled. “The look on his face was priceless, wasn’t it?”

“Ahh, I guess so. I don’t really remember his face. All I could think about was how grateful I was to have thousands of miles between us, you know, to save my cock from being twisted off.”

“You poor thing,” she laughed, holding her hand over her stomach.

“Are you feeling well? How’s our raspberry behaving this evening?”

Brynne reached up to hold my cheek. “Little raspberry is cooperating so far, but I never know what will set me off. Nighttime is my nemesis for some reason. Just gonna take it slow.”

“You look so beautiful tonight. Dad is going to be thrilled.” I picked up her hand and kissed it on the palm, then pressed it back over her stomach.

“You’re going to make me cry if you keep that up.” She covered my hand with hers.

“Nope. No tears tonight. This is a happy time. Think about how happy your dad was last night when we told him. Well, at least after he realized he was too far away to castrate me, he was.” I flashed a quick wink.

“I love you, Blackstone. You make me laugh, and that’s something. Let’s do this thing.”

“Yes, boss.” I came around and got my girl out of the car and up the steps to the door. I rang the bell and waited. The soft slide of a warm body slinked against my leg. The cat had grown some since the last time I’d come over here.

“Soot, my man. How the hell have you been?” I picked him up and introduced him to Brynne. “This is Soot, the self-proclaimed owner of my dad. He’s sort of adopted him.”

“Aww . . . what a handsome kitty. Such green eyes.” Brynne reached out to pet him as Soot lowered his head into her hand for a rub. “He’s really friendly, huh?”

“Oh, yes he is—”

The door opening interrupted us. Brynne’s aunt Marie, with a welcoming smile on her face, stood just inside my dad’s front porch. “Surprise,” Marie said. “I bet you two weren’t expecting to see me here, were you?”

I laughed awkwardly, in reality a bit caught off guard but I recovered well in spite of my shock. “Marie, if this isn’t a most lovely surprise, I don’t know what is. Are you helping Dad with dinner?”

“I am,” she said. “Please come in, you two.” She greeted us both with kisses and hugs. Brynne and I exchanged a quick glance. I’d bet brass Brynne was as surprised as me to see Marie here.

As soon as I got a look at Dad, I knew something was up. He wiped his hands on a kitchen cloth and greeted us. A warm embrace and a kiss to the hand for my girl, and a rather cool frosty nod to me. Soot leapt out of my arms and headed off somewhere.

“Marie and I had already arranged for dinner here tonight when you called and asked to come over,” Dad said.

Really? Another quick flash connect with Brynne and the struggle on both our parts to play it cool here was immediately obvious. So Dad and Marie were . . . ? Nice. I still thought Marie was hot for a mature woman. The idea dawned on me that maybe my dad was annoyed I was breaking into his romantic evening. Well, shit. “Why didn’t you say so, then?” I asked. “We didn’t need to do it tonight.”

My dad shook his head at me and kept up the reserve. If I didn’t know any better I’d say he was giving me the cold shoulder. Just me though, not Brynne. He bestowed a warm smile on her and said, “Oh, I think you did need to do it tonight, son.”

What in the hell?
Did he know something already? I was going to crack some heads around if my sister or Fred had spilled the beans. I narrowed my eyes at him. He stone-faced me right back.

Marie broke the tension. Thank holy fuck. “Brynne, my darling, come help me with the dessert. Raspberry trifle, and it’s going to be divine.”

I got the urge to smile when she said
raspberry
, my eyes flashing to meet Brynne’s. She gave me a smiley wink and followed Marie into the kitchen.

“What’s with the brush-off, Dad? Are we interrupting your evening or something? You could have said tonight wasn’t good, you know.”

Dad set his jaw and raised both brows, letting me know who was leading this little exchange. Amazing how a parent has that power. Taking me right back in time to my teenage years and squirming in the hot seat for some cock-up mess I’d gotten myself into.

“Actually, you are interrupting my evening, but that is neither here nor there. I’m always happy to see my son. No, I’m more incredulous that I’ve had to wait for the call from you, Ethan.” He speared me with searching eyes.

“Can we stop speaking in code here? You’re obviously bent about something.”

“Oh, yes, something,” he said curtly.

“What do you mean by that?” My voice cracked. Fuck! I was in trouble now. Dad knew? How?

“I think you know, son. In fact, I know you know.”

“You do?” Yeah, voice still cracking like an opera singer onstage. “How is that possible?”

He actually softened his expression a small bit. “It seems that a great deal of things are possible, son. Imagine my surprise to call up to Hannah’s and have my granddaughter tell me gleefully that Uncle Ethan and Auntie Brynne are preggers.”

Oh boy!
I immediately went for my beard and dragged a hand over it. “So the little monster told you, huh?”

“Indeed.” Dad still kept up the harsh expression. “Zara had quite a bit to say about it.”

I held my hands up in surrender. “What do you want me to say, Dad? We got caught, all right? It wasn’t intentional, and I can attest we were as surprised about it as everyone else was!”

He folded his arms over his chest, seemingly unaffected by catching me off guard. “When is the wedding?”

I looked down at the floor, suddenly feeling ashamed I had no answer for him. “I’m working on it,” I mumbled.

“Please tell me you’re getting married right away.” Dad’s voice was getting louder. “You cannot wait until after the baby is born like some of these celebrities do!”

“Would you lower your voice?” I demanded. “Brynne is . . . well, she’s wary of commitment. It’s scary for her . . . because of her past.”

Dad flashed me a glare that told me pretty much what he thought of my explanation. “Too late for that, son. He snorted. “You’re already as committed as it gets. Having your child born without benefit of a legal marriage will be even scarier, I can assure you it will be. For you and for Brynne.” He shook his head at me. “Forget about the past, you need to think about the future.” He zeroed in on me like a dog after a steak. “Have you even proposed to her? I don’t see any ring on her finger.”

“I
said
I was working on it,” I snapped.
And I really fucking am, Dad!

“Time won’t stand still, Ethan.”

“Really, Dad? Thanks for that bit of advice.” My sarcasm would have earned me a cuff along the jaw in my younger years. Now I just got narrowed eyes and another blast of frigid. An idea came to me that he might have shared our news already. “Does Marie know too?” I asked haughtily.

“She does not.” Dad gave me another hostile look with eye-roll added in before heading back to Brynne and Marie in the kitchen.

I stared at his retreating back in irritation, deciding some distance for now would be best. No sense in having a family row and upsetting
everyone.
Better just for me to suffer. I planted my arse on the sofa instead and wished for a cigarette. Or a whole pack.

Funny how the parents all reacted so differently to our news. Tom Bennett was happy for us, after he got over his initial shock, I think. He never demanded a wedding date, but simply wanted to see that we were happy and that I loved his daughter and was committed to taking care of her and our child. He’d even suggested plans to come over for a visit toward the end of fall, which thrilled Brynne.

Brynne’s mum didn’t ask about a wedding date either. Mrs. Exley was a different story, true, but then she didn’t like me, and I am sure she didn’t like the fact she was going to be a granny either. Too fucking bad for her then. A whole lot of cold silence had met us on the other end of the line when we rang her to share. Brynne hadn’t wanted to tell her mum on Skype as we had done with her dad, and I now understood why. Mum must’ve given off some evil looks when she heard our news and my sweet girl certainly didn’t need to see them. It had been bad enough trying to comfort her after putting down the phone. Yeah, the lines had been drawn in the sand and my opinion set. Brynne’s mum was a judgmental cow who clearly cared about her social position more than she cared about her daughter. Hopefully our dealings would be minimal.

So, yeah, my dad’s insta-hostility over our lack of a wedding date rather took me by surprise. Especially when two ounces of patience would put an end to his rabid concerns.

Within moments, Soot found my lap and made himself comfortable. He stared up at me with clear green eyes as I stroked his sleek shiny coat, wondering how the nice evening had evolved into getting my King Dickhead crown handed to me on a velvet cushion.

“I have a plan,” I said to the cat. “I do. I just haven’t shared with anyone yet.”

Soot blinked his clear green eyes at me in total understanding, and purred.

♥
Ethan pulled my chair out from the dinner table and helped me up. “I want to show Brynne the garden,” he announced.

“But shouldn’t we help clear away dinner?” I asked.

“No, please, my dear, let Ethan show you his mother’s lovely garden. I want you to see it.” Jonathan’s tone was final on this matter. I didn’t even contemplate arguing.

I looked up at Ethan and took his offered hand in mine. “Well, okay, if you don’t mind. The salmon and béarnaise was really nice. I’m impressed with your cooking skills, Jonathan.” I winked at Marie. “I knew about my aunt being a kitchen witch, but you surprise me.”

Jonathan shrugged. “I had to learn.” I instantly felt bad for reminding everyone of the loss of Ethan’s mom. A young boy had lost his mother, but Jonathan had lost his wife and soul mate. It was such a sad thing, but Jonathan had been prepared with years of practice in dealing with awkward moments like these, and he glided through this one like it was nothing. “Marie and I were quite a duo tonight, though. I did the fish and rice, she did the salad and dessert.” Jonathan flashed my smiling aunt a dashing wink. I wondered if they were . . . dating; a weird thought to think of them together romantically, but one that made me happy if it were true. Maybe they were just friends, but they sure did look cute together. I wondered what Ethan thought about seeing his dad with a woman.

Ethan pressed his hand to my back and led me outside. Soot bounced along ahead of us before jumping onto the brick base of an enormous garden urn flanking a secluded bench surrounded by deep purple larkspur and light blue lavender.

“This is so pretty, just like an English garden on a postcard.” I shrugged up at Ethan, who was looking really intense for a simple garden tour. He had his jaw set tight and a determined expression on his face. “Is it hard for you to see your dad with Marie?” I asked carefully.

He shook his head. “Not at all. Marie’s hot.” He grinned. “Go Dad, I say.”

“Well, that’s a relief. I was a little worried there for a moment. You seemed . . . tense during dinner.”

He pulled me down onto the garden bench and wrapped me in his arms, burying his head at my neck. “Do I seem tense now?” he muttered against my hair.

“Not as much,” I answered with a rub of my fingers at the base of his neck, “but your muscles here are very tight. When are we going to tell them? I thought we would have done it already.”

“We’ll make the announcement when we go back inside. I need a moment alone with you first.”

“I’ll take a moment alone with you.” I smiled into his handsome face looking so intently at me, the illumination from the garden lights reflecting in his blue eyes like tiny sparks. He leaned down to kiss me and swallowed me up with his expert technique. My stomach did a little flip at the sight of him looming, still just as affected by him now as I had been from the first moment we locked eyes that night in the Andersen Gallery back at the beginning of May.