Chapter Twelve

Brad

This is uncomfortable as fuck. Dylan told me we had no choice but to attend dinner tonight. Her argument: it's better to just rip the Band-Aid off since Dominic already knows about us. What's the worst he can do?

Punch me again?

Picking at the label on the bottle of beer, I shift awkwardly on my feet while watching him put the steaks on the barbecue.

The girls are inside chatting while we cook the meat.

By we, I mean Dom. He's not said a single word to me since we walked outside and it's making me nervous.

Once the meat is cooking, he turns and levels me with his stare.

Fuck, he's really pissed.

"What are your intentions with my sister?" he grits out.

I contemplate my answer—I know I only have one shot to do this right. Dylan and I being together is perfectly legal. However, family is important to me, and Dylan is really close with her brother. I don't want to be the person who strains that relationship.

"You want the honest answer or the answer you want to hear?" I give him a choice. He may not like the honest answer, as this is all new, and not even Dylan and I know what the hell we are doing.

"Honest," he says, sipping from his own beer.

I really hoped he wouldn't opt for that one. I take a breath and mentally prepare myself for another black eye.

"The honest answer is, I don't fucking know. I tried to stay away from her. I knew she was different the day she walked into my bar and parked her ass on one of the stools." I look past Dominic's shoulder and stare at Isabelle's youngest sister playing with their sausage dog in the backyard. Her giggles flit through the air and I smile. I wonder what kind of mum Dylan would be?

Where the hell did that thought come from?

"I recognised something in her," I continue. "She may have been giving me sass and stirring me up, but I saw something else. She needed a place that was hers. So, although I tried to push her away, I also allowed her to continue to show up when she needed." I finish my beer and put the empty on the table.

Dom hands me another one. "When did it start?"

I knew this would be a question from him. If I had a younger sister, I'm sure I'd be even more overprotective than he is.

"After she started working at the bar." I watch as he calculates the dates and relief washes over him when it all clicks. She was eighteen before anything happened. "The only reason I gave her a job was because she told me about her mum?—"

"She told you about her mum?" Dom cuts me off, his voice strained.

"I'm not sure she told me everything, but I know about your dad, her mum, and how alone she has been."

Dom shakes his head in disbelief. "I can't believe she finally opened up to someone."

I arch my eyebrow in question.

"Dylan keeps all that stuff close to her chest. It's part of the reason she acts the way she does. She is unapologetically herself, and I love her for it, but fuck, Brad, really? Why couldn't it be someone her own age?"

His comment stings, but I brush it off.

"Because someone her age wouldn't know how to handle her. She needs an equal, someone who can balance her out when things get too much. She needs a person who will call her on her shit but be there for her. Dylan deserves to be put first, and the fuckboys her age only care about one thing."

Dominic's stance changes as I speak. He's starting to relax.

"I don't know what the future holds for us, Dominic. But I can promise you one thing. She's safe with me. You know she isn't the type of person to plan too far in advance, and that's okay with me. I just want to be a part of her life, and I'll take whatever she gives me. I'll stay with her until she decides to dump my arse." I've probably said too much.

Dominic doesn't reply straight away, which puts me back on edge.

"If you hurt her?—"

It's my turn to cut him off. "You'll be the first in line to make my life hell?"

Dom chuckles, and the air around us shifts into something a little more comfortable. "They'll never find the body," he jokes. Well, I think he's joking.

"I'm certain Chad and Ralph will help you with that," I add, my lips quirking.

Dylan cracks open the back door and peers out. "Is it safe to come out?"

Dom chuckles, and I finally relax for the first time since we walked in the door. She opens the door fully and comes to stand beside me. On instinct, I wrap my arms around her shoulders and pull her close. She spins around and places a quick kiss on my lips.

"Just because I'm sort of okay with you two, doesn't mean I want to see it," Dom jokes as Isabelle joins us. She places some salads on the table and Winnie follows with plates.

"You guys should go shooting," Dylan says, changing the subject.

"Do you really think that's a good idea? Your brother might take me out and make it look like an accident." I wish I was joking, but Dom's a cop, so I have no doubt he could pull something like that off.

Dom laughs and turns back to the barbecue. "Now that's something I didn't think of."

I give Dylan a worried look, but she shrugs it off.

"Since it's finally starting to cool down, I thought it might be nice to eat outside," Isabelle says as she sets the table. Dylan peels herself out of my arms and goes to help.

I don't see this side of her often—her walls are usually firmly in place. She's different around family.

"Aunty Dyl, why is Arden a douche canoe?" Megan, Isabelle's four-year-old sister, says as she comes running up the patio stairs. She throws herself into Dylan's arms, and fuck me if something doesn't stir inside me.

Dylan laughs softly while spinning the little girl around.

Dominic glares at Dylan. "Did you teach her that?"

She shakes her head. "I wish. This was definitely not me. Where did you hear that?" Dylan asks Megan, who snuggles into her, and I can't stop the smile.

"Ella, said it." Megan's innocence is evident and even though these girls have gone through hell, they have come out the other side. "What's a douche canoe? Can I be one as well?"

Dylan chuckles as Dom takes Megan from her and places her on a chair at the table.

"That's an adult word. Remember what we said about adult words?" Dominic says, crouching down so he is on her level.

"I'm not allowed to say them," she answers in her angelic voice. "Aunty Dylan, can you babysit us next time Is and Minnie go out?" she asks, and I damn near choke on my beer.

Dylan freezes, her body going tense. I know she loves the girls; however, she is uncomfortable with Megan's request.

Winnie, who has been watching from her seat at the table, chuckles. "I thought you wanted me to look after you?" she says, pretending she's hurt.

"I do, but I can see you whenever I want. I miss Dylan," she responds with a little pout.

That's enough to snap Dylan out of her freak out. She meets my gaze, and I give her a smile and a nod. I know she's got this. She just needs some reassurance.

I'm too lost watching Dylan that I miss Megan moving. She tugs on the bottom of my shirt, and I crouch down just as Dom did. "You should help too. We can watch Shrek and eat ice cream for dinner." She hits me with puppy-dog eyes.

Damn it. This kid knows how to get what she wants.

"I don't think your sister will be happy if we have ice cream for dinner. Why don't we have pizza or something before we have ice cream?" I have no idea what I'm doing; I haven't had a lot to do with kids.

I look around and everyone is staring at us. Megan thinks over my counteroffer, tapping her finger on her chin and everything.

"Okay, but only if I can have two scoops." Her counteroffer has everyone around us laughing.

I ruffle her hair. "Sounds fair." I stand up and she skips inside yelling out to her older sister Taylah.

"Dylan and her teddy bear are going to look after us soon. They said we can have two scoops of ice cream!" She disappears inside, no doubt looking for her sister.

"Are you guys free on Friday night?" Isabelle asks, and Dom watches me closely.

I can't help but think this might be a test.

I open the roster on my phone and see that both Dylan and I are scheduled to work. I don't want to fuck up my chance to prove myself to her family, and if I'm being honest, I really want to see Dylan with Megan again. She's a natural with her, and I bet spending some time being aunty Dylan will help with some of her insecurities. I send out a quick message to Henry and Cece to get them to cover.

"Yep, Friday is good," I say with a smile.

Dylan runs her hand across my back. I turn to look at her and she mouths a "thank you." She knew we were supposed to work.

"Are you sure?" Dom asks, and I nod.

"Yep, we're happy to help. You guys deserve some alone time. I have no idea how you do it. If you ever need help, please ask. Benefits of being your own boss."

Both Isabelle and Dom nod their thanks before they call the girls out for dinner.

I take a seat and Dylan sits to my left while Megan takes the one on my right. I spend the night answering a hundred questions from the little girl, and for the first time ever, I see a different future for myself—and every scenario includes Dylan.