Gabe seems pretty cool though. “Why don’t you at least call your brother and tell him the tattooed deviant didn’t steal you away and murder you. That should ease your mother’s mind and keep her from passing out again.”

Kitten sits next to me on the bed and frowns. “I don’t know what’s come over them. They’ve never been such…”

“Assholes?”

She answers with a sad smile. “Yes, assholes. I’m sure it was a lot for them to take in. They’re not used to me being with someone who looks like you.”

I nod thoughtfully and my mind drifts back to the reason we came here in the first place. “You mean they’d much rather see you with that douchebag, Isaac?”

She rolls her pretty green eyes. “Someone exactly like him.”

“You know, Kitten, meeting them really makes me understand why you were standoffish in the beginning and only wanted a fast fuck from me.”

“It does?” I hear the question in her voice.

“Of course it does, but it also shows me how much you care about me—about what you’re willing to risk to be with me.” I push a lock of hair behind her ear. “I love you, babe.”

“I love you, too.”

She turns the phone over in her hand and I can see how hard fighting with her family is for her. My heart squeezes at the thought of her pain, and I’ll do anything to bring a smile back to that pretty face.

I nudge her arm. “Call them.”

She shakes her head again.

“At least call Gabe.”

Aubrey sighs and turns the phone over to stare at the screen. “I guess it won’t hurt to call him.”

I give her another little nudge. “Go on.”

Her fingers fly over the keys and then she places the phone up to her ear, waiting for a familiar voice on the line. “Hey…I know, but…really?” She turns toward me with wide eyes. “Maybe…No…No promises, Gabe. If they act like that again, I’m done…All right. I’ll talk to you soon.”

Anxious to know about the other side of that conversation, I try and coax some information out of her. “Sooo…what’s going on?”

“They want us to come back over for dinner. Gabe says they want to apologize and start over now that the shock of the situation has worn off.”

I tilt my head to the side. “You know, I was thinking about something.”

“What’s that?”

It’s a hard subject to broach, but it’s something I need to know. “Why would you so blatantly defy them to be with someone like me?”

Aubrey stretches her hand up and glides her fingers from my cheek to my earlobe. “Being with someone like you was never in the plan, but I can’t help that I find your bad-boy ways so damn appealing. I know that wanting to make a life with you is seriously against the rules, which is why I only wanted to keep our relationship to one night. But you grew on me and I couldn’t drag you out of my heart no matter how hard I tried. The more I’m with you, the more I want you. I love you, Zach. For some crazy, messed up reason you’re my soul-mate. The man I’m supposed to be with forever.” She looks away from me. “I really can’t explain it without sounding like a total girl. It’s like fate brought you and I together.”

I lean down and brush my lips against her shoulder. “I feel the exact same way.”

She gazes into my eyes and blinks a couple times. “You do?”

“Of course I do. Now, get some clothes on and let’s go give your family the do-over they want. I promise not to hold your father’s dickhead actions against him.”

She nods. “I wouldn’t blame you if you did.”

“He’s your pops, babe. I’ll suck it up and try to reel in the asshole gene that I love to display just as long as he doesn’t fucking push me.”

Kitten’s lips pull into a lop-sided smile. “Thank you.”

Thirty minutes later, Kitten and I are parked in the same exact spot in the driveway. For some strange reason, I feel the nerves getting to me. Even being on stage in front of thousands of people doesn’t make my hands feel clammy like this.

What the fuck is wrong with me? It’s just her dad. I’ve told executives and big shots who call themselves in charge of the band off before, which could’ve flushed the bands career down the toilet, and never felt like this.

I risk a glance at Aubrey and she’s chewing on her lip. “Hey.” I touch her hand. “It’s going to be a lot better this time.”

She sighs. “I hope so.” Her eyes flit up to the house and then back to me. “Ready?”

“As I’ll ever be.” I hop out of the car, not giving her any more time to dwell on the what-if’s.

She opens her door before I have a chance to make it over to her and steps out of the car. A timid smile crosses her lips before she grabs my hand in hers and tugs me towards the front door.

The second we step onto the landing the door swings open and her brother greets us with a grin. “That was quite the show. I’m really glad I came back for this.”

Aubrey rolls her eyes. “You look for any excuse to get out of school. Tell me again how you’re managing to make it through med school?”

“Ha. Ha. You think you’re funny, don’t you?”

She pinches his cheek as she passes him, and we step through the threshold. “I’m only joking. I know if you didn’t take that year off to go back-packing through Europe with me you’d be done by now. It put us both behind in school, but it was totally worth it.”