He lifted his eyes, caught her watching him, and reached for her hand. She loved his tender touches as much as she loved his heated ones.
“Why don’t you try calling your dad before we get started?” He smoothed his hand down her back. He always seemed to know what she needed.
She had called her father every day since they’d had dinner, and he still refused to come to the phone, which just about killed her. Her mother was trying to act normal, but Lizzie heard tension in her voice and felt the strain of their relationship every time they spoke. Lizzie hated feeling like a disappointment to them, but she’d come this far. She wasn’t about to back down.
“I’m too nervous about you watching the video to call tonight.”
His eyes warmed as he drew her into his arms. He was always drawing her into his arms, even more often now than before he’d found out about her secret. She used to pop out of bed in the mornings, but waking up in Blue’s arms had changed everything. She was in no rush to leave the house, because nothing outside could possibly feel better than being held by the man she loved.
“I told you I’m ready for this,” he insisted. “I’m not going to let you down, and once you see I can watch it, you’ll be less worried about my family finding out.”
“What if your family reacts like my father did?” She had almost begged off attending Cash’s wedding because she worried about how his family would react, but she knew that wouldn’t be fair to Blue, especially since he was going to such great lengths to overcome his issues with the webcast and to support her decisions.
“Then I’ll be right here by your side setting them straight, but they won’t react that way. Duke is a businessman. He’s so damn impressed with what you’ve done that he commends you every chance he gets. And all my brothers have a thing for hot women, so they’ll think it’s sexy as hell.” He touched his forehead to hers. “Fair warning…You should prepare to see the jealous boyfriend in me come out if they hit on you.”
“They wouldn’t do that.” She laughed at the thought, even though Jake had flirted with her and every other woman in his path last summer. She’d seen the way Jake and Blue stood up for each other, and she knew that now that Jake was aware that they were dating, he’d never cross that line.
“Not if they know what’s good for them. Call your dad, and then we’ll get started. He has to come to his senses at some point.” He pressed his lips to hers. “Remember, sweetheart, I’m proud of you, Maddy’s proud of you, Sky is proud of you, and your father will be too. He just needs to get over himself first.”
“You don’t know my father.” She pulled out her cell phone and walked to the other side of the room while she made the call. Her mother answered on the third ring.
“Hi, Mom.”
“Hi, honey. How are you?” Her mother spoke quietly, and Lizzie knew her father must be nearby. It made her sick knowing that she’d put her mother in this position—and equally as ill knowing that her father could so easily turn his back on her.
“I’m okay. I’d be better if Dad would talk to me. Is he there?”
“He is. Hold on.”
She heard her mother cover the phone, but the conversation between her parents was too muffled for her to decipher. When her mother returned to the phone, her sigh told Lizzie everything she needed to know before she said a word.
“I’m sorry, honey,” her mother said.
“It’s okay.” Lizzie closed her eyes against the sting of her father’s rejection. But as she opened her eyes, something inside her snapped. She wasn’t a little girl making bad decisions. She was an adult, and she’d stood by her decisions to everyone else. Why was she practically begging for her father’s approval?
“You know what, Mom? This isn’t okay. I hate to do this to you, but since he won’t talk to me, can you please put me on speakerphone?”
“Honey, I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
She felt Blue’s hand on her shoulder, and when she gazed up at him, the pride in his eyes drove her on.
“Please, Mom?”
A moment later her mother’s voice echoed through the line. “Okay, you’re on speakerphone.”
“Is Dad in the room?” She knew better than to ask him to answer.
“Yes, honey,” her mother answered.
Blue crossed his arms over his chest, his biceps twitched, his eyes narrowed, and she had a feeling that if he could climb through that phone and shake her father into submission, he would. She drew from his strength and held her chin high.