I couldn’t believe I was ending up like one of those cheesy protagonists in romance movies, married to a guy she only knew for three days. But did it make it better we were soulmates and not teens in love making stupid decisions?
All the wonderful ideas of how our wedding would look and where he’d take me for the honeymoon passed through my mind. I knew without a doubt he’d have our honeymoon somewhere magical. And more than likely in another realm. I could imagine it somewhere tropical and us alone with no one around for miles.
I lowered my eyes from Rune’s, my cheeks warming. I cursed myself for feeling embarrassed of my hopes and dreams and barely anything else.
“Of course,” I answered.
“What’s his name?” Dad asked impatiently.
A small smile worked its way to my lips. I glanced at Rune again, who still watched me with a fast-growing grin.
“Rune.”
“How old is Rune?” Dad asked gruffly.
A bigger smile worked its way to my lips.
Dad was protective over me. He’d always been that way with me, but that could be because I was his only child. Or because he was a great guy and protected his family. He loved us how a man should. He was the true meaning of a family man, not afraid of showing his feelings and protecting Mom and me. I’d met too many shitty men, watching how they treated women. But my grandparents were amazing at teaching my dad to respect women. Even while in the army, he showed more loyalty to the female population than most men in the United States.
I’d heard a few stories from Mom about Dad beating a couple of his squad members’ asses over how they treated women.
There was also the small knowledge of why Mom said I was the only child, which I think played into why Dad was overprotective and Mom was nothing but loving and kind toward me.
There were complications in the pregnancy, but she didn’t go further than that.
I blinked to clear my head as I focused back on Rune. He stared back at me with the same shit-eating grin and chuckled when I couldn’t answer the question of how old he was. I was sure he heard the conversation even without it being on speaker.
What god wouldn’t have good hearing?
He held his hand out for me. I gave him a weird look before it hit me what he wanted.
“Rune is here with me, so I’ll have you talk to him,” I said before I handed the phone to him.
Knowing how he danced around all my important questions, I knew he would do the same with my parents.
Thankfully, he put the call on speaker before he greeted my parents.
“Mr. and Mrs. Finley. So pleased to finally speak with you. I’ve heard nothing but great things about you both.”
My cheeks warmed because we both knew damn well I hadn’t said anything about my parents other than why I had my name.
Mom stumbled in her greeting, sounding exactly like I did when I first met Rune. I was nervous and blown away by his deep voice and thick accent. And, of course, from everything else about him and how he made everything tingle. I was sure my mom wasn’t tingling, but I was positive she was reeling over his voice and accent. Probably trying to figure out where he was from like I did.
They had a quick talk, and Rune gave them some half-truths about himself. Like he did to me. He skirted around questions so easily, and I knew without a doubt Dad caught on and was suspicious like I had been when I first met Rune. I was sure he was still going to dance around questions while saying he didn’t want to fracture my mind.
Dad was in the military and worked with some very important people. He was the one who taught me a few things about how to get out of dangerous situations. Like sticking as close to the truth as possible when in a sticky situation.
I did that when I met Hluti. But being anxious and worried about everything, it was always obvious when I was trying to lie or think of something to say that didn’t give me away. And, of course, Hluti caught that and dragged me away from the beach to travel with him and the others.
In the end, it worked out for the better. Because I was thankful to have met him and his men. They were my friends and stuck with me no matter what. They’d never get rid of me now.
I’d die for them.
“Well, I’m glad you two are back from Paris,” Mom giggled, pulling me from my thoughts. I focused back on Rune, noticing he was smiling at me. He took my hand back in his that I didn’t realize I pulled away while I got lost in my thoughts.
“Because we missed Isa’s thirtieth birthday, I figure we can celebrate it this weekend? It’s a tradition that we make a big meal of her favorite foods, serve her favorite champagne, and play games. The whole family will be there too,” Mom said with excitement. I could see her contagious smile through her words.
Rune’s eyes flicked back to me, and his hand squeezed mine once as he tilted his head. Confusion clouded his face, making my stomach sour and my chest tighten.
