I heard his dad splutter, “What?”
“Well, Creed and my girl.”
“You better not be messing with me right now.”
Ridge winked at me, “Not in the least. She is with me now.”
“Hi, Mr. Benson.”
“Ah, Kresslee. I hope you are well. As is Creed.”
I smiled over at Ridge, who raised a brow at me, “I am well. So is my brother. You raised a good man, one who refused to let my brother scare him away.”
“Ridge is a good man. Thank you for saying that.”
Ridge lifted my hand to his lips, kissing the back of it, “Dad, come over for dinner tonight. With grandma and grandpa. We missed our weekly dinner.”
“We sure did. We will be there. Are you sure we won’t be intruding?”
I answered for him, “We are sure.”
“We will be there.”
Ridge hung the phone up, then looked over at me, “It’s a good thing my grandma stocked my fridge.”
I laughed, “We better get cooking.”
Ridge pulled into the garage, helping me out of the truck, then lifted the bags that he insisted on carrying.
Creed was in the living room, his crutches at his side, when we walked in.
Ridge walked over to him, putting his bag down next to him, and I smiled, “Ridge’s family is coming for dinner tonight.”
Creed looked over at Ridge, “Aren’t we intruding?”
Ridge shook his head, “Not in this family.”
Creed slowly nodded, “What can I help with?”
Ridge laughed, “Come into the kitchen. We can talk.”
Creed followed us slowly into the kitchen and sat at one of the chairs, while I opened the fridge to find something to cook.
We all talked, laughing as we prepared dinner together. Even Creed laughed a few times.
I loved seeing it. Knowing that my brother finally accepted the man I loved.
When the doorbell rang, I bit my lip, a little nervous to meet Ridge’s family.
His father walked in first, and I knew Ridge got his good looks from him. He had the same build, the same-colored hair, though Liam had gray sprinkled in.
His eyes were lighter than Ridge’s, but I loved that Ridge looked so much like his father.
Then his grandparents came in next. His grandma Carol made a beeline for me, hugging me tightly, then letting Liam come next. Patrick lingered next to Creed, “How are you feeling?”
Creed barely made eye contact, “I’m fine.”
I looked at my brother, noting that he had looked extremely uncomfortable just minutes before, when he had seemed fine.
