Page 108 of Wrong For Me

“He’s so handsome,” Paige stage-whispers to Rose once she releases me, and my cheeks flush.

“Are you blushing?” Rose asks gleefully.

“Shut up,” I mutter.

“You’re brave coming over here, Leo,” the blonde woman, Karen, says—I’m thinking she’s Alex’s mom because they look a lot alike. “You want sangria? I highly recommend you consume some alcohol before you go outside.”

“Oh, come on,” Paige argues. “We’re not that bad.”

The blonde’s eyebrows go up. “Have you met your husbands?”

It doesn’t escape my attention that the only person who has yet to speak is Rose’s mother. She’s standing back, watching us. Watching me.

Time to stop being a pussy,I think, stepping forward with my hand out. “It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Ransome. Rose talks about you all the time.”

Her face finally softens, a slight smile tugging on her lips, and I realize that Rose gets her smile from her mom. In every other way she takes after her dad, but that smile is all Daisy Ransome.

“No need to be formal,” she says, putting her arms around me. I’m every bit as surprised as I was when Paige hugged me. I’m not used to this much affection, not from strangers. Hell, not from the people I’m close to, either, as few of them as there are.

“And call me Daisy,” she instructs, releasing me. “I would take Karen’s advice, by the way. You definitely want to drink before you go out there.”

“Mom!” Rose chides. “You’re going to scare him!”

Daisy is watching me with a shrewd expression on her face. “Nah. I get the feeling this one doesn’t scare too easily.” She slips her arm through mine. “I’ll walk you out. The boys are less likely to be idiots if you’re with me.”

“Oh, they’re going to be idiots,” Rose mutters, handing me a beer.

“I can handle your father and your uncles, babe,” Daisy says, pulling me towards the door.

“Wait for me,” Karen calls out, filling her glass with sangria. “I don’t want to miss it.”

“You’re as bad as your daughter, you know that?” Rose asks her as the five of us step through the french doors to an expansive patio. The back yard is huge and park-like, with rolling green lawns, a pool, a bar-be-que area, and what looks like a full sized playscape to the side. There are about twenty or so people scattered around, kids playing a soccer game, a few in the pool, a few more playing a board game at a picnic table under a tree.

Out of my depth, I think again, already overwhelmed. As if sensing my unease, Daisy squeezes my arm. “The kids with the white-blond hair are mine,” she explains. “The girls with black curls are Paige and Reed’s. Everyone else is too hard to keep track of, so you don’t need to try.”

I laugh, feeling slightly better. Then she turns me towards four scowling men sitting in a loose circle on the patio, and the unease slams right back into me.

I knew going into this that I was going to meet Rose’s uncles and her dad. I heard all the stories about how overprotective they are. I knew they liked to tease the other kids that Rose is their favorite. I knew they were probably going to hate me on sight.

But I’d somehow managed to forget that they were theRansomebrothers. I’d gotten so used to Rose, and the easy way she talks about her family, that I’d stopped thinking of them as hugely popular rock and roll icons. But standing here in Daltrey Ransome’s backyard, it all hits me. I’m looking at Reed, Cash, Lennon, and Daltrey Ransome. No need for introductions this time. I hear these people on the radio. I watched them perform at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction ceremony, for God’s sake. And right now, every one of them is watching me with an identical murderous glare.

But Daisy merely pulls me over to them. “Guys, this is Rose’s friend, Leo. We’re very happy he’s here and we’re all going to be super nice to him, isn’t that right?”

The guys don’t stop glaring.

Daisy sighs. “Well, that went about as well as could be expected. Come on, Leo. Let’s get you something to eat.”

“Hang on,” Daltrey says, standing. “I think we should get to know this guy a little first.”

“Are you going to be nice?” Daisy shoots back. Out of the corner of my eye, I see that most of the kids have stopped what they’re doing to watch.

Here’s the thing about growing up with next to nothing—you kind of develop a defiant streak. So as intimidated as I might be by these guys, there’s a part of me that refuses to show it. I might not have their money or their success or their perfect families, but I’m smart and I’m capable. I refuse to let on that anyone is better than me.

I move Daisy’s hand from my arm. “It’s fine. We can chat a little.”

“You don’t have to do that,” Rose says, coming up to my other side. “They’re obviously determined to be morons.”

“Hey!” Cash says, crossing his arms. “Not cool, baby girl.”