Page 109 of Wrong For Me

“You think this silly macho routine is cool?” she shoots back. “Because I think you’re acting like kids and Leo’s only been here for about thirty seconds.”

Lennon holds up his hands. “We just want to get to know him.”

She opens her mouth to argue and I take her hand. “Let’s sit down, babe.”

From the renewed glares I’m getting from rock star corner, using a pet name and daring to touch her didn’t do me any favors. But I don’t give a shit. I can take a little glaring. I’ve experienced much worse.

Rose comes and sits with me on a low couch across from the guys. She’s tense and I wish I could pull her closer and help her relax, but I figure that’s probably pushing things too far.

“Rose probably told you that we work with Dr. Hernandez together,” I begin.

“Actually,” her dad cuts in. “Rose didn’t tell us anything. We had to hear about this from her cousins.”

He sounds as aggressive as his sons had been when they first met me, but I’m pretty sure there’s some hurt buried in there, too. He doesn’t like being left out of her life.

“Can’t imagine why I didn’t want to share,” she says, voice tight. She’s pissed at him, and from the way his eyes dart to her, I think he knows it.

“Leo and I have been working together since the school year started,” Rose continues, addressing the others. “He’s getting his doctorate as well.”

“That’s pretty impressive,” Lennon says. “You made it through way more schooling than any of us.”

“I think you did okay for yourselves without it,” I say drily.

Cash leans forward. “What kind of music do you like, kid?” he asks in a dark voice and I have to fight back a laugh. Getting right to the important stuff, apparently.

“Um, mostly rock, I guess? My mom had me listening to 90’s bands while I was growing up, and that stuck.”

He nods and leans back, looking slightly less aggressive than before. He must be satisfied with my answer.

“And where do you live?” Reed asks. “How do you support yourself?”

Rose groans next to me. “Is he at a job interview, Uncle Reed?”

“We’re just looking out for you,” her dad snaps.

Rose opens her mouth to argue. I can feel the anger radiating off of her. This time, I do bring my hand to her lower back, rubbing calming circles over her tank top. “No castration today, Rose,” I murmur, then address her uncle. “I rent an apartment near the university with my friend Bodhi. We were college roommates. He’s a student teacher at an elementary school in Santa Monica.”

“Bodhi is dope,” River says, suddenly appearing at our side. He plops onto the couch next to Rose. “Did you know he was a boy scout until he was twenty? It sounds lame but he told me he knows like, fifty different ways to start a fire. We might go camping up in Crystal Lake this spring.”

We’d invited Bodhi over to Rose’s place for dinner only once, but I’m not at all surprised to hear that he apparently made friends with her brother. That’s what Bodhi does.

“He also knows everything about pretty much every show on TV right now,” Everly says, sitting on Rose’s side of the couch. Will slides into an empty chair, Alex perching on its arm. Apparently, the cavalry has arrived.

“Leo and Bodhi always find the craziest jobs to work in the summer,” River goes on. “Weren’t you guys tour boat operators a few years ago?”

Next to me, Rose has completely relaxed, her expression grateful as she looks around at her cousins and brother.

“We were,” I confirm. “Bodhi’s uncle owns a boating place in Maine and he hooked us up with jobs. Bodhi has a huge family, like you guys, spread out all over the country—”

“And what about your family,” Daltrey cuts in, an edge to his voice.

Rose sucks in a breath, but I look him straight in the eye. “My family lives back east. Philadelphia. We’re not very close.”

I have nothing to hide from this guy. I get that he’s protective of his daughter. I don’t even blame him. But I’m not going to cower in front of him, rock star or not.

“Did you guys eat yet, Rosie?” Everly cuts in. “Aunt Sam made that noodle salad you like.”

Rose looks up at me, smiling, looking more comfortable than she has since we arrived. “You like noodle salad?” she asks.

“Who doesn’t?”

Her soft laugh makes all of the awkwardness of the past twenty minutes worth it. “Let’s go eat then.”

We stand, the cousins and River following suit. “It was nice to meet you all,” I say.

River snorts. “Sure it was. Come on, Leo. We’re going to start a game of Risk. You can eat while we get it set up.”

So I walk away from the famous Ransome brothers and go to eat noodle salad with my girl.