Page 92 of What Started In Deception

She swallowed. “Everything’s different. With my family. With you.”

“Things will settle down. We’ll find our rhythm again. Just like we did before.”

She nodded, even when she didn’t entirely believe it. “I’m going to head to the store. I need to get some stuff for the house and grab some stuff for dinner tonight.”

“I’ll come with you.”

She shook her head. “You don’t have to.”

“I want to, Lyd. We’re going to go to the store together just like we did in Oliver Heights. Just let me grab a quick shower first.”

She nodded again. “I’ll be over in a few minutes.” She gave her leg another wiggle. “Ev, should we go find your mom?”

Everly nodded. “Yup.”

“You have to let go of my leg so we can walk.”

Everly let go as she looked at Ty before they started walking.

“Give me ten minutes,” Ty called down the hall.

Chapter Twenty-One

Ty sipped on a beer as he sat on a wicker chair in the late-evening sunshine, watching the Monroes talk and laugh now that everyone was home. Shortly after four, a black Escalade had pulled up to the front door with a pile of luggage and the remaining members of Lydia’s family.

Introductions had been made, and simple, get-to-know-you conversations had ensued. At six thirty, numerous summer side dishes had been brought out to the long table on the massive ocean-side patio while the senator manned the large grill in the outdoor kitchen space.

All had been going incredibly well until Asher Brookes, Will’s lifelong best friend and fellow corporate attorney, crashed the party. The asshole had swooped in with his good looks and fancy clothes, tossing him a chilly smile as he’d shaken his hand. Then he’d proceeded to steal his seat next to Lydia at the table and had been occupying her time ever since.

He tore his gaze away from Lydia, smiling and talking with the snooty son of a bitch as Senator Monroe headed his way, looking great for a man in his late fifties. Tall and fit with dark-brown hair and a sprinkle of gray here and there, the Monroe dark-blue eyes, and a friendly smile. He and his son definitely shared a resemblance.

“Ty, what are you doing sitting over here by yourself?”

“I’m taking it all in—the scenery and the smells. Everything about this place is beautiful.”

The senator sat down next to him, dressed in khaki shorts and a blue Hawaiian shirt covered in white palm trees—a far cry from the expensive suits and ties that he was typically photographed in or wore when he showed up on TV. “There’s no place quite like it.”

“I can’t argue with you there.”

The senator sent him another smile. “I was talking to my son before dinner. It sounds like the two of you had a good workout. He says he’s already feeling the adjustments you made to his bench press in his pecs.”

Ty grinned. “My job has a lot of sorry-not-sorry moments.”

The senator laughed, slapping his leg with his mirth. “My mother said you reminded her a lot of Aaron. I didn’t quite get it when we shook hands this afternoon. My brother was certainly more comfortable behind a desk than in a gym, but now I understand what she meant.”

Ty nodded as he smiled. “That’s a high compliment, sir. Lyd only has great things to say about her dad.”

The senator nodded. “He was a great man, but I thought you were going to call me James.”

“I can do that.”

James cleared his throat. “Would you mind if I join you and my son for your workout in the morning? I’d like to get to know the man who’s captured my niece’s heart.”

Ty looked at Lydia again as she and Asher laughed, trying like hell to pay attention to his conversation with the senator—his job and the entire reason he was there. “I would like that.”

Everly ran over in a pair of pink overall shorts and a pink striped shirt, crashing into James’s legs. “Grandpa, I need some ice cream.”

James beamed as he scooped her onto his lap. “You do, do you? What does your mom think about that?”