Page 130 of Clean Finish

He beamed at me. “The tomatoes and basil are fresh from the garden. And I made focaccia. Do you like focaccia? Has Larkin shown you how to make that yet?”

I shot Larkin another quick smile. “Not yet, but yes, I like it. Thank you.”

“I’ll show you how to make it,” Larkin said eagerly. “You just need a buttload of olive oil. Right, Dad?”

Silas shrugged as he turned back for the kitchen. “Pretty much.”

“Do you want a drink?” Larkin shuffled closer to wrap his arm around my waist, gazing up at me. “Mom made iced tea. Or there’s coffee.”

Now that the introductions were out of the way, I was starting to relax more. I smoothed my hand over Larkin’s hair and smiled down at him. “Iced tea would be nice.”

“’Kay.” He darted a quick look at his parents, then lunged up to kiss me. “Let’s go sit down. It’s already on the table.”

He led me over to a big, weathered dining table by the back windows surrounded by mismatched chairs. As we sat down, Larkin looked over at me, nibbling worriedly on his lower lip, and whispered, “Please don’t be nervous. They already really like you.”

I chuckled and whispered back, “That’s good to know, but I’m gonna be nervous. This is important.”

Larkin flushed with pleasure, teeth still clamped around his lower lip until he cupped my face and leaned in to kiss me soundly on the mouth.

“It’s important to me too,” he mumbled, his blush deepening. Reaching for the hand resting on my thigh, he anxiously fiddled with my fingers and added, “You’re important to me, Seb.”

My chest tightened. After casting a quick look at his parents, I leaned in to kiss him again. “You’re important to me too, Lark. You’re…”

Everything. I love you. I’ve wanted this for so long. You have no idea just how much this means to me.

“Okay, brunch is served!” Delphine said cheerfully as she swept over carrying two platters. “Nolan, will you go and find your dad? He’s wandered off again.”

“I’m here!” Silas reappeared from the hallway carrying several thick brown books. “I was just getting the—”

“No,” Larkin gasped in horror.

“—photo albums,” Silas finished proudly, holding them up with a huge smile. “Just a few, Lark, don’t worry.”

“Seb doesn’t want to see—”

“Just a few!” he repeated brightly, settling in the seat opposite me and immediately opening one to flick through it.

Delphine stopped behind him after placing the food on the table, resting her hand on his shoulder as she gasped in delight.

“Oh, look, there he is in his little daffodil pyjamas.” She gave Larkin a beaming smile as he cringed beside me. “Still so blond then, sweetpea!”

“Blond?” I asked curiously, glancing over at Larkin and trying to picture him with anything but his bright pink hair.

He shot me a nervous smile. “Um, yeah. My hair started turning pink when I, uh, hit puberty.”

“It’s quite common for fae kids,” Silas told me. “Our hair is usually blond or black when we’re young. But Larkin’s was white blond. Nolan’s was more ashy.”

“You’re not showing photos of me, right?” Nolan asked quickly as he thumped down into a chair.

“Well, of course you’ll be in some of them, tulip…” Silas spun the album and held it out to me proudly. “Here he is, holding sweet little baby Nolan.”

Both the Fairchild sons groaned in sync. I chuckled and took the album, looking down at a photo of Larkin at around six or seven, his blue eyes too big for his face and his shoulder-length hair a very pale blond. He was indeed wearing cute little sky blue pyjamas covered in yellow daffodils, and a tiny baby Nolan with a tuft of pale hair was cradled in his lap on the same couch that was still in the living area.

I grinned over at Larkin, whose face was flushed a deep blue. “Very cute.”

“Shut up,” he grumbled, hurriedly grabbing the album and passing it back to Silas. “No more, Dad. We have to get to work after this, so we can’t take too long.”

Silas sighed, leaning over to set the albums down on the sideboard next to the table. “Alright. Next time.”