Lara could see from Malachi’s deer-caught-in-the-headlights expression that he was totally nonplussed by Casper’s suggestion. She was a little surprised herself, but the more she thought about it, the more the idea appealed to her.
She could spend the day with Malachi, which she wanted to do anyway after their intimacies last night.
Coming with her would give him an alibi for today as well as last night, which was a definite plus.
And her parents could meet the man she’d fallen in love with sooner rather than later.
She’d have to remember to ask Malachi to refrain from counting the freckles on her father’s face, because he had hundreds of them, as did her brother and sister. But otherwise, it seemed like a win-win situation.
At least for her. She could see that Malachi was having more than a little difficulty adjusting to the concept.
“My parents are like me, Malachi,” she assured him. “Ordinary. Down-to-earth. Accepting,” she added softly.
A nerve pulsed in his clenched jaw. “You are extraordinary. But yes, if you’re comfortable with the idea, I’m happy to have lunch with your family. Where you go, I go.”
“Good decision,” Casper approved.
Lara could see that Casper and Darius, while somewhat amused at Malachi’s expense, looked genuinely pleased he was willing to step out of his comfort zone.
Lara knew exactly why Malachi was taking that step. He was doing this for her. No one else. One glance at Malachi’s pained expression and she knew he would rather be doing anything else.
She placed her hand on his forearm and squeezed. “Thank you.”
He nodded abruptly before turning to his brothers. “Lara and I will be in Kent for most of the day. Let’s hope you have more news for us later.”
* * *
Malachi had never felt as nervous as he did later that morning when Lara introduced him to her parents. Sarah and Ben Myers were both in their late forties. Sarah was a blue-eyed brunette, and Ben the obvious source of the red hair and freckles of his children. Lara’s brother, twenty-seven-year-old Thom, was a slender man, with the same red hair and freckles. Her twenty-two-year-old sister, Molly, was ballerina-slender, with smooth auburn hair and fewer freckles than her two siblings.
They were all polite and welcoming when Lara introduced Malachi to them, noticeably as her boyfriend. But that didn’t prevent Malachi from knowing there were a thousand ways he could fuck this up. Being himself, socially awkward and verbally blunt, was only one of those ways.
“I want to thank you.”
Malachi looked at Thom, who had just spoken, before looking away again. The three women had disappeared into the kitchen on the pretext of finishing preparing lunch. Malachi was pretty sure, from the curious expression in Sarah Myers’s eyes, that he was to be the topic of their conversation.
Which left him alone with Lara’s brother and father. “I’m sorry?” he prompted Thom.
The younger man grimaced. “Lara has kept me informed by email and telephone of how you and your family, once you knew the truth about your client, have been trying to help Gerard Taylor’s other victims as well as me. It’s okay, I’ve told my parents and Molly about the situation now,” he assured when Malachi gave Ben a frowning glance. “I’ve also informed my superior at the hospital, in case there’s any future accusation of wrongdoing on my part. Just as well I did, as Lara now tells me that Taylor has been attacked and is in intensive care and the whole situation is now in the hands of the police.”
Malachi had no idea when Lara had managed to have these conversations or exchange of emails with Thom. But he had to admire Thom’s courage in having decided to inform the rest of his family of his dilemma, as well as the hospital hierarchy where he worked. That couldn’t have been an easy thing to do.
“It was wrong of me to tell Lara about the situation in the first place.” Thom frowned. “I needed to talk to someone about it, but I deeply regret that I chose Lara to confide in, and that she decided to solve the problem for me.”
“She is a little overprotective where you’re all concerned,” Malachi acknowledged affectionately, feeling a warm glow in his chest at the realization he was now included in that protection. “But if she hadn’t been, we might never have known the truth behind Taylor’s behavior and the blackmail that followed.” And he might never have met Lara at all, which would have been a tragedy.
“Lara said that Taylor hired your company for his protection because he claimed he was being threatened?” Ben prompted.
Malachi nodded. “We believe by one of the other victims.”
Thom winced. “I can’t believe I was ever so stupid as to fall for the lies that bastard tells.”
Malachi shrugged. “We all make mistakes we regret, and I’ve witnessed his charm in action, so you really shouldn’t feel bad for believing Taylor was genuine. It’s good that the police are looking into those threats, who made them, and why. My brother Casper has ensured they’ll find all the evidence they need to be able to charge Taylor and put him in prison for a long time.”
“If he recovers,” Thom pointed out softly.
“If he recovers,” Malachi agreed.
“In the meantime, it’s really good to meet you, Malachi,” Ben said warmly. “I can see you make my girl happy.”
Malachi wasn’t sure about that, but he sincerely hoped he did and would continue to do so. “About that… I believe it’s customary to ask for your permission to my marrying Lara.” His expression was hopeful.
Ben looked taken aback. “I thought you’d only known each other for a few days.”
Malachi shrugged. “When you know, you know.”
“Lara has never brought anyone home before today, Dad,” Thom reminded softly.
“Well… No… But…” Ben seemed at a loss for words before making a deliberate effort to regain his composure. “If you’re Lara’s choice, then I’m sure her mother and I will be happy to welcome you into the family.”
Malachi accepted that approval for the cautious optimism that it was.
By the time the three ladies rejoined them, it was obvious that Lara had answered her mother’s and sister’s questions, the other two women seeming equally as surprised but accepting of the depth of their relationship.
To Malachi’s relief meeting the parents and eating lunch with the Myers family wasn’t the ordeal he had thought it was going to be. Nor did any of them remark upon or react to any lack of social niceties on his part.
Maybe Lara had prewarned them about that too?
Whatever the reason, Malachi was grateful for their warmth and acceptance of him as Lara’s boyfriend and, hopefully, future husband.
Which wasn’t to say Malachi didn’t still feel a sense of relief when he received a call on his cell phone partway through the afternoon. Small talk wasn’t his forte, and pleasant as the Myers family was, he’d had his fill of being polite for one day and really wanted to be alone with Lara again.
He stood as he looked down at the screen and saw the caller was Sinclair. “I need to take this.”
* * *
Lara knew by the grimness of Malachi’s expression that the call had to be from one of his brothers.
Which meant it also had to be about Gerard Taylor.
She couldn’t be sure of that, but it was obvious Malachi wanted to go somewhere private to take the call. “I’ll show you to Dad’s study.”
Malachi nodded distractedly before following her from the family room where they had all been sitting and chatting after lunch.
Lara knew that her family were grateful to Malachi for trying to help Thom, but she could tell they also liked Malachi for his own sake, and for hers. For his part, he’d been surprisingly sociable today, almost garrulous by his standards.
“Sinclair,” he greeted as he took the call the moment they entered the privacy of her father’s study. “Yes. Yes.” He listened for several more seconds. “I’m coming back now. No, I think it’s best if she stays here—”
“I’m coming with you,” Lara cut in firmly. “Where you go, so do I.” She deliberately repeated his own remark of earlier today.
“We’ll both be back in town within the hour,” Malachi told Sinclair before ending the call. “Taylor has regained consciousness and is being questioned by the police.”
“Thank God.” Lara had no real interest in whether Gerard Taylor lived or died after what he’d done to Thom and those other poor people he’d drugged and abused. But it would be better for everyone if Taylor was able to identify his attacker and by doing so remove suspicion from everyone else. “Let’s go and make our excuses to my parents, and then we can be on our way.”
Malachi looked as if he would have liked to argue further against her going with him, but one glance at her stubborn expression obviously convinced him he would be wasting his time as well as his breath.
Just as well, because Lara wasn’t going to budge on this. She knew neither Thom nor she was responsible for the attack on Taylor, but she was very curious to learn who was.
She wasn’t in the least surprised when Thom announced he was coming to London with them.