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Instead, I et easier, Roman"

He surprises me when he says, "If it was hard, everyone would do it I kind of like the challenge"

I pull back h I can't see hiine the look on his face Is it open and is he saying that he wants to try to move this a little deeper?

Without a clear answer, I can only venture forward and push at his boundaries a bit where it's warranted "You know ht?"

I can hear the sift for you"

Okay, that ht

"My dad wants to have a birthday dinner forto invite Georgia, and of course, Ryker, Gray, and the girls will be there It will beRuby and Violet, and wellI want you to come too"

He doesn't respond at first, the silence heavy and oppressive His thuainst the hollow of h, and finallywith a sh of capitulation, he says, "Sure I'd love to come"

"Really?" I ask, unable to contain lee

"It's your birthday," he mutters "I'll make a special exception for that"

Hmmmmmaybe not what I would have liked to hear, but it's a start I think once Ro he and Gray can learn to be at least politely respectful of each other, I'm sure he'll fit in just fine

Chapter 26

Brian

"Aunt Lexi," Ruby says as she tugs on Lexi's hand "I've got a spider collection at hoet a rat but Daddy won't let me Do you like spiders and rats?"

Lexi's eyes slide to the right, where Ryker's casually sitting in an arrins when she sees his slight shudder at the mention of spiders

Looking back to her niece, perhaps not by blood but e, she says solemnly, "I have to be honest, Ruby, I'm not a fan of spiders But I'ent"

Ruby turns to Ryker and gives him a superior look He cocks an eyebrow back at her and says, "I allowed the spiders Not going to allow the rats"

I suppress hter when Ruby rolls her eyes at her father and then turns back to Lexi to suggest, "You could get a rat and then I could come play with him at your house"

"Oh no," Lexi says quickly as she taps Ruby on the nose with her finger, then shifts back onto the couch cushion so she can settle back against Ro much more relaxed since we've finished dinner "No rats in et your father to change his mind"

Ruby grins at Lexi, and even Ro, but at least it's a smile

I have to give the guy credit for showing up, especially knowing his faround that Lexi's explained to hter of your bosses Add the tensions that exist between him and Gray, I wouldn't have been surprised if he'd have declined the invitation to celebrate Lexi's birthday with us

Now, that's to say while I wouldn't have been surprised if he didn't come, I would have been absolutely pissed I believe the measure of a man is how he deals with adversity, and thankfully for Ro the backbone of a ood for him, as I'm equally as prepared to withdrawto put in the work as Lexi deserves

Most everything about her transition into this faone so smoothly that sometimes it's hard for me to remember that this has been stressful for everyone Lexi's accepted us, we've accepted her, and even the public has been incredibly supportive after the announce as Roman toes the line, then Lexi should remain a happy woman, and that makes me happy

My gaze flips to the right, where Gray is sitting in an armchair opposite Ryker Violet's curled on her lap and is resting her hand on Gray's belly While Gray has becoirls, Violet has practically beconant with Violet's soon-to-be-born sister, but because when Gray stepped into that fareat burden off of Violet, who had sort of becoate mom to her little sister when their mom withdrew from their life When Gray became part of Ryker's world, she stepped into the role of wife and stepmother with such quiet coain Because of that, she's exceptionally close to Gray

Yes, this birthday celebration is turning out quite nicely, even if things have been a little forced between Gray and Roman They've certainly been polite to each other, but they've not directly spoken and are essentially ignoring each other

Oh wellbaby steps