“You gave him his keys?”

I pushed back down into the chair at the table. “Yeah.”

“Will he be all right? Shouldn’t someone go after him?” Ayden worried across from me.

“Leave them to it. They need to sort their shit out.”

Ryder forked another mouthful of pasta into his mouth. I swore the man shovelled his food like it was his last bite. Jake was doing the same, uninterested in the shenanigans.

“My sister’s stubborn at times. Needs the confrontation before she pulls her head out her arse, believe me.”

“I like Laura,” Ayden said. “My dad does too.”

Ryder grunted, and I smirked. “I got that impression, Ayden.”

“She cares,” he added. “And that matters.”

“Of course she does. It’s not easy, for either of them, I imagine.” I wasn’t stepping on his toes by insulting his mother at this point.

Jake finished his food first and stood up from the table. “Should I wrap the pasta for Lucca?” He pointed to the dish in the middle of the table.

“Go ahead,” mumbled Ryder as Jake headed to the kitchen, dish in hand. “Caveman will bring woman then eat.”

Ayden burst out laughing at his uncle. Ryder finished next and pushed his licked clean bowl away from him. “Your dad’s gonna be all right, dude.”

“I know,” Ayden agreed, discarding his bowl too. “I got a fright is all. I don’t want to see him like that again.”

Seeing his father at death’s door was bound to scare the boy. Ryder had been spending a lot of time with him while Lucca got fixed up in the hospital. I loved the relationship they had, it was beautiful, like Ayden had two dad’s all the time. I couldn’t help but wonder what Ryder would be like with his own children. Would he want that? Did I want that? I wasn’t sure, there were so many factors to consider and Laura was the biggest. I didn’t know if I could do that to my sister. I pushed the sour thought away.

“Won’t happen again, Ayden. I can promise you that.”

Ayden looked at Ryder, seeing something in his expression that satisfied him for the time being, and he nodded his head. “What do we do about him and Laura?”

I think the man boy liked the thought of his dad and my sister together, it warmed my heart he was on side. “Leave them to it buddy, they’ll work it out,” Ryder said from my side.

“Yeah but...” Ayden bit his lip, a tinge of colour catching on his cheeks, “...he’s only ever been with mum.”

“And that’s got you worried, why?”

He looked away embarrassed. I reached over and patted my hand on top of his. “Let them work it out, like Ryder says.”

It was Ayden’s turn to chuckle as he flipped his hand underneath mine and clasped hold of my fingers. “It’s going to be fun to watch. Nobody ruffles dad’s feathers,” he told me. “Laura’s managed it for sure.”

Ryder growled low, a warning I laughed at and squeezed Ayden’s hand tighter. My boyfriend’s possessive nature knew no bounds, even with family it appeared. I slapped at Ryder’s shoulder.

“Oh, knock it off. He doesn’t even like girls.”

“And your point is?” He raised his eyebrows at me in challenge.

“You’re being an arse, cut it out!” Ryder leaned over and bit at my earlobe. I yelped and flew out of my seat, tearing my hand from Ayden’s.

“You guys are crazy. I’m off.” Ayden left the table, gathering empty plates as he went. “I’ll see you nutters later.” He winked on the way out of the dining room, cheeky sod.

Ryder scooted his chair back. “C’mere babe.” He motioned to the spot in front of him. “Climb up here a minute, yeah?”

I sat on the edge of the table in front of him and Ryder pulled his chair in closer, wrapping his arms around my bottom and peering up at me. “You good, baby?”

“Yup. You?”

“Oh, yeah,” he grinned. “Very. We got to sort out what’s going on with your sister.”

He was right. Laura was wallowing, and not just about Lucca. She wouldn’t dish no matter how much I prodded or pushed. I could see the same as Ryder, something was eating at her and she refused to let on. “Yeah, I know. She’ll bend when she’s ready, I told you this.”

“It’s not good enough, Taylor. She’s hurting over whatever, it needs sorting. She doesn’t need to be miserable or hide. She should have come to dinner.”

“She should have, yes. Maybe Lucca will have more luck persuading her. She likes him, I know she does. I think it’s the Stella part she’s struggling with. He’s still technically married, Ryder.”

“That’s finished. Trust me.”

“I believe you, I do. Laura needs convincing, not me!”

I curled my fingers into his tangled hair as he lay his head in my lap, my big hunk of a man melted into me. He was a big softie, loved me fiddling with his hair.

“One week.” He moaned against my leg when I scraped my nails along his scalp. “One week, then it’s intervention time. If Lucca can’t get her to come around, then we need to figure out a way for it to happen. I’ll be fucked if the pair of them are miserable out of stubbornness. They both deserve better.”

“Fingers crossed,” I said, hoping against hope that they found their way together.