Read InHap*pily Ever After (Incidental Happenstance) for Free Online

He
pressed his lips together in a half-smile. “Do you think they’ll like me?”
                Tia’s heart
nearly melted. She was privately thrilled that he’d be anxious about meeting
her parents—especially since she was downright petrified about meeting his. But
she knew better than anyone that Dylan didn’t put himself on a pedestal…he
didn’t assume people would like him just because he was famous. And he was just
down to earth enough not to realize that pretty much anyone would like him just
for being himself. It saddened her that not enough people gave him that chance.
                “They’ll love
you Dylan, don’t worry,” she said sincerely. “They’ll see in you what I see in
you—they’ll get to know the real you, which is at least ten times more amazing
than the celebrity you.”
                He was struck
speechless by the honesty in her words. He was one incredibly lucky man, he
thought. All he could do was pull her close and whisper, “Thank you,” into her
ear.
                Tia inhaled
deeply and slowly released a long sigh as she considered the dark side of the
introductions—fessing up to her blatant dishonesty with the people she cared
about the most. “Did I do the right thing, Dyl?” she whispered. Dylan raised an
eyebrow in question. “Wow, I guess this is a little more overwhelming than I
thought it would be…” she swallowed hard around the lump that was forming in
her throat. “…I mean, you know I wanted to tell everyone, right? And I want to
tell everyone now, but I still want to keep you for myself…Aurg.  It’s just
really short notice—I thought I’d have time to ease into it, or at least go
into it with some sort of plan.”
                “You did the
right thing, baby,” he assured her. “Life would’ve been very different for you
if you had told people. Especially when the tabloids started printing all that
rubbish.”
                “But it means
that we have to practically go on tour to introduce you, and I have to admit to
everyone I care about that I lied to them.”
                “They’ll
understand,” he said softly. “Don’t be surprised if some of them seem a little
put out at first, but once they’ve had time to think about it, they’ll see your
dilemma.”
                “Even my
parents?” she croaked. She was most worried about them being hurt that she
didn’t trust them with the biggest news of her entire life.
                “Especially
your parents,” he said. “They raised you to be strong and independent, and to
know what’s best for you. They’ll know you didn’t make the decision lightly.”
                She took a
deep, cleansing breath; a huge weight suddenly lifted from her shoulders.
“You’re pretty remarkable, you know that?” she whispered, grabbing his hand and
giving it a squeeze. 
                Dylan squeezed
back, and pressed his lips to her forehead. “As are you, my love. It’ll be
fabulous, don’t worry.” He rested his forehead against hers and smiled. “So now
that we’ve got that sorted out, how about we go to the pub tomorrow night,
then? I’ve got a couple bottles of Tully in my bag for Paddy that I picked up
in Ireland. Do you think you could get some of the same people who were there
that first night to show up last minute?”
                “Most of them
practically live there on Saturday nights,” she said, “but I’ll text Sean and
have him put out the word.” She shook her head, smiling wryly. “Damn,
Miller—we’re really going to freak out some worlds tomorrow!” She thought back
to that first night at Paddy’s— the very first night they had met—when
Sean had played a few of Dylan’s songs on the pub’s stage, completely unaware
that Tia’s escort was actually Dylan Miller himself. She’d spent a fair amount
of time at the pub over the past