It's All Relative(151)

She shrugged and Jessie swallowed. Well, that was okay…she could work with those facts. Nodding, she muttered, “All right, if that’s all he knows, then it’s not that big of a deal really.”

April shot down that slim hope with her next comment. “I might have also gone on to mention that Kai was your boyfriend, and that his parents included your uncle…”

“You didn’t!” Jessie felt herself tightening back up. Her dad was currently under the impression that she was dating her cousin…shit. “Damn it, April, all you had to do was tell him that I’d call him when I got home!”

April cringed then stuck her chin out. “I’m sorry, but your dad is like this super scary FBI investigator dude. He cornered me! I had to talk!” She shrugged apologetically. “I tried to explain Kai’s situation, but your mom flipped out and grabbed the phone and we sort of got disconnected.” She pointed to the handset on the counter. “It just happened like twenty minutes ago, so I’m sure you could call back…”

Groaning, Jessie brought her hands to her face. Great, both her parents thought she was sleeping with her cousin. “April…”

“I’m sorry! Your dad intimidates the hell out of me! And you know, you could have told them about all this before you left for your little vacation.” Jessie peeked through her fingers to see April scowling at her.

Jessie sighed then let a soft laugh escape her. “It’s fine, April. Really, I needed to talk to him anyway. This just…sped up the process.”

April’s irritated expression evened out into a smile, while Kai let out a heavy breath. “I forgot your dad was FBI.” Looking down at Jessie, he cringed. “He’s going to shoot me, isn’t he?”

Jessie chuckled at Kai and shook her head. April took that moment of distraction to mutter apologies again and dart out of the room, pulling a laughing Harmony with her. Jessie sighed again. “I guess I should call him back.” She closed her eyes. “This is going to be such an awkward phone call.”

Kai laughed. “You’re telling me.”

He gave her a wry smile, and Jessie tried to hold onto the light feeling that she got by being near him. Trying to squish the butterflies stirring nervous holes in her belly, she gave him a crooked grin. “Ready to be introduced to my family?”

Kai smiled. “I was born ready.”

Jessie couldn’t stop the laugh that escaped her, but she managed to frown, too. “That’s not funny, Kai.”

Grinning, he slipped his arms around her waist. “It kind of is…now.”

She placed her arms over his and leaned up to give him a light kiss. “I love you,” she murmured.

Kai nodded, smiling warmly at her, and Jessie prepared herself for a tough phone call with a long, slow exhale. Releasing Kai, she slowly walked over to the phone. She could almost hear the executioner’s drums beating in her head, banging out a hollow, ominous rhythm. Wrapping her hand around the receiver, she inhaled for ten long counts.

Kai grabbed her free hand and gave her a supportive nod. Jessie squeezed it back as determination filled her. She could do this. She could turn her family around. She was positive that once they realized Kai was no more related to her than her ex-douchebag Jeremy had been, they’d accept him. And then, once they got to know Kai, she was positive they’d love him, too. He was just so different from every other guy Jessie had ever been with. So wonderful, so caring, and so kind. There was no way they wouldn’t get past his last name and eventually come to terms with him and Jessie being together.

As she punched in their phone number, peace flowed through her. And really, even if they couldn’t, even if they somehow rejected him forever, it didn’t matter anymore. Jessie knew the truth, and she knew her heart. Kai wasn’t related to her. Kai loved her, and she loved Kai. They were going to be together for a long, long time…possibly forever. They were going to get married one day. They were going to have children one day. And those children would be beautiful and perfect and genetically safe, because she and Kai were genetically different.

It was as simple as that.

As Jessie heard the long rings finally silence as the phone was picked up, she felt completely relaxed. She knew her parents would always love her, even if they didn’t approve of her relationship, and either way, all of this would end up okay, so long as she and Kai got to be together. Clutching Kai’s hand tighter as her dad’s gruff, “Hello,” sounded in her ear, she brightly said, “Hi, Dad. I heard that you called, and I wanted to clear up some things.”

Her dad immediately started barking questions at her, but Jessie didn’t answer them. Instead, she waited for him to finish, then she waited a little longer. Once his end of the line went silent and stayed silent, Jessie looked up into Kai’s amazing ocean-like eyes. “If you are willing to listen now, I would like to tell you all about someone who means the world to me. I want to tell you about a man who you think you know…but you don’t. I want to tell you about the man who I do know. Dad…I want to tell you about Kai Harper, my…”

She searched for a word that would adequately describe Kai’s importance to her. Boyfriend? The word was too paltry, too simple and insignificant. As her and Kai’s gazes remained locked, Jessie thought about what he meant to her, what they meant to each other. He’d found her at her lowest point, after being broken and betrayed by someone she’d thought she loved. Kai had picked her up, helped her put her feet back on the ground, and had made her feel appreciated, respected…and loved. And when his world had crumbled around him, Jessie had been the one to hold him up, to help him through the pain of discovering who he really was. They were each other’s rocks, each other’s support, each other’s best friends, and each other’s lovers. And Jessie could only sum up her feelings for him one way. “He’s my…everything.”