It had hurt. And it had made her ashamed of having worked so hard for his approval all her life just to have him slap at her in such a petty way. Like he had no idea of her value.

“I don’t know about meeting with you guys. I mean, I always want to meet for dinner or whatever, but I don’t know if there’s anything left for me at Colman. Especially now.”

“Hear us out when the time comes. You’re going to make your own choices and we all respect that too.” Julie looked at her watch. “I should go.”

PJ walked her sister out, hugging her and promising to call soon.

Asa watched her interact with his mother and knew he’d be getting two thumbs up from Pat later that night.

He’d told his mom and sister some of what had happened the week before, so it was extra nice that they’d been so welcoming and warm to PJ from the moment she’d walked through the door.

He’d brought women to his mom a few times over the years. Ellen, of course. His mom had been where Ellen was at the time, and a big part of why he’d married her was because he would have done anything to ensure his children didn’t grow up without a dad. Now, years later, he knew he could have done that even if they hadn’t married, but he didn’t regret his choice at the time or right then, as he watched a woman who’d taught him what bone-deep, forever love was listening to his mom tell a story about Asa’s childhood.

He hadn’t known you could feel this way about another person, and everything he’d done until the point PJ walked into his life had brought him right where he needed to be to cross her path when he was ready for her. So he couldn’t regret any of it.

“Help me bring in the good dishes.” Courtney nudged him out of his thoughts.

He rose and headed to the sideboard, where his mother kept what she called the good dishes. The set of china Asa and his sisters had given her about ten years before wasn’t actually that expensive or anything, but she loved it and brought it out on holidays, birthdays, and other special occasions.

PJ came in as he and Courtney were pulling out four place settings. “I’m supposed to tell you to remember the big platter.”

“She trusts you with that? Good sign.” Courtney gave PJ a thumbs-up and then thrust two stacks of plates her way. “Take those in; I’ll grab the platter.”

“Gotcha.” PJ carried the dishes to the table and began to put them out.

“I figured you’d be prissy,” his mother said to PJ as she worked.

Asa hurried up to see if he could prevent any more of those kinds of sentences.

Courtney snorted, grabbing his arm to slow him down. “She’s going to say whatever she wants to say. You know how she is.”

“If you had ever spent two minutes with PJ’s father you’d understand why I want to protect her,” he murmured to his sister.

“Mom isn’t that guy. She’s pushy and nosy and bossy, but she’s not mean. But you know what? I like you this way.”

Asa turned to face his sister. “What way?”

“Protective. That’s what way. Oh sure, even if she was just a friend you’d look out for her because you’re a good friend and it’s in your nature. But… with her it’s different. You’re different. You’re sweet. It’s more than fast driving and motorcycles and all that crazy stuff you do. Please don’t tattoo your face. That’s an aside. Back to my subject. Mommy and Lettie and me, we know you’re generous to a fault with people you love. I’ve seen you on dates. I’ve seen you with your wife. But you look at PJ like she’s part of you. You look at her and your face brightens. You want to take care of her. You think about how she’ll feel about this or that interaction. You’re in love with her, aren’t you?”

Asa nodded.

“Asa! I need that platter.”

“Sorry, Mom. Coming right up.” He turned, put the dishes he’d been holding on the table, and grabbed the platter, taking it to his mother.

“Thank you. I was just telling PJ I figured she’d be prissy. She laughed, though, so she knew what I meant. Don’t frown, it makes your nose look worse.” His mother looked back to PJ, who struggled against a smile. “Don’t you think that thing in his nose makes him look like livestock?”

Courtney coughed over a laugh as she continued to set the table.

“I already got a request not to tattoo my face from Courtney, so we can skip this.” Asa attempted to project some order, but as usual they all ignored him.

“No, ma’am. I think Asa is very handsome.” PJ and his mother looked him over and he sighed. PJ smiled and was so pretty he couldn’t help but smile back. “I saw the pictures of him with barely any hair at all when he was in the military. He was handsome then too. But I think the piercing and the tattoos and the hair give him a whole different type of good looks. He’s very fierce. But he’s that way in general, isn’t he? He gets a look on his face when he’s working on a car.” She mimicked his expression and his mother burst out laughing.

“He got that look even when he was a baby.” Her face went wistful for a moment. “When he’s trying to exert control over something or someone, trying to learn something new or that sort of thing, he gets that face. He’s a very serious boy.”

“Definitely. Smart too. Creative. Handsome. He works hard. He didn’t dump me after he met my family. You did an amazing job raising a good man.”

Pat beamed at PJ and then over to Asa and finally to Courtney. “You were right. She gets him.”

Asa winked at PJ, flattered, flustered, touched that she’d see him the way she did.

“Asa, put the tamales on the platter. PJ, put the rice in the bowl on the counter.”

His mother headed to the table after she’d put out a pitcher of iced tea. Asa and PJ moved around each other in the kitchen in an easy rhythm after all the times they’d made dinner together.

He paused to kiss her. Just a quick peck and she smiled. Bending a little more, he took a deep breath and let her scent settle.

He was happy.

“Watch it, mister. I have food in my hands. You distract me too much,” PJ teased.

“I’d apologize, but I’m not sorry for stealing a kiss.” He indicated she head out to the table with the rice, and he followed with the tamales.

They settled, filling plates as they continued to talk. It was just like any other family dinner. Just like that, PJ had been welcomed at their table the same way Duke and Mick and Courtney’s friends had. His mother had treated her like family.

And PJ had responded like family.

It didn’t freak him out. He liked it. Liked how she fit into his life, liked how she made the effort to be with him the way she did, even with something as normal as hanging with his mom and sister.

He charged forward in his life. It’s how he operated. He knew she was different, knew this thing between him and PJ was the real deal. The certainty of it was automatic, like breathing. He’d been missing this connection, though he hadn’t had any real sense of just what it was before she’d come along.

His mom looked at him from her place at the head of the table and smiled. He’d presented PJ and she’d approved, and it didn’t matter that he was thirty-seven years old and a grown-ass man. It meant something that his mother liked the woman he loved.

From then on, Asa knew his mother would include PJ when she thought of family. She’d be welcome – and expected – at family dinners and events. He probably should have told PJ that to start with. He grinned.

PJ eyed him warily and he found that pleased him. He liked to keep her on her toes.

After dinner, she helped clean up without having to be asked. She made his mom laugh. She and Courtney seemed to get on well too. The marked difference between this dinner and the one he’d had with her family was something he knew PJ hadn’t missed.

He couldn’t shield her heart from people she so desperately wanted to approve of her. But he was damned glad he could be part of the positive side of her life. Glad that he could love her and protect her as much as possible in the face of this bull with her father.