Never again.

Stretching his arms above his head, he left Mekena in bed and went into the kitchen to start breakfast. As he walked toward the kitchen, Mr. Right moved in and out of his legs, almost tripping him as he meowed loudly.

“Dude, I hear you,” he said, rolling his eyes as he went straight for the cat’s food. As he opened the can, Mr. Right meowed louder, his eyes watching as Markus scooped out the can. “Just to let you know, bro, when we move in to the apartment, you’re going on a diet.”

Pain shot up his leg, and he glared down at the devil cat as he hissed. Now, he understood it was insane to think the cat understood him, but he was having a hard time not believing it. Laying the plate on the floor for the cat, he shook his head as Mr. Right attacked the plate, eating it as if he hadn’t just eaten twelve hours ago.

“Happy now?”

Mr. Right hissed and Markus glared.

Little asshole.

Rolling his eyes, he went to work on breakfast. It didn’t take much thought, which meant Markus’s mind wandered back to the fact that he hadn’t answered his parents. They had texted him twice more and even tried calling, but he ignored them, unable to answer their questions. As much as he would love for them to be there since he did miss them, he hadn’t brought it up again to Mekena, and he didn’t want her to feel uncomfortable. He was a little torn on what to do.

As he plated some eggs beside the pancakes he had just finished, he heard footsteps behind him. He smiled when a pair of arms came around his waist. When she kissed his back, chills ran down his spine as Mekena said, “I love a man who cooks.”

“You mean, this man?”

“That’s what I meant,” she said, kissing him once more as he chuckled, setting the plate down. Turning in her arms, he gathered her up before pressing his lips to hers. As they parted, she smiled. “Good morning.”

“Morning, gorgeous. Have a good sleep?”

“Dead to the world,” she laughed as she pulled away, grabbing her plate. “I sleep better with you.”

“I hear ya,” he agreed as he leaned against the counter, cutting some pancakes as she hopped on the counter and placed her plate on her legs. As they ate, he kept looking at her, loving everything about this. Yeah, there was a table not a couple steps away, but standing there as she sat on the counter felt right. Felt perfect.

“This is really nice,” she said, glancing up at him, her face blushing a bit. “Like, really nice.”

“I know.” He smiled.

“We shouldn’t get a table when we get an apartment.”

He laughed. “I can’t make love to you on the counter, too high.”

She was fully blushing as she laughed loudly. “Perv!”

“Your fault for being so sexy,” he accused, and she giggled, kicking her legs happily.

“Why don’t you have any sausage on your plate?”

He shrugged. “There were only two links. Guess someone ate it all.”

She shot him a guilty smile. “It’s my fave.”

“I know.” Cutting into a piece of sausage, she held it out for him. “I made that for you,” he said, shaking his head.

“But it’s your favorite too.”

Grinning at her, he took the bite before she smiled back happily, going back to her food. Clearing his throat, he didn’t return to eating. Instead, he drank in the lovely color on her face and the way she smiled as she ate. How he ever lived a second without her would forever be the question of his life. This girl completed him. But he did miss his parents, and that was a problem. Could he have both?

“Hey.”

She looked over at him, her lips still curved happily. “Hey.”

“I never answered my parents.”

Her smile faltered a bit as she nodded, cutting into a piece of pancake. “Oh.”

“Yeah,” he said, sucking in a deep breath. “I kinda want them to come.”

She looked up once more and nodded. “You can get tickets, right?”

He nodded. “Yeah.”

“Well, then good.”

But was it? As she ate, he paused, watching her once more before he asked, “Would that be okay with you?”

Meeting his gaze, she paused. “It’s your parents, Markus.”

“I know this, but I don’t want you to be uncomfortable.”

Her face wrinkled. “I appreciate that, but they’re your parents, you’re making your debut. I don’t matter.”

He scoffed. “You always matter, and if you don’t want them there, I won’t invite them.”

She gave him an incredulous look. “As sweet as that is, it’s ridiculous. Invite them.”

He held her gaze. “Are you comfortable with it?”

She swallowed hard as she nodded. “Yeah, it’s fine.”

“You’re lying,” he accused, and she let out a breath as she shook her head.

“They hurt my feelings, Markus, but I refuse to allow you not to invite them because of me. I don’t have to see them.”

“But if I reach out like this, they’re coming back into my life.”

She paused. “I thought they got divorced?”

“They worked it out,” he said, running his hand along his head, scratching the back of it. “Which is good, I guess.”

“Yeah,” she agreed, and he noticed she had stopped kicking her legs as she chewed on her lip. “I mean, it was stupid to divorce when he didn’t even cheat.”

“That’s what I said,” he agreed, rolling his eyes at his parents’ drama. His mother had accused his father of cheating with one of the waitresses at their restaurant, but it wasn’t true, and he did everything to prove that. His mother had still wanted the divorce, though. That was, until his father basically wooed her into staying. It was nice and sweet, but then everything happened with Mekena, and Markus didn’t care about their drama any longer.

“You want them to come?” Mekena asked, and he looked up, meeting her soulful gaze.

Nodding, he said, “Yeah, I would.”

She cupped his cheek. “Then invite them. This is your day, and if you want it, I want it. Maybe they’ll be nice to me.”

When she winked, he smiled. “They will. I promise.”

Putting her empty plate on the counter, she jumped off and kissed his cheek. “Well, I’m only worried about you anyway. They didn’t chase me off before, and they won’t now.”