Beautifully Complicated (Front Range University #4)

25. Kier

Chapter twenty-five

Kier

MAY

“Wear the gray one with the blue shirt.” Aiden snakes his arms around my waist from behind and props his head on my shoulder. “It brings out your eyes.”

“Why are we worrying about what goes with my eyes on your graduation day?”

“Because when your eyes stand out it’s easier to see when they’re on me .”

“They’re always on you, Leanbh.” I reach for the suit he picked and start putting it on while he gets dressed in his, a smart tan one with a faint blue pattern he’s accentuating with a blue shirt that matches mine.

“We aren’t too—coordinated—with these shirts?” I look down my torso before looking at his.

“We’re partners.” He shrugs.

“Yes, but I’m meeting your family for the first time, so maybe we should, I don’t know, not look like we got dressed together?”

“They’re just shirts.”

“Identical ones. We bought them together.”

“You know they know I’m sleeping with you, right?” Aiden arches a playful brow. “It sort of came up when I told them instead of applying to grad school I was going into business with my boyfriend.”

“I remember. It was right before they threatened to sue the school for allowing you to have a relationship with your boss.”

That was two weeks ago—Aiden thought we were close enough to graduation to fill his parents in on his future plans without freaking them out—and it’s only because Conor stepped in to explain how we met before I was hired at the school and verified the story by showing them my picture on the book jacket that they relented.

Conor got them to accept that our relationship isn’t breaking any rules, but I’m pretty sure they aren’t sold on the age difference, so I don’t want to rock the boat by broadcasting that their son regularly spends the night.

My boyfriend doesn’t share my opinion.

“Yes, well since I told you I’m not hiding and that includes from my parents. Besides, my dad doesn’t care about fashion and my mom doesn’t see well enough to know what she’s looking at, so I doubt they’ll even notice. How do I look?” He spins to face me.

The tan suit hugs his lean frame perfectly, the earthy tones a perfect complement to his fair hair and amber eyes. The blue shirt softens the strong lines of the jacket, giving him an approachable yet still classic air.

“You’re stunning.” I step to him and cup his face in my hands, gently pressing my lips to his. “Thank you for including me in this day.”

“Thank you for including me in the rest of your life.” He kisses me back, pouring more emotion than should be possible into a simple kiss.

God, I love him.

“I have something for you,” I tell him as we pull apart.

“Really?” He bites his lip, but promptly lets it go with a warning growl from me.

Pulling an envelope from my jacket pocket, I say, “Congratulations, partner.”

Aiden tears open the envelope and unfolds the paper, looking up at me after just a few seconds. “What?” He blinks.

“Our incorporation papers. We’re officially in business. And I reached out to my old company in Boston to let them know I wasn’t returning to teaching, or to my former position, but that my partner and I would be happy to discuss how we might help advance their research.”

“What’d they say?” He holds his breath.

“They weren’t overly thrilled at first, but when I told them my partner is the one who collaborated with me on the new prosthetic everyone’s talking about, they said maybe we should have a meeting.”

Aiden’s jaw drops as he looks between me and the papers in his hand. Then suddenly his brows morph into a frown, and he cocks his head to the side.

“Where’d you get these papers?” he asks.

“My pocket.”

“No, I mean, how’d they get in your pocket. I watched you get dressed, I never saw you put anything in there.”

“That’s because I put them there last night.” I give him a quick kiss. “I knew you’d pick the gray suit.”

Aiden gives me the most heartfelt smile right before he throws his arms around my neck. “I love you.”

“I love you too, Leanbh. Now grab your cap and gown so we can get going. I need all the brownie points I can get with your parents, so I don’t want to be late.”

We hop in my car for the ten-minute drive to campus, arriving in plenty of time to make a good impression.

Several groups of people are mingling about outside the stadium where graduation will take place, and Aiden takes my hand to steer us toward one that has a little girl running around in circles. She stops cold when she sees us, then sprints our direction with arms flung out wide.

“Uncle A!” she shouts as she launches herself off the ground, Aiden dislodging his hand in just enough time to catch her.

“Hey, princess.” He spins her around once and holds her up to meet me. “This is my niece, Princess Isabella. Princess, this is Kier. My boyfriend.”

“Hello,” I say.

Aiden’s elbow meets my side as he whispers from the corner of his mouth, “Bow.”

I do my best imitation of what I assume to be the proper greeting for royalty—I have no background in such things—and Isabella giggles.

“He looks like a prince,” she says.

“He does,” Aiden agrees, “But he’s mine so you can’t have him.” He sets her down with a little pat on the butt, urging her to go back to her parents, and faces the two people I assume are his.

Aiden’s parents are both gray, so I can’t tell where his hair comes from. The eyes are his father’s, while his complexion looks more like his mother’s. His smile is all his own though. Or maybe that’s just how it looks since both his parents are regarding me cautiously.

“Kier, these are my folks. Robert and Bonnie. Mom, Dad, this is Kier.”

“Hello.” I extend my hand, which they both shake, though neither does anything more than smile and nod. Guess I’ll take the lead. “I know you have some trepidation about my relationship with your son, and I respect your concerns. I’d be happy to discuss them with you at a more opportune moment, and I hope in time you’ll see I only have his best interests at heart.”

“Jesus, he sounds just like Aiden,” a burly man says right before a woman smacks him on the chest with the back of her hand.

“That’s not what I sound like,” Aiden says.

“When you’re trying to be formal it is,” the man responds.

Aiden sighs heavily and points at him. “Kier this is Conor and my sister Amanda.”

As I shake their hands Aiden turns back to his parents to give them a hug, and I thank Conor for helping to straighten things out with his in-laws while his wife tries to corral their daughter.

“They’re good people. Just protective,” Conor says.

“I wouldn’t expect anything less.”

“It’ll help that you don’t look ten years older.”

“How old do I look?”

He gives me an appraising once-over. “Twenty-eight, tops.”

“Thank you?”

“Don’t mention it. So, who’s your team?”

I recall the first time I met Aiden, and his own inquiry about Irish sports. “Not the Bohemians.”

“Good man.” Conor’s mouth morphs into a wide grin.

“I thought you worked for him,” Aiden’s mother’s voice drifts through the air.

“I did, now I work with him. In the new company.”

“He hired you?” she asks.

Conor nudges my side. “They’ll get it eventually. They’re just a little shell-shocked that he’d be starting something without entering the workforce first. But Aiden’s intelligence has always opened unexpected doors, so they just need a bit to catch up.”

“No one hired anyone,” Aiden says.

“If I may—” I pull out the incorporation papers I showed Aiden earlier, which I tucked back into my pocket “—we formed the company jointly. Each of us has fifty percent ownership, so we’re partners and colleagues, not manager and employee.”

Aiden slings his arm around my waist and pulls me to him. “See. Equals.”

“But…” Bonnie sputters. “He… he’s only just graduating today. How can he have a company already?”

“Because he’s too brilliant to work for anyone else,” I reply. “And we make a good team.” I put my arm around his shoulder and kiss his temple.

The gesture seems to make Bonnie relax a little, though Aiden’s dad is tougher to read. I don’t get the sense he’s angry so much as just indifferent. Almost like his wife has the worrying under control so he’ll leave her to it. It’s an interesting dynamic, reminding me slightly of my own parents in the sense that my mom is the bigger worrier, but my dad is never indifferent about anything.

To capitalize on this somewhat calm moment, I offer to take pictures of the family, and once Amanda tempts Isabella with a photo shoot the little princess stops running around long enough to smile for the camera. Aiden insists on a couple with the two of us as well, and I proudly sling my arm around my man’s shoulders and hug him to me for a few snaps.

As we’re wrapping up the photos Bennet and Damien find us, so we take another round of pictures with the three graduates. Aiden’s smile is so bright it makes my heart swell, though by now I know him well enough to tell that despite his happiness, he’s also a little sad this chapter of his life is ending.

Damien and Bennet are headed to New York in a few days—Damien was drafted there in the second round—and Bennet plans to work for his father’s finance company remotely. There’s a chance Aiden and I won’t be too far away since several companies we may consult with are located in that part of the country, but nothing is set, so after today there’s no telling when we’ll see them again.

Nevertheless, everyone is all smiles as they pose, the joy outweighing the melancholy.

“Party at the frat house tonight. You’re coming to the last one, right?” Bennet asks Aiden, who glances at me skeptically.

“It’s your night, Leanbh. We’ll do whatever you want.”

“You mean you’d go to a frat party with me?” He blinks in rapid succession.

“If that’s what you want to do, of course.”

He gives me a wary smile, “It would be nice to stop by long enough to say goodbye.”

“Then that’s what we’ll do.”

“Think you can stay up late enough for a party?” Bennet elbows my arm.

Aiden and I may not focus on our age difference, but the same can’t be said for his roommates. They like to tease me about going to bed early, having creaky joints—all things that tend to happen when you try to hurl yourself down a hill on a board for the first time—and question whether I can keep up. They also seem determined to believe Aiden calls me daddy in secret.

“I think I’ll give you a run for your money in beer pong,” I tell him.

“You?” Bennet gapes at me.

“It’s just geometry, and because of my field I happen to be an expert in that.”

“How come he’s so bad at it then?” Damien inclines his head toward my boyfriend.

“I get nervous under pressure.” Aiden gives us a sheepish look.

“I’ve never seen that,” I tell him.

“Academic pressure is different than sports pressure.” He lifts a pouty shoulder. “Plus, computers have a delete button, but once you swing or shoot or whatever there’s no do over.”

“Fair enough.” I sling my arm around his shoulder and pull him to me so I can plant another kiss on his forehead.

Aiden’s mother interrupts the party talk with a reminder that it’s almost time for the ceremony, so everyone starts to file into the stadium, with the students on the field and guests in the stands. Sitting between Conor and Aiden’s dad, I listen as the president of the school and the commencement speaker talk about the school, the graduating class, and how to succeed post-graduation.

The students don’t receive their degrees right now—that happens at a separate event where the students are grouped by college, not class—so instead of having to get through thousands of names the list is whittled down to a few hundred. Once the initial program is finished, students and their families retreat to various buildings around campus for the degree portion of the process, where they’re each called to the stage individually.

Bennet and Damien are in different colleges, so I’m left alone with Aiden’s family, and while they once again invite me to sit with them, I choose to take advantage of one of the perks of being faculty and slip into the wings just off stage. I’m not sure they buy my story that professors have to help with the ceremony, but I figure that’s a better excuse than saying I want to be the first to congratulate my man after he receives his diploma.

The dean of the computer science department gives another overview of what the students had to achieve in order to graduate before he starts reading off names, and since they go in alphabetical order it takes the better part of an hour before they get to Aiden. As his name is called, I see his smiling face rise from the crowd, and I have to bite back a grin of my own as I watch him bounce down the aisle toward the stage.

I stop fighting that grin when he shakes the dean’s hand and takes his diploma, not caring in the least whether anyone sees how happy I am. How proud. Even if I wasn’t in love with him, I’d be in awe of his determination, his unrelenting enthusiasm for the work, and his passion for helping people. A better man doesn’t exist, and I’m humbled and honored by the fact I’m the one who gets to call him mine.

Aiden doesn’t know I’m hiding in the wings, and once he catches sight of me his beaming smile somehow grows even bigger, which makes my heartbeat echo in my chest. His steps quicken until he’s within arm’s reach, and we fling our arms around each other, holding on so tight there’s barely space to breathe.

“I’m so proud of you, Leanbh.” I cup his face in my hands and kiss the air from his lungs just as a chorus of gasps sounds to my right.

“Leanbh? Him ?” Daniel’s eyes are as wide as Grace’s mouth.

“What are you doing?” She hisses, mercifully missing the fact Daniel knows something she doesn’t. “You two can’t be involved.”

I release Aiden’s face and take his hand in mine, linking our fingers. “Why not?”

“You’re his professor,” she sputters.

“I’m not actually. He’s never been in any of my classes, and I’ve never had input on any of his grades.”

“You’re still his advisor,” Daniel says. “This renders all recommendations from you useless.”

“I didn’t write him any,” I say with more calm than I feel. Even knowing they can’t do anything with the knowledge that we’re together, I’d rather not get into the whole history of our relationship if I can avoid it, so I try to stick to the basics.

“You didn’t… but his future…” Grace blinks furiously. “Anyone worth their salt in this industry will know you two were at Front Range University at the same time, and if he doesn’t have a recommendation from you that will reflect poorly on him. How could you do this to him?”

“Ms. Bowers,” Aiden puts a gentle hand on her arm. “I appreciate your concern, truly. But I don’t need Keir’s recommendation. I’m not applying anywhere.”

“You’re not… but what… where are you… what?” Grace looks between Aiden, me and Daniel.

“Aiden and I formed a consulting company together.” I hold up our joined hands as I hand her the incorporation papers I still have in my pocket. “We’re partners in both business and life.”

“But you… he worked for you,” Daniel objects. “Even if you weren’t his professor, it’s unethical for the two of you to be involved.”

I can see the wheels turning in his mind, recalling prior conversations, and even though I firmly believe we’d ultimately be found innocent of any wrongdoing, I’d rather not get bogged down by an invasive investigation if he speculates about our history aloud.

“Under normal circumstances I’d agree with you, Daniel. But Aiden and I actually met, and had a brief relationship, before I came to the university. We didn’t expect to find each other here, and when we did, we realized we wanted to be together. Personally and professionally. That’s why we formed our business, and why I haven’t written him any recommendations.”

“I suppose you haven’t technically broken any rules.” Grace hands the paperwork back to me. “Although it’d certainly have been a lot less messy if you’d just disclosed you knew each other from before.”

“My apologies, Grace. Prior to deciding to form our own company I didn’t want anyone to question Aiden’s brilliance by mistaking my motives.”

She gives me a curt nod, seemingly satisfied I have Aiden’s best interests at heart.

“Texting right under my nose,” Daniel mutters.

“Sorry, Professor.” Aiden blushes adorably, though he doesn’t look away, and I have to bite back a chuckle at his subtly possessive display. But given that Daniel doesn’t respond, I have to conclude my boyfriend was right all along, and that text saved me from a much more awkward conversation.

“Well, this might not be against any rules—" Grace draws a line between me and Aiden “—but I’d advise you to keep your hands off each other on school grounds. At least for the rest of the day.”

“Noted.” I give her a polite nod before turning to Aiden, whose hand I have no intention of letting go. “Should I hand your friends a beer pong loss before they head off to New York?”

“I’d like that, Maoin.”

“What’s that Irish for?” Daniel asks.

Aiden stares into my eyes as he gives my fingers a squeeze. “Mine.”