“Hey, we don’t flirt with our sister’s partners,” some blond guy who wasn’t Eden’s dad but looked around the same age said.
Next to him, a blonde woman who could’ve been his sister for all I knew, laughed, then slapped him. “Sofia and I accepted Colin and your little affair a long time ago.”
Colin was Brooke’s brother-in-law as far as I knew. At least all the articles I’d seen claimed he was. So I assumed the blonde one was his wife. But I still had no idea who the blond guy was.
I wasn’t even sure I was supposed to care who all these people really were.
“What Colin and I have is special, Lily,” the blond guy said, looking at whom I recognized as Colin with a hand held over his heart. “A true partner in crime.”
“Dial it down a notch, Dad,” Jamie said. God, he looked like a spitting image of his father, except he had brown hair. “We get it. You’re Uncle Colin’s work husband or whatever. No need to keep reminding us all.”
“Work husband?” Colin sounded almost offended. “Aaron and I are bound by blood, not just a contract. I didn’t marry his sister for nothing.”
“That’s not technically what the phrasebound by bloodrefers to,” a much younger, black-haired kid said. He was seated next to who I assumed was his father.
Guess he was the smart kid in the… family? Well, I suppose theywereone big family, even if not all blood-related.
I couldn’t continue listening in on their conversation as Eden then decided to finally close the gap Brooke left between us. His hand immediately laid down on my thigh underneath the table.
As soon as his skin made contact with mine, my breath hitched. The warmth of his touch sent shivers down my spine, and I couldn’t help but wonder why it had to feel so… good.
Why didn’t his touch pull out the usual reactions from me? Why wasn’t I disgusted by it?
Eden leaned in closer, his lips almost brushing against my ear as he spoke in a low voice, “I hope they don’t overwhelm you too much. My family can be a lot sometimes.”
I turned my head slightly, meeting his green eyes that were filled with concern. Suddenly, I wondered why, even when he looked worried, healwayslooked at me with this softness in his eyes. I hadn’t once seen it when he was talking to anyone at St. Trewery.
Did he even notice it?
“They’re… nice,” I replied, trying to sound nonchalant even though my heart was racing.
“I’m not sure if you’re trying to convince me or yourself of that. But either way, Ally-Bear, I promise you, by the end of the day, you’ll love all of them.”
30
EDEN
So, she didn’t end up loving all of them.
To be fair, notallof them made it easy either. Kieran, for instance, hadn’t exchanged a single word with Alana all evening, which was to be expected.
Kieran didn’t like meeting new people, and it always took him a few times of simply staring and being in their proximity to accept their presence. And his cousin, Jamie, well… he was built differently.
Jamie was loud and annoying at times. God, I sure hoped he was going to turn more into a mature adult as he aged.
The other kids were way too young for Alana to even bother to really interact with them beyond whatever they had to tell her.
I think she liked my siblings, though, but she also met two of them before. And Brooke wasn’t easy to dislike, though I would normally beg to differ. Then again, she was my older sister, so I had to think she was unlikable.
Now, the adults in my family were a different topic. Part of me was sure they scared her more than she wanted to admit. Not on a she-was-straight-up-frightened kind of level. But, well, they were adults. And my family could be very overwhelming.
Meeting Alana’s parents would’ve scared the holy ice hockey Gods right out of me, too. So, again, I understood she was still a bit unsure about mine.
“When are we going back home?” Alana asked as she looked around my childhood bedroom, fascinated by all the trophies on my shelves.
While I wasn’t the smartest kid ever, I sure loved participating ineverythingthat could’ve possibly gotten me trophies. I used to love these Kangaroo Math tests simply because my schoolalwaysgave the top three students trophies. Not only did that mean I was studying a ton, but I got a sparkly price.
“Tomorrow,” I replied, heading over to my closet so I didn’t have to see the stern look I was sure Alana was about to give me.
