Page 113 of Spring Break Fling

“You look beautiful,” he murmured, his breath warm against my neck.

“Thank you.”

I turned in his arms and looked up at him, reaching up to trace the line of his jaw with my fingers. “Thank you for being here, for being you.”

He smiled that heart-stopping smile that had first drawn me to him. “Always,” he promised.

39

NIKKO

Hannah had just put the lasagna on the table when there was a knock at the door.

I could see the strain in her eyes. “Hey, it’s going to be fine,” I assured her.

She gave me a weak smile, pressing her lips together in a nervous line. “I know, I just want everything to be perfect.”

I squeezed her hand gently before she moved to answer the door.

“Mom, Dad,” Hannah said, rushing to embrace them both. “I’m so glad you could come.”

“We wouldn’t have missed it for the world,” her mother assured her, holding her at arm’s length and examining her face with an affectionate scrutiny.

Her father looked at me. I didn’t feel judged. He did seem pretty chill.

“Mom, Dad, this is Nikko.”

Her mother smiled. “It’s nice to meet you, Nikko. Hannah hasn’t told us much about you. I look forward to getting to know you.”

I wasn’t sure they would like me if they did get to know me. I wasn’t exactly the kind of guy daddies hoped their daughters would marry.

“Hello?” another voice said, and a young woman came in. “I stopped to tie my shoe and everyone left.”

Hannah laughed. “Nikko, this is my sister, Marianne.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” I said.

“Come in. Dinner is done. Has been done.”

“And I see you opened the wine,” Marianne said.

“Uh, you’re an hour late, so yes, I opened the wine,” Hannah retorted.

“I’ll pour you a glass,” I said.

“Got any beer?” her father asked.

“I got you some IPA,” Hannah answered with a smile.

I quickly poured three glasses for the ladies and grabbed myself and her father a beer. We sat down at the table. Hannah seemed relatively calm. Much more so than she had earlier.

Dinner with Hannah’s family was not what I expected. For one thing, her mom laughed—a lot. Full-on, belly-deep, snort-laughs that set off a chain reaction around the table. Hannah’s sister, Marianne, was a spitting image of her but with darker hair and a more sarcastic edge, while her dad was… well, a man who clearly didn’t give a damn about anyone’s opinions. The guy wore Crocs, socks, and cargo shorts unapologetically, and I had to respect it. The vibe was easy, light, and far less awkward than I anticipated for my first time breaking bread with her parents.

“Should we play cards?” Hannah asked.

I thought she was joking, but Marianne pulled out a deck from her purse. I always thought families only played cards in the movies. I didn’t know it was an actual thing.

In truth, I was terrible at cards, but I couldn’t say no. Hannah was looking at me with those hopeful eyes that said she really wanted this to go well. So, cards it was.