Page 215 of On His Team

That quiets me. I look down at her for a second, then bend and kiss her forehead.

She smiles against my chest. “Go be a senior. Go be old.”

I laugh softly and kiss her properly this time.

When I pull back, she is still wrapped around me. She glances toward the living room and says, “Come with me.”

“Where?”

“My parents are here.”

I look over her head. “Yeah. I know.”

“No, I mean come say hi.”

“I’ve met your parents.”

“Not like this.”

That makes me look at her again.

Gianna’s smile gets wider. “Exactly.”

She takes my hand, but that apparently is not enough for her, because by the time we cross the kitchen she has looped herself around my arm too. Her cheek is against my shoulder, her fingers are threaded through mine, and she is basically attached to my side.

Her parents are sitting near the windows, talking with Benson and my dad. Her mom notices us first. Her eyes move from Gianna’s face to mine, then down to the way Gianna is practically hanging off me.

A smile starts immediately.

Gianna points at her before she can say anything. “Mom.”

Her mom smiles. “Gianna.”

Her dad looks over and gives me a small smile. “Rowan Laurens.”

“Hi, Mr. Reeve.”

Gianna squeezes my arm tighter, which I didn’t think was possible. Her mom looks between us again, and Gianna lasts maybe two seconds before she caves.

“So,” she says, grinning, “this is my boyfriend.”

Her mom’s smile gets bigger.

I look down at Gianna.

Her dad laughs, and the tension I didn’t realize I had goes out of my shoulders. There is no interrogation. No awkward pause. Her mom gets up and hugs Gianna first, then turns and hugs me too.

“Official now?” she asks.

“Yeah.”

“Very official,” Gianna adds from beside me.

I look at her. She smiles sweetly, completely unbothered.

Her dad stands and shakes my hand. “You’re a good man. It’s good to see you.”

“You too.”