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They must have gazed into each other’s eyes, grinning, for a hot second, because the conversation around the table slowed, aside from a few snickers from Sam’s siblings.

“Arden, tell us about yourself,” Sam’s father, Doyle, called down the table. She froze, as if hit by the beam of a spotlight. “You’re from the Sunshine State, I hear? What is your family doing today?”

“Um.” Arden patted her lips with her cloth napkin. “My mom lives in Costa Rica—she’ll be celebrating with her boyfriend’s extended family. They go all out for Christmas. And my dad is in Jacksonville with…” She trailed off, suddenly aware that admitting that her parents were divorced, that her dad had a second family, might not paint her in the best light. Not that it was her fault, but Sam’s parents clearly had a long, successful marriage.

Doyle waited a beat, then said encouragingly, “And you’re a teacher?”

“Yes, I’ve been teaching kindergarten for eight years now.”

“Wonderful profession. A toast to you for educating the youth of America.” He lifted his mimosa. Everyone else did the same with a hearty “Hear, hear!”

“I so admire people who can work with the public,” Donna added. “I don’t know how you do it.”

Arden hid her confusion behind a forkful of fruit, relieved when the conversation turned to Kayla and Ryan’s wedding plans.

Arden layered salmon and cucumbers on her bagel. She gathered her courage, cleared her throat, and said, “Pass the caviar, please, Ethan.”

Everyone stopped and stared at her.

“The…?” Ethan began.

Arden felt her face flame red. She had said the wrong thing, but she didn’t know what. His name was Ethan; she knew she remembered that correctly. She stared at the little bowl of tiny dark green balls, wishing she could melt into the floor. She’d thought they were black from across the table. If not caviar, what were they?

“Wait, have you never had capers?” Sam’s voice was jovial as he reached across his brother and whisked the bowl toward Arden. “They’re like tiny pickled… things. I don’t even know what they are, but they’re delicious on a bagel.”

She spooned a few capers onto her plate as everyone debated their origin—“They’re some kind of berry.” “From a weird fruit or something.”—feeling some of the mortification leave her body. Now they all knew that she was unfamiliar with capers and caviar. Did people actually eat caviar, anyway? She had no idea. It was something rich people ate on TV. So she had just assumed…

She had never felt so out of place in her life.

Luckily, the conversation continued, everyone moving on easily. Arden noticed that Sam sometimes struggled to get a word in. Unlike the way he was with his friends, where he was the life of the conversation, with his family, he seemed a less vibrant version of himself. She observed a particularly painful moment when Donna brought up the unusually snowy weather and Sam tried in vain to comment on it as he was talked over by his little sister, his big brother, and his dad.

In the briefest moment between voices, Arden said, so loudly that she surprised herself, “Sam, what were you saying about convergence zones?”

Sam shot her a grateful look, then explained everything he’d read on a weather blog about the conditions that had created the current snowstorm.

After brunch, the siblings and their partners dispersed to different parts of the house. Sam told Arden that they would be heading out to dinner around five thirty. That was over four hours from now.

“I think I’ll head back to my—Phoebe’s—place,” Arden said. There was no way she was going to stick around his family for an entire day. She needed to recharge her introvert battery. “Text me the restaurant, and I’ll meet you there.”

“Okay.” Sam rubbed a hand through his hair. “Or—well, do you want company?”

Arden tilted her head questioningly.

“I could join you. If you want. But you probably have things to do or—”

“I would love that.”

Arden felt almost giddy as Sam drove them back to Phoebe’s. It took her a moment to realize the feeling was relief. Part of her had wondered if Sam had sensed how much she did not fit in with his family and if that would make his interest in her fizzle out.

The hours flew by. They spent most of the afternoon lounging on Phoebe’s couch, sharing stories and laughing, then took a long walk around the neighborhood, stopping for coffee at a little place that was nothing more than a takeout window in a brick wall. Arden had briefly wondered if Sam expected anything physical to happen at Phoebe’s this afternoon, and while she hadn’t been opposed to the idea, she had not been in a sexy mindset after the awkward brunch. She didn’t know if he could sense that or if he was just being a gentleman, but she was grateful.

After the lazy afternoon, the brisk, cold walk, and the jolt of caffeine, she felt refreshed and eager for the evening ahead.

They met the rest of the Kellers at Jade Garden, a dim sum restaurant in the International District. The place was packed, but they must have made a reservation, because the group was seated immediately at a huge round table.

As they sat down, Sam gave Arden’s hand a brief squeeze under the table. It made her light up with fizzy energy.

“Have you had dim sum before?” he asked.