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“What about the kids?” he asked. “Are they going to like me?”
I ran the razor along my shin. “Yes, they’ll love you.” I wasn’t worried about them. “They will be loud and crazy. And someone is going to spill something.”
“Sounds like my kind
of party.”
I rinsed off and twisted the faucet. Jeremy handed me a towel as I stepped out of the shower.
“Thanks.” I tucked the corner against my chest.
“Anything else I should know?”
I picked up my toothbrush. “Don’t ask about Bella’s.”
“Why not? That’s one thing I do know. Great chicken parm.” He winked next to me in the mirror.
“If you open that window, you’ll never get it closed. And I’d rather not hear about the family business all night. If it was a bad day at the restaurant my father won’t stop talking about it. Let’s not go there. Trust me,” I warned.
I knew that was Jeremy’s comfort zone. He understood business. He knew how to talk about what was working and what wasn’t. It was fascinating to him no matter the scale. Whether it was a baseball franchise or a small Italian restaurant, it was the one thing he could relate to.
We walked out of the townhouse five minutes later than I wanted, but at least I had pulled it together. Jeremy kept his hand on my knee as we drove to my parents’ house. It was a simple reassuring gesture, but I knew it meant so much more. With the closeness of his hands on my body, I knew Jer was going to be there for me. He had enough strength for me to lean on him. He would pull me through the rest of this night, and tomorrow, and the day after that.
With a gentle squeeze of my knee I knew he was turning into the kind of husband I needed. I smiled when we pulled into the driveway. His timing couldn’t be better.
12
Jeremy
I followed Evie inside the Rossi house. I smelled garlic and butter. As soon as we were inside, I was reminded that Evie and I had very different upbringings.
We had talked about how our lives in Newton Hills had crossed and intersected but they didn’t mirror each other. My parents hosted New Year’s Eve balls and galas at the country club. The people who visited the Hartwell estate were loosely called friends. What they were was business associates. We didn’t have old-fashioned Christmases. We had the staff prepare meals while my parents bitched that all the presents were the wrong ones.
Evie’s house was the opposite. I had passed by here a hundred times and never been invited in, until now.
The staircase was lined with pictures of Evie and Frannie at every milestone. At the top of the hall I could see pictures of the Rossi grandchildren. There weren’t any giant oil paintings of a grim wealthy family anywhere. No, instead the pictures were snapshots of happy kids. Vacations at the Grand Canyon. Summers at the lake. Evie holding a puppy. Frannie in her cheerleading uniform.
“You ok?” Evie tugged on my wrist.
“Yeah. Just looking around.”
“Don’t say anything about the wallpaper,” she whispered. “My mom wants to rip it out and my dad doesn’t want to. They’ve been bickering about it for five years.”
“Good tip.” I followed her into the kitchen through the family dining room.
Everyone was circled around the butcher block island.
“They’re here!” Two kids squealed and jumped off their chairs, straight into Evie’s arms.
“Hi, ladybug.” She knelt holding them against her.
“Aunt Evie, where have you been? Is he our uncle?” They stared at me.
“Yes, this is Uncle Jeremy.”
I had never heard those words together before. It sounded strange. I hadn’t considered that I was now someone’s uncle just because I got married.
“Hey, kids.”
