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I smiled as I met person after person. “Hello. Hello. Very nice to meet you.”
My cheeks were going to cramp if I smiled any longer.
“And this is Maria and her husband, Nick. Their daughter Maria isn’t here tonight.”
“Lots of Marias!” I said with a chuckle. Everyone stared at me and Kilyn waved her hands in the corner for me to stop talking.
Shit.
Taking my arm, Katerina lead me over to another group of people. “This is Phoebe, my son Thaddeus’s wife.”
Phoebe extended her hand to me and gave me the warmest smile. I knew instantly I was going to like her. Kilyn had already told me how amazing she was. My eyes glanced down to her very pregnant belly and a tinge of jealousy raced through my veins.
Kilyn walked up and hugged Phoebe. “You look beautiful,” she said with a smile.
Phoebe chuckled. “I feel like a whale.”
Shaking my head, I said, “You’re beautiful and glowing.” That’s when I turned to Kilyn. She had the same glow. My heart stopped. She was pregnant too.
I cleared my throat and pushed away my jealous thoughts. “So, have I met all the important people?”
Kilyn laughed. “No. You haven’t met Yiayia yet.”
“Yiayia?” I asked with a questioning look.
“Watch out. She spits,” Kilyn warned.
My eyes widened in horror. “She . . . spits?”
Nodding, she added, “On you.”
“What?” I asked in horror.
“They really don’t do that anymore,” Phoebe added. I guess that was supposed to make me feel better.
“Wait. Who is Yiayia?”
Kilyn answered. “The guys’ grandmother.”
“Oh.” It was all I could say. “Do I have to greet her in any special way?”
Phoebe laughed. “No. Just ignore whatever it is she says to you.”
My eyes swung over to Kilyn. “She’s going to say something about you carrying a baby.”
I swallowed hard. “W-what?”
She waved it off with her hand. “Just don’t let it freak you out.”
I was freaked out. Really freaked out.
My body warmed instantly as Nic wrapped his arm around my waist. “You ladies filling her head with things about the family?”
Kilyn let out an evil laugh as Phoebe simply grinned wider. “Never,” Kilyn cackled.
There must have been fifty people in the house, I swear. One after another they came up to me. They all started off with the same first sentence.
“So, you’re Italian.”
The best one so far from was from Aunt Maria. No wait. Cousin Maria. No. Maybe it was Maria the best friend. Whoever it was pulled me to the side and asked if I was able to handle the strong arm of a Greek man. She warned me of how possessive they were with their women. I couldn’t help but search out Kilyn and Phoebe. I watched as both Thano and Thad kept their arms on their wives. To me it was more of a loving thing than possessive. Scanning the room, I found Dimitris with Katerina. He pulled her into his arms and kissed her. My heart skipped a beat. Their love was evident not only with the way they looked at each other, but in the way their sons looked at the women they loved.
Glancing over to Nic, I wondered if he looked at me that way.
Nic placed his hand on my lower back and guided me toward the kitchen. “Time to eat, baby.”
My stomach growled, and I realized I hadn’t eaten anything all day. I was starving.
“You up for elk hunting this year?” Thano had asked Nic as we all stood waiting for everyone to file through the kitchen. The food smelled heavenly. I inhaled a deep breath.
“Sure. We haven’t been in a few years,” Nic replied. They were making small talk and it somehow eased my nerves. Kilyn was holding Kira and reminding her about her manners. I loved seeing her call out to her grandfather and run to him. The way Dimitris swept her up in his arms had my chest squeezing as memories of my own grandfather swirled in my head.
I jumped when the young lady next to me asked, “Have you had Greek food before?”
“Um . . . a few times. I’ve tried my hand at cooking a few Greek dishes.”
The entire kitchen grew quiet as everyone looked over at me.
Shit. Damn it. Double damn. Why did I open my mouth?
Then I saw her. The woman who must be . . . Yiayia. She stood there holding a dish while her eyes met mine. The way she was looking at me had me swallowing hard.
“What have you tried your hand at?” she asked.
Nic chuckled. “There is Yiayia! Gabi, this is my grandmother.”
I would have extended my hand, but she was holding a dish of something that looked and smelled heavenly.
“Let me take that, Yiayia! Now go sit down!” Katerina said.
Yiayia started to head toward the massive dining room. There was a large table set up, but I couldn’t help but notice most of the people were heading out back or to the living room.
