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I laugh, feeling a little less like dying. “Sounds like a plan.”
Samuel glowers at me from the stove. But Rhett puts on a happy face as June and I approach, Milly two steps behind, and extends his hand, giving mine a solid shake.
“Welcome,” he says. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”
I wish, more than ever, that I was capable of bullshitty small talk.
Instead, I say, “You’ve probably heard some pretty bad things then.”
Luckily, Rhett’s smile broadens. “Mostly good shit, actually.”
“Rhett,” June scolds, nodding at the mop-haired toddler on his hip. “Liam is going to have the world’s worst potty mouth thanks to you boys.”
“So this is Liam,” I say, ducking my head. “Hey, little guy. Do you like cars?”
Rhett gives his son a little bounce. “Liam, you love cars, don’t you?”
“Cars,” Liam says in the most adorable toddler voice ever.
I dig the model Oscar Meyer Wiener car out of my coat pocket and hold it out to him. “Shameless bid for your affection, but here’s a car of your own to sweeten the deal. I have a Wienermobile for Maisie too.”
I feel the heat of Milly’s stare. I glance at her from the corner of my eye and see her smiling. “Who are you?”
“I have so much wiener-themed stuff at my house, it’s getting ridiculous.”
“Because you’re a dick?” Samuel asks.
“I see only one dick in this room, and he’s dressed like a gigolo,” Milly shoots back.
“For the love of God, y’all,” June warns.
“Nate has a dachshund,” Milly explains. “Wiener dog, wiener stuff.”
“I have wiener,” Liam says, and the tension in the room shatters as we all burst into laughter.
Rhett brushes his lips over Liam’s hair. “We’re potty training at the moment, so we’re super into all things penis-related.”
Liam’s curled into his dad’s chest, still shy. But he reaches for the toy car and takes it out of my hand, begging to be let down so he can play with it.
“Don’t say it,” June replies sternly.
“Say what?” Hank asks. “Something like, ‘who isn’t into penis-related things’?”
The pretty brunette who was at the sink suddenly appears at Hank’s side, giving his shoulder a playful punch. “I thought we were keeping it classy so we don’t scare off Nate. I’m Stevie, by the way, Hank’s girlfriend.”
“Lovely to meet you, Stevie. And y’all know my family,” I reply. “It’ll take a lot more than that to scare me.”
“Shoot,” June says. “We should’ve invited them too.”
Laughing, I shake my head. “I appreciate y’all’s hospitality, but I also appreciate a break from my, er . . . loved ones.”
June brings me to the island where Beau is sitting. The expression he gives me is decidedly frostier than Stevie’s.
“Brought y’all some Appalachian Red,” I say, setting down the first bottle on the counter. Then I set the second bottle alongside it. “And this is something new we’re trying. Brand new, actually. No one outside the distillery’s tried it yet. The release isn’t scheduled until next year.”
This seems to give Beau pause. He glances at Samuel, who raises his brows. I know better than to hope for approval. But I imagine they are impressed to taste an exclusive new whiskey from the South’s most exclusive whiskey maker.
There are some things even money can’t buy, and this is one of them.
“I could go for a little of that,” Beau says. “Keep us warm while we roast the oysters. Speaking of”—he glances out the windows above the sink—“another five minutes or so, and the fire should be ready.”
“I’ll pour y’all a taste,” I reply, pulling out the cork.
Emma, Samuel’s wife (I know her from the Barn Door), tilts her chin to look at the bottle. “Have enough for me?”
“I have enough for everyone.” I glance at Milly. “But she gets the biggest pour because I need her help naming it.”
Milly digs her teeth into her bottom lip. “Really?”
“Our marketing team came up with ‘Sherry Sunset.’”
She laughs. “I can definitely do better than that.”
“I know you can.” Emma begins to stack crystal glasses on the counter in front of me, and I begin to pour. “I hope this gets your creative wheels turning.”
“I hope it makes you twerk again,” Rhett says with a smirk.
Continuing to pour, I cock an eyebrow at Milly. She grabs a glass and waves me away. “Don’t worry—give me enough of this, and I’ll twerk for you too.”
I hand glasses to Beau and Samuel, then pass around the rest.
Milly holds up her glass. “Before we drink, I’d just like to thank y’all for welcoming Nate. Samuel and Emma, thank you guys for always hosting such fabulous holidays. Beau, Bel, Amelia, Rhett—thank y’all for giving us such a beautiful niece and nephew. Mom, thanks for giving birth to us.”
“Wasn’t easy,” June says. “Samuel weighed eleven pounds.”
My eyes go wide. “Eleven pounds? Bless.”
“And Nate,” Milly says, gaze locking on mine. “Thanks for slowing me down. Thanks for being you.”
