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My own mom leaned in close. “I meant to tell you. I pulled out your grandmother’s veil from storage. I used it for my wedding too.”
I tilted my head and gave her an incredulous look. “Several notches down.”
I definitely regretted not meeting up with Adam and arriving together. He was driving in from a different direction and had to stop by his office.
I was out here with the wolves.
Belinda herded us to the shady backyard with a stone patio and groupings of outdoor furniture. My mom, the grill queen of both families, got started with black bean burgers and bratwurst. I’d hoped she would rope Belinda in to help her, but she headed my way. She had a different type of grilling in mind.
A welcome sight appeared at the sliding doors. I bolted up and made a beeline for Adam.
“Hey, sorry I’m—”
I threw my arms around his neck and kissed him. He moved his hands to my upper back, lightly pressing me closer and deepening our kiss.
“What did I tell you?” Belinda said behind us. “A matter of time.”
We separated, but Adam kept his focus on me. “Has it been awful? Are they going too far?”
“A wedding veil was mentioned. As was the implication I won’t be living in Ann Arbor much longer.”
He grinned. “Can’t say I’m mad at the idea, but I’ll handle them.”
Adam slipped his hand into mine. Already, I knew I could face the rest of this afternoon with him at my side.
We parked ourselves on various patio furniture as everyone caught up talking.
“It’s great to finally have a doctor in the family,” Adam’s dad boasted.
I squeezed Adam’s hand and braced myself. But before I could interject, Saya spoke up.
“The practice is going well,” she said. “We added a new podiatrist to the clinic, so I’ll have coverage when I’m on leave.”
I gripped Adam’s hand harder. I kept my voice low and angled away from the others. “You left out a crucial detail about Saya.”
Understanding dawned on his face. “Oh yeah. She’s a doctor. I didn’t think to mention it. Gabe met her through his pharmaceutical sales job.”
Okay, fair. We hadn’t been back together long. Adam stayed up north for a week and a half to finish renovations. With several rounds of job interviews and actually starting my new job, plus living an hour drive from him, we’d basically spent two weekends and a few evening weeknights together. We texted and talked on the phone daily, but apparently never covered his sister-in-law’s profession.
I relaxed my hand squeezing. Adam’s parents had their prized doctor for the family. I hoped they didn’t view Saya as a trophy. From what I’d seen, she had a comfortable rapport with Adam’s parents. Gabe certainly seemed able to intervene if necessary—a welcome surprise since my memories of him were mostly his avoidance of me and Adam or his torturing of us.
We’d all grown up. Even my brother Josh, who couldn’t make it today. Hopefully, there would be plenty of other cookouts.
Adam’s dad walked over. “How was seeing the old summer house?” he asked me.
“Well, I never got inside the bungalow. But I’d love to book it for a future weekend with my college friends. We’re already looking at some fall dates.” We’d chatted over a video call—all of us with so much to catch up on, and agreed we needed each other in our lives. In person. “Do you book it off-season?”
“For you? Of course.” He grinned.
“The new place you’re selling looked great. When you list it, do you have to disclose the—”
“We decided to replace the refrigerator,” Adam cut in. He squeezed my hand hard like I’d done to him. “Figured it’s better to sell with a brand-new appliance than one with an ice maker on the fritz.”
So his dad didn’t know about the bat. Got it.
Our poor hands might not survive this stress squeezing.
His dad went on, oblivious to our secondary hand communication. “We’re listing the property next week. We’ve already got early interest through our real estate contact. I think it’ll sell quick. Thanks to this guy.” He patted Adam on the shoulder.
