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For the hope of him and the reality and the way he looked at me and his thoughtfulness and…Joel. The man he’d shown me he was. The one, who with his mouth curved, his eyes warm, was completely nonplussed with the fact that I’d just told his family that he’d bought me a brush and curls and that we were sharing a moment.
Amomentafter my flurry of chaos and me being late.
There weren’t any snide comments.
There wasn’t any anger or resentment that I hadn’t been there on time, that I’d been a mess who certainly hadn’t lived up to their expectations of the person they wanted to be with their son.
Instead, they’d been kind and nice and like…Joel.
And I found, because of that, I could relax.
Could settle into a meal that wasn’t tense, didn’t leave me on edge. A meal during which I could just sit next to Joel andrelax.
And listen to them tease each other.
Over pasta and garlic bread.
“Here I thought,” Rob said, eyes twinkling, “that Joel was working on taming his curls with all those Brazilian blowouts.”
My mouth dropped open, and I glanced up at Joel. “Um, what?”
Annoyance in deep green eyes. “Don’t ask.”
“I mean”—I fought a smile—“Ihaveto ask.”
He dropped his chin, amusement now glimmering, even as he shook his head. “Three younger sisters means I was a doll for them to practice on.” A beat. “Even for Lila’s Brazilian blowouts.”
“Well,” I said, a giggle bubbling up in the back of my throat, “itdidmake your hair silky and smooth.”
His lips twitched.
“And, bonus, it hid the bald spot at the back of his head,” Avery teased.
“Hey!” Joel rubbed a self-conscious hand over his scalp. “I’m not balding.”
“Yeah?” I leaned up, pretending to study the back of his head scrupulously, running my fingers through his thick, ridiculously soft hair. “Are you sure that right there isn’t a—”
He captured my hand, tugged me against his chest. “I’m sure.”
I lost hold on my giggles.
A nip to the top of my ear, his tongue flicking out against the shell, voice quiet and hot when he muttered, “Behave or no naked time later.”
I leaned back, brows lifting. “Really?That’swhat you’re going with?”
“Yup.” He kissed the tipped of my nose.
I rolled my eyes, ignored the curious eyes across from us, and reached for another piece of garlic bread.
“Men,” Janette muttered, making my lips turn up.
“Exactly,” Kira agreed. “We can’t live with them—”
“So says your husband,” Rob chimed in.
A toss of that shining hair as she ignored the interruption and finished, “And we can’t live without them.” A pout, but then her lips were turning up, and she gave me wide eyes, her irises so similar to Joel’s, especially with the mirth in those deep green depths. She winked at me. “And so says my husband.”
“Tell me about him,” I semi-ordered. “And I want to hear about school”—to Avery—“and the salon you just opened”—Lila—“and I want to hear about the cruise Joel told me you guys”—Janette and Rob—“are taking for your anniversary.”
