AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She waves us into the house. “Oh, you’re so handsome. Auntie Carmela especially is going toflip. Too bad you’re not Italian, but no one’s perfect.”
* * *
Mia wasn’t kiddingwhen she said she had a big family. In the past half hour—because it took that long for her to go around introducing us to everyone—I’ve met her Nana, her parents, her older brother Anthony and his wife Michelle, plus their two children, Giana’s husband Peter and his family, her extended family on both sides, and what must be half the neighborhood.
I shake hands with everyone, but more often than not I’m drawn into a hug, and I definitely have lipstick on my cheek. Giana wasn’t kidding about Aunt Carmela. (Mia’s mother’s side, but not actually Mia’s aunt—she’s a cousin of a cousin.) We don’t get a moment alone until Giana finally thrusts sodas into our hands and tells us to make ourselves comfortable by the pool, but won’t you come help in the kitchen, Mi-Mi?
Mia grimaces as her sister walks back to the house, stopping on the way to fuss with the buffet. “I can probably take the long way into the house.”
“I’ll come with you,” Penny offers.
I look around the backyard. It’s a big, sloping lawn that backs up to trees, currently littered with plastic chairs and tables decorated with vases of flowers. A couple of the little kids are splashing around in the pool, Mia’s father and uncles hold court at the grill, and laughter floats out of the kitchen, mixing with the rock music in the background. When we first arrived, Mia’s mother took one look at me, kissed both my cheeks, and told me that she had to run inside to finish arranging the cheese platter.
“This is nice,” I say, gesturing with my soda can at the sunny lawn. I enjoyed meeting everyone, but I’m wary, knowing they’ve placed such strict expectations on her. If things were so bad that she didn’t even want to be honest with them about what she wanted to major in, I need to keep up my guard, and protect her if necessary.
“Yeah,” Cooper says. “Thanks for inviting us, Mia. Whatever your dad is cooking smells great.”
She snorts. “Chaotic, definitely. Nice, I don’t know.”
“No, it is.” I watch as two kids race past with water guns. “I liked meeting everyone.”
She licks her thumb and wipes at my cheek. “Of course they all love you.”
“Isn’t that what you want?”
She wraps her arms around herself, worrying her lower lip. She looks beautiful, even if it’s not how she normally dresses. “Sure.”
I set down the soda on the nearest table and pull her into my arms. “Hey. What’s the matter? Do you want to leave?”
She stays frozen in my arms, refusing to thaw and hug me back. I press my lips to her forehead, anyway, rocking us slightly. Cooper meets my eyes over her head, a frown on his face.
Her mother’s voice wafts over the lawn. “Maria, come see your poor mother! Bring the dessert your boyfriend was nice enough to make. Didn’t I teach you a thing about cooking?”
“I’m fine,” she says, pulling away. “I’m fine. Go talk to Dad, okay? Anthony is a Mets fan, if you want to talk baseball.”
“Are you sure?”
She nods. “Yeah. Go enjoy yourself. Keep making a good impression.”
I kiss her cheek. “Okay. I love you.”
Her smile is fleeting. “I know.”
52
SEBASTIAN
“Holy crap,”Anthony says, shaking his head. “You’re James Callahan’sbrothers.”
“Yep.” I shift my weight as I take another sip of beer. Fortunately for me and Cooper, the first thing Anthony did when we walked over to the grill was take the sodas out of our hands and give us beers instead. Mia’s dad is in a deep conversation with a couple of the older guys, but Anthony welcomed us right in; I think he was happy to point his kids in the direction of the pool. “You see him play in person yet?”
“Haven’t had time,” he says, shaking his head slightly. “Kids, man. They fuck with your whole life. Hey, Rick, come here. Mia’s boyfriend is James Callahan’s brother.”
The guy who must be Rick—one of Mia’s cousins—ambles over. “The Eagles QB?”
“Yeah. Both of them. Sebastian and—what’s your name again, man?”
“Cooper,” Cooper says, a note of dryness in his tone.
