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Brandon shakes my hand. “Good to meet you.”
“Thanks. And you,” I say.”
“Brother, I didn’t know you had a girlfriend,” Alice says, smiling at me.
“I’m not his girlfriend,” I interject before he can reply.
“You’re not?” she asks, her face showing her disappointment.
“She’s my chef,” Ryder explains.
I don’t know why his answer stings so much. I am his chef. And why didn’t I keep my big mouth shut instead of jumping in to answer for him? Had I waited, I would’ve seen what his answer would have been, instead of being based off mine or to save face.
“Yes! No more eating your crappy food or takeout when we come over,” Alice says.
“Mommy, isn’t crappy a bad word?” a petite female version of Brandon asks.
“Yes, Nora. I shouldn’t have said that,” Alice says, rolling her eyes at the adults in the room. “Being a parent is hard, y’all.”
I laugh. “I can imagine.”
Ryder scoops up the little boy clinging to his leg and puts him on his shoulders. “This cute little dude is Leo.”
“Hi, Leo,” I say, waving to him.
“Hi.” He smiles, looking so much like his uncle, my ovaries practically burst.
“And this little angel is Hadley,” Brandon says, angling the sleeping baby in his arms so I can see her cherubic face.
“You have a beautiful family,” I say.
“Thank you,” Alice says. “This is it. There are no more coming. The next one is up to Ryder. I’ve done my family duty.”
Ryder lifts Leo from his shoulders and sets him down. “It’s not happening anytime soon, but maybe at some point. These three are enough for now.”
Why am I excited he’s not against having kids? It’s not like he’s going to ask me to bear them.
“What do you think about taking a swim before dinner?” Alice asks Nora and Leo.
“Yes!” they shout.
“Okay, honey. Looks like we’re getting wet,” she tells Brandon.
“We knew they’d never come over here without going swimming,” he says. “Come on, family. Let’s head outside.” Brandon leads his family toward the back of the house.
“Ryder, I’ve got appetizers if you want me to bring them out to the deck,” I say, removing the trays from the fridge.
“You don’t have to do that. I’ll take care of it,” Ryder says.
Walter slips from the stool and comes around the island. “I’ll take those.” He takes them from me and walks from the room.
“I guess that’s settled then,” I say, glancing at Ryder.
He sidles closer, brushing a lock of hair back from my face. “I’m sorry you’ve had to do so much extra work today. I didn’t know they were coming over until last night. Alice doesn’t really ask, she just assumes any time is a good time for a visit.”
“It’s not a problem at all. Go visit with your family and leave me to cook.” I smile.
“Are you sure? I’d rather stay here with you.”
