AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Cool. It was nice meeting you, Rhea,” Cooper said.
“Yeah, make sure this guy shows you a good time,” Marco added with a smile.
Relief swept through me at how casual and comfortable Cooper was with me and that Marco was so friendly. Of course, the minute the three men walked off, a question popped into my head. “I thought you said Cooper was the grouchiest of the bunch. He seemed friendly. More than Liam, if I’m honest.”
Wyatt’s features softened. “Don’t take Liam’s silence as anything personal. He’s dealing with a bit of a broken heart, and it’s taking him some time to work through that.”
Suddenly, I felt bad. “Oh, no. Is he okay?”
“He will be. It’s just going to take time, because he believed she was the love of his life,” Wyatt revealed.
I couldn’t imagine what Liam had been through, but I didn’t think it was my place to ask. And even if I wanted to, I wouldn’t have been able, because a young woman came striding toward us, her face lighting up. “Is this her?” she asked Wyatt, before turning her attention to me. “Are you Rhea?”
My body went solid at how excited she was. I hadn’t been expecting this kind of welcome from anyone.
“Yes, I’m Rhea,” I confirmed.
She extended her hand to me. “I’m Jules. I’m Wyatt’s youngest sister. Actually, I’m the youngest of the whole bunch. I’m so happy to meet you. Have you met anyone else yet?”
As I shook her hand, Wyatt shared, “I just introduced her to Liam, Coop, and Marco. We haven’t found Ivy, Mom, Dad, Gram, Pop, or Tate yet.”
Jules narrowed her eyes slightly. “I just saw Tate over near the dessert table with Ivy and Ava. They were checking out the cake I made.”
Wyatt caught my attention and explained, “Jules made the cake for everyone tonight when the bakery had to cancel at the last minute. It’s her first time baking for such a large crowd.”
As someone who occasionally received orders from clients for large gatherings, I could appreciate the pressure Jules must have felt preparing a cake for something like this. In my case, I had to merely provide tubs of ice cream. Jules had to be able to display a cake that would be judged not only on the way it tasted, but also the way it looked.
“Wow, that’s incredible. If I recall correctly, you’re still in high school, right?”
Nodding, a bright smile on her face, she confirmed, “I am. But I’ll be graduating in a few weeks.”
“Congratulations. I can’t wait to try the cake.”
“I hope you love it.”
“We will,” Wyatt assured her. “I’m proud of you, Jules.”
Jules moved close to her brother, leaned into his opposite side, and smiled as he gave her a one-armed hug. Once he released her, she insisted, “Go ahead and find everyone else, so Rhea can meet them. We’ll catch up later.”
A moment later, she was gone, and I was glancing up at Wyatt again. “She’s so sweet.”
Warmth flooded his features. “Yeah, she is. And she’s so easy to get along with. Everybody loves her.”
I could see why and was tempted to say I wanted to spend the rest of the evening spending time with her, because she just made me feel so welcome and comfortable. But since Wyatt was ready for me to meet the rest of his family, that wasn’t an option.
As he took me by the hand once again, Wyatt said, “It looks like Ivy and Tate are still over at the dessert table.”
It wasn’t difficult to figure out who they were, because the second they saw us making our approach, all conversation ceased to exist.
We came to a stop in front of them, and Wyatt introduced everyone. “Rhea, this is my brother, Tate, my sister, Ivy, and Ivy’s best friend and the other honorary member of our family, Ava. Everyone, this is Rhea.”
My fingers squeezed Wyatt’s a little tighter as I leaned slightly into him and said, “It’s nice to meet you. Happy birthday, Ivy.”
She smiled back at me. “Thanks. And thank you for coming.”
“Yeah, Wyatt wasn’t sure if you’d be free, but we’re happy to see you could make it,” Tate added.
“Me, too. I’m already having a wonderful time. This is absolutely beautiful.”
