“Jules.” Jake stepped up and pulled me in a hug after Ivy, then pulled back and pointed at the two people to his side. “This is mymuch oldersister Steph and her long-suffering husband Theo.”
Steph smacked him on the back of the head, then gave me a wide smile. “Welcome to the circus that is a Spencer family brunch. Hope you’re hungry.”
Theo reached out and shook my hand. “We can always use some more non-Spencer blood around here.”
“It’s that bad?” I asked, mainly joking. Mainly.
“It’s something,” he replied, clear in his tone that while he was serious, he was also fond of this crew.
“Daddy,” Addie cried, coming out on the porch, positively vibrating.
“Which one of us?” Noah asked, looking from himself to Jake.
“She used to call them Daddy One and Two, which made it a bit easier to tell the difference. Now she often drops the number, which is fine except when you want to know who she’s talking about,” Steph stage-whispered all that to me.
“Both of you,” Addie said to the audience. “I need you to come in since everyone is here. We can havedonuts, and Emily, Jennie, and I have been waitingforever.”
“Or five minutes,” Ivy said from behind her hand.
“We’re coming.” Jake began ushering us all in.
We walked through Jake and Ivy’s back door, which took you straight into their kitchen. There was a large island running the length that was positively groaning under the amount of food spread out, which was truly positively shocking in quantity.
A couple that was clearly the Spencer parents stood at the stove and were arguing about how many pancakes they were making.
Addie and two other girls were now standing by the donut boxes, debating which ones they would choose.
A chocolate lab was lying on a dog bed in front of a window, his tail thwapping the floor in a clear indication of his joy at being surrounded by this crowd.
This was a lot to take in.
Ivy called from her spot, “Jules, do you want a mimosa or coffee?”
I looked to Noah with big eyes. They really were serious about their level of brunch. “Um, I’ll take a mimosa.”
She looked to Kate and Steph. “Refills?”
The ladies cheered, and Mrs. Spencer looked up from her conversation at the pancake station. “Ahh, new recruits.” She was my size but had a presence when she came around the island to meet me. “I’m Margot,” she said as she pulled me to her. “Hope you’re a hugger, because I am.” She stepped back and pointed to her husband. “That’s Sam. He can’t be bothered while he’s making pancakes.”
Sam waved in introduction. “Plain, blueberry, or chocolate chip?”
“Any,” Noah replied.
Sam nodded and got back to work.
“So.” Margot leaned against the counter, giving me an assessing glance. “Did Noah mention that I was pretty rough on him when we met?”
Noah shook his head, looking toward the ceiling before accepting a coffee mug from Drew with a thanks. I took the proffered champagne glass from Ivy and looked back to Margot. While it was true that everyone, including Sam, was in casual wear, Margot’s look was far more upscale than an outfit from Athleta or the like. She had on loose linen pants and a T-shirt, but it was accessorized with a chunky beaded necklace, orange Birkenstock sandals, and thick turquoise glasses. I wanted to grow up to be her.
“Why’s that?” I asked to her comment.
Margot shrugged, seemingly unrepentant regarding her previous treatment of Noah. “I didn’t think he was good enough for Addie and Ivy.”
I stood up straight, ready to give her a piece of my mind while I heard Steph to my right murmurinterestingto Kate. Whatever. “Why would you think that? He’s an exceptional human. Addie is lucky to have him as her dad.”
My heart rate was up as I worried a tad about offending the woman I’d just met, but I’d rather do that than let her commentgo. Who knew I could go from nervous to pissed in a matter of seconds?
“Oh dear,” Margot murmured. “I didn’t mean to offend. Noah knows how much we care about him now.”
