“Hell yeah, I called it,” Knox said, turning to Finn. “Told you.”
“Yeah, man, I thought you were just bluffing.”
What the hell are they talking about?
“Um, wonderful. So, that means you two are dating,” Mom said. She looked like I’d just told her Christmas was happening twice this year.
Dad was smiling too.
Phoebe, however, was completely silent.
“Now, before you make Phoebe feel uncomfortable—” I began, but Wyatt interrupted me.
“Oh, that ship has sailed.”
“We’re very sorry, Phoebe. It’s just the way we are,” Knox explained.
“Why don’t we have breakfast?” Mom asked. “Phoebe, you’re the only person here who hasn’t tasted my cookies and muffins. I’d like to know what you think.”
“Sure,” Phoebe said slowly.
Thank fuck for Mom. She seemed to be the only one with a good head on her shoulders.
“Someone text Duncan,” I announced as we headed toward the dining table. “Tell him what’s going on so he doesn’t ambush me too.”
“Duncan wouldn’t do that,” Wyatt replied, then turned around to Phoebe again. “He’s basically the only one of us who’s got some manners.”
“Hey, I do too,” Chase countered.
I realized it was the first thing he’d said since I announced that Phoebe and I were an item.
“That’s debatable,” Hannah said. “You were a royal ass the first time I met you.”
Phoebe started to laugh as Chase groaned.
“Hannah,” he warned.
“Sorry.” Hannah grinned sheepishly. “A grump. Is that better?”
“We get the gist,” I assured them.
“Anyway,” Knox cut in, “Duncan does have manners. He wouldn’t make a fool of you in front of Phoebe.”
“Well,” Finn said, “when taken by surprise, sometimes he forgets all about his manners and is just as much of a Neanderthal as the rest of us. I’ll text him.”
“Thank you,” I answered sardonically.
“Who wants coffee?” Phoebe asked.
Everyone said they would like a cup, and Phoebe darted right to the coffee machine. It took a while to get breakfast ready. Then, after putting all the food on the table, my family sat down and immediately started eating. This reminded me so much ofmy childhood—we were especially loud and crazy during mealtimes.
I walked to Phoebe, kissing her shoulder. “Babe, are you okay?”
“Your family is not what I expected,” she commented quietly.
“Sorry about them.”
“What? No, don’t be sorry at all. I just thought… Well, it’s going to sound wrong, but I’ll say it anyway. I figured they’d look down on me.”
