“My cousin,” Jason said with a smile.
Isabelle lifted a brow. “Your cousin. And I haven’t met her because…”
He shrugged. “I mean, we’re not that close. We hang out at huge family gatherings, but the day-to-day? Not so much. If it makes you feel any better, they’ll be invited to the wedding.”
“They?”
“Yeah. Rose has a bunch of sisters. Five, I think.”
Marcus let out a whistle. “That’s a lot of hormones in one place.”
“You’re telling me,” Jason agreed.
“Hey!” Isabelle snapped.
“Anyway,” Marcus drawled. “She was dropping Wynter off at home after they had hung out, and she invited me. Don’t know that Wynter was too thrilled about it, though. Actually, she looked downright mad.”
Isabelle snickered. “I like her already.”
Marcus shot her a warning look. “I need you to stay out of it, Izzie.”
“What? I didn’t do anything.”
“I know that look.”
“What look?” Isabelle batted her eyes at him.
He shook his head in exasperation. “Just… leave Wynter alone, okay? I’m finally getting to a good place with her. We’re finding our footing in our friendship, and I don’t want to ruin it.”
“Friendship,” Isabelle said slowly. “Ugh. That’s no fun.”
“I mean it. Stay out of it,” Marcus warned.
She huffed and settled back in her seat. “Fine.”
“Jason!I didn’t know you were coming.”
Marcus hung back with Isabelle as Rose came barreling toward Jason and threw her arms around him.
Isabelle leaned closer to Marcus and said through slitted lips, “If we weren’t engaged, I’d be jealous. Not gonna lie.”
He smirked. While Rose was beautiful in her own right, she didn’t hold a candle to the raven-haired beauty behind her. Wynter tucked a few stray strands behind her ear and pointedly avoided looking at him. Beside her were two other redheads.Probably Rose’s sisters. They were smiling at the reunion for the most part until their eyes shifted to him and Isabelle.
Jason reached out for Isabelle’s hand before tugging her closer to the group. “This is my fiancée, Isabelle.”
Rose grinned wide at Isabelle and enveloped her in a tight hug. Isabelle grunted at the collision and tossed a look of desperation Marcus’s way. He shook his head with a smile. This was the family she’d be marrying into. She needed to get used to it at one point or another.
Then Jason motioned to Marcus. “And this is Isabelle’s brother.”
Rose winked at him. “We’ve met.” Then she motioned to the other two women. “These are my sisters, Lily and Jasmine.”
Isabelle glanced between the three redheads. “Flowers?”
Rose didn’t bat an eye at the question. “Yep. Our mother was kinda a hippie. She loves flowers, and our dad loved her. So…” She smiled. “At least our last name isn’t Bush.”
Isabelle laughed nervously, and Rose grimaced.
“Golly, that usually lands better.” She glanced at her sisters and thumbed at Isabelle and Marcus. “Tough crowd.” Then she faced the group again. “Anyway, let’s pick out songs and get a table. They have the best onion rings here. But since it’s December, they’ve got peppermint-flavored everything. Brownies. Fresh churned ice cream. You name it.”
