“Anna, you’re blushing,” Aunt Delores teased. “That tells us everything.”
Uncle Charlie leaned in. “I like him. He's got good energy.”
I looked across the yard where Luke was peeling crawfish and laughing with my uncle like he’d been part of the family for years. He caught my eye and grinned. My chest felt too full. He fit here, somehow. In the chaos and the noise and the complete lack of boundaries that was my family, he just... fit.
And watching him there, sleeves rolled up, completely at ease, I realized how much lighter everything felt with him around. How much happier I’d been these past few weeks. How right this all felt, even when my family was being completely overwhelming.
He looked over at me again, and this time he mouthed,You okay?
I nodded, smiling despite the interrogation happening around me.
Yeah. I was more than okay.
36
LUKE
I foundmyself peeling crawfish at a folding table in the backyard, elbow to elbow with Uncle Robby, who kept up a running commentary about his adventures in love, life, and everything in between.
“The secret to life,” Uncle Robby announced, waving a crawfish tail for emphasis, “is knowing when to twist and when to pull. Works for crawfish, stubborn jar lids, and getting out of family obligations.”
I stared at him. “That’s... your secret to life?”
“Got me through three mortgages and two hernias.” He pointed the crawfish at me. “You’re in with a good one over there, by the way.” He nodded toward Anna, who was laughing with her cousins across the lawn.
I followed his gaze, and everything else faded.
She was standing in a shaft of late afternoon sunlight, her head thrown back in laughter at something Mary had said. The golden light caught in her hair, and the way her whole face lit up—man, she was beautiful. Not magazine-cover beautiful, though she was that too. It was something deeper. Warmth that drew people in without her even trying.
She looked over then, like she could feel me watching, and our eyes met across the yard.
My chest tightened. This.Thiswas what I'd been missing my whole life without even knowing it. Not the parties or the premieres or the moments that looked perfect on camera. Just... this. A backyard full of people who actually cared about each other.
For the first time in years, maybe ever, I felt like I was exactly where I was supposed to be.
“Luke! You in or what?” Uncle Charlie called out, already tossing a football in the air.
“What am I in for?” I asked, reluctantly tearing my gaze from Anna.
“Touch football. Winner gets first pick at dessert, and Aunt Mona made her famous bread pudding, so the stakes are high.”
“The stakes areveryhigh,” Uncle Ray confirmed solemnly. “That bread pudding is delicious.”
Within minutes, I was being tagged by a ten-year-old who had apparently been training with the Saints, while Uncle Steve provided play-by-play commentary like we were in the Super Bowl.
“And Fisher goes down! Taken out by Little Michael! The crowd goes wild!”
Anna was on the other team, and she wascompetitive. When she intercepted a pass clearly meant for Uncle Charlie, she did a victory dance that had everyone howling.
“That’s my girl!” Aunt Sharon yelled.
“Showoff!” I called across the lawn, grinning.
She stuck her tongue out at me, and my heart did something stupid and complicated in my chest.
Yeah. I was completely gone for this woman.
Two plays later, I caught a pass and dodged around Mary, heading for the makeshift end zone (Uncle Ray’s cooler), when Anna came out of nowhere and tagged me so hard I stumbled.
