Henry frowns at this and shares a loaded look with Kat. “I told you the blue shirt would have complemented my eyes more than this one. She’s not even checking me out!”
Rolling her eyes at her husband as he and Sasha laugh, Kat pulls me inside to show me “more than just the front stairs.” As she takes me on a brief tour of their home, I’m immediately at ease listening to tales from her and Sasha’s adventures. It’s telling to hear her version of events compared to his, particularly when it comes to bugs and other creatures they encountered while camping.
“He told me that he’s the one who got the snake out of the tent!”
“Hell no!” Kat shoots Sasha an annoyed glare. “He screamed like a baby and left me to fend for myself. He hid behind a tree while I used two sticks to coax it out so we had somewhere to sleep.”
Sasha has the decency to look sheepish and follows Henry to refill everyone’s drinks for one last round before the rest of the family arrives. Kat stands and stretches, then motions for me to follow her.
“I’d like to show you something before everyone gets here, if you’ll indulge me.”
Her countenance is more serious than earlier, and I have a feeling that whatever conversation we’re about to have might have heavy implications for the future tone of our relationship. We’ve had a lovely evening thus far, but nobody’s addressed the elephant in the room of the toxic history that Sasha and I share. We stop at a window facing the back of the house, with a bubbling fountain serving as the focal point of the outdoor space. A number of ducks splash about, looking like the picture of country domesticity.
“These are my ducks.”
I wait for Kat to say anything else, but she’s quiet, staring wistfully at them as they quack and play. A smaller duck tries to hop from one level of the fountain to the next but isn’t quite big enough.
“That one will be able to make that jump soon, if it follows their normal growth trajectory.” We watch for a few more moments.
“I’d like to express my regret for the things that happened between you and Sasha.”
Oh shit.Okay, we’re doing this. Great. I open my mouth to tell her she had nothing to do with a grown man’s decisions, but she holds up a hand to politely stop me.
“I know he’s a grown-ass man, and he made his own choices. I’m not apologizing for what happened because I had nothing to do with it. But I do regret it. From what Sasha’s told me, he acted in a way that both doesn’t surprise me at all and also shocks the hell out of me. Our upbringing and his own twisted beliefs of what he deserves and what sort of life the two of you might have are no excuses for the way he treated you.”
I can’t stop the tears that fill my eyes, but they don’t fall.
“I’ve only ever wanted him to be happy, even more so since I fell in love with my husband. We had an…interesting start. I’m not sure how much of our story you’ve heard. But from the beginning, Henry tried to make a place for me in his life. These ducks are an example of him prioritizing my desires and opinions, and I can honestly say I don't even notice him putting my preferences into action these days. He does it so seamlessly within our life that I just flit about and enjoy it.”
She turns to face me now, and I can see she’s also teary.
“I just want to make sure that Sasha is treating you well. Fully well. He’s one of the best men I know, and I love him like a twin more than a brother. But you deserve someone who will burn theworld for you, and I needed to make sure that you knew that. I believe he has it in him, but it likely won’t be easy. Whatever he’s told you about the realities that are in store for him with our family are true. It’s not a normal life.”
We both turn back to watch the ducks and gather our thoughts, and I know that honesty is what we all deserve.
“We’re going to have a long road, I think, thanks to everything we’ve been through. And I can’t imagine a day that I accept less than the full princess treatment from that man.” I laugh. “But I think we’ll end up being pretty damn strong together, and he’s worth it. Whatever security issues arise, we’ll handle as a team. He’s stuck with me, though. Which means all of you are, too. I know Jack is my brother, but I don’t want any of you to feel like I’m infringing on—”
“You aren’t infringing on anything at all, dear!” Blanche barrels around the corner and pulls me into a tight hug. Kat winks at me as she follows Blanche’s lead, and we wind our way back into the main living area, meeting Sasha, Henry, Margot, Jack, Ledger, and Sloane in the dining room, where dinner is laid out buffet style on a sideboard. Placing herself at the head of the table and keeping an arm linked with mine, she loudly clears her throat.Awesome. Center of attention.
“Everyone, I’m so glad you took time out of your busy schedules to make it to family dinner tonight—”
“You emailed my secretary and canceled my meeting!”
“I was in the bathtub when you called and told me there was an emergency at Henry’s!”
Blanche continues as if she doesn’t hear the half-hearted protests from Jack and Ledger. “Tonight, we are formally welcoming our dear Lucy into the family. She’s Jack’s darling sister, and of course, Sasha is as good as one of us thanks to Katarina bringing him along with her when she arrived.”
“Sasha has certainly brought a very specific set of skills to the family—”
“I’m still sorry for unleashing such a menace on all of you—”
“And I also have a very special personal announcement that I’ll be making at the end of dinner,” Blanche continues, ignoring Henry’s and Kat’s interruptions. “So let’s all grab our places and dig in!”
The next hour is a whirlwind of delicious food and rapid-fire conversations. Sitting down to eat with the entirety of the Sinclair family is chaotic, with inside jokes and laughter ringing throughout the room. Ledger is saying something into Sloane’s ear that has her blushing, while Henry feeds Katarina bites as she sits in his lap. Jack gives me a quick wink before returning to his conversation with Blanche, and I’m pretty sure I heard my name along with “trust” and “family photo shoot.”
That’ll be fun.Especially telling Jack I really don’t have much of an interest in any of that money. Maybe for my kids, sometime far in the future. Not that Sasha and I havereallytalked about any of that yet. Thinking of Sasha, I turn to see why he’s being so quiet, only to find himstaring at me.He’s got a sappy half smile on his face, eyes somewhat glazed as he takes me in, seemingly content to enjoy being in my presence.
“Why are you staring at me, weirdo?” I tease.
