She nodded too quickly.“Yeah.Nita’s just a loving sister and you should be prepared, she doesn’t hold back.”
That earned a corner of a smile from me.“Older sister?”
“By eight years.She practically raised me since our parents both worked all the time to make ends meet.”
That explained the tension better than anything else could have.She loved her sister and wanted her approval.
I stepped out first, rounding the hood to open her door because it felt right.Because some part of me needed to do something useful with my hands.She smiled up at me when I offered them, and that smile—small, trusting—hit deeper than it should have.
This was supposed to be casual.
We hadn’t defined anything.We hadn’t put labels on it.Dinners, conversations, long silences that felt comfortable instead of awkward.Incredible sex, not always mind blowing but it was good and she was satisfied.I hadn’t promised her anything except honesty, and even that felt like a risk some days.
But meeting her family wasn’t nothing.
I already committed to this so no turning back now.
Nita’s townhouse was neat and lived-in, porch light glowing warm against the early evening dark.Laughter spilled out when the door opened, and Char stiffened before relaxing as her sister stepped into view.
Nita was tall, confident, sharp-eyed.She took one look at me and did that thing people do when they think they’re subtle but absolutely aren’t—assessing.Weighing.Filing me away.
“So,” she said, folding Char into a hug before turning back to me, “you must be the cop.”
I held out my hand.“Dante Verdone and yes.”
She didn’t take it right away.In fact, she looked at it like I might bite or maybe she was deciding whether she wanted to take my hand or simply murder me first.Her gaze moved, scanning with a scowl that could make some men cower as her eyes locked to mine.Satisfied with whatever she was looking for, she went back to my hand.Finally, she shook it.Firm grip.
No smile.“Nita.”
The rest of the family flittered around behind her—parents, an aunt, a cousin—but Nita never took her eyes off me for long as I entered the space.Nita stayed close to Char, like proximity itself was a protective act.
Dinner smelled incredible.Home-cooked.Real.The kind of food that took time and care, the kind I had grown up with before life got complicated and meals became something you fit in between shifts.
Char moved easily here, laughing more freely than I’d seen before.Relaxed.She leaned into her mother’s touch, rolled her eyes affectionately at her father, teased her cousin.It struck me then how much of her I hadn’t seen yet—not because she was hiding it, but because she was still healing.And we were still new, very new.
I watched her more than I should have.She caught me once, eyebrows lifting in silent question.I looked away.
Conversation stayed light at first.Work, traffic, the weather.Safe ground.Then Nita poured wine and leaned back in her chair, eyes sharp again.
“So,” she began, “how did you two meet?”
Char’s fingers curled in her napkin.I wasn’t sure how much she had shared with her family.
I answered before she could.“I responded to a call.”
The table went quiet.Char looked at me, something like gratitude flickering across her face for taking charge.Something I was learning about her, as strong and independent as she was, she enjoyed the way I was.And that was simple, if I asked for her time, I had a plan.She didn’t have to think or question or wonder.I laid shit out how it would be and kept my word.I continued going before anyone could ask the obvious follow-up.
“It was a bad situation.She had these eyes that called to me.I circled back to check on her afterward.We started talking.”
That was true.It was also the most stripped-down version of the truth I could offer in a room full of people who loved her.
“We don’t have secrets in this family,” Nita began.“My family knew about her situation and about the police being called.I was at the hospital with her.I brought her home.Did this start from there?”
I nodded.“It did.”
“At the hospital.You came to see my sister after that piece of garbage ex of hers lost his mind and crossed a line.That’s where all this began?”Nita’s gaze didn’t soften.“And now you’re dating.”
It wasn’t a question.
