I choke back a laugh at Nate's questions. Definitely not something you say to a three-or-so-year-old, but it’s the first real bit of personality I’ve seen since everything that went down.
“No! Of course not!” the little girl giggles.
The second the cool fall air hits our skin, I’m overtaken with hugs and kisses. I have no idea who’s touching me or who’s rattling questions in my direction, but I try my hardest to act like the loving, doting fiancée.
“If it isn’t the blushing bride!” Nate’s mother says, beaming with enthusiasm.
Pin-straight medium-length brown hair. A baby-blue cardigan that brings out the color of her eyes. This woman is absolutely gorgeous. And it doesn’t take a genius to realize where Nate gets his impeccable good looks from.
I stick my hand out to shake hers. “It’s a pleasure meeting you, Mrs. Archer.”
“Oh, no need for formalities. You can call me Natalia.” She brushes me off with a wave of her hand as she pulls me into another hug.
Can’t breathe.She’s got the grip of a baby holding on to a strand of hair, but thankfully, someone comes to my rescue.
“There’s no need to crush the girl’s airway, sweetheart,” a man in a simple polo yells from behind the burger-and-sausage-riddled barbecue.
Natalia gasps in shock at the comment, jerking back from me.
“Richard.” He introduces himself from a distance, his smile warm and inviting. “Don’t mind my wife. She gets carried away sometimes. I’d come over to shake your hand, but this barbecue needs my full attention. I set off one too many grease fires this past summer.”
“I can attest to that!” Nate’s sister interjects—Audrey, as her mother introduced her. “He did set my hair on fire, hence the new ‘do.” She gestures toward her short, bobbed brown hair.
While my mouth drops in shock, she laughs.
“Just kidding!”
“Or not,” Richard pipes in.
Whether the story is true or not, I can confidently say she rocks it.
From my research, Audrey is successful in her own right, only in the fashion industry. And there’s something about that haircut that drives the elegant CEO of an up-and-coming fashion house.
Contagious giggles reappear as Anya runs circles around the barbecue. Her feet pitter against the patio stones as the hem of her dress flounces with every step.
“Be careful, Anya, you’re going to get dizzy,” Nate warns, visibly concerned.
As predicted, she falls butt first, head wobbling from side to side as she looks at me, crossed-eyed.
A chubby finger is pointed in my direction. “Is that Princess Belle?”
Nate shakes his head as he approaches his niece and kneels next to her. He murmurs something in her ear, eyes on me the whole time. When he’s done, Anya turns to me, smiling wider than ever before.
I don’t have the time to question it when Richard yells, “No need for Barbies when we have a cue. Get in line, boys, food’s ready.”
———
The paper plates are empty and tossed aside. The food was devoured with none left. And the resulting coma might hit at any second.
Getting to learn more about this crazy family over dinner was less stressful than I’d anticipated, and I can honestly say I really enjoyed it. The same can’t be said for Nate, who’s been nothing but a grump all evening.
“There’s no need to embarrass me,” he mutters under his breath when his mother rushes inside the house for his baby picture book.
Audrey leans further into the table she’s standing against. “I mean, it’s only fair. They did it to me when I first got engaged, and now it’s your turn,” she taunts, sticking her tongue out.
Nate’s eyes narrow. “It’s not the same,” he reasons.
“And why not?” Audrey asks with the quirk of her brow. “Are you guys not engaged? I mean, I wouldn’t be surprised with the way you’re both sitting.”
