Angelica looked just as surprised as Hope felt. But she didn’t hesitate very long before she reached forward and took Rachel’s hand. “It was a difficult time for everyone involved.”
Rachel hummed.
Hope set the platter down and snagged the bottle of wine that Rachel had brought. She dug through the drawer for the corkscrew to open it and pour the two of them a drink. She was going to need that to keep calm, especially as it got closer to everyone showing up. The entire family. One night. They could do this, right?
The girls rushed through the room and skidded to a halt. Eva looked up at Angelica with a smirk on her lips. “Did you check your phone?”
“No?” Angelica said like a question.
“You should.” And then she was gone again with the gaggle of cousins following her.
Angelica sent Hope a strange look and slipped her phone out of her pocket. She looked at the screen, let out one guffaw, and then slid it back into her pocket.
“What was that?” Hope asked.
“Nothing.” Angelica waved it off and snagged her beer off the counter. “I’m looking forward to tonight, actually.”
“You are?” Both Rachel and Hope said at the same time.
“Yes.” Angelica winked at Hope. “I can be quite persuasive when people meet me in person, you know. Negotiating contracts and dealing with difficult situations is one of my many talents.”
Heat rushed to Hope’s cheeks. God, Angelica was taking tonight as a total challenge, wasn’t she? This was going to be the end or the beginning, and Hope wanted it to be the latter. When the doorbell rang, Angelica’s lips pulled upward into a gleeful mischievous look.
“And there they are,” Angelica said. “Let the games begin.”
“That’s not…” Hope furrowed her brow and pointed at Angelica. “No. Just stop that.”
“Oh, I like this side of you.” Rachel bumped Angelica’s shoulder. “I think we’re going to get along really well.”
“See?” Angelica pointed to Rachel. “One down, four to go.”
“Don’t remind me,” Hope mumbled as she walked directly toward the front door.
The house was loud for hours. Kids ran wild underfoot, and laughter and drinks were shared. By the time Hope shut the door on her parents, the kitchen counter was an absolute mess with hardly any food left, her feet were screaming at her to sit down, and Eva was curled up on the couch asleep. But she closed her eyes and just breathed.
And in the kitchen was Angelica, quietly cleaning up and putting food and drinks away as the water ran from the faucet while she rinsed out wine glasses. Biting her lip, Hope forced herself upward to walk toward Angelica. She snagged her by the hips to hold onto her as she dropped a kiss to the nape of her neck.
Angelica hummed. “I think tonight went well.”
Hope groaned. “They’re still suspicious.”
“As they should be.” Angelica looked over her shoulder. “The goal wasn’t to rid them of that tonight, was it?”
“No, I suppose not.” Hope sighed heavily and rested her chin on Angelica’s shoulder as Angelica leaned over the kitchen sink to wash out one of the wine glasses. “But I would have liked to.”
“I know your family means the world to you,” Angelica said, setting one of the glasses to the side. “But it does take time for everyone to adjust to something new, and while you and I have been together for a year now, no one else has been privy to that part of our relationship.”
“I know.” Hope frowned, burying her nose in Angelica’s warm skin.
“So again, it’ll take some time for them to get used to me and to figure out who I am.” Angelica staged another glass to wash.
“How are you so calm about this?” Hope asked, pressing another kiss to Angelica’s neck.
“It’s not my family.” Angelica smiled brightly. “Rachel seemed to be coming around, though.”
“We’ve had a lot of conversations in the last two years about how ridiculous she was being.” Hope stepped to the side and pulled the food toward her on the counter before digging through her cabinet for Tupperware to put everything up for the evening.
“It’s important that they know the story we want them to know, and the one they can’t deny.” Angelica took one of the platters and ran it under the water.
