My mother lifts her chin. “I think Josslyn is a great match for Finneas.”
My brows rise a little. That’s high praise coming from Eliza Barlow.
“You can’t be serious,” Gracie says, frowning. “Just the other day you were saying you were looking for a good match for him.”
“I was,” my mother says. “But Finneas surprised me by choosing someone I know he’ll be happy with.”
“Happy.” Gracie scoffs, waving a hand around the room. “As if anyone is happily married.”
“It’s about time we change that, don’t you think?” my mother responds. “It doesn’t matter now, but you should know, you were never on the list of contenders for my son.” When Gracie’s jaw drops, my mother continues. “Did you expect to be? After the awful way you treated my daughter?”
I catch movement and glance over to see Josslyn walking over. Ella is next to her, and Ham and Lucas are walking behind them. The three of them have stoic expressions on their faces, but I know better. We were all taught to keep our composure and our emotions from showing in any situation. It’s something that has helped me immensely in life, and one of the things I’m actually grateful to my parents for. My eyes lock with Josslyn’s, and even though I know my mother and Gracie are chatting, I no longer hear them. The only thing I see is Josslyn. The only thing Ifeelis Josslyn. When they finally reach us, my friends and cousin greet my mother, and I wrap an arm around Josslyn. That familiar comforting warmth I feel when she’s near envelops me as she wraps an arm around my waist.
“I should go,” Gracie says, glaring at Josslyn before her eyes meet mine. “I hope you enjoy Tate’s sloppy seconds.”
“Rest assured, I am.” I pull Josslyn closer. “Everyone knows leftovers always taste better.”
She finally walks away. My jaw hurts from the way I’ve been clenching it. I’m not a violent person. I’ve only been in one fight my entire life. On the ice, I hip check and I’m aggressive, of course, but I’ve never been in a brawl. There’s no doubt in my mind that if Gracie were a man, I would have knocked him out for that display.
“Well, that was fun,” Josslyn says after a moment. The playfulness in her tone makes my anger dissipate.
“She’s such a bitch,” Ella says.
“I hope you won’t take that personally,” my mother says to Josslyn.
“Oh, I don’t. She’s been trying to get under my skin for six years now,” she responds with a small shrug. “My silence cuts deeper than her words.”
I run my hand up and down her arm. My mother looks at me and does a double-take when she sees the grin on my face.
“I’m glad you’re here,” my mother says, and with that, she gives each of us a smile and walks away.
“Did I just imagine that?” Lucas asks, eyes wide. “Eliza Barlow thanked Josslyn for being here?”
“People are saying the end of the world is near,” Hamilton says.
“Yeah, I don’t know what to make of that.” Ella laughs, shaking her head with an exhale. “Can we get out of here now? I need a real drink. Preferably without stuffy assholes.”
Josslyn laughs. “Hell yes.”
“I have to introduce her to a few people,” I say. “My godfather will kill me if I don’t.”
Ella rolls her eyes. “I guess I should find my parents.”
“You haven’t seen Mom?” Hamilton asks as they walk away.
“Asher’s in town, so my parents are skipping this,” Lucas says. “I guess I’ll be your third wheel.”
For the next half hour, we go through the motions with myfamily and family friends—the small talk, introductions to my girlfriend, more stunned looks and questions, rinse and repeat.
“I probably have an imprint of your hand on my hip,” Josslyn says as we walk toward the door.
“Good.” I pause our walk, cup her face, and kiss her.
Her eyes are wide when I break the kiss and pull away, tugging her hand to keep walking.
“You really wanted to shock people tonight, huh?” she asks, laughing.
“I think you gave Mrs. Rensselaer a heart attack back there,” Ella says behind us.
