The stare downcontinued.
“I’m not sure what you think is going to happen, but I can assure you, we aren’t getting back together. Samantha made that perfectlyclear.”
* * *
We arrived to fanfare.Boris had made certain of that. Because we were robbed of the church exit we’d been hoping for, a cascade of white feathers floated down on us as we entered thereceptionhall.
“Please tell me Boris didn’t pluck the feathers off live doves for this,” I whispered in Casey’s ear, while keeping the obligatory smile onmyface.
Casey leaned into me. “Maybe if you were a little more involved in the planning process of our wedding, you would know that there are a thousand naked birds convalescing in the avian hospital as wespeak.”
“Did we at least send them get wellcards?”
“We did. They should be up and flying in a fewyears’time.”
I blew a feather out of my face and smiled at my wife before giving her a kiss on the cheek. Seconds later we weresurrounded.
* * *
Casey’s parentswere standing at the end of the welcoming committee, and Linda immediately embraced me. “I’m so happy you’re officially part of the family. Now I don’t have to pretend to be nice to youanymore.”
“Oh, were you being nice before?” I asked, meeting her mischievous grin with my own. “Icouldn’ttell.”
Linda grabbed my face and kissed my cheek. “You know I love you. And I especially adore how much you love mydaughter.”
I leaned in to give my new mother-in-law a hug. “I’ll make her happy, Ipromise.”
“Youalreadydo.”
Linda and I had hit it off on our very first meeting, and our friendship had only grown from there. And now that bond extended to the rest of Casey’s family. Just as I would for my own flesh and blood, I’d do anything for the Caldwell clan. Such an attachment might seem natural to most people, but for me it was a somewhat surprising development. I’d spent so many years cut off from others, believing I didn’t have the capacity to develop feelings of love toward anyone who hadn’t been in my life from the verystart.
Casey had proved that theory wrong when she charmed her way into my life overnight. Still, that could be explained away as romantic love. Caring for a whole group of people – that was a different story. Yet that’s what happened when I was first introduced to the Caldwells. They’d welcomed me in with open arms, accepting me despite my unusual profession… and highly checkered past. Spending time with them never felt forced and I found myself easily bonding. It just went to show that there was no chokehold on my heart and there never had been. The limitations I’d placed upon myself were entirely of my own doing, and once I let go of them and opened up to the possibilities, I was able to blend them into my world. When I exchanged my vows this afternoon, I hadn’t just gained a wife, but an entirefamily.
Dave placed his hand on my shoulder and, maybe it was just me, but it felt like his fingers were digging into my flesh a little more aggressively than they should have been. One look in his direction told me he wasn’t feeling the love like hiswifewas.
“Really?” he asked, shaking his head at me. “Was that reallynecessary?”
I knew exactly what he was referring to – the kiss – and I smiled sheepishly. “Sorry. It wasn’t planned, if thathelps.”
Dave made a show of swallowing an invisible lump before saying, “No, it doesn’t go down any easier. Here’s the deal, Jake. I know my daughter’s an adult… it’s just… I’d rather not have her romantic life, for lack of a better term, shoved down my throat. You know what I’msaying?”
“Idefinitelydo.”
“Good.Nicechat.”
His fingers disengaged as he walked away, and I followed after him with my stunned eyes. That was badass! When had Dave, the mild-mannered office manager, become an ex-CIA shakedown artist? One thing was for certain, in the future, it would be wise to keep the steam level in the ‘dad-pleasing’ mild range with Casey for the rest of ourlives.
Luke came galloping up, shaking my hand and slapping my back in unison. “Welcome to the family, bro. Is this a good time to ask foraloan?”
The smile on his face was contagious. Luke was just a good-natured person, who shared so many admirable traits with his sister. It really was impossible not to like him. Over the past two years, Luke had taught me a thing or two about not taking life so seriously. He really could teach a class in positivity. After all, this was a guy who, when told to ‘have a good day,’ always responded with, ‘Have abetterone.’
“Don’t do it, Jake,” Miles said, coming up behind him and putting his brother in a choke hold. “I loaned him money in the second grade and he never paiditback.”
“It was a gumball machine,” Luke said, performing an awkward pirouette to extract himself from Miles’s grasp. “I cannot believe you still bring that up. Would you like me to pay you back? Would that make youhappy?”
Luke made of show of checking his pockets for change, and when he couldn’t find any, he asked, “Jake, do you have twenty-five centsonyou?”
He’d been asking for loans since the beginning of our relationship – not for the money, mind you, but for the laugh he got by pointing out my income. “Not for you,” Iresponded.
