“You ready for this?” I asked.
“Of course I am, Jamie. I won’t feel like a real boyfriend until I meet the family.”
I smiled, stomach fluttering. It had been a long time since I’d had someone to sit beside me at a family dinner.
I kind of thought I’d always be the single one out. But no more.
I laced my fingers with Hank’s and we went out to the car, Lady and Tramp following behind. I didn’t bother with leashes because they were going straight into Hank’s car—which was a little roomier than mine—and then into my parents’ house.
I gave Hank directions, and he drove us over to the little suburban neighborhood in just a few minutes. It was one of the older areas of town, with big, towering trees. A canopy of leaves dappled the sky as we drove under them and parked at the curb across the street.
My brother’s SUV was already in the drive, and my sister’s minivan was taking up the curb closest to the house.
I turned to Hank. “Okay, so they can be a lot, but they mean well.”
“I’m not worried,” he said. “My family is a lot, too.”
Hank had introduced me via phone to his mom, and she’d invited me to join them for lunch in Riverton sometime soon. She was perfectly lovely, asking me about myself without being pushy.
But Hank was walking into absolute chaos. He just didn’t know it yet.
We got out of the car, and the dogs made a break for the front door. Hank chuckled beside me as we crossed the street.
“You bring the dogs here a lot, huh?”
“Almost every week,” I said. “They’re a little too rambunctious for my parents, but the grandkids all love them.”
We let ourselves in, and little Gracie spotted us first. “Uncle Jamie’s here with a strange man!” she called out.
“A man?” my sister exclaimed in faux shock. She knew I was bringing Hank. “That can’t be right!”
She came charging out of the dining room, stopping short when she saw us. “Whoa,thisis the new boyfriend?” She looked him up and down. “Not bad, Jamie.”
“Seriously?” my brother said, coming out of the hallway that led to the bathroom. “Stop eyeing the guy up like a side of beef.” He stepped forward. “I’m Jamie’s brother, Nick. I’m glad you’re joining us. It’s a real hen fest.”
“Watch it,” Ashley said, “or we’ll have to peck out your eyes.”
Nick rolled his eyes. “See what I have to put up with?”
His wife, Gwen, came through the sliding door just then. “Oh, poor baby, is your sister being mean to you again?”
“She’s notnotbeing mean,” he grumbled.
“Eh, he can take it,” my sister said. “But get a load of Jamie’s boyfriend!”
Gwen stepped forward. “Oh my gosh, it’s about time we got to meet you! We’ve been asking Jamie about you for ages.”
“We were beginning to think you were imaginary,” my brother put in.
Okay, so I’d put off this meeting for a while. I didn’t want to overwhelm Hank in our first couple of weeks of dating. He needed time to settle in before I thrust this gang at him.
“Not imaginary,” Hank said with a chuckle. “I’m glad to be meeting everyone who loves Jamie. He met my bratty brother, so it seems only fair.”
“But he’s just one brat,” I put in. “You’ve met three in two minutes. You can see why I wanted to wait?”
My siblings laughed. “Whatever. We’re delightful!”
We made our way to the dining room, and Gwen dropped back. “This does put a kink in our plans to run away together, though.”
