I hate that she’s carrying that.
“How do you know that?” she asks.
“Because you’re my girl.” The words come out without hesitation because they’re true.
Her eyes widen slightly, and I squeeze her hand.
“And if you’re not welcome”—I shrug—“neither am I.”
Emotion flashes across her face—a mixture of relief, love, and disbelief. Then she takes a deep, shuddering breath, squares her shoulders, and puts on the brave face she always wears when she’s scared.
“There she is.”
I steal another kiss. Then we walk together toward the house, hand in hand.
The moment we walk through the front door, every conversation dies, and silence falls over the room.
I stop dead, and Jovie tucks herself into my back.
The dining room is crowded. Grandpa and Grandma, Momma and Dad, Uncle Albert and Imma Jean, Matty and Caison, Charli and Bryce, Harleigh and Porter, Shelby and Waylon, Royce, Micah—all of them are staring at us.
I sigh. “Really, guys?”
Nobody moves or speaks, and silence somehow gets louder.
Then Harleigh suddenly jumps up from Porter’s lap. “I’ll set two more plates at the kiddie table.”
The room erupts with laughter, and the tension breaks like a snapped rope.
Thank God for Harleigh.
Just then the front door opens again, and the room quiets for a completely different reason.
I look over my shoulder as Cabe steps inside. He kicks the dirt off his boots and hangs his hat on the hook by the door, and when he looks up, his gaze sweeps across the room.
Then lands on us.
On Jovie and me, and finally on our intertwined hands.
I feel Jovie tense beside me as Cabe’s jaw tightens, and he lifts his gaze to meet mine.
A throat clears, and Charli appears. She circles around me and hooks her arm through Jovie’s. “Hey, Jovie.”
Jovie blinks. “Yeah?”
“You mind helping me and Matty in the kitchen?”
When Jovie looks at me, I give her a reassuring nod, and she studies my face for a second.
“Um, okay.”
Charli steers her away. “Perfect. Come save me from Matty’s horrific knife skills.”
“I heard that,” Matty calls.
The three women disappear toward the kitchen.
And then, it’s just me and Cabe, standing across from a room full of people pretending not to watch.
