“What?”
“Don’t go out to brunch with them. Invite them over to have brunch at our place with my parents.”
“Blake, no. I can’t do that. You planned that with the rest of the guys for their parents too. I don’t want to intrude.”
“You won’t. Poppy’s parents will be there too. It’s not a big deal at all. The guys won’t mind. And hey, my parents will be excited to talk to your parents. They both live in Grand Junction, but they haven’t seen each other much since you and I moved away for college. They’ll be busy catching up, and that’ll take some of the heat off you.”
The worried wrinkle in her brow eases.
I reach out and gently stroke her cheek. She closes her eyes and hums. She turns her face and kisses my palm. I nearly groan at how good her soft lips feel against my palm.
She looks at me, her green eyes bright. “You’re really okay with my parents crashing your brunch?”
I grin. “Of course.”
I wrap my arms around her and hug her. She nuzzles her face into my chest. I tuck her head under my chin and breathe in the sweet smell of her shampoo.
I love this. I love having her in my arms. I love feeling her body melt against me.
“You’re the sweetest ever,” she says softly.
“Anything for you, B.”
She smiles up at me.
“Come on. Let’s head home. I’m in charge of making the overnight French toast casserole for tomorrow. You gotta help me from screwing it up.”
She laughs, and we head back to the house.
* * *
“Is the French toast casserole supposed to look like that?” Leo asks me.
I sigh as I stare at the dish. “No. It’s not.”
Nick walks into the kitchen and frowns at the pan. He looks at the charred edges, then he pokes the soggy middle. “How is both burned and undercooked?”
“I misread the recipe and set the temperature wrong.”
They both start laughing.
“Remind us to never let you bake anything again,” Leo says.
Nick pats my shoulder. “It’s cool, Travis and Anna are at the store right now picking up stuff to make a croissant board.”
“What’s a croissant board?” I ask as I dump the failed casserole into the trash can.
“Anna found it on Pinterest. It looks like you just buy some croissants from the store or a bakery, and set them on thecounter with a bunch of stuff. Like deli meat, boiled eggs, cheese, fruit, and jam.”
“That sounds way easier than a casserole. Why didn’t we think of that?” I ask.
“Because we’re not very smart,” Leo deadpans.
Nick grins. “I don’t need to be smart. My girl has the brains for the both of us.”
Leo rolls his eyes while I laugh.
“Hey, where’s Briar?” Nick asks.
