Page 73 of A New Chapter

Chapter 34

“I can’t believe you talked me into this,” Kelly grumbled.

“I didn’t think you’d want to be alone on Thanksgiving,” Emma replied.

“It doesn’t sound so bad now. There must be thirty cars here.”

Emma and Kelly had followed Zack and Gracie to his parents’ house on Whipple Lake. When they exited the car, Emma looked around with appreciation. The house was a sprawling ranch surrounded by a copse of trees, with the lake glimmering in the background.

“Thirty is an exaggeration, Kell. Just come in and eat with us, and then you can sneak out whenever you want.”

“You ready to meet my family?” Zack asked when they joined him and Gracie on the porch.

“Sure,” Emma said enthusiastically before shooting Kelly a look that warned, “Not a word.”

When Zack pushed open the door, all of Emma’s senses were assaulted at once. First, the smells: sage, pepper, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Then the sounds: loud, raucous laughter and high-pitched chatter. The foyer bled into the large, open living area, and twenty-five heads turned toward them at once. The sounds faded as if someone had lowered the volume on a radio.

A pleasantly plump woman with pitch-black hair and a ready smile approached them first. She gathered Gracie into a tight hug and said, “How’s Nana’s little girl?” Before Gracie could respond, she cupped Gracie’s face and kissed first one cheek and then the other. When she finished, she repeated the process with Zack.

“Ma, I’d like you to meet Emma and her friend Kelly.”

Emma immediately stuck out her hand, but Zack’s mom used it to pull her in for a hearty hug.

“It’s nice to meet you, dear. My name is Alexandra, but everyone calls me Alex. Welcome to our home.”

The woman exuded such warmth that Emma couldn’t help but smile. Kelly stood a couple of steps behind Emma to shield herself from the onslaught, but it was to no avail.

Alex pulled her in for a hug as well, and then she motioned them into the living room, where they were greeted by twenty-some inquisitive pairs of eyes.

To save Emma from individual introductions, Zack swept his arm around the room and announced, “Everyone, this is Emma and her friend Kelly.”

Hellos and nods greeted them from around the room before the guests returned to their conversations.

Gracie ran off to join a board game in progress, and Zack scanned the area. “There they are,” he said and grabbed Emma’s hand. “I want you to meet my dad and brother.”

Kelly tagged along behind them while they crossed the room. There, leaning against an oversized picture window with an extensive view of the lake, stood the men Zack wanted them to meet.

“Son,” Zack’s dad said by way of greeting. “Good to see you.”

“Dad, I wanted to personally introduce you to Emma,” Zack said proudly.

Mr. Kostas was almost as tall as Zack, and he sported a full head of salt-and-pepper hair. When he shook Emma’s hand, she looked directly into a pair of light gray eyes that were identical to Zack’s.

“Welcome to the nut house,” he teased, clasping her hand in both of his. “I’m Joe.” Kelly was hiding behind Emma again, but Joe leaned around Emma and gave her a little wave. “Brave girl,” he added, pointing at Kelly. His jokey, easygoing manner immediately put them at ease, and Kelly cracked her first real smile since entering the house.

Kelly’s smile turned into something else entirely when the man who had been standing with his back to them a moment ago, turned around.

Oh boy. Emma knew that look, and she tried to send Kelly a silent warning but failed to get her attention.

“And this is my brother, Damian,” Zack said.

Damian tackled his brother, going so far as to lift him right off the floor, which couldn’t have been an easy feat. They hugged each other hard before Damian unceremoniously set him back down.

Holy Greek God number two! Damian was a couple of inches shorter than Zack, but what he lacked in height, he more than made up for in muscle. He wore a short-sleeve t-shirt printed with the slogan “Pete’s Custom Motors” above the image of a classic car. Emma noticed the edge of a tattoo peeking out from his right sleeve, and judging from the look on Kelly’s face, she had noticed it too. Damian was basically an edgier version of Zack, with longer, messier inky black hair, a smattering of facial hair, and an “I’m sexy and I know it” attitude.

“Emma and Kelly, right?” he said, pointing to each of them in turn.

They both nodded, and he smiled even wider, showing off each and every one of his pearly whites. “Nice to meet you, ladies.”