Page 70 of Every Beat of My Heart

I waited until they were laughing before I opened the door to find Claire holding a covered casserole dish.

Owen looked uncertain.

“Why don’t you go inside and ask Wes to throw a football? I’m sure he’s driving my sisters crazy in the kitchen.”

Looking relieved, Owen stepped past me.

Claire followed him, and I snagged the dish, kissing her cheek before shutting the door behind her. “Thanks for coming.”

She smiled at me, but her forehead creased. “Thanks for inviting us.”

“Are you sure you want to go through with this? My family’s kind of dysfunctional.”

“They seemed perfectly fine the other day,” Claire said in a dismissive way.

“Maybe to you,” I mumbled as I followed her into the kitchen. She wore a soft-looking green dress that clung to every curve. I wanted to snip a piece of it and unravel it slowly with my teeth.

Then we were standing in the kitchen, everyone looking expectantly at Claire. I felt hot.

“I brought the green-bean casserole. As promised.”

Fiona came around the counter to take the dish from me. “That was so nice of you. Thank you, Claire.”

“This is my sister, Fiona,” I said to Claire as they hugged. “And my sister, Daphne.”

“It’s so nice to meet you.” Daphne gestured down at her apron. “Sorry, I’m covered in breadcrumbs. Cole tried to steal a bite, and I had to protect my mac and cheese.”

“It’s my mac and cheese,” Cole insisted.

“I didn’t see you make it,” Daphne said as she covered it and put it on the stove.

I nodded. “And this is my family. Wild, crazy, and rude.”

Daphne washed her hands, took off her apron, and came over to hug Claire. “Speak for yourself. We are perfectly civilized.”

“I don’t know why Jameson keeps saying that,” Claire began as Daphne took her by the shoulder and steered her into the living room.

“You already lost your girl to our sisters. You probably won’t get another chance to talk to her the rest of the day,” Teddy said smugly.

I’d figure it out because I wanted to spend more time with her. I wanted to see if the kiss was a one-off thing or if it was the start of something more.

“Let’s go play some football,” I said when I noticed Wes throwing with Owen through the window. I could use the physical outlet. I was strung tight. And it was a tradition for us to watch and play football on Thanksgiving.

“Remember last year when Cole played with us?” Teddy asked when we got outside.

I frowned remembering the day that he showed up and apologized to Daphne.

Cole shook his head. “I think you were a little rougher than necessary.”

“Are you complaining?” Wes asked, a hint of a challenge in his tone.

Cole chuckled. “Not at all. I thought it had something to do with me showing up and declaring my love for your sister.”

“It’s never going to get easier for you,” Teddy said.

Wes grinned. “You’re still with our baby sister, and no one will ever be good enough for her.”

I was glad the attention was on someone besides me.

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