Page 83 of Riverside Reverie

“She’s right, I did score the jackpot,” he murmured into my ear before we joined the rest of his family in the grand kitchen.

Jacqueline Whitmore was standing in the kitchen in a cherry Christmas apron. “Merry Christmas, you two. Olivia tells me you’ve brought baked feta bites?”

“Yes Mrs. Whitmore, and Merry Christmas to you too,” I replied, standing on the other side of the counter with Theo beside me, his hand still on the small of my back.

“I told you, call me Jackie,” Jackie waved away my formalities with a manicured hand. “We need to heat them up, right?” she asked, plopping them in the oven before straightening.

“Yep, ten minutes should do it,” I answered.

Theo pressed a kiss to my cheek before he dropped his hand and moved around the counter to hug his mom.

“Where’s Dad?” he asked.

“In the family room, with Olivia’s boyfriend watching the football game.”

“Oooh, you brought a boy home?” Theo grinned at his sister, who was stealing a piece of cheese from the charcuterie board on the counter. Olivia narrowed her eyes while she chewed.

“Why do you sound so surprised?” she demanded once she’d swallowed.

“Just shocked someone could put up with you,” Theo teased, mussing her hair as he walked past. “Let’s go say hello, shall we?” he stopped long enough to take my hand.

“Take the charcuterie board with you,” Jackie called out, and Olivia turned around to grab it before trying to catch up with Theo and me.

“Don’t say anything embarrassing,” Olivia hissed. “Or I’ll tell Lux all about your Amtgard—”

“Fine, fine,” Theo cut her off with a hard look, and I giggled. I already knew all about his Amtgard phase. I’d seen the photographic evidence, thanks to the photos Desmond still had of them from their LARPing days when they were preteens. He winked at me, giving my hand a gentle squeeze.

Theo

Lux was practically vibrating in her seat beside me with nervousness. We were about ten minutes away from her house, according to the GPS. She hadn’t said much on the drive, and I knew she was working over everything in her head.

I reached over, placing my hand on her thigh. Lux was dressed in a pair of form fitting jeans and a cream sweater. Her hair was down and curled around her shoulders, her makeup subtle yet enhancing all her beautiful features. Those plump lips that I loved kissing, those magical grey eyes I loved looking into and getting lost in.

She looked put together and poised, but I knew she felt anything but inside. I gave her a gentle squeeze, and she glanced at me, her eyes a riot of emotions.

“We’ll have dinner, cut out as soon as it’s polite and go to the hotel,” I assured her. I’d booked a hotel room in Toronto, near the aquarium I planned on taking her to tomorrow. Even if I couldn’t control what happened at Lux’s parents’ house in the coming hours, I could make sure our weekend trip ended on a high note.

“That sounds good,” Lux sent me a small, relieved smile. “I’m sorry in advance for how weird it’s going to be.”

“Meeting your parents for the first time while having dinner with your ex-boyfriend and your pregnant sister, how could that be weird?” I teased.

Her mouth twitched as she fought to suppress her smile. “Ugh, this is going to be a disaster,” she shook her head.

Grabbing her hand, I pulled it to my lips for a kiss. “Even if it is, we’ll be okay. You’ll be okay.”

Lux sent me a thankful smile as the GPS chimed in. “Turn right. You have reached your destination.”

“Well, here goes nothing,” Lux said, preparing herself as I parked in her parents’ driveway.

I opened the door for Lux, holding my hand out to her to grab. She took it, stepping out onto the driveway and peering up at the house with a solemn expression.

I stepped closer, tilting her chin toward me. “Say the word, and we’ll leave.”

“Okay, let’s go now?” Lux teased, her lips pursing as her eyes fixed on mine.

“I mean…we could. But I think you’d be mad at yourself if we left before even going in.”

She sighed. “No, you’re right. Let’s do this.”

---