Page 44 of An Adventure For Aster

They drove the ten minutes to River’s, pulling into the driveway of the large house. He wasn’t surprised it was so big and modern based on River’s career, but Raine had said that River and Brooks did some work inside of it too.

With all the desserts gathered, they went to the front door and in the house, then walked to the back, passing a formal dining room to the right.

He liked the layout back there. A kitchen that was to the right with the dining room off one side and another small table on the other side. There was a large peninsula with snacks on it and a few bar stools.

They’d passed three doors on the way down the hall and he noticed a small office, a bedroom, and a bathroom next to it. The stairs were back here leading to the second floor that he guessed housed all the other bedrooms.

“Hi everyone,” Raine said to the room in general. “This is Aster, but I’m sure you all know that. Aster, my father, Mike, and my mother, Patty. You know Ivy, and next to her is Brooks, then Emma is holding Drew, and River is last.

He’d set the box down of the pies and walked around shaking everyone’s hands.

“Ivy has told us a lot about you,” Brooks said.

He turned to Ivy and saw her grinning. “No, I haven’t. Don’t let him try to intimidate you.”

“I don’t intimidate easily,” Aster said.

“So we’ve been told,” River said. “Brooks is just grouchy, but you two should get along. Not that Raine said you’re grouchy. I meant more with your career history. He’s friends with Luke.”

So Luke might have said some things, but he wasn’t worried it was anything that was a secret.

Luke was the funny one always with a smile on his face in the team. Always joking too.

“Luke’s a good guy,” he said. “Not much like me.”

Brooks snorted. “No. Not like me either, but we can’t all be like my sister and future wife.”

“Ivy is one of a kind,” he said.

“You like me, Aster,” Ivy said, bumping shoulders with him.

“I do,” he said. “I have to. You work for my good friend’s wife.”

“He told a joke,” Ivy said. “Raine, good for you to loosen him up.”

He smirked at Ivy. “Can I get you a beer?” River asked.

“Sure,” he said.

“Come sit and talk to me,” Mike said. “I need to meet the guy spending time with my daughter. It’s not often I get that chance and want to make sure he’s not someone pretending to be someone else.”

“Dad,” Raine said. “Enough.”

“Did my daughter tell you about Colton and how he made promises and then broke her heart?”

She hadn’t had it phrased like that.

“I told him enough,” she said. “I don’t know that anything was a promise as much as misleading. And we can change the topic or we can watch football.”

“Football sounds good,” Patty said. “We girls can check on dinner and the boys can get to know each other.”

All the girls went to the kitchen and were moving around, the guys watching the game. He’d taken a seat next to Brooks on the couch.

“Luke told me what happened to you,” Brooks said quietly. “I’m assuming Raine knows.”

“She does,” he said. He wasn’t surprised and wondered why he cared that so many didn’t know.

Maybe he didn’t want the pity.

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