Page 137 of Unexpected

Luke had left around six, and I missed him the moment he was gone. But just past ten, he returned freshly showered and with two pies.

I kissed him thoroughly in the doorway before we turned the corner into the kitchen, where my mom was peeling potatoes.

She instructed Luke to set the pies wherever he could find a place and to not worry about helping—not that there was much room to help anyway.

I grabbed a cider from the fridge, and he didn’t even hesitate before popping it open.

“Is Josh not coming?” I asked, plopping down next to him on the couch while Mom banged around in the kitchen.

“No, he went over to Amanda’s parents’ house and took Sadie with him.”

I raised my eyebrows, remembering Amanda’s confession at lunch the day before and if Josh’s change of plans had anything to do with it. Luckily, Luke was too busy trying to find the football game he wanted, so he didn’t catch my expression.

“Oh, that’s fun. So, it’ll be the two of them plus her parents and younger brother?”

Luke found the channel and leaned back into the couch before adding, “And Reed. I think he’s going over there as well. His parents are out of the country.”

And the plot thickened.

“Hazel!” my mom bellowed from the kitchen like she would have if we were in their six-thousand-square-foot house and not my six-hundred-square-foot apartment. “You are not exempt from helping.”

As far as Cooper Thanksgiving feasts were concerned, the one my mom made in my kitchen was more on the tame side. We still had all the usual sides along with turkeyandham, but it was only a little more food than what you would likely cook for at least six people.

We would have leftovers for days, but I wasn’t surprised. Mom went all out for every holiday, including decorations and photos. Every holiday was an event in our house, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

It was almost noon and I had moved on to the cider Luke was also drinking when my doorbell rang.

Through the living room and over the bar in the kitchen, Luke and I made eye contact, both giving each other concerned looks. He stood and announced that he would get it.

The door opened a second later, and all I heard as I dusted my hands off on a towel was, “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” in a voice I knew all too damn well.

I rushed around the bar and saw my sister gawking at Luke with her jaw dropped.

“Delilah,” I said, trying to break her attention from him.

“Hazel!” she squealed and barreled past Luke to wrap me in a hug. There’s nothing quite like a hug from your sister.

“What are you doing here? Jeez, does anyone call anymore?” I asked while still squeezing the shit out of her.

“Thought it would be more fun to see the look on your face. Mom knew I was coming,” she said as she pulled back and glanced over her shoulder as Luke shut the door.

“In all of our conversations, you couldn’t have warned me at least once that he is that fucking hot?” Her voice was well above a whisper, and Luke chuckled behind her. I narrowed my eyes at both of them but couldn’t stay mad at her for long.

God, I missed her.

“Come in, it’s almost ready. It’s like you planned to get here right when all of the work is done.”

Mom laughed and kissed Delilah on the cheek when we walked into the kitchen. “She’ll be on dish duty with Luke.”

Delilah and I discussed her flight and how she was able to get away from Tony and the kids for even a day while Mom hurried around the kitchen and directed Luke in the proper way to set the table.

“Tony is over at Mom and Dad’s house with the kids. I talked to them on the way over here, and they seem to be having a blast. Mom made them an entire dinner before she left, so they just popped everything in the oven.”

I took another sip of my cider and handed one to Delilah. “That’s impressive.”

She nodded. “Yes, but what’s more impressive is your fucking man.”

Her eyes were wide, but she whispered that time as she hiked her thumb over her shoulder. Luke noticed, though, like he had a sixth sense that told him we were talking about him.

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