Page 41 of Laugh

“But… why?” he asks, not taking the hint.

Haddie snorts and rolls her eyes. “Rude.”

“Matthew! Don’t be rude,” their dad scolds. “Your sister is a wonderful woman, and any man would be lucky to win her.”

He throws his hands up and gives his sister an apologetic smile. “Didn’t mean any offense, sis. I’m just surprised because you two don’t really seem like…” He trails off, trying to decide how he wants to word his thinly veiled insult to come across as kind. “Like you would have a lot of similar interests. That’s all I’m saying.”

Ignoring her brother, Haddie claps her hands together once, drawing our attention to her. “Well, now that these introductions are out of the way, Beau, would you like something to drink?”

Holding my hand out, she doesn’t hesitate to place hers in mine and lean against me. I’m determined for these men to see that Iaminvested in Haddie and seeing where this thing goes between us.

“I’ll come with you.” Smiling down at her, I can tell that her brothers’ words have cut her, but she’s putting on a brave face so they don’t know how affected she is. I bring our joined hands up to my lips and kiss the back of hers. The hitch of her breath sets my blood pumping harder, easing my frustration with them.

“Why don’t we all go in? I’m sure it’s about time to eat,” her dad says, holding his hand out for me and Haddie to walk ahead of him.

As we walk toward the back of the house where the kitchen is, I can hear him talking quietly, but urgently, to her brothers. Hopefully, he’s telling them to stop being asses.

Haddie glances up at me as we make our way through the house. “Sorry about that,” she whispers. “Deborah and my sister are in the kitchen, and I don’t think this is going to go as well as it just did with them.” She jerks her thumb over her shoulder to point at her family members behind us. “Just a head’s up.”

“It’ll be what it’ll be. I don’t care what they say as long as you know that I don’t agree,” I whisper in her ear.

Her giggle proceeds us into the kitchen, and I can’t stop my grin from spreading ear to ear.

“Debbie, honey. Come over and meet the man Haddie’s brought with her to dinner tonight.” Donny smacks me on the shoulder as he moves past us toward his wife and Haddie’s sister.

The two of them are facing away from us. Amber sitting at the large island, cupping a wineglass between her hands while Deborah is placing what, I think, is garlic bread into a basket. Both of them turn around at the same time and things happen quickly after that.

Deborah looks at me first, her eyes quickly dropping down my body then back up, eyes wide like she’s shocked to see me standing there. Then they slide over to Haddie, who isn’t moving by my side, and her eyes narrow. Her wrinkles crease deeply above the bridge of her nose. She’s clearly not pleased that Haddie has brought a man to dinner.

Amber, on the other hand, jumps up from her seat with eyes wide as saucers as she looks back and forth between the two of us. The moment she locks her gaze on our joined hands, her face immediately changes into a furious expression. She slams her glass down on the counter, causing it to shatter, sending red wine everywhere.

“Amber, honey! My goodness, what are you doing?” Donny exclaims, rushing over to her side.

“Daddy!Are you fucking kidding me right now?” Huge crocodile tears fill her eyes as she stares up at him. “Haddie is here with the guyIwas going todate!”

Her screeching actually makes me wince, but my happy girl’s eyes are dancing with humor as she watches her sister dissolve into a fit of rage.

Neither of us notices Deborah slinking closer until I feel Haddie jump when we both hear this woman hiss under her breath. “Harriet Byer. This is cruel, even foryou!You should be ashamed of yourself.”

The only thing I can think to say right now is, “She prefers Haddie.”

Chapter 15

Dinner was Delicious

Beau

It took about fifteen minutes before everyone settled down and composed themselves. Whether they’re calmed down is debatable, but for now, there is a tenuous peace between the women. I’d be willing to bet my life savings that if her father wasn’t in here right now, the tension would snap, and Deborah and Amber would explode.

Haddie is sitting to my left and when I see her shift in my peripheral vision, I turn my head toward her. “So,” she says out of the side of her mouth while keeping an eye on her enemies sitting across from us. “How about that weather, huh?”

My hands are resting on my lap while waiting for everyone to serve themselves food. I use the opportunity to slip my hand over to her thigh and give it a gentle squeeze.

Amber’s eyes narrow marginally, probably knowing something is happening, but not exactly sure what it is. “The heat is supposed to break soon, which will be a relief to the team,” I say.

“I bet they’re melting in full pads every day,” Donny says, picking up the change in topic so we can move past the fact that Haddie’s sister is a delusional psycho woman.

Nodding, I give him a small but genuine smile. “We’ve been utilizing the cooler temperatures in the morning. So, crack of dawn practices for a while.”

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