Page 40 of Laugh

Her smile of understanding is enough to let me know she and I are on the same page. “You ready to head in there?”

Nodding, she rolls her shoulders and straightens her spine. “Yup. Looks like everyone’s cars are here, so that’ll be fun. My stepmonster wanted me here early to help with dinner, but I backed out when I texted my dad that I was bringing a guest.”

Grabbing her hand once we’re outside of the car, I ask, “Did you tell them who you were bringing tonight?”

She comes up short and holds her finger to her lip, playing innocent. “Whoops. Probably should have done that.” Her sly grin makes me chuckle. “Guess we’re both in for a treat. You don’t mind, do you? It’s not very often I get to bait Deborah or my sister.Oh!Make sure you call my stepmom Deborah. She’s going to insist on Debbie. It’s an inside joke.”

Her giggle tells me she’s absolutely lying to me about the inside joke thing, but I’ll do anything to keep her happy tonight.

The moment we walk inside the house, the smell of Italian food assaults my senses. The instant rumble in my stomach reminds me I haven’t eaten since this morning. Haddie pulls me away from the direction of the kitchen, calling out, “Hey everyone!” Then drags me into the living room.

Four pairs of eyes fall on me immediately, and all of them widen, eyebrows practically hitting their hairlines.

“Holy shit. Are you Beau Hudson?” one of her brothers asks as he stands up and walks toward us with an outstretched hand.

Haddie steps away to greet her father while I shake her brother’s hand. “I am. I know you’re one of Haddie’s brothers, but I’m not sure who’s who yet.”

He laughs awkwardly while casting quick glances at his sister in confusion. “I’m Jonathon. I went to school at the same time as you when you were playing ball. Went to all your home games.”

“Thanks man. It was good times for sure.” Jonathon slaps me on the shoulder and Haddie’s other brothers step up to introduce themselves as well. Alexander and Matthew seem like decent guys, both mentioning that they follow my team.

Before any of them can dive into more in depth questions, Haddie calls for me. “Beau, this is my dad, Donald Byer.”

“Donny, please,” he says, reaching a hand out to me. I’m only a couple inches taller than him, and when we shake, he holds mine with a firm grip as he gives me the once over.

“Nice to meet you, Donny, and thank you for having me for dinner tonight. It all smells great.” He must like the compliment because he gives me an easy smile.

There aren’t a lot of common features between Haddie and the men in her family, aside from skin tone.Where their eyes are blue, hers are green. Add in her red hair and petite stature, she’s completely the opposite of their bulky sizes and blonde hair.

I hear Alexander ask Haddie under his breath, “What the hell are you doing bringing one of the head coaches to dinner, Haddie? How the hell did this happen?”

She looks at them, then at me with wide eyes. “You’re acoach?For what sport?”

Matthew’s mouth drops open as he scowls at her. “Are you kidding me?” He looks between the two of us, bewildered that she might not know. Shoving a finger in my direction, he shouts, “He’s one of the best goddamn defensive football coaches on the collegiate level!”

“Language, Matt!” Donny bites out, but Matthew only waves him off.

She gasps and presses a hand to her chest. “Heis?Oh my God! We met at the gas station yesterday and I thought he was cute, so I invited him to come along tonight.” Turning to me as she twirls a strand of hair around her finger, she asks, “So, like, is it super hard being a coach for football players?”

I wipe my hand over my mouth to stop myself from laughing out loud at her while her brothers and dad continue to stare like she’s lost her mind.Do they not understand her at all?

“Oh my God,wait!I need some bubble gum to snap,” she cries as she looks around. “I gotta perfect the brainless bimbo thing and bubble gum is key!”

“Happy, quit teasing them,” I snicker, then look over at Alexander. “She’s very aware of what my job is. It’s the reason we met.”

“I don’t know about that,” she mumbles at the same time one of her brothers asks, “Happy?”

To Matthew, Haddie asks, “You rang?”

“What the hell is going on?” Jonathon asks, as lost as I felt those first few interactions I had with this woman.

Her dad cuts in, stopping Haddie’s joke. “Boys, your sister is obviously teasing you. Beau, welcome to our home. I look forward to getting to know a little more about you.” He puts an arm around Haddie’s shoulders and pulls her into his side. “My pumpkin hasn’t told me much other than who you were and that you two have recently started seeing each other.”

She’s blushing at his comments and mutters, “You forgot I told you he drives a spaceship.”

Her brothers are looking at us like they can’t believe what her father just shared. I immediately get pissed when Matthew plants his hands on his hips and frowns at me. “You’re actually dating her?”

Snapping at him, I do my best to balance my need to defend her against his implied insult and not be rude. “I think you meant to ask if she’s actually datingme.”

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