Page 26 of Bravely Yours

Once I parked on the street in front of my parents’ small cape cod, I got Nora out of the back seat and met Sarah on the sidewalk. Grasping her hand, I gave it a squeeze. “You good?”

Shrugging, she sent me a soft smile. “As good as I’m going to get.”

Hopefully she’d feel at ease as soon as she saw how excited my family was to have her here.

But it didn’t dawn on me until I was inside the house how chaotic my family could be. They met us at the door, and even I was overwhelmed by their attention. Between my sisters introducing themselves to Sarah before we were even fully inside the foyer and my parents asking me how the drive over was, I worried Sarah would be ready to snatch Nora from my arms and bolt. Instead, when I stole a glance in her direction, she was smiling.

Nora, on the other hand, had her face buried into the crook of my neck and a death grip on my shirt.

“She’s not even that old,” Izzy directed at me, her hands on her hips.

My stomach sank. What the hell was she talking about? “What?”

“Sarah.” She rolled her eyes like that was obvious. “You said she was older than you. She doesn’t evenlookold.”

“Jesus,” I muttered. I had hoped my sister’s lack of a filter was something she would grow out of. Apparently, that wasn’t the case, and it didn’t look like it would happen any time soon.

“Izzy,” my mom and Angie scolded at the same time.

“What?” Izzy huffed. “Fine. I’ll shut up now.”

“Good idea,” I shot back.

Sarah, thank fuck, had her lips curved inward, holding backa laugh, and her eyes were dancing. Laughing at me and my family? I could work with.

“Come on.” Angie looped her arm through Sarah’s and pulled her into the living room. “You’ll have to tell me how you got your hair to curl like that.”

Wincing, I considered following and rescuing her before they hounded her with a whole list of questions.

“She’ll be fine.” My mom chuckled. “If she can handle a room full of five-year-olds all day, then thirty minutes with your sisters is nothing.”

I raised one eyebrow at her. We both knew that Izzy and Angie could be far worse than kindergarteners. Izzy would spout off whatever popped into her head, and even though Angie was more careful with her words, she had a special talent for making people feel uncomfortable. And she was an expert at gathering information about a person before they even realized that was what she was doing.

But my mom was right. Sarah was handling my sisters just fine. Constant chatter about hair, makeup, and clothes came from the three of them. Even when my mom peppered Sarah with questions about how she liked her job and whether she’d considered becoming a teacher at some point, she didn’t seem fazed. Ten minutes into dinner, I was feeling good about how the night was going.

“How’s the new apartment?” my mom asked me as Nora, who was in Izzy’s arms, held her arms out to her. “Oh, want to come sit with me now?”

Nora had warmed up quickly shortly after we arrived and seemed content visiting with each person.

My mom raised an eyebrow in my direction, reminding me that she was waiting for an answer.

“It’s good.” What did she want me to say? I appreciated the space and independence, but in reality, I hadn’t stayed at my own place in almost a week.

“Are you even going to keep it?” Izzy asked.

“What?” My mom zeroed in on my sister. “Why wouldn’t he keep it?”

I swallowed. Shit.Here we go. Thanks, Iz.

“’Cause he’s been staying at Sarah’s every night.” She shrugged. “I assumed he’d want to move in with her.”

Sarah’s fork clattered to her plate, and I pinched my eyes closed. I really needed to stop telling Izzy anything I didn’t want repeated. I didn’t necessarily care whether my parents knew I was sleeping at Sarah’s, but I didn’t want to have that conversation right now, and I definitely didn’t want to put Sarah on the spot.

“You know what they say about assuming, right?” I narrowed my eyes at Izzy, silently begging her to shut up.

Wide-eyed, she scanned the large oak table, at least attempting to read the room before she sighed and went back to eating her food.

“Have I ever told you about the time I had to clear an apartment building with a python loose in it?” my dad interjected.

---