Page 45 of Claiming What Is Mine

Gabe lifts me off my feet and squeezes me tight. “Alright. I’ll text you when I have news, okay?”

I nod and kiss him; my parents be damned. I'm carrying the man's baby and wearing his ring. If they have a problem seeing us be affectionate, they’re going to have to get over it.

Gabe calls to Hank, interrupting a conversation with Mark. “Time to go, buddy. Party’s over. Chet ruined another one.”

Marie thanks my parents for hosting the party while James awkwardly shakes hands with Gabe. “Sorry about that day in the driveway.” James looks Gabe in the eye. “She’s my only sister, you know? And I didn’t realize how you felt about her. Truce?”

Gabe nods his head. “She’s your family. Enough said. I’m sure I’d do the same, if I had a sister.” His lip curls into that wicked smile of his. “Hank here is the closest thing I’ve ever had to a sister.” Gabe wraps his arm around his brother’s neck and attempts to give him a noogie.

Marie intercedes as the men begin to scuffle about in the living room. “You two stop that right now,” she insists. “Let’s go.”

After Gabe and his family leave, I dig for the pint of Ben & Jerry's stashed in the back of the freezer, hopeful it will numb my disappointment. I close the freezer door, ready to say my goodnights and head off to my room, only to find my family seated around the kitchen table, staring at me. It appears they have something else in mind—an inquisition.

Oh boy.

By the look on their faces, they're ready to tell me what's what, but they're not going to like what I have to say. They've been fighting me about Gabe for most of my life, but the man is about to be my husband. It's time I start fighting back. I take a seat and lock eyes with each of them, one at a time. Here we go.

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