Page 41 of Unforgettable

“Where are your other halves?” Oz asks.

“They’re outside setting up some contraption Mom and Dad bought the kids.” A shorter version of Oz walks toward me. Her shoulder-length hair is a nice caramel color that frames her heart-shaped face. Her features are similar to her brother’s—the eyes and the lips—but they’re all a lot softer.

“I’m Maddy.” Surprising me, she puts her hands on my shoulders, rises to the tips of her toes, and kisses me on the cheek. “We’re so happy to have you here.”

“And I’m Kat.” The last Walker sister, who looks more similar to Dixie than to Oz and Maddy, follows suit and embraces me like we’ve met a hundred times before. “It’s so nice to meet you.”

Next thing I know, three men and a young girl are walking through the house from the yard, and one by one, the rest of them greet me with hugs and handshakes and claps on the back.

When the bustle is settled, it’s finally time to say hello to Oz’s parents, and my palms begin to sweat while I chew on the inside of my cheek nervously. Oz’s mom is first, wrapping her arms around me, welcoming me. “It’s so nice to meet you, Reeve. Forgive us for being a bit overwhelming. Oz has never brought someone home before.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Mrs.—”

“None of that,” she cuts me off. “Call me Bethany.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Bethany.” She lets me go and then points to her husband. “This is Oswald, but you can call him Oz. If that’s not weird for you,” she adds.

My brain snags on his name and I turn to look at Oz. “Is your full name Oswald?”

“Fuck no,” he bellows

“Oz,” Maddy reprimands. “The children.”

He looks around, but thankfully they’re not paying attention and didn’t hear him.

“I didn’t want my son to have to deal with the unfortunate name, but we did want him to be named after me. He was our last child and our only boy, so we agreed on Oz.”

I shake Mr. Walker’s hand, struggling to think of him as Oswald or Oz and then turn my attention back to my fake boyfriend. “I think I’m going to call you Oswald from now on,” I tease.

“Don’t even think about it,” he warns, a wicked smirk on his face. “The consequences will not be pretty.”

My skin heats up at his insinuation, absolutely loving the witty and effortless back and forth between us.

“I’ll take my chances.”

There’s a chorus of laughs as they all give Oz shit, and a little flutter of guilt in my stomach makes itself known. I didn’t expect them to be horrible, but I didn’t expect the warmth.

It’s obvious how much they all love each other and how important this standing weekly date means to all of them.

The conversation is light, and the sarcasm and jokes are plenty as they all help set the table. Oz keeps me close, ensuring I feel included, but insisting I don’t need to help.

Eventually, we all take a seat, and the dinner table is filled with food. Appetizers, entrees, and sides. Oz and I sit beside one another, and he surprises me when he drags the chair, with me on it, closer to him.

“Are you okay?” he asks, his voice low.

I nod. “What about you?”

“I’m good.” He stretches his arm across the back of my chair. “I’m really good.”

Looking away from him, I notice his whole family is silent and staring at us. “Ummm.”

“Sorry,” Kat says, interrupting the quiet. “We’re going to take a while getting used to this.”

Oz rolls his eyes. “Can we eat now? We’re starving.”

“Of course.” Bethany’s permission has everyone digging in, but Oz picks my empty plate up first and piles on a little bit of everything.

“Thank you,” I whisper when he sets it in front of me.

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