Page 102 of Fierce-Hyde

“Why didn’t you want to with me?” he asked softly.

“Because you just bring things out of me,” she said. “Growth. I won’t know until I try. Didn’t think my gag reflex was that bad, but I was wrong. Sorry if I ruined it for you there at the end.”

“Nothing we do is ever ruined,” he said, trailing his fingers down her arm. “Don’t think that.”

She laid her head on his shoulder. “You know, Hyde. You’re a pretty sweet guy at the heart of it. I wonder if this is the real you and the other was an act and now you’re just finding your way back rather than changing to something new?”

“I’ve never thought of it that way before,” he said. “I hope you’re right.”

31

CHANGES IN MY LIFE

“Why are you nervous about this?” Hyde asked her a month later. “It’s only turkey and mashed potatoes. You’ve met my parents already too.”

Tori looked at Hyde in his car as they drove to his childhood home. “Because I’ve never had a family holiday before.”

“What?” he asked, twisting his head. “You’re joking, right?”

“Ah, no,” she said. “I wouldn’t joke about that. I told you my father left when I was ten. It was just my mother and me.”

“But before that, you had no family holidays? Not with grandparents or anything?”

She thought for a minute. “I guess so. I don’t remember. I was young. My mother didn’t have much of a relationship with her parents and they didn’t live close to us. I don’t remember them and they’ve passed at this point. My father’s parents were around and we might have seen them for holidays but not much more. My mother is an only child, my father has a brother who didn’t live near us either.”

“I can’t imagine that,” he said. “Not that my family is big, but we always had grandparents or aunts or uncles over for holidays.Or we went to their houses. As we’ve gotten older, people have passed and some moved away, so it’s just the five of us this year.”

“Did you used to come home before you moved back? For holidays?”

“Sometimes,” he said. “Or I went to Shana’s. It depended on what was going on. We had a few Thanksgivings with just friends too.”

“I’ve had that,” she said. “In Florida. It was fun.”

“You mean you have had no holidays with Raina since you’ve lived here? I find that hard to believe.”

She sighed. “I’ve been invited but never accepted. Before Duke was born, they were going to Greenville with Ryder and his family either for Thanksgiving or Christmas. They tried to plan it out so they all went to one and Cody and Marissa’s parents came here for the other. Ryder still goes to his parents’ house in the morning on Christmas when he’s here and Marissa’s parents stay back with Raina and Cody or by themselves. Raina has a big family too.”

When she heard all about the juggling over the years, she’d told herself she was glad she never had to worry about that.

But then being alone wasn’t always that much fun either.

“It can get stressful I’m sure, but I’ve never worried much. And it’s just us today so not even a big family holiday. I don’t know why you are thinking it is.”

“Maybe because the last time it was at a restaurant and only an hour long. This is most of the day.”

“Relax,” he said. “My sister will be fine. My mother too. They like you. I told you that.”

“I know,” she said. “One more of those changes in my life.”

He looked over at her. “What happened with your mother this morning on the phone?”

She’d stayed at Hyde’s last night and would again tonight. She knew he wanted her to stay most of the weekend, but they were playing it by ear.

In her mind it was still early to be spending that many nights together in a row.

But if they were on vacation together, they’d do it too.

There she was over analyzing everything to death.

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