Page 46 of Into the Shadows

Quinn scoffs. “Please don’t do that. It’s only gonna make his chest puff out. Then his arms are going to bow out like a caveman, and I don’t have the time to deflate his ego at the moment. I’m starving.”

I snort, unable to hold it back. Cooper is glaring at a grinning Quinn, and I see exactly where Lottie got her personality from.

“Here ya go, sweetheart! Tell Lottie I said hello.” Mabel hands me a large brown bag full of food and a drink carrier with our shakes.

“Thanks, Mabel.” I wink at her, and her wrinkled cheeks grow pink. I turn around to say goodbye to Quinn and Cooper but catch them having a heated argument.

Finally, Cooper sighs and looks at me. “Teddy, we’d like to invite you for dinner on Friday if you’re available. We haven’t run this past Lottie”—Cooper gives a significant look at Quinn—“but if you’re both interested in coming, we’d love to have you.”

I’m momentarily shocked by the invitation. They barely know me and want me to come over for dinner? “Um, I’ll talk with Lottie about it. Thank you for the invitation.”

Cooper nods, a tiny spark of approval in his eye at my response.

“Bye, Teddy! It was great to meet you.” Quinn’s smile is blinding, and I have no other option but to smile back at her. She’s so much like Lottie, it’s a little disconcerting.

I leave the diner, the chiming bell signaling my exit. I focus on the smell of the food in my arms as I get into my car. My discussion with Jacob pops into my head, and I realize this is one of the moments I need to lean into. It’s absurd to be meeting the parents of the girl I’ve only been dating for a couple of weeks, but it also feels strangely right.

Focus on the good. Whatever happens in the future can be dealt with later.

Chapter 27

Lottie

“Iwant to make a quick stop,” Teddy says as he drives through town. I smile at him when he parks in front of Blooming Beautiful.

I follow him inside, taking a deep breath of the fresh blooms that fill the space. I always loved coming here as a kid. It felt like an enchanted fairy palace could be hiding in one of the plants, and I believed if I was patient, I’d see the sparkle of wings fluttering into a leaf.

I’m pretty sure Aunt Hope sprinkled a couple of the pots with glitter to solidify my belief. She was always the best at building our imaginations. Ryan and I would ask her if she believed in whatever mythical creature we were interested in at the time, and she’d respond with, ‘Well, of course, I do.’ Then, she’d build a story around the creature while Ryan and I stared at her in awe. It would inevitably inspire Ryan and me to go on a hunt to find said creature.

“Hey, guys.” Ryan smiles at us from behind the counter. He has several centerpieces laid out in front of him. “What are you up to?”

“Dinner with Mom and Dad. Teddy wanted to pick something up before we go over there.”

Ryan’s eyes light up. “Oh, I just got these gorgeous tulips that Aunt Quinn will love. Hang on.” He disappears into the back of the store before returning with a bunch of delicate pink flowers.

“Those are beautiful, Ryan,” I say in a hushed whisper.

“Right? I hadn’t brought them out yet because I knew they’d be gone in about an hour, and I wasn’t ready for them to go yet.” His laugh is self-deprecating. He puts together a quick bouquet, filling in a bit of greenery around the pink blooms. When he’s done, he hands it over to Teddy. “There you go. That should score you a couple of brownie points with both of Lottie’s parents.”

“Cooper likes flowers, too? Should I get something for him?”

The small display of nerves makes me melt. I run my palm down Teddy’s spine.

“Nice of you to think of him, but no. I meant that these will make Aunt Quinn smile, and I think Uncle Cooper’s mission in life is to always see her happy.”

Teddy’s shoulders drop when he looks over at me. “I can get behind that mission.”

I blush, locking my knees to keep from swooning right there in the store. Teddy pays, and we say a quick goodbye to Ryan before heading to Mom and Dad’s.

“Okay, remind me again. Ryan is biologically your cousin, right?”

Our family is a bit convoluted, given half the people in our life aren’t actually related to us. “Yes. Our dads are brothers. Uncle Levi owns the construction company. The rest of our family is made up of my parents’ best friends. Some of them have been friends since they were in elementary school.”

“Wow. I can’t imagine being friends with someone thatlong.” Teddy pulls into my parents’ driveway and parks the car.

“You don’t have any close friends from school?” If I hadn’t been looking at Teddy, I’d have missed the small wince.

“I wasn’t the most popular kid. I was bullied until we got to high school and I could fight back. I kept my head down and left the second I was old enough.”

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