Page 40 of Finally Home

“You bought me flowers?” My voice catches as he nods. “Thank you.”

No one’s ever bought me flowers before.

He steps up, one hand holding my hip while the other cupping my cheek. “You deserve them and so much more.” With that, he presses a quick kiss to my lips before linking our fingers and grabbing the flowers for his mom with his free hand.

It’s a short drive to his family’s home. The driveway is full of cars, so Ollie has to park his jeep on the street.Oh my God, how many people are actually here today?

“Remember to relax,” he whispers in my ear as we head up the path.If only it were that easy.

“Oh crap, the flowers for your mom are still in the car.”

“I’ll grab them.” Ollie quickly runs back to the jeep and grabs them off the back seat. While I wait for him to return, I notice the same flowers that line the front of his house also line the front of this one, and it makes me smile. I already know that Ollie is a mama’s boy, but now I’m just picturing him helping her with the gardening.

“Ready?”

I smile and nod at him. He doesn’t bother knocking and just leads us right into the house.Here goes nothing.

We follow the hallway to the chatter. All conversations stop as Ollie and I enter the kitchen. Not only are we still holding hands, but I had moved so close, wrapping my other hand around hisarm. I wasn’t sure if I was trying to keep my nerves from taking over and running or maybe just trying to hide behind him.

I really have no idea why I’m so nervous about this.

“About time you showed up, big bro. Mom wouldn’t let us start munching until everyone got here. Now we’re just waiting on Rhyland, who said he was on his way.”

The same girl I’ve seen in the photos around Ollie’s house rushes over and wraps her arms around his neck. Thankfully, he reacts quickly, passing me the flowers before they got crushed.

Oliver makes a dramatic strangled sound. “Too tight, Pay,” he wheezes.

She drops her arms and then punches him in the arm. This time, I can tell from his yelp that it wasn’t dramatic.

He holds his hands up in surrender.What a stark contrast to how me and my brother act around each other.“No fair.” He grabs her right hand. “You’ve got rings as weapons.”

Before I can even blink, he swoops her back into his arms and spins her around until she surrenders.

“Happy to have you home, Pay,” he says, pulling her into a headlock and kissing the top of her head as she tries to rebalance herself, swaying to the side. I can only imagine how she feels because just observing them made me a little dizzy.

Payton hip checks Oliver and nods toward me, clearing her throat. “Aren’t you going to introduce your guest?” She says it through gritted teeth as if she were trying to be sneaky.

This girl is funny. I can see that blue eyes aren’t the only thing that this family has in common, but she and Ollie have the same sense of humor.

Oliver takes the flowers from my hands, sets them gently on the island countertop, and ushers me to stand in front of him. With his hands wrapped around my waist, he places a kiss on the top of my head. “Everyone, this is Hollie, my girlfriend.”

I shyly wave. “Hi.”

“Oh, girl, we hug in this family.” I don’t even get to take another breath before Payton is pulling me into a hug—a genuine hug.

“It’s about time one of my brothers brought a girl home. It’s been so long since—” she says, but Archer, whom I met the other night at Tilley’s, interrupts her by pulling her away.

“Give her some room to breathe, for God’s sake, Pay.” She slips out of his grasp and flips him off behind him. “Hollie, it’s nice to see you again,” he grunts. I’ve learned he’s a man of very few words.

“Children, behave. Archer, don’t take the Lord’s name in vain. Payton, your brother was right that you should give the poor girl some room to come in. And you.” She points in Ollie’s direction.

“What did I do? I literally just got here.”

“You, mister, are still on thin ice about not bringing this girl over sooner.” The matriarch of the family, Connie, walks over with a sweet smile on her face and her arms open. “Hollie, I’m so happy you could join us.”

Her hug is warm and gentle and exactly what I’ve always imagined a mother’s hug would be like. Tears sting my eyes, but I refuse to let them fall. This family really loves hugging.

When Connie pulls back, she cups my cheeks. “Well, aren’t you just the cutest thing ever? I can see why my son is so smitten with you.” She quickly pulls me back into a hug, and my eyes search out Ollie for help.

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