Page 265 of How to Kiss a Hawthorne Brother
Brody grins at his wife as if already anticipating the steal. He’s a high school chemistry teacher, so if anyone knows the answer, it’s him.
“We can just guess,” I say to Tatum, but she shakes her head.
“I think I know it. Is it hydrogen? I think it’s hydrogen?”
Brody groans as I shoot my hands up in victory. “We did it! We won!” I stand up and tug Tatum out of her chair, wrapping her in an enormous hug that lifts her feet off the floor. She laughs as I spin her around, her hands sliding down my arms as I lower her back down.
It’s just a hug.
But the feel of her against me, the way her hands linger at the top of my biceps, the way she’s holding her bottom lip in her teeth as she looks at me.
It feels like so much more.
“Pretty sureTatumwon,” Brody says. He shoots me a questioning look before his gaze shifts to Tatum. “Great game.”
She steps out of my embrace and presses her hands to her stomach, almost like she’s trying to calm herself. “Thanks,” she says. “As it happens, I was California state quiz bowl champion my senior year of high school. Trivia has always sort of been my thing.”
“Seriously?” Brody says, his tone light. “That didn’t feel like an important thing to disclose before the game started?”
“What would you have done about it if she had?” Kate asks.
Brody doesn’t miss a beat. “I would have put Tatum on my team and made you play with Lennox.”
Kate laughs and punches Brody in the shoulder. “Dude. So rude.”
“Don’t worry,” Tatum says to Kate. “I wouldn’t have defected. But next time, you and I should absolutely be on the same team.”
“Oh, I’m so down for that,” Kate says.
As I watch the way Tatum and Kate easily banter, I think about the only other time I’ve brought a woman home to meet the family. Hailey joined us for Thanksgiving my first year of culinary school.
It was fine. She was nice to everyone, and everyone was nice to her.
But there’s a certain rightness about having Tatum here. She fits in like she’s one of us. Like she’salwaysbeen one of us.
“How did I not know you were quiz bowl champion?” I ask.
She lifts an eyebrow. “There’s a lot you don’t know about me, Lennox.” She says it like it’s a challenge—or maybe an invitation?—and suddenly, I’m all in.
I want to know it all. Everything there is to know about Tatum Elliott. How she works. What she likes. What makes her happy and sad and excited. I want to see the different pieces of her and understand how they all fit together.
A month ago, I was certain Ididknow her. I thought I had her all figured out. But I was wrong—dead wrong—and I’ve never been so happy to admit it.
Now I just have to figure out what to do about it.
Chapter Sixteen
Lennox
“How does it feelto officially end your winning streak?” I ask Brody as I gather the trivia cards from around the table.
“I think I’m doomed,” he says easily. “With Tatum in the family, I’ll probably never win again.”
My eyes dart to Tatum, and we both freeze, a very pregnant pause filling the room until Kate says, “Umm, Brody? Did you just sayin thefamily?”
Brody’s face blanches. If not for my worry over Tatum’s discomfort, I might enjoy watching him squirm. But then I look at Tatum, and all she seems is amused. When her gaze meets mine, she almost looks like shelikesthe idea.
“No, that’s not—” Brody finally says. “I mean—I only meantworkingfor the family.” He looks at Kate, his expression desperate, but she seems way too amused by her husband’s blunder to offer him any rescue. “I wasn’t saying Tatum was going to—with Lennox, but—I mean, she could. That would be great. But she doesn’t—you know what? I think I need to walk down the street to check on the Wilsons. Make sure they’ve gotenough wood to keep their fire going.” Brody clears his throat and looks at me. “You want to come?”
