Page 72 of Storm Bound
But first, he had to survive dinner with my family tonight.
Twenty
Adam
“Do you want to find a safe word to use in case you wanna get out?” Charlie asked when we pulled up in his family home.
The sun had a beautiful orange-red hue as it set. If it was this pretty in the winter, I couldn’t wait for the sunsets in the summer. And the butterfly festival I’d heard so much about from locals and Charlie alike.
“I won’t need a safe word. Don’t be a schmuck,” I said.
He raised an eyebrow and ran his tongue along the inside of his cheek, and I laughed.
“What? Youarebeing a schmuck. I’ve survived family dinners with myJewishfamily for years. I’m sure they pale in comparison to my family.”
“I wouldn’t bet on it,” Charlie muttered and came out of the car.
“Don’t worry. I know how to handle nosy yentas. I’ve got lifelong experience,” I reassured him and held his hand.
He didn’t look reassured, however, but we walked up to the porch where he paused in front of the door.
“You can still change your mind,” he said.
Was he still talking about the dinner? Or was he talking about us moving in?
The dinner was nothing I couldn’t handle, and the moving in? I’d been thinking about it all week. In fact, I’d been waiting to announce it to everyone during the family dinner, but Charlie beat me to it. Or beat it out of me, more like.
And there was no regret whatsoever. I wanted this. After all, that was why I’d left Chicago. To start afresh. To have a new life with new people who didn’t take advantage of me.
“I haven’t,” I said and pulled him in for a kiss to reinforce my point.
“Good. I’ll make sure to remind you that on the way back,” he said and opened the front door.
It opened to a large hallway with a door and a staircase to the left and an archway to the right.
A cluster of picture frames were hanging on the wall in the shape of a family tree, and I quickly browsed the pictures. I found a couple of young Charlie hand in hand with Luke, and they both looked adorable, although they did stand out from the majority of the family that were all white, dark-haired with dark eyes.
“We’re here,” Charlie shouted just when a door to the left opened and Andy came out, followed by Kyle.
“Hey, boys,” Kyle called out and came to kiss me on the cheek.
“Hey,” Charlie said, and Kyle came over to him. “What were you two doing in there?” He raised an eyebrow.
“Hey,” Andy said with a head shake.
“You mean what we were doing in Andy’s home office? What do you think?” Kyle replied.
“Don’t answer that,” Andy said to Charlie. “We were working.”
Kyle laughed and rolled his eyes.
“Yes. ‘Working.’ And then we saw you pull in, so we wrapped up our ‘work,’” he said.
“Kyle!” Andy exclaimed.
“Okay, okay,” Kyle said, putting his hands up. “Wewereactually working. Sheesh, this man. You’d think sex was illegal the way he acts when I talk about it.”
I laughed, but Charlie grimaced.
