Page 135 of We Met Like This
His eyes went wide. “No, I haven’t. You thought I’d been here before?”
“I wasn’t sure. And what about Chase? Did you ever meet him… back in college?”
He gave a breathy chuckle, seeming to know what I was implying. “No. I was just told about him in a very straightforward manner by your sister.”
“That sounds about right,” I said, grabbing hold of his forearm that was resting on the center console.
He placed his hand over mine. “I feel the need to reiterate that I am over all that. You know I’m over that, yes?”
“Yes,” I said.
“How areyouwhen meeting parents?” he asked, curious. “I imagine they love you.”
“Are we stalling?” I asked.
“We are absolutely stalling,” he said.
“Should we leave?” I asked. “We could get out of here and go get some tacos and then have shower sex. We haven’t had that yet.”
He laughed. “You make a very compelling case, but no, we’re not going to leave. We’re here. We can do this.” He opened his door first. I was still sitting inside when he walked around the car and opened my door. “It will get easier after this,” he promised again.
I stepped out and we linked hands. “I haven’t met parents in a while,” I said, answering his previous question as we walked. “But I wasn’t great. In the most recent instance, I had no filter and ended up insulting their much beloved cat. It was definitely the beginning of the end.”
“My mom and sister would love you.”
“And your dad? I know he left a long time ago and you don’t see him, but do youtalkto him at all?”
“Not once.”
“We’ll unpack that later,” I said.
“Before or after shower sex?” he asked.
“It seems I’m good at bringing up family members during sex. We could try that.”
He groaned. “Please, no.”
As we reached the porch, I squeezed his hand and turned to face him. “Thank you,” I said.
“For what?” he asked.
“For doing this. For being you. For loving me.”
“Easiest thing in the world.”
I reached for the door handle while knocking at the same time. “Hello!” I called, stepping inside. “We’re here.”
“Back here, honey!” Dad called out.
“Last chance for shower sex,” I said to Oliver under my breath.
“Are you saying it’s now or never? Because that changes my answer.”
I smiled and took his hand in mine again, leading him through the formal front room and into the great room at the back of the house. My nephews reacted first, barreling toward me and wrapping my legs in a hug.
“I thought you said other people’s kids didn’t like you,” Oliver said quietly.
“These aren’t other people’s kids,” I said, ruffling their hair as they screamed my name. “These are family.”
