Page 42 of An Unexpected Everything
I winked at her, and she rolled her eyes before coming over to me. She pinched my side, but didn’t kiss my cheek or touch me more than that single brush of her fingertips. As I didn’t know what we were to each other, nor had we shown any true affection in front of my family, I didn’t blame her.
“I thought you meant later. Not while we were making dinner,” she said drily.
“The twins kicked me out.”
“Twins?” Blakely asked, her voice high-pitched.
We had met before, but only in passing at the coffee house. I had been sort of an ass to Aston then, so I had a feeling Bella was going to have more than a few questions after this dinner. I nearly mouthed the word sorry to her, but frankly, I was going full steam ahead with this. After all, I had brought her over for a large family event at my place, it was only right for me to be on the chopping block here.
Because with the twins and all the other teenagers asking Isabella a thousand questions while their parents looked on in curiosity, it had changed things. Even more so than finally having the woman I’d dreamt of for too long. We’d acted as if it were natural. Yet we hadn’t spoken of what it meant.
Not that I wanted to be a man of words.
“My sisters. Sam and Sydney. They just had prom and were appreciative that Bella helped out, so they kicked me out of the house to say thank you.”
Bella cleared her throat. “Weston and I knew each other from before. Well, a while ago. It just so happens that he happened to live here. And I just said happened like eight times in that sentence. So ignore me.”
Blakely just grinned as Sophia clapped her hands silently, and all of the men glared at me. Okay, maybe it wasn’t a glare precisely. But they were studying me as if they had never seen me before. And considering I was best friends with one of them, more than an acquaintance with the other, and had met a third, that was saying something.
“Well I’m glad that Bella here has tons of food. The more the merrier.” Dorian squeezed my shoulder, and I glared at him.
“Really?”
“What, does she only go by Bella with you? Oh, I have so many questions. I really should have brought Amy here. I mean, if we’re all for bringing dates, oh and fiancés.”
A man with light hair and broad shoulders gave me a small wave. “Hi. I’m said fiancé. Of Sophia. It’s nice to meet you. And don’t worry, my first dinner was even more chaotic.”
“He’s not wrong.” Sophia skipped over to me and beamed. “I know we didn’t meet, but I remember you. I have so many questions, and thankfully we have an agenda first for our dinner, and then I can ask them all.” She squeezed my hand, and I just looked at Bella.
A man who looked like a harsher version of Hudson with longer hair and a beard raised a brow at me. I knew this man and not just because I had every single one of his albums and the twins had his poster on their wall.
“Kyler.”
“Weston.”
“I forgot you two had met,” Bella said as she shook her head. “I’m not doing this right. Let me introduce you to everyone. Belatedly.”
I ran my hand down her back, reassuring her. The act wasn’t missed by a single damn person in the room. “It’s good to meet you all. Or see you again.” I looked over at Aston. “Sorry I was an asshole. I was having a long day.”
“That could be said about many days,” Hudson said with a grunt.
Dorian staggered back comically. “Did Hudson just joke? Okay, we’re going to have to have Weston here at all times. I mean, look what he just did to big brother over here.”
“So Hudson’s older?” I asked, not knowing why I was wading into the family tree.
“Yes, he and Flynn are twins, and then came me, the apple of their eyes.” Dorian wrapped his arm around Hudson’s neck and squeezed.
“More like the apple that fell from the tree and got bruised and a little dented,” Hudson mumbled.
Bella’s lips twitched, and without thinking I wrapped my arm around her waist.
The motion was not lost on anyone, but Bella persevered. If I was going to be here, I was going to be here. And hopefully not fuck everything up.
“Let’s go finish making dinner, I have appetizers ready, but I don’t want to burn anything else.”
“We’ve got this. And we can grill Weston so that way Cale gets a break. I mean, Cale’s marrying into the family now so you’re going to have to be all blissful.”
I looked down at the ring on Sophia’s finger and smiled. “That’s new, right?”
