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“Really, Mars?I can cover, Lanie, you go. No problem,” I said in my best Mars-impression voice.
“What? You don’t want to go meet the family?” Mars raised one eyebrow at me, his lips twitching to the right.
“No, no I don’t. I mean, not all at once. And so soon. Gah! The pressure.” I fanned myself with my hand, warm again. A tiny voice inside whispered, “Plus you’re keeping the secret that you might be leaving,”but I shoved it away.
“Lanie, relax. You already know all of them. I mean, you’ve at least met them before. It’s no big deal. Honestly, probably the hardest person in the family to impress is Quinn and you’ve already done that. So just be yourself. No biggie. Plus, maybe spending time with the family will help you make a decision.”
I exhaled hard, crossing my arms over my chest. “Yeah, you’re right. Just meeting the parents, tiny little thing. No big deal at all.”
“Take a pie. If all else fails, at least you can wow them with your baked goods.”
I gave Mars a wan smile. “That’s true. Probably the most solid advice you’ve ever given me.”
15
Quinn
Peachtree Presbyterian was a popular place to be on any given Sunday morning, but during the Christmas season, it was almost standing room only. Lucky for me, my family always saved me a spot in our pew, right side center, where we’d been sitting since I was a kid. I had my timing down to the second, making my entrance during the last few notes of the Prelude to avoid any and all small talk with other parishioners. Church chit-chat wasn’t my thing under normal circumstances, and now that I was seeing Delaney, I was even more eager to avoid it.
I slid into the wooden pew next to Pops as the final notes ofIt Came Upon a Midnight Clearechoed through the church’s oak rafters. Ryder tipped his chin in my direction, tapping the face of his watch. I rolled my eyes, but grinned, imagining he’d endured Mrs. Locke’s latest story about her rheumatoid arthritis without me. Bree smacked his hand, calling his attention back to the minister, and I loved her for it. Served him right. Besides, he was setting a bad example for Charlie, hand gesturing during church.
The minister welcomed everyone, then rattled off ten minutes of church announcements, nothing too interesting. When he invited us to greet our neighbors, I would have liked to pass, but I didn’t have that option. I stood and exchanged brief niceties with Mr. and Mrs. Locke and their neighbors before turning to my family.
“Hi, sweetie,” Mom said, giving me a warm hug, the deep floral notes of her perfume enveloping me. “Glad you could make it this morning.”
“Me too. Hey, little man.” I mussed Charlie’s hair and he grinned at me before Bree reached over, smoothing his hair back down.
“Hey, Ryder, Bree.” I nodded at the happy couple and Ryder chucked me on the shoulder.
“Late as usual,” Ryder said, tsk-ing me.
“Everyone, please turn to page three sixty-eight in the hymnal, ‘Angels We Have Heard on High.’” The opening notes rang out from the organ, saving me from a brotherly lecture on punctuality.
I mumbled through the song, not singing so much as chanting. Singing wasn’t really my thing. Mrs. Locke got into it, though, her high-pitched warble sailing past my ears, soaring up to the rafters. After the hymn came the sermon. I settled back into the wooden pew, folding my arms across my chest, attempting to get comfortable. Focusing my gaze on the colorful stained-glass window above the minister’s head, I tried to concentrate on his words, but my thoughts kept circling back to Delaney. Her ocean blue eyes, her soft pink lips, the curve of her hips. My mind wandered all over her body, not exactly the most wholesome thoughts to be entertaining in church. I shook my head, attempting to dispel the visuals, at least for now. Save them for a more appropriate time, like later tonight.
Ryder cut his eyes at me, his right eyebrow arched; he probably thought I nodded off. Guess that was better than the truth, though. No need to get into my X-rated visions of Delaney with him or anyone else.
Shifting in my seat, I squared up my shoulders, crossing one ankle over the other. Even though it was cold outside, the heat in the church was cranked and I was warm. Too warm, and thinking about Delaney wasn’t helping the situation any. I rolled my shoulders, willing myself to concentrate on the sermon. At this point, I’d missed at least half of it.
“Advent is the special time we think about the journey leading up to Christmas. Not only coming, the very meaning of the wordadvent, but becoming,” the minister explained. “The people we want to be, the lives we want to lead, the example we want to set for the world.”
His baritone voice trailed off, pausing to allow for a moment of reflection. Sweat beaded at the small of my back, and I pressed against the pew, trying not to squirm. Like singing, I wasn’t all that fond of reflection. Sitting around contemplating life wasn’t my style; I much preferred forging ahead and living it. My philosophy had always been that you can’t change the past, so why dwell on it? Ryder was known for that, not me.
The minister’s words led me back to my conversation with Josh at the coffee shop. I’d made promises to him concerning Delaney I fully intended to keep, but what did that look like? She said she was here to stay, but part of me had my guard up. Julia had said the same thing and look how that ended up. I wanted to trust Delaney, but I’d been burned before, and I wasn’t dying to go through that again.
Ryder put his arm around Bree, and she leaned into him. Hearts practically flew around those two and a pang twinged deep down in my gut. Sure, I’d like to have that. It would be nice to wake up next to a special someone—every third day in my case, but that would be better than I was used to. Ever since Julia, I’d been on a spree of sorts. Probablynotthe example I should be setting, if I was being honest. I hadn’t thought too much about the future post-Julia. I’d been singularly focused on moving as far away from the past and the pain as I could get. But now, for the first time in a long time, I could be still, and it was okay. More than okay.
My future had Delaney Miller all over it and I was feeling pretty good with that. Sure, the idea of proposals and marriage sent my heart rate through the roof, but that was normal after a broken engagement, right?
I hoped I wasn’t getting in over my head with Delaney, but I had a feeling she was worth the risk.
* * *
After church, I chatted with the family and double-checked with my mom about Delaney coming to Sunday supper. Of course she said yes, so I went home and changed into jeans and a clean button-down, then picked Delaney up. Now we were standing on the whitewashed front porch of my parents’ house. Delaney was chewing on the corner of her bottom lip, her brow furrowing the tiniest bit. It was cute how nervous she was. She smoothed the front of her black dress.
“Relax,” I said, snaking my arm around her waist. “They already like you.” I winked, then held the door for her, calling out, “Hey Mom, we’re here!”
Taking Delaney’s hand, I led her towards the kitchen, stopping to pet Goldy, who of course sniffed Delaney in the most intimate of places.
