Page 52 of Sweet Oblivion

His family.

“Delaney,” his mom calls out from a high-top table, where she stands with two other women. All three equally beautiful.

“That’s Scarlet Kingston St. James and Amelia Beneventi with Lenny. Olivia and Caitlin’s moms,” Lexie whispers before she feeds me to the sharks and tugs me along with her. She hugs Amelia, who I’m just realizing is her mother-in-law as Lenny wraps an arm around me.

Her touch is light as she pulls me in. “How are you doing, sweetheart?”

Sweetheart?

No one has called me that since my mom died.

“I’m okay,” I croak as emotions threaten to choke me. With each okay I give, I think I might be getting a tiny bit closer to believing it.

“Well, you look amazing.” She pulls back and takes me in from top to bottom, lingering on my pink Converse sneakers. “Love the shoes.”

I glance down at myself.

Ryker’s jersey. His name. His number.

His ring catching the light every time I move my hand.

The beautiful woman with dark hair next to Lenny tsks, although she does it with a touch of a smile. “I don’t know, Len. That boy of yours is awfully tall.” She turns and sets her sights on me again. “You may need to consider heels if you’re going to be photographed together.”

Oh, she’s definitely Olivia’s mom.

“I’m not the greatest in heels,” I admit sheepishly, heat growing on my cheeks.

“She’s wearing them for the wedding though.” Caitlin hip-bumps me gently, joining us. “They came in, by the way. You should stop by tomorrow to pick them up, then wear them around your apartment to break them in.”

“It’s so nice to meet you, Delaney,” Lexie’s mother-in-law adds. “Have you done your cake tasting yet?”

A little girl flies by us, squealing, with a boy chasing behind her, and Caitlin groans. “Stop chasing your sister.” She shakes her head and sighs. “Excuse me.” Then she’s off, chasing the toddlers.

“No,” Lexie jumps in as I drown in the chaos. “We’re doing that next week, right, Lane?”

“Right. Next week.” It’s written on my calendar... somewhere.

“Hey.” Another voice. Though, this one I know. Olivia joins us. A glass of red wine in her hand and a purse that would pay off my car on her arm. And now that she’s standing next to her mother, I see the resemblance. My goodness, this family is full of beautiful people. “How was the media downstairs?”

Wait—what?

Is she talking to me?

Lexie raises her eyes and waits.

Shit. I guess she is talking to me.

“Umm... it was kind of crazy.” The women nod, murmuring their agreement. “I guess it was just a bit more than I expected.”

“It’s going to get worse before it gets better,” Olivia warns. “The frenzy is just starting. You’re trending.”

“I’m what?” I look over Olivia’s shoulder and smile when I see that little girl from earlier smush a cupcake in her brother’s face. Oh, that one is definitely Caitlin’s.

“Trending, Lane.” Lexie’s eyes are glued to her phone. “Shit. You and Ryker.” She turns the phone to face me, and there’s a video of me walking in. They slow-mo zoom in on the back of my jersey, focusing on the name and number, then down to the ring on my finger. “Holy shit. You’ve gotten over a million views already.”

“What?” I don’t understand. “No. That was—that can’t beright. That was only thirty minutes ago.”

“Welcome to the family.” Olivia holds up her glass, and the women at the table all tap theirs to hers. “Deep breaths, sweetie. It will calm down before next season.”