Page 158 of Lucky Mother Pucker

His sister, Alessia, comes over and hugs me too. Then I’m greeted by their parents.

I glance over at Lucy, who’s standing off to the side, an amused look on her face as my family bombards me with hugs.

“And who’s this pretty lady?” Alessia says, beaming at Lucy before pulling her into a hug.

Lucy’s brow lifts in shock when my cousin wraps her arms around her. But then, a second later, she’s smiling.

“This is Lucy. My friend and roommate,” I say before patting my cousin on her shoulder. “And you’re cutting off her air supply with how hard you’re hugging her, so maybe let her go?”

“Oh! Sorry!” Alessia says, releasing Lucy from her embrace.

“It’s okay,” Lucy chuckles. “It’s nice to meet you.”

I introduce her to Matteo and my aunt and uncle. I’m putting our coats away in the nearby closet when a few more cousins walk up to us. I tell them all hi, then introduce them to Lucy. We all talk and catch up for a few minutes before they get pulled into a nearby conversation.

I turn to Lucy. “Sorry about all that. My family can be kind of overwhelming if you’re not used to them.”

“Are you kidding? I love how welcoming they are,” Lucy says. “And that hugging is apparently their love language.”

I chuckle, relieved that she’s not upset.

“Also, your cousin Alessia told me she works for a private investigator. That sounds like the coolest job ever.”

“Some of her stories are nuts. You should ask her about the time she was trailing an insurance executive suspected of cheating on his wife. She busted him at a sex party in Mykonos.”

Lucy’s eyes go wide as she smiles. “Wait, really?”

I nod. “A lot of her job involved investigating cheating spouses. She does other stuff too though, like track down missing or lost family members. She helps a lot of people.”

Just then, I spot my sister Zoey. She walks over and hugs me.

“Mom hasn’t roped you into pie crust duty yet, huh?”

Zoey laughs. “Nope. She got Aunt Cheryl and Aunt Becky doing that. They’re currently in the kitchen arguing about whether it’s better to use shortening or butter to make the best pie crust.”

Both Lucy and I chuckle.

Zoey hugs Lucy. “Hopefully you’re not freaked out at how loud our family is,” Zoey says.

“Not at all. It’s really sweet.”

Zoey takes her hand. “I’m gonna steal Lucy away for a sec. I need her help to make my famous sangria.”

When they walk off, I visit with some of the neighbors who came over, then I spot my mom coming out of the kitchen. I walk over to her and hug her.

“Leo, honey. When did you get here?”

“Like twenty minutes ago. I would have come to you sooner, but I got bombarded by our family.”

She chuckles as she pats my chest. “Where’s Lucy?”

“Zoey recruited her to help her make sangria.”

I nod over at the wet bar by the dining area. Zoey is dumping a bottle of red wine into a pitcher while Lucy slices orange wedges. Zoey says something, and Lucy laughs.

Alessia walks over to them and steals an orange wedge from Lucy. I watch as the three of them continue chatting and laughing

I smile, happy that Lucy’s having a good time. That she’s fitting in so well with my family.