Page 83

Melena: ETA? My folks and brothers are here.

Jimmy: Shit.

Jimmy: Not that your parents arrived, but that I’m late. Sorry.

Melena: No problem. ETA?

Jimmy: I’m wrapping up with Chase. Back in thirty.

Melena: Send proof of life? My parents could use a little extra convincing that you exist.

My phone buzzed with an incoming message and I smiled.

The picture showed Jimmy with an arm thrown around Chase’s shoulders, mugging for the camera. I didn’t recognize the setting. I flashed my phone at my mom and brothers. “See? Jimmy is out with his friend Chase, but he’ll be home soon.”

“I dunno, Melly. Looks like a deep fake to me. I’ll only believe it when I meet him in person.”

“Gee, thanks. Your belief in me is inspiring.”

Ivan shrugged and smirked. “You forget I remember the Christmas you told me Santa’s elves kept stealing my socks because they stank so bad, they were worried it would scare Santa away.”

I glanced at him innocently. “Your foot odor at that age was frightening. I maintain it’s entirely possible you could have scared Santa away.”

We bickered quietly as my mom took over the kitchen and my dad settled on an island stool with his phone and a beer from the fridge. The joys of family life.

I heard the front door close and took off for the entryway. Chase was already gone, but Jimmy was making his way inside on his crutches. He looked up from navigating around the door with a smile. “Hey. Sorry that took so long. Let me duck into the bedroom, and then I’ll be right there.”

My face fell. What was so important that he couldn’t meet my parents first? I bit my lip and nodded as Jimmy clumped away. I wandered into the kitchen without him. I’d hoped to show a united front and introduce him at the same time, but he had other ideas.

I settled back in with my family, and a few minutes later Jimmy appeared at the door. He was dressed in his going out clothes—a dark blue button-down shirt and navy slacks. I wasn’t sure if he was consciously mimicking his uniform because he missed work, but his outfit had a similar effect. His broad body filled the doorway, and I stood to meet him.

“Mom, Dad, this is Jimmy.”

My dad was mannered enough to stand and move toward Jimmy to shake his hand.

“Good to meet you in person, sir.”

Jimmy was laying it on thick. He turned to my mom. “Silvia, you look more like Melena’s sister than her mother. It’s a pleasure to have you visit us.”

Real thick. Still, my mom smiled, and her face lit at the compliment. “Thank you, Jimmy. That’s so sweet of you to say.”

“So sweet,” my brother echoed, elbowing Zander.

“But so true,” Zander said. “We say that all the time, don’t we, Ivan?”

I shook my head. Now who was laying it on thick?

My brothers and dad spent the time before dinner grilling Jimmy while they drank our beer. Nothing was sacred. Jimmy responded with a smile to most questions, but it faltered when my dad asked how he proposed. I could tell he didn’t want to admit it was via text message. I jumped in to help. “Dad, you old romantic.” I looked at him fondly. “It just happened naturally. We were talking about marriage.”

“How did you and Melly meet?” Zander asked.

I glanced at Jimmy to see if he needed saving, but he had things under control this time. He met Zander’s gaze. “I noticed her at the gym first. She was talking with someone else, and I heard her laugh from across the room. It was magnetic. Melena has a great laugh. The kind that made me want to hear her laugh all the time.”

His gaze met mine across the room. “It took me a while to find an excuse to meet her. I joined her yoga class. One day I set down my mat next to hers, and the rest is history.”

Jimmy was many things, but a yogi wasn’t one of them. He’d spent the first few classes facing opposite the class almost constantly. On the day he’d moved his mat close to mine, I’d done my best to get him turned in the right direction, but when it came to yoga, he was a lost cause. Our classmate’s moaning had been too much distraction. “At the end of class, he invited me for a smoothie to thank me for helping him through class.”

Zander gave Jimmy an assessing look. “Did you stick with the yoga? Or was it an excuse to meet chicks?”