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“Do we have to?” It was Sunday. I didn’t have any major plans today, but I knew that Stace was always spending weekends with her family.

“I’m supposed to have lunch with my family. Eli won an award so we’re all taking him out to celebrate.”

Hearing that made a little bolt of pain go through me.

“What’s that face?” she asked, tucking some hair behind my ear.

“Nothing. What time do you have to go?”

Stace studied me for a few moments.

“What if…what if you came with me? Just as my friend. Nothing else. You’ve already met Torrin. And you’ve met Eli. That’s already like half my family, including me. It’s going to be at a restaurant, so it’ll be chill.”

My first instinct was to say absolutely not. Hell no. The very idea of meeting her family and being under that much scrutiny made me want to run back to my apartment and lock the door.

But under that scary, run-for-the-hills feeling was something else. Something that both surprised and shocked me.

“Okay?”

She sat back and stared at me. “Are you sure about that?”

“Yes?” I didn’t sound sure because I wasn’t.

“It’ll be super low pressure, I promise,” she said.

It absolutely wouldn’t, but she wanted me to go. Would it be that bad?

“I don’t know if I’ll make a good impression on them,” I admitted. I’d always clammed up before when I’d met my friend’s parents. Especially when they’d been kind.

“Oh, you’ll be fine. I’ve told them all about you. They practically know you already. They’re not scary, I promise.”

I nodded. “Yeah, I’ll come.”

Stace’s smile was worth saying yes.

Chapter Eighteen

Stace

I couldn’t believe that she had agreed to come with me to Eli’s party. Mom was going to be thrilled. She’d been pestering me to bring my new friend over every single time I talked to her. Explaining that Hunter was shy and that meeting everyone would be overwhelming didn’t hold water as an excuse with her.

Was it because of the sex? Not that it would matter, but I was curious about her change of heart.

Waking up next to her had made this one of the best mornings of my life. It felt like a dream but then it turned out to be real. Her hair was all tangled and her eyes were squinty and she was absolutely and completely perfect.

Then she upped the ante by agreeing to come to lunch and I was almost floating.

“What would you like for breakfast?” I asked as we lazed together. I was used to having to be up to take Buck out, but he was still with my family, so there was nowhere else I needed to be.

Nowhere but right here with my girl.

She was now mine. Last night had confirmed it. Hunter might not know that yet, but she’d figure it out.

She played with my fingers as she thought about it.

“I can make you breakfast. Or we can order something so we can just stay like this,” she said after a few minutes of pondering.

“Or I could make you breakfast. You can have whatever you want.” I wasn’t just talking about breakfast and I hope she understood that.