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Honey was busy wrangling her crew and I was done so I walked over and asked, “can I help?”

Every single one of the Holloways stared at me.

Honey recovered first. “Yeah, sure. If you could toss these cups in the recycling.” I went and did that, coming back to find Honey giving orders.

“Anything else?” I asked.

“No, I think we’ve got it.” Her cheeks were adorably pink right now and I couldn’t help but kiss one of them.

“Introduce me,” I whispered in her ear.

“They already know you.”

“But not as your girlfriend, they don’t. I want to make a good impression on your parents.”

Honey’s eyes flew wide.

“Really?”

I nodded, and she still appeared skeptical.

“Mom, Dad, this is Bren. Who you already know, but I guess she wanted to officially meet you.”

“Hello. I thought we should do this more formally since you’re going to be seeing a lot of me.” I couldn’t even believe the words coming out of my mouth. Who was I? Honey had to hide her shock, too.

I shook Bill’s hand and then Sharon pulled me into a hug.

“Oh, darling Bren. We’re so happy you’re joining our family.”

Honey gasped. “Whoa, Mom. Let’s pump the brakes. Bren and I literally just started dating.”

Sharon released me and smiled in a way that reminded me so much of Honey.

I said hello to the other kids, and Ellie clasped me in a hug.

“I get to have another sister!”

“Slow your roll,” Ember said, rolling her eyes. “They’re not getting married. Yet.”

She smirked when she added that last word.

“My dear, do you know any folk songs?” Sharon asked me.

“I don’t sing,” I said, but she just laughed.

“Oh, we’ll change that.”

Less than an hour later,I found myself standing next to Honey at the stove of the Holloway home and not even sure how it had happened. I’d been invited to dinner and I hadn’t said no.

The house was warm and filled with pictures and noise and love. So much love here.

Honey managed the chaos effortlessly as I watched and tried to help. I’d been awkward at first, but soon I relaxed and discovered that I liked being here. The singing was still a bit much, but they were a family in every sense of the word. They enjoyed spending time together. Their camaraderie made me ache to be a part of their circle. To join in with my offkey voice.

Who could have imagined?

Dinner was as noisy and chaotic as I thought it would be, but I got through it and it wasn’t so bad. Honey finally dragged me around and gave me a tour, complete with meeting the bees and helping me get into one of the bee outfits.

“How do I look?” I asked, posing as she took a few pics on her phone.