Page 88 of Be Mine, Sweetheart (Something Borrowed 3)

Suddenly, a strong odor of seafood filled her nostrils and her stomach turned violently.

She pulled up short as her throat constricted, bile rising up the back.

“Kel? You okay?”

She shook her head. “That smell. It’s awful.”

“What smell?”

“Seafood.”

Chris seemed to be sniffing the air, and then studied her. “You look a little green. Want me to take you back to your room to lie down?”

“No, I’m not missing this. It was probably just something I ate. See,” she said, breathing through her mouth. “All better now.”

“If you’re sure…”

“I am. Do you maybe want to go tell your parents first?” She didn’t want to tell Chris that she was afraid if she got any closer to the buffet she was going to upchuck all over the place.

“We can do that.”

Chris let her lead him over to where his parents stood. Marcy and Keith Ryan were younger than her parents by several years. While both of his parents were blond, Kelly always thought Chris looked more like his father with his mother’s eyes.

“Chris. Kelly. Wasn’t it a beautiful ceremony? I’m trying to convince your father we should do something like this for our anniversary. Maybe in the highlands of Scotland or something.”

“I’m not going to wear a kilt,” Keith said. “Your mother discovered that show Outlander and now all she can talk about is going to Scotland and dressing up as thought we were in the fifteen hundreds.”

“What your father won’t admit is that he’s watched several episodes of the show and loved it. He even does a lovely Scottish accent. You should show them, darling.”

Chris’s dad looked murderous and Kelly laughed, squeezing Chris’s hand in hers. She was surprised that Marcy hadn’t noticed their entwined fingers, as they weren’t doing anything to hide it.

“I want to see Outlander, but I don’t have cable,” Kelly said.

Chris groaned. “She just got through binging Reign a month ago. I really cannot take another romantic show so soon.”

Kelly bumped him with her hip. “Stop it, you were totally Team Bash. Admit it.”

“Fine, the show was okay. Bash was the only cool character though. What can I say? I love a redeemed bad boy,” Chris teased.

Kelly saw Marcy’s gaze finally fall on their hands and her eyes widened. “Oh, my God. Are you two…are you dating?”

Chris smiled at Kelly, making her stomach flip. “Yeah, Mom. For a couple weeks now.”

“Oh! I am so happy.” Marcy hugged first Chris and then pulled Kelly into a tight embrace. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me! Isn’t that wonderful, Keith?”

“Yes, of course.” Keith was usually a little hard to read, but as he slapped his hand on his son’s arm, Kelly saw the genuine affection in his eyes. “Congratulations.”

“Thanks. We haven’t told Kelly’s parents yet, so if you could just keep this to yourselves until we talk to Leah and Tim that would be great.”

“Talk to us about what?”

Kelly turned to the right to find her mom and dad standing next to them.

“Well, we wanted you to know that Chris and I are dating.”

Kelly’s mom squealed louder than Chris’s as she embraced them both.

“I knew it! The two of you have been acting shifty since you got here!”