Page 35 of Choosing Her

saylor

The house was packed. Not just full, but full —voices overlapping, laughter ringing through the halls, the smell of something rich and buttery floating in from the kitchen.

It was an experience I’d never had when it came to family gatherings and I hung onto Crossy’s arm for dear life as he led the way through.

“This is a small gathering?” I whispered to him as we squeezed past a group of his cousins arguing over a deck of cards.

He grinned at me. “You get used to it.”

Someone shouted his name, and suddenly, I was being pulled into the tornado that was Crossy’s family.

While his step-mom wrapped him in a hug, his dad shook my hand and said I was nice to see me again.

When two girls who looked remarkably like Crossy, just like Aspen had, came up, he introduced them as the twins, Peyton and Emerson.

I smiled and said hello, but then Crossy was pulling me further into the house and introducing me to every other family member he had—first, it was Aspen and Alivia, then their dad—who, he muttered in my ear, was the bodyguard for Tino’s older brothers, who were in a famous band—and then, of course, his mom, who I’d seen at the school.

Even though everyone in the house was being extremely friendly, seeing her was like a breath of fresh air since she was the only one I actually felt like I knew.

A voice rang out from the living room. “Crossy, get over here! You’re on my team!”

He groaned. “That’s my cue.”

I laughed, but then his mom nudged me lightly. “Go with him,” she said, her voice warm. “I’m sure they’ll all love to meet you.”

Something in my chest tightened—this soft, unfamiliar feeling that I wasn’t sure what to do with. I glanced at Crossy, who was already watching me, waiting.

I swallowed, then smiled. “Yeah. Okay.”

I should’ve felt overwhelmed—normally, I would’ve felt overwhelmed—but instead, I just…

fit. Like I’d always been here, like I wasn’t just the girl he brought home, but someone who belonged.

And as we walked toward the living room, my fingers laced through his, I realized—I was part of this. Of him. Of all of it.

And I wasn’t going anywhere.

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