Page 39 of Consummation (The Josh & Kat Trilogy #3)

“Now see?” Louise exhales loudly. “Good lord, Kat.”

Kat takes a seat and so do I.

“Goodness gracious,” Louise says, moving back to her chair on the other side of the table. “You get so riled up sometimes, honey.”

Ryan chuckles.

“I’m sorry,” Kat’s dad says. “You’re right. You’re both adults. It’s none of my business. I was just looking out for you. But it’s your life. I’m sorry.” He sighs and puts his hand on his forehead. “I was just trying to help.”

Kat lurches around the table and into her father’s arms and he hugs her .

“You’re sure you’re okay, honey?” he whispers.

Kat nods into his chest. “I was scared at first but now I’m happy and excited. And Josh is amazing, Dad. You’ll see. I love him so much, Dad.”

“I was just looking out for you because I love you so much.”

“I know, Daddy. I know.”

I clutch my chest. I’ve never seen a father behave like this with his kid.

This is straight out of a movie. He told her he loves her—even after she told him she royally fucked up.

And now he’s hugging her and kissing her cheek, showering her with fatherly affection?

Wow. This is the kind of father I’m gonna be, I think. Just like this.

“Okay,” Kat’s father says. He kisses his daughter’s cheek again.

“I’m glad you’re happy. Just wait. You’re gonna love this baby more than you ever thought possible—and so will we.

” He looks at me. “I’m sorry, Josh. I didn’t mean to butt in where I’m not wanted and I certainly didn’t mean to imply you were gonna shirk your obligations as a father.

I’m just not used to this new way of doing things, I guess.

” He smiles ruefully at his wife and she flashes him a sympathetic face.

“I’m too old-fashioned for my own good sometimes. ”

“You don’t have to worry about Josh’s intentions,” Kat says. “Babe, show my dad your arm.” She addresses her dad. “Josh got a girlfriend-tattoo in my honor.”

I know Kat means well, but, at this particular moment, hearing Kat call my permanent declaration of love for her a “girlfriend-tattoo” feels like she just called me a flop-dick.

“Show ’em,” Kat says. “Wait ’til you see this, Dad—then you’ll understand how much Josh loves me.”

I have zero desire to bare my Kat-inspired tattoo to her family, but I obviously can’t leave her hanging. Begrudgingly, I roll up my sleeve to display the full expanse of my bicep—and everyone instantly expresses amazement and amusement all at once.

“What’s ‘PG’ on her collar?” Ryan asks, leaning in to get a closer look.

“Party Girl,” I say. “The first night I met Kat, I asked her how a magazine article would label her if they were writing an oversimplified article about her, and she said, ‘They’d call me a Party Girl with a Heart of Gold.’ ”

Kat’s entire family expresses agreement with that assessment.

“I wanted to put K-U-M on the collar, but I figured Kat would kill me if I told the entire world her initials.”

“Ha!” Ryan says, looking at Kat. “You don’t want the world to know you’re name is semen, Jizz? You see what you did to your poor daughter, Mom? You’ve scarred her for life. She’d rather be known as a party girl than get called Kum Shot everywhere she goes.”

Kat’s mom rolls her eyes. “Only you guys would even think to call her that. Katherine Ulla is a beautiful name.”

“Sure it is, Mom,” Ryan retorts. “That wasn’t a cruel thing to do to your one and only daughter at all—was it Kum Shot?”

“Stop it,” Kat’s mom snaps. “You won’t be able to say that in front of your niece or nephew, you know, so you’d better start cleaning up your act now.”

“Not gonna happen, Mom,” Ryan says breezily. “That baby will think Kum Shot is Mommy’s given name.”

Kat’s mom covers her face with her hands.

“I like the two olives in the martini glass,” Dax says, scrutinizing my arm. “Nice touch.”

Kat kisses her dad on his cheek. “See, Dad? A man doesn’t get a tattoo for his girlfriend lightly.” She smiles broadly. “I’d say it’s pretty serious.”

Shit. Yet again, I know Kat means well, but every time she uses the word “girlfriend” I feel like she’s calling me flop-dick.

“Hey, Kumquat,” Colby says, breaking his silence. “What’s a guy with a broken leg gotta do around here to get a hug from his pregnant sister?”

Kat breaks away from her dad and bounds to the end of the table where Colby’s marooned with his leg in a cast. Gingerly, Kat takes Colby’s face in her hands and kisses him on the cheek and the two of them hug for a long minute.

“What the hell is ‘chattel,’ by the way?” Colby asks softly into Kat’s hair. “And why the hell do you know that word?”

Kat laughs. “Sarah always says it. I think it just means, you know, like when a woman used to be a man’s property?”

“Ah. I see.” Colby locks eyes with me. “Welcome to the family, Josh,” he says. “I think you’ll find it’s a pretty fucking awesome family—excuse my language, Mom. ”

“Oh, well, shit, that’s okay,” Kat’s mom says. “If ever there was an appropriate time to drop an f-bomb, this is it. Speaking of which—holy fuck—I’m gonna be a grandma.”

Everyone laughs.

“Welcome to our fucking awesome family, Josh,” Kat’s mom continues. “I for one already love you.”

My heart explodes in my chest. “Thank you, Lou.”

“So what do you say we dig into that pie you brought, huh?” Louise says. “I feel the sudden need to eat a very big slice.”