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SEVENTEEN

Tate

Annie gives a tiny bark when she sees Lauren. A bark that seems to say, I remember you. Lauren looks from Annie to me in confusion, like she doesn’t believe this is really happening.

“What are you doing here?” Lauren asks, her tone somewhere between shocked and horrified.

“I wanted to meet your family,” I say, my confidence slowly evaporating the longer this awkward moment goes on. In my head, this seemed like a good idea after what Brax had shared about Lauren meeting with the commissioner’s wife privately and smoothing things over.

But based on the look on her face, I’m not so sure now. What was I expecting? She’d throw her arms around me and thank me for this favor?

After how hard she’s worked to help my PR, I felt like I owed her this, no matter what she told me over a text message.

Granny puts a hand to her heart like she can hardly hold back the way she’s melting over Annie. “If that isn’t the sweetest thing ever. He brought her a puppy.” A collective awww erupts from the family.

“Not my puppy,” Lauren corrects, shaking her head as Annie wriggles in my arms, clearly wanting to get to her .

“She’s from the Sully’s Beach Animal Shelter,” I explain to Granny.

She seems surprised. “That’s where the family foundation’s first donation is going—picked by Lauren. Did you know that?”

“I had no idea,” I say, smiling at Lauren. “Thank you.”

Everyone is still staring at me and Annie like they’re curious who this stranger and dog are that crashed their family dinner.

I lift a hand, waving to the group. “Hi, everyone, I’m Tate.”

Olivia beams, clearly elated that she orchestrated this.

“I told you not to come,” Lauren says under her breath.

“I know, but…I wasn’t a hundred percent sure how firm that instruction was.” So maybe I took some liberties by assuming her lack of a firm no was “code” for giving me permission. Considering the caveman I'm pretty sure is Bart is making a face like he just ate a ghost pepper, I think it worked.

“You want some spaghetti, Tate?” Granny asks. “There’s plenty.”

“He’s not staying,” Lauren says firmly.

“Yes, he is,” Granny says. “I insist.” She takes hold of my shoulders and directs me into her seat, much to Lauren’s dismay, before heading to the buffet table.

Olivia’s kids have already raced off to the dessert table with Jake, which leaves me alone with Lauren and her sister. I set Annie on the ground to clean up the children’s crumbs.

Olivia leans forward with a gleeful smile. “You should’ve seen Bart’s face when you walked in. That was freaking amazing , Tate. Can you please stay all week? Because I want to replay Bart’s face about twenty more times.”

“Not going to happen,” Lauren says, eating the stray end of a breadstick left over from Kaylie’s plate.

“Why not?” Olivia asks. “You can already tell Granny loves him. Her face was glowing like the heavens just opened when he walked into the room.”

“Because I’m not staying,” Lauren says, leaning back in her chair .

“But you haven’t even told him about Patty yet,” Olivia says.

Suddenly there’s a crash at the buffet table, and I turn to see Jake picking up plastic forks on the floor.

Olivia cringes. “Oh, no. I need to wrangle the kids before they knock a pie off the dessert table.” Olivia darts toward the other end of the room.

“Who’s Patty?” I ask Lauren.

“Dad’s new girlfriend,” Lauren says as she nods toward a woman with blonde hair. “I was supposed to room with her. Yet another reason not to stay.”

“Well, it looks like they’re coming this way,” I note.

“Probably to meet my new ‘boyfriend,’” Lauren says, making air quotes.

Boyfriend. Right. I just need to pretend I know how to do this and maybe no one will notice I’m one awkward answer away from blowing the whole illusion.

Lauren’s dad approaches our table with his arm around Patty. “Hi, I’m Dave, Lauren’s dad. I don’t think we’ve met yet.”

I stand and shake their hands. Suddenly, this whole thing feels very girlfriend-official . “Tate Foster.”

“Good to meet you, Tate. Lauren didn’t tell me she had a boyfriend,” Dave says.

“Like father, like daughter,” Lauren mutters under her breath.

I put my arm around the back of Lauren’s chair when I sit next to her, just to make it look like we’re together.

She shifts when my arm brushes her bare shoulder, and that’s when I notice the freckles that sprinkle across her shoulders.

At work, they’re always covered, so I never see her dressed casually.

This feels like a different person— Summer Lauren —and I like it.

“How did you meet?” Dave asks.

“Through work,” I say.

“Wait, you’re a hockey player?”

“A defenseman with the Crushers,” I answer.

Dave shakes his head. “Never would’ve guessed that.” He looks at Lauren. “Since Lauren always said she’d never date another hockey player after Lucas.”

“Lucas?” I ask, looking at Lauren.

“Nobody important,” she says, taking another bite of her breadstick.

“Lucas Waldron was a forward for another team when Lauren first got hired as a PR assistant,” Dave explains. “After they broke up, she always said she’d never fall for an egotistical athlete again.”

“I didn’t say it like that,” she says, her cheeks flushing slightly.

“Oh, I think your exact words were ‘a cocky athlete with an ego so big it could be mistaken for a Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade balloon.” He chuckles, then catches Lauren’s expression and adds more gently, “We all make those mistakes, honey.”

“You’d think I learned my lesson the first time,” she says.

“Well, I’m glad you have a partner for the Family Olympics,” Dave says.

Lauren frowns, then stammers, “I’m not sure Tate can stay for the games, Dad.”

“Oh, I’m staying if you’re staying,” I say. “After all, I’m very good at the water balloon toss.”

“Well, then it’s settled!” Dave says. “Everyone has a partner now. Perfect. I’m so glad you came, Tate,” he says, giving me a wave before he and Patty leave.

As soon as they’re out of earshot, Lauren leans forward. “How could you do that?”

“Do what?” I ask.

“Offer to be my partner. Get their hopes up.”

“I thought you wanted to do this for your mom,” I say, remembering how much she didn’t want to abandon her promise.

“But you rented a cabin to work on your secret project which means you should be there . Not giving my family… expectations .”

“Expectations?” I frown. “It’s one week. Not a marriage proposal.”

“To my family, one week practically is a marriage proposal,” she says. “So go back to your cabin in the woods before people start feeling invested in us.”

“Here’s the thing,” I say. “I didn’t realize the cabin was here. ”

“What?” she almost grinds out.

“I just booked it online after searching for a cabin nearby to rent. It wasn’t until I got to the place that I realized I was next door to you. Same owners, same property.”

She stares at me. “You mean the rustic cabin in the woods? I thought the owners never rented it out during the week we’re here.”

I shrug. “Apparently, they do.” It felt too coincidental to ignore. Like I was given an opportunity to return the favor after she helped me.

“I hope it’s okay that I brought Annie along,” I say, ruffling the dog’s head.

“She seemed really lonely at the shelter, and James is desperate for more kennel space. He told me the sponsor’s check I got at the last hockey game will only last a month or two, if he’s lucky.

He’s worried he’s going to have to close for good. ”

“The shelter might shut down?” Lauren stares at me, genuinely concerned. “What happens to the dogs then?”

“They would transfer to a new shelter, if there’s room.”

“And if there’s not?”

I shake my head. “I don’t know.”

“Annie too?” Lauren asks, her voice softening as she watches the puppy sniff around under her chair. She reaches down to stroke Annie’s fur.

“Yes, her too,” I say. “Most of the area shelters are already overcrowded and under-resourced. Honestly, your family’s donation couldn’t have come at a better time.”

“She’d be all alone again,” Lauren says quietly, almost to herself. Something in her expression changes as she watches Annie. “Shuffled off to someplace new. No one who really knows her.”

“Yeah,” I say, watching Lauren’s face carefully. “Dogs need consistency. Somewhere they belong. ”

“A family,” Lauren says, scooping Annie into her lap. “Especially when yours is taken away.” The puppy immediately settles against her, head tucked under Lauren’s chin like she’s found her place.

“I was also hoping Annie might be a convenient excuse for you to get away,” I say. “I knew this reunion was going to be hard, so I tried to think of a way to make it easier. Any time you need to escape your family, you can just take her outside.”

Lauren’s frustration disappears. “Thank you. That was…thoughtful.”

I’m about to say something else when Granny sweeps over to our table with two plates of food. “Lauren, you didn’t tell me you were hiding this hunk. No wonder you were trying to get out of here earlier. But now that he’s here, you’ll have a reason to stay.”

“Well, actually…”

“One more thing,” Granny interrupts before Lauren can finish. “There’s something I need to discuss with you about the donation to the shelter. I forgot to mention the conditions your mother set up for the foundation.”

Lauren tenses slightly beside me. “What conditions?”

“Well,” Granny says. “Rose was very specific. The person who selects each year’s charity must remain present for the entire reunion week and stay on the lodge grounds. Something about ‘fully honoring the commitment.’ Only then will the money be donated to the beneficiary.”

“Granny,” Lauren says, choosing her words carefully, “I don’t know if I can stay with Patty.”

“The conditions don’t say where you have to stay.

Only that you need to stay on the property.

And if you can’t fulfill the conditions, we’ll have to choose someone else.

” Granny glances at Annie, then strokes her head.

“Such a shame, though—your mother was so adamant there was a reason it should be you. Are you sure there isn’t some way you can stay all week? ”

Lauren looks down at Annie, then at me. She twists her ring, caught between the pull of multiple obligations—to her mother’s memory, to the shelter, to this puppy who’s staring up at her with complete trust.

“Hey, it’s okay,” I reassure her. “The shelter will figure things out. Your mom would understand if it’s too much for you. The only person setting those expectations…is you .”

Lauren looks at Annie again and bites her lip before something shifts—a resolve that wasn’t there before.

“I’ll stay,” she says quickly.

“Are you sure?” I say. “You don’t have to do this, Lauren.”

“I want to,” she says firmly. Then she picks up Annie and holds her close, scratching behind her ears. “We’re all staying.” She glances at the puppy, her voice dropping. “We girls have to stick together, don’t we?”

“Then it’s settled!” Granny says, beaming. “Welcome to the reunion, Tate.”