Page 57 of Unscripted Love

“And go where, dear?” Mom asked.

“Well, I…”

“Let the guy breathe a little,” my dad said. “He’s barely into the house, and you guys are drilling him already.”

“Hi, Mr. Vaughn,” Chaz said.

“None of that mister stuff,” my dad told Chaz. “Call me Derrick or Dad. Come on in and have a seat. They could at least make sure you’re comfortable before they start drilling you with questions.” My dad screwed up his face into a super serious expression. “What are your intentions toward my son?” he asked in a stern voice.

“Dad,” I said, rolling my eyes. “Leave him alone.”

“I was just teasing him,” my dad told me. “You knew that right, Chaz?”

“Uh, yeah,” Chaz said, but not very convincingly.

“Hey, I treated my sons-in-law the same way when the girls dragged them home to meet us,” my dad told Chaz.

“Kicking and screaming the entire way,” Brett said from the sofa where he sat next to Jenna.

Jenn smacked his thigh playfully before she stood up to hug Chaz. “Hey, cutie,” she said to Chaz. “How are you doing?”

“I’m fine,” Chaz answered. “How are you doing?”

“I’m doing great,” Jenn said to Chaz before shifting her focus to me. “Did you get settled into your new house?”

“Pretty much,” I replied. “There are still odds and ends I need to pick up.”

“You’ll be doing that for a year at least,” my mom told me. “We would’ve helped you unpack.” She sounded a little disappointed that I kindly refused their help.

“I didn’t have much to unpack, and the furniture was delivered and set up for me. I just wanted to have it completely set up before I have you all over,” I said.

“I bet,” my youngest sister, Sierra, said. “When are you going to have us over and what will you feed us? I need something more substantial than celery and carrots to survive.”

“Hardy har har.” I snaked my arm out and hooked it around her neck then pulled her to me for a head noogie.

Sierra giggled and squirmed while she tried to get away. “Quit it, you big lunkhead. You’re messing up my hair.” That only made me rub my knuckles across her head harder.

Britt returned to Chaz’s side with her husband. “Chaz, this is my husband, Mark.”

Mark shook his hand then Brett introduced himself. Chaz seemed to relax after his near slip until Britt said, “So, what were you saying about possibly leaving the salon? What are your plans?”

I was curious how much he would tell my family because only a handful of people knew that he published a book. He said he liked being anonymous because he wrote whatever came to mind and never worried what certain people would think. He started to reply, but the oven timer went off.

“Hold that thought, dear,” my mom said before she ran out of the room.

“Time to eat,” my dad said, rubbing his hands together gleefully. “Let’s head on into the dining room.”

I snagged Chaz’s hand and held him back while the others left the room. “You don’t have to tell them anything before you’re ready. It’s fine if you want to tell them that you’re a writer but not give your pen name. That’s your business and I don’t want you to feel pressure to please my family.”

Chaz stood on his tiptoes and kissed me. “You’re so damn precious. It’s no wonder I love you.”

“I love you too.”

“Kyle, quit hogging Chaz to yourself,” my mom yelled from the dining room. “Bring him here so we can feed him and he can finish telling us about his big plans.”

Chaz turned and looked up at me as he started walking backward toward the dining room. “Do you really think they want to hear about mybigplans?” I knew by his tone of voice and the way he kept looking at my crotch that he wasn’t referring to his writing career.

I closed the gap between us and pulled him against my chest. “How about we sneak out the front door and go back to my place,” I said.