I love her glasses.
She purses her lips and nods. “For our last date.”
“Nope,” I say, the second the words are out of her mouth. I predicted this and planned for it. “I dropped you off from our last date this morning, which according to your rules, makes it the same date.”
Her lips twitch before she schools her featuresinto a frown. “Fine. I’ll give you that.”
If I thought she was going to give me a chance to redeem our doorstep kiss, I’m wrong. She turns and lets herself in the door.
I step forward to give her a parting hug, or maybe a kiss on the cheek, but the door slams in my face. I’m so close to the door I can smell the rust. She could have hurt me.
Maybe that was her plan.
Chapter 16
Juliet
Michael tricked me, and… I deserved it. Especially after slamming the door in his face a few nights ago. Not my finest moment, but I was angry with everyone, including myself.
I only have to protect my heart for two more dates, which should be easy, since tonight, we’ll be surrounded by his family.
I’ve never been home to meet someone’s family before, and the only families I know are completely dysfunctional. Parents who fight at the dinner table (mine), siblings discussing bowel movements while eating (Karli’s).
What kind of relationship do Michael and his brothers have if he wants me to embarrass them the first night I meet them? I’m not sure what kind of chaos I’m in for, but there’s bound to be something that will make it easier to pull away when the five dates are up.
The second I step through the large entryway into Michael’s immaculate childhood home, I have a feeling his family will be different.
“This house is gorgeous,” I whisper to him.
He shrugs. “It’s home.”
It’s home? It’s like the North Pole exploded, very tastefully I might add. I’ve never seen so many decorations in my life. Decorative garland on the front staircase, a picturesque scene of glass snowmen on the entry table, and a tree the size of a mini-Eiffel Tower in the front room.
“I warned my family not to be weird.” Michael breaks me from my trance. “But I can’t guarantee it’s not still an option.”
“Every family is weird.”
The look on his face says he knows something I don’t.
“What?” I stop walking and pull him to a halt. “What aren’t you telling me?”
His lips pinch together. “Okay, they can be a bit much. All of them.”
“And?” I reach for a strand of hair.
“And they are going to make bets, probably about us, and tease you for going out with me. But I promise they do it out of love.” He pauses. “I think. I never really know when it comes to Sean.”
“Bets?” Yeah sure, thissounds super normal.
“It will be fine.” Michael leads me into the large kitchen, where seven pairs of eager eyes meet us.
He’s much more optimistic than me.
A guy approaches us. “You must betheJuliet.” He’s a few inches shorter than Michael and has dark hair, but they are so similar in looks they could almost be twins. Except, he’s the one with a twin, right? I think that’s what Michael said when he gave me the five-minute rundown of his family. And what does he mean bytheJuliet?
“I’m Sean. The coolest Bentley.” Sean slides an arm around my shoulders and attempts to pull me away from Michael, but Michael grabs my hand and plasters me to his side, which I’m grateful for.
I’ve got to keep my eye on this Bentley.
