Robinson comes back in the room with two full glasses. “Jeremy says we should go into the dining room and have some of the appetizers he made.”
I take my glass of wine and follow them into the dining room. The table is set, and I feel guilty for having nothing to do with it. Little puff pastries are in the middle that look like miniature fancy pizzas. When did Jeremy do all this? I had a nap today but didn’t realize it had been such a long one.
“Mmm,” Robinson says, biting into one. “You really make these, Jer?” he yells toward the kitchen.
“Yep. Defrosted and baked ‘em myself!”
We all laugh.
“Well done, Brother!” Jana says, biting into her second one.
The door opens and lets in a gust of air that makes its way into the dining room.
“Anybody home?” says Leah, sounding out of breath.
The door slams closed.
“Damn, it’s cold out there. Phew!”
I walk around and greet her at the front door, glad to have her here with me. At least there will be one person in the room on my side when the poo hits the fan. I want to tell her everything that’s going on behind the scenes, but there’s no time. Jeremy is suddenly there by my side, and we’re squared off across from Leah and James.
Jeremy’s hand goes out. “James. Thanks for coming.”
James takes his brother’s hand and shakes it. “Jeremy. Thanks for inviting us.”
Leah frowns. “Oh, for Pete’s sake, would you guys just get over yourselves?” She pushes James towards Jeremy and yanks Jeremy over by his sleeve. “Hug it out. We’ll wait.”
They eye each other awkwardly for a couple seconds, but then James’s arms go wide and Jeremy steps into them. I have to turn away to wipe the tears that almost sneak past the bottom of my sunglasses.
“There, that’s better, isn’t it?” Leah joins in the hug. “Come on, Sarah, get in on this with me. Family hug.”
“No, I’ll stay over here with my gross eyeballs out of the way.”
“Bullshit. Get in here,” Jeremy says, his voice scratchy. He pulls me in and hangs onto me like a drowning man.
I hug the men lightly, and laugh when Leah tickles my arm.
“Okay, okay, that’s enough of the hippie love fest,” James says, the first one to break away. I quickly join him.
Leah pouts, tilting her head up to look at her fiancé. “Are you mocking the hippie lifestyle again?”
He leans down and kisses her gently. “No ma’am. I would never.”
“Good.” She nods at him once before turning to look at me. “So! How are those demon-eyes of yours, anyway?”
I laugh. She takes all the pressure off everything with a simple question. I love my buddy Leah. “Much better, thanks. I can see fine.”
“So what’s with the glasses?”
I pull them down my nose and look up at her.
She flinches and leans back. “Oh. Ew. Okay. Put them back on, and feel free to keep them on all night.”
James spanks her on the butt and then herds her into the dining room. “That’s enough out of you, Lady.” He has to jump out of the way when her hand comes back to grab at his crotch.
I look away, smiling. She’s so bad. I envy her sexy games with her guy. Jeremy and I haven’t even really kissed yet. And he proposed!! How is that even possible?! Ack!!
It’s like we’re living in the seventeen-hundreds or something. Doesn’t he want to see if we’re compatible before he commits like that? It’s kind of flattering, actually, that he’d love me so much just from our conversations and time together. I wonder if the Brontë sisters experienced love that way. Maybe that’s why they were so poetic. Whatever. I definitely need to get him in the sack at least once before I commit. I’m too much of a modern girl to do otherwise.
I shake my head to get it out of the clouds and join the rest of the group in the dining room. With Leah here, things seem much less dark and gloomy than they did before.
“Spaghetti’s ready!” Jeremy announces from the kitchen. “Grab your bowls and come on in.”
I follow everyone’s lead and go into the kitchen. As Cassie climbs around on the floor after Jaws, who she finally noticed spying on her, we each get a serving of noodles and sauce. I don’t worry about the dog being trouble for her or getting hurt, because he’s already showing how good he is at staying out of Cassie’s range. Smart little guy. It makes me wonder if he had a baby in his life before he became homeless. But his new vet said that without a microchip or tattoo, there’s no way I’ll ever find his former owner. That’s okay by me, though; he’s a member of the family now.