I laughed. "It can't be that bad."
She looked at me and flashed an evil smile. I had a feeling she was going to enjoy this.
"You came at the perfect time," she said with a giggle.
Before I had a chance to ask what she meant, the front door of the two-story stone house flew open. "She's here! She is here!"
Nic stopped and waited for me to walk up next to him.
"Whatever happens tonight, know this. I promise to give you the best sex of your life tonight if you don't run from this house screaming."
Thano laughed and hit his brother on the back as Kilyn groaned. "Nice. Promises of hot sex to smooth it over. I should have thought of that."
Kilyn hit Thano on the chest. "Hush! Your daughter is in your arms, Thano!"
They started walking up and Katerina quickly kissed the three of them before making a straight shot to Nic.
Oh no, wait . . . shit. She was coming to me.
The next thing I knew, at least twenty more people came flooding out. All of them making their way to me.
"Help," I whispered.
Nic looked at me and said, "We're past that phase, baby."
My head was spinning. After being hugged by probably every Greek woman in the state of Colorado, I was ushered into the living room where Katerina promptly brought me up to a man who I instantly knew was Nic's father.
Nic took over. "Dad, this is Gabi. Gabi, this is my father, Dimitris."
The older version of Nic took my hand in his and lifted it to his mouth. He smiled then kissed the back of my hand.
"You have eyes like the color of the ocean. The deepest of blue."
I smiled. "I got them from my father."
He nodded then glanced over to Nic. "Nicholaus, she's beautiful."
"And Italian," Katerina added with a smile.
"Ah . . . Italian food is just like Greek."
I waited for him to finish the rest of it, but he didn't. He simply smiled at me and then winked at Nic. Maybe having Kilyn for a daughter-in-law made him more open minded.
Katerina took my arm and off we went with meeting the family.
"This is my sister Maria and her daughters Sophia, Angie, and Maria. This is my sister Agnes and her daughter Maria and son Nick. You've met some of them a few weeks back at the cook off."
I smiled as I met person after person. "Hello. Hello. Very nice to meet you."
My cheeks were going to cramp if I smiled any longer.
"And this is Maria and her husband, Nick. Their daughter Maria isn't here tonight."
"Lots of Marias!" I said with a chuckle. Everyone stared at me and Kilyn waved her hands in the corner for me to stop talking.
Shit.
Taking my arm, Katerina lead me over to another group of people. "This is Phoebe, my son Thaddeus's wife."
Phoebe extended her hand to me and gave me the warmest smile. I knew instantly I was going to like her. Kilyn had already told me how amazing she was. My eyes glanced down to her very pregnant belly and a tinge of jealousy raced through my veins.
Kilyn walked up and hugged Phoebe. "You look beautiful," she said with a smile.
Phoebe chuckled. "I feel like a whale."
Shaking my head, I said, "You're beautiful and glowing." That's when I turned to Kilyn. She had the same glow. My heart stopped. She was pregnant too.
I cleared my throat and pushed away my jealous thoughts. "So, have I met all the important people?"
Kilyn laughed. "No. You haven't met Yiayia yet."
"Yiayia?" I asked with a questioning look.
"Watch out. She spits," Kilyn warned.
My eyes widened in horror. "She . . . spits?"
Nodding, she added, "On you."
"What?" I asked in horror.
"They really don't do that anymore," Phoebe added. I guess that was supposed to make me feel better.
"Wait. Who is Yiayia?"
Kilyn answered. "The guys' grandmother."
"Oh." It was all I could say. "Do I have to greet her in any special way?"
Phoebe laughed. "No. Just ignore whatever it is she says to you."
My eyes swung over to Kilyn. "She's going to say something about you carrying a baby."
I swallowed hard. "W-what?"
She waved it off with her hand. "Just don't let it freak you out."
I was freaked out. Really freaked out.
My body warmed instantly as Nic wrapped his arm around my waist. "You ladies filling her head with things about the family?"
Kilyn let out an evil laugh as Phoebe simply grinned wider. "Never," Kilyn cackled.
There must have been fifty people in the house, I swear. One after another they came up to me. They all started off with the same first sentence.
"So, you're Italian."
The best one so far from was from Aunt Maria. No wait. Cousin Maria. No. Maybe it was Maria the best friend. Whoever it was pulled me to the side and asked if I was able to handle the strong arm of a Greek man. She warned me of how possessive they were with their women. I couldn't help but search out Kilyn and Phoebe. I watched as both Thano and Thad kept their arms on their wives. To me it was more of a loving thing than possessive. Scanning the room, I found Dimitris with Katerina. He pulled her into his arms and kissed her. My heart skipped a beat. Their love was evident not only with the way they looked at each other, but in the way their sons looked at the women they loved.