“And how do you feel right now?” she asks me.

I look up, my gaze searching for—and finding—Isaac, who is still sitting on the couch with my aunts. He catches my gaze, his smile soft. Intimate. Just for me. I can’t help but smile back. “I feel—great.”

“Thanks to your young man?” Mother asks softly.

“He’s part of it,” I say, turning to meet her gaze once more. “But it’s also because of me—I feel like I’ve found myself again.”

“I didn’t know you were lost,” Mother says, her frown deepening.

“I was.” I take her hands and give them a squeeze. “But not anymore. I know who I am, and what I want.”

And what I want right now is…

Isaac.

Once I leave my mother, I wander through the living room, past chattering cousins and my father sitting with my grandpa, their expressions serious, their tones low. I linger close to them, realizing quickly that they’re talking about sports—football playoffs—and I keep walking, barely able to contain the smile curling my lips. I run into my brother and his girlfriend, Cassie, who I know thanks to her working at Noteworthy, the stationery store Caroline manages and now partially owns.

“You two make a great couple,” I marvel as I watch Palmer wrap her up in a big hug. Cassie blushes when he delivers a sloppy kiss on her cheek.

So unlike my straightlaced, somewhat uptight big brother, but I love seeing him act so affectionate.

“You really think so?’ she asks me, sounding shy.

I nod, wanting to give my stamp of approval, not that Palmer needs it. He’ll do whatever he wants, regardless of how I or anyone else feels. That’s just his way. “You both seem really happy together.”

“We are,” Palmer says firmly, slipping his arm around Cassie’s shoulders and keeping her tucked firmly at his side. “I like your dude.”

I almost want to laugh at his remark, I’m so taken aback. “My dude?”

“Yeah. Isaac. He’s cool. A little young—” Cassie jabs him in the ribs, making Palmer grunt—“But he’s a nice guy. Seems totally into you.”

My cheeks heat up but I try to play it off. “I really like him.”

“I’m glad. He’s definitely a lot better than Joe,” Palmer says with a scowl.

“Oh, I totally agree with you there,” I say without hesitation.

Isaac chooses that moment to approach us and I wrap him up in a hug, eager to show some PDA for this man who waltzed into my parents’ house only a few hours ago and has seemingly won almost everyone over. Even my stubborn brother.

“You survived the aunties,” Palmer tells Isaac as I rise up on tiptoe and brush a kiss upon Isaac’s cheek. His arm tightens around my waist, as if he’s worried I’m going to try to make my escape.

Fat chance of that happening.

“They’re fun,” Isaac says with a slight shrug.

“That’s one way to put them,” Palmer murmurs.

“They’re actually kind of terrifying,” Cassie adds.