“No. He could be rather—arrogant,” she says. “I never was quite sure if he actually cared about you, or cared more about the idea of you.”

I frown. What exactly is she talking about?

“I always believed he was in love with her,” my mother says with a frown.

“Not enough to marry her though.” This comes from Aunt Marsha.

“Marsha, please,” my mother snaps.

Ah, family fun during Thanksgiving.

My brother, Palmer, clears his throat, raising a hand to silence everyone, which works. It’s impressive, how Palmer has such complete control over our family with just a clearing of his throat or holding up his hand. They ignore me every chance they can get.

“I have an announcement,” Palmer says, his deep, rich voice causing all of them to swivel their heads in his direction. He sits on the other end of the table, the complete opposite of where our father is sitting.

One day Palmer will be in charge of this family, and he knows it.

“What is it, dear?” Mother asks, her expression a mixture of excitement and curiosity.

I frown at him, wondering what the hell he’s doing. He’s been pretty quiet lately. Not around much. Shuttling in and out of the store like a man whose feet are on fire. Busy is the name of his game.

Palmer smiles, his gaze sweeping over every single one of us, drawing out the moment, I’m sure. He’s always been dramatic, especially when he was a little kid. He hasn’t changed much. “I’ve met someone.”

Mother clasps her hands together in front of her chest, her eyes dancing with delight. “Oh, Palmer. Really? Where is she? Who is she? Where did you meet? Why isn’t she here right now?”

Palmer laughs, his cheeks turning ruddy. Please, he’s not embarrassed. He’s eating this up. “Her name is Cassie. We met at the Sweet Dreams Café. We were both waiting for our coffee order and it turns out we get the same thing. She grabbed mine and we argued over it, until she noticed that my name was written on the cup.”

“How romantic!” Aunt Angela exclaims. “Sounds like a rom com!”

I want to roll my eyes but keep myself restrained. Figures my brother would fall in love with a woman via a meet cute moment.

Palmer laughs, looking pleased. “Somehow I convinced her to give me her phone number and we started chatting. Then we met for coffee. Lunch. Dinners. We’ve been pretty much together for the last three months.”

That sneaky dog. He didn’t tell anyone about it either.

“Why haven’t you brought her around if you’ve been seeing her for this long?” Mother seems hurt. I suppose she is. She lives for this sort of thing. Meddling in our business, in our relationships. She’s supportive, don’t get me wrong, but she also tries her hardest to be an active participant in our lives.

Sometimes too active.

Palmer’s expression turns sheepish. “If you want me to be truthful, I wanted to make sure Cassie and I were solid before I brought her around for the introduction. I saw how you all jumped on Amelia and her boyfriend. Ex-boyfriend,” he corrects at the last second.