As she stands, I notice her pajama pants are printed with little pictures of books and coffee cups, which fits her perfectly. She immediately starts folding her bedding, so I jump in to help. When we’re done, I tell her I need to put some things in the fridge, and she follows me into the kitchen.

It’s no surprise that she heads straight for the coffee maker. While she starts a pot, I get to work setting out the things I’ll need to make breakfast for everyone. We navigate around each other with ease, and that makes me happy in a way I didn’t expect.

Over the years, I’ve spent plenty of time alone with Brenden, but me being alone with May is much rarer. I like that she seems perfectly comfortable having me here in her space with her.

“You don’t have to cook us breakfast,” she says, eyeing me as she stirs sugar into her coffee.

“I’m trying to make a good impression.”

Her brow furrows thoughtfully. “But you don’t need to try this hard. You’re doing enough just by being here.”

I shrug. “It’s for Brenden.”

After a few beats of silence, she says, “I dunno what my dad told you about my grandparents, but they’re not that bad.”

“I’m sure they’re not. Your dad is just...”

“A mess?” she finishes for me, amusement dancing in her eyes.

“Something like that,” I mutter fondly. He may be a mess sometimes, but he’s also pretty incredible.

“I know I was too young to understand what things were like between them when he first adopted me,” she says. “But I don’t think he needs to be so worried about everything around them. They don’t hate him.”

As I begin preparing pancake batter, I tell her, “He worries because he loves you so much. He doesn’t want anything to hurt your relationship with them. And I think it’s a bit more complicated than just not wanting them to hate him.”

“Eh. Sometimes I think adults make things more complicated than they need to be.”

I stop what I’m doing and stare at her, processing her words. She’s probably not wrong. Brenden certainly complicated his situation with Elise and Grant by lying to them about having a boyfriend. Thinking about the way we floundered like idiots last night, I remember how May jumped in to save us.

“Hey, thanks for last night. With that save and, uh...” A flush creeps up my neck. “The stuff you said about me.”

She leans her back against the counter beside me, with her mug cradled in her hands, and offers me a sweet smile. “It wasn’t hard to come up with a story. The two of you do banter an awful lot. If you guys were in a romcom, that would totally be construed as flirting.” Before I can argue that Brenden and I don’t flirt, she continues. “And what I said about you always being there for me and my dad wasn’t a lie at all. I hope you know how much he appreciates everything you do for us. We both appreciate it.”