“I know,” Alex said. “But then we would’ve had to invite everyone—”

“And it would’ve turned your little wedding into a huge production.” Liz finished his sentence with a sigh.

The next half an hour was filled with more phone calls and more congratulations from the rest of Alex’s family. Ani complained that Bram had known and she hadn’t, Trevor had laughed and given his congratulations without reservation, and Alex’s sister, Kate, had cried because she hadn’t even met me yet. They were all happy for us, though. Not a single person held back as they told us how happy they were, how I fit right in with the family, and how they didn’t know how Alex had managed to get me to marry him.

I was jealous of how easily Alex’s family had accepted our decision to leave them out, even when I could tell that some of them were really disappointed that we hadn’t included them in our big day. His family was so genuinely nice that I dreaded calling my own.

By the time we sat down at the kitchen table and turned on my laptop, I was a nervous wreck and trying not to let Alex see how anxious I was. I would have preferred to call my aunt and uncle privately because I knew exactly how the conversation would go, but after being included in Alex’s announcements, I couldn’t think of a good excuse to leave him out.

“I haven’t spoken to you in weeks,” my aunt said, her home office coming into focus as she answered the video call. “Where have you been?”

“Hi, Auntie,” I replied, turning my laptop until both me and Alex were in the camera’s frame. I was really glad he’d decided to put a shirt on for our video chat, since my aunt was surprised enough to see him sitting next to me. “Alex,” I said, “this is my auntie Adinah.”

“Alex,” Aunt Adinah murmured. “It’s nice to finally meet you.”

“You too, ma’am,” Alex replied, clearing his throat and showing just how nervous he was under his cool exterior.

“How is everyone?” I asked, trying to pull her attention away from my husband. I knew my question hadn’t worked, because her eyes were still moving over the screen as she took in the details of Alex and our surroundings.

“They’re well,” she replied. “Where are you, Sarai?”

“We’re at Alex’s apartment,” I said, my palms beginning to sweat. Then, because I was a fool, I just blurted it out. “Our apartment, actually.”

“Excuse me?” she asked sharply as my uncle came into view room behind her.

“It’s our apartment,” I replied as Alex’s strong fingers laced with mine under the table.

“You moved?” my uncle asked, his voice calm but suspicious as he sat down next to my aunt.