But that was different. There had been music and people slipping in and out of the discussions. I could’ve made an excuse to leave at any time. Here, I was trapped. Brody’s expression sobered. “You’re really nervous, aren’t you?”

“I’m not good with crowds.”

“I don’t know if this really qualifies as a crowd.”

“Eleven people is a crowd in my book.” I hadn’t been forced to talk to that many people since my recital days.

“Three of those people are kids, and one is a baby,” Brody said, his eyes dancing.

I widened my eyes comically. “Babies are the scariest of all. What if I drop her or she pukes all over me?”

“I promise to save you from all baby encounters.”

I brushed a hand over my forehead. “Phew.”

Brody pulled me closer. “I promise. I won’t leave you alone. Not until you’re ready.”

It was hard to believe, but I was having fun. It hadn’t been instant. The first hour the group of Caelyn’s and Hunter’s friends had been here, I’d been stiff as a board, and things had been awkward as hell. But Brody had kept his promise. He’d stayed by my side and helped ease me into conversations.

Caelyn’s siblings that she and Griffin had custody of helped, too. The littlest one, Mia, had a million questions for me about my job and this island. It was mind-boggling to her that there was only one house on the whole place. She’d then taken it upon herself to teach me how to do a cartwheel. Once I’d mastered that, the spell had been broken, and I no longer felt out of place.

We’d balanced plates heaped with food on the arms of Adirondack chairs or the corners of a picnic table. I’d met Caelyn’s friends, Kenna and Crosby, who’d brought with them their daughter, Harriet, who was just a few months old. I had to admit she was adorable. And she hadn’t even puked on me.

They headed back to Anchor not long after dinner to put the baby down, but the rest of the crew stayed, pulling up chairs and blankets to a fire pit Brody and I had hauled out of storage earlier in the day. Caelyn passed out the makings for s’mores, stopping to help her two youngest siblings with their marshmallows and sticks.

Bell elbowed her fiancé, Ford, when he tried to force her marshmallow into the flame. “Stop it. I like mine golden brown, not charred to death like yours.”

Ford chuckled as he pulled his out of the fire and blew the ignited marshmallow out. “You don’t know what you’re missing.”

“Ashes,” she retorted in a deadpan tone.

Hunter grinned. “How you two didn’t murder each other before you got together, I’ll never know.”