“I know,” I sigh, running a hand over my fade. “She and the girls are definitely going to give me a hard time. How far are we from Main Street? And—” I pause, glancing at my reflection in the window. “How do I look?”

“Dapper, sir. Very dapper,” Gary replies with a chuckle, shaking his head.

I huff out a laugh, and then my expression softens. “Gary, how was Ari this morning? We barely spoke, and I know she was stressed about her leg and the dress. Honestly, her meltdowns scare me, and Kerry handles them way better than I ever could.”

Gary chuckles, “She certainly has a way with them, doesn’t she? You’ll be happy to hear that Ms. Kind has everything under control. The ladies have been pampering themselves all morning—hairdresser, then nail salon. They’ve been having a blast.”

“What?!” My surprise borders on betrayal. “They did all that without me?”

“Easy, Mr. Grimes,” Gary soothes, glancing at me through the rearview mirror with an amused smile. “Would you really want to sit in a salon all morning?”

I pause, consider it, and then sigh dramatically. “Good point, Gary. I’ll just stick with this. Are the Kinds able to make it today?” I ask, reminiscing on last weekend’s festivities.

“Nope, he still hates you, Sir.” Gary chuckles.

Yeah, about that… as expected, when Kerry’s parents returned from vacation, they weren’t thrilled to learn their daughter was dating a man with not one but TWO kids. And, of course, they weren’t thrilled to learn about it from the town’s social media pages, let alone the Shaderoom. Why in the world are her parents even following a gossip blog?

I knew they weren’t going to be easy to win over, but damn, I just keep digging myself into a deeper hole.

Last Sunday, Kerry ushered us over to her parents’ house for dinner. What she didn’t tell me was that she promised her mom that I’d help her cook. So, there we were side by side, cooking a Southern Sunday feast – mac and cheese, smothered chicken, potato salad, yellow rice, and cabbage. My blood pressure spiked every time I saw how much seasoning Mrs. Kind poured over the food. She emptied nearly half a bottle of Lawry’s into every dish. Meanwhile, Kerry sat in the living room with her dad and the girls, watching the Greer United Soccer team get their asses handed to them. I laughed with every bad play, only causing Mr. Kind to glare at me. Needless to say, her father still hates me, but I’m happy to say they love Syd and Ari.

But even with all the judgmental glares and accidental insults thrown my way, being there with Kerry, my girls, and her parents felt good. It felt warm. It felt right.

“I’m gonna win them over soon, Gary. You just wait.” I say confidently.