TWENTY

THE DAY HAD been so chaotic that it didn’t occur to Jess to be anxious about dinner with River’s sisters until the two of them were literally walking into the restaurant. But just outside the arched glass doors, her feet became glued to the pavement and she took a few steps away, pressing herself to the side of the building.

“Oh, shit.” Leaning back, Jess stared up at the sky, incandescent blue in twilight. Today had been fine—better than fine, it went perfectly—so why was she freaking out?

River kept walking, looking back only when he noticed she was no longer next to him. He returned to her. “Everything okay?”

“I’m meeting your family.”

He smiled patiently and tucked a hand into the pocket of his perfectly tailored pants. Perfect pants, perfect shirt, perfect face. Perfectly at ease waiting for her panic to subside.

People passed on the sidewalk, and cars inched along Fifth, turning down G Street. “I’ve never done this before,” Jess confessed. A hot flush crawled up her neck. “Like, met someone’s family. Alec and I were together while we were both at school, and his family was from Florida. I never met them.”

River’s eyes searched her face, lashes brushing his cheeks with every amused blink. Finally, he crowded into her space, hands on her waist. “I promise this will be much more painful for me than for you.”

“It’s easy to say that now, when your awkward years are behind you.” She pointed to her forehead. “Don’t you see my stress pimple?”

“Nope, sorry, I only see pretty.” He leaned in, settled his mouth on hers for a sweet kiss. “You three are going to have fun at my expense, and then we’ll go back to my place and maybe actually make it to my bed this time.”

“Sir, are you bribing me with mind-bending sex?”

He laughed, his gaze glimmering in the dim light. The longer she stared, the more reassured she was. He communicated so much with those eyes. Reassurance, sure, but also attraction, mirth, and something else—something that looked a lot like adoration.

“I like you a lot, Jessica Marie,” he said quietly.

A fist wrapped around her heart. “I like you, too.”

“And if it makes you feel better,” he said, “I’ve never introduced a girlfriend to my family, either.” River reached down, threaded their fingers together, and led her inside.

The restaurant was wide open and glaringly loud, pop music pumping out of speakers and the sounds of laughter and conversation throbbing from the walls. With high ceilings and a bar in the center of the room, the decor was eclectic and trendy. Couches and armchairs formed a funky mix of seating configurations, and lights fashioned from glass globes, vases, and mason jars swung from the ceiling by thick, bristly rope. A waifish hostess led them across planked wooden floors to a table situated beneath a giant metal print emblazoned EAT.