Facing his brothers will be bad enough, but it’s Kendra and Trish I’m most worried about. From the first day I met them, they took me in and treated me like family, no questions asked. If Sam wanted me there, then it was good enough for them. They were both kind and accepting of me.

And I betrayed them in the worst possible way.

Now it’s time for me to face them all again.

“Are you ready to go in?” Sam asks when we reach the door of his house.

“Ready as I’ll ever be,” I answer. “If nothing else, I’m ready to get this over with. They’re going to hate me. I can’t blame them.”

“It won’t be as bad as you think,” he says.

Yeah, right. It will be worse.

He opens the door and ushers me through in front of him.

“Hey guys!” he says to the group sitting at the kitchen table. “What’s going on?”

Jesse, Flint, and Toby all nod at us without saying a word. Kendra and Trish glance at each other across the table then at me. If looks could kill, I would be dead. I’ve never felt so uncomfortable and unwanted in my entire life.

Trish is holding Missy in her lap while Josh is hanging on to Kendra’s legs under the table. All of the family is here.

This is not going to be fun.

Sam strolls to the refrigerator as if he doesn’t notice the icy chill in the room and pulls out a beer for him and a bottle of water for me. He hands me the water and drapes an arm around my shoulders, pulling me close against his side. His warm, solid strength comforts me.

“I know Lila has a lot of explaining to do,” he says. “But first we want to make a big announcement.”

Oh no!

Why didn’t he warn me he was planning to tell them? If I make it out of here alive, I’m going to kill him.

He takes a deep breath.

“We’re getting married!”

Their shocked faces stare at us.

Kendra jumps up from the table and moves aggressively toward me, catching us all by surprise. “Oh hell no, you’re not,” she says.

Josh totters and falls under the table then lets out an ear-splitting scream.

Flint grabs at her arm. “Kendra, stop.”

Is Kendra really going to try and beat my ass?

I think she is.

Wow! This situation escalated quickly.

“What are you up to now, Lila?” she asks. “It’s not enough that you tried to destroy this family? Now you think you’re going to marry Sam?” She shrugs loose from Flint’s hand. “Let go of me, Flint. I’m not allowing this. We have to put a stop to it right now.”

In typical Sam fashion, he bursts out laughing. I stare up at him in disbelief.