Page 75 of Living with Fire
Even more surprising is the lack of questions. I was prepared to answer them, especially with Savanna nowhere in sight, but she doesn’t ask a single one.
I understand why when we walk into the warm brown kitchen and find three of my aunts working away around one of two islands in the middle of the enormous room. I cringe, realizing I should have thought about this before entering the lion’s den.
“Is it true?” Aunt Laura asks, standing at the island furthest from me, washing carrots.
Aunt Rita, cutting up potatoes at the first island, waves her knife at me. “Is she here?”
“Where is she?” Aunt Shirley questions from the island with the sink, smashing a hamburger patty between her hands.
As if they planned it out, they ask the questions in succession. It’s a coordinated dance between the three of them, something my cousins and I swear they’ve rehearsed a million times, though the questions always differ slightly. These three aunts—there’re two more who are the wives of my uncles, plus my mom—are all my dad’s sisters and the family resemblance runs strong.
Three pairs of lively blue eyes stare at me from where I’ve stopped just inside the kitchen, my mom still under my arm. Aunt Shirley with her blonde hair, and Aunts Laura and Rita with their dark brown. Their expectant looks are all the same, and I know if they were smiling, those smiles would look near identical to the one my grandmother has.
My mother steps away from me to rejoin the others, giving me a smug look as I run a hand through my hair. The four of them look like the rainbow, each one wearing a bright color to match their outgoing, busy personalities.
“It’s true, I saw her with my own eyes,” my mom says, setting her gift on the far granite countertop where a few others sit for later. “She’ll be right along any second now, ladies.”
The questions come at me all at once, each aunt talking over the next, volleying for my attention. I put my hands up to silence them, astonished when it works. The aunts aren’t known for quieting, but a second later I realize it had nothing to do with me, and everything to do with the female presence now standing beside me.
Savanna looks exquisite with the blush coating her cheeks, and I slip an arm around her shoulder, urging her into my side. Shielding her physically for what I know is coming. Not that it’ll do her any good.
Aunt Rita is the first to murmur into the now quiet space, save for the laughter and chatter I can hear coming from outside. “My heavens.”
“She’s gorgeous,” Aunt Shirley breathes to her sisters and my mom.
“Mmmhm,” my mom hums her approval.
Aunt Laura’s fingers are hovering near her lips, her eyes sweeping Savanna up and down like the others. They turn to me next and give me an assessing glance. “Can you imagine? The babies…”
Savanna’s arm wraps around my waist and I glance down at her, an apology written in the furrow of my brow and tight line of my lips. There’s nothing but ease and a twinkle of mischief in those gray eyes, though, and she turns back to look at my aunts, her smile as bright as I’ve seen it.
“I know,” Savanna nods at them as though they’ve all been the best of friends for years. “I picked him because I knew we’d have beautiful kids. Two, I hope. One boy and one girl.” She lifts her hand and waves it dismissively. “But it’ll be a while. We’ll need to get married and settled before we think of them. Maybe two years?”
My eyebrows are as high as they’ll reach on my forehead, my eyes wide. My shock has nothing to do with the plan that Savanna lays out before them. That doesn’t bother me at all. Because I can see it. I want it. Whether she’s being serious or not, I can picture it all.
My astonishment is how easy this is for her. How easy she made it look to come into the lion’s den and meet them head on. Gave them the meal they wanted to feast on, but didn’t allow them to play with their food first.
No one says a thing. No one even moves. We all just stare at the woman tucked under my arm, smiling broadly at everyone else. Not one of my cousin’s partners has rendered the aunts speechless. I’m not sure if it’s happened in their entire lives. But Savanna…
Her “I got this” attitude is the sexiest thing I’ve ever experienced.
“I’m not sure I can wait that long to knock you up,” I finally say, breaking the silence. “We may need to talk about this timeline. Married in three months, pregnant in six? As long as we have no issues conceiving that is.”
Beside me Savanna’s shoulders shake with a silent chuckle. It’s my mother, however, who catches my eye and throws down the towel she’d picked up to dry dishes before Savanna walked in.
“Oh Nathan,” she calls, exasperated. “Don’t tease me like that! It’s my birthday!”
Savanna and I both break out in laughter, followed by each aunt, one by one, as they realize they’ve been duped. After we all share in the laugh, I make the formal introductions, but the flurry of questions I expected never comes. Yeah, they fawn over how pretty Savanna is, and murmur amongst themselves, but unlike the rest of my cousins in the past, we’re not subjected to an inquiry.
It makes my blood hum. A weight I hadn’t known existed lifts away and I can breathe just a little easier. I’d been concerned about Savanna being able to handle this, just as I’d been concerned about her handling my friends. The worry hadn’t been warranted though.
I should have known.
CHAPTER 26
NATE
I finally manage to pull her away, using the excuse that I need to get her a drink and show her around. They don’t let us go until I promise we’ll all talk again before the day is over, and as we walk away, I can hear them talking about how she’ll fit right in with the whole family.