Page 59 of See It Through
Hannah shook her head. “Nope. How can he go with you when he’s going with me?”
Lock let out a deep chuckle. “Hard to believe, considering the two of you don’t get along.”
Caleb groaned, and Elena patted her husband’s hand. “I think they’re getting along just fine now,” she murmured to her husband.
Lock’s brow pinched as his attention shifted from his wife to his daughter before finally landing on me. Hannah and I were beside each other, our shoulders brushing, her foot hooked behind mine beneath the table.
“Oh,” Lock intoned. “I see.”
“What?” Jesse leaned forward to examine us. “What do you see?”
Caleb tousled his son’s hair. “Grown-up things, kid.”
Jesse groaned. “You always say that. It’s so freaking annoying.”
“It’s a rite of passage,” Connell stated. “One day, you’ll get to say it to your children.”
“Pfft. I’m not having kids,” Jesse declared.
“That’s what I said and look at me now.” Caleb pointed his fork at his chest.
Jesse crossed his arms. “Yeah…well, if Idohave kids, I’m not gonna have them with just anyone. I’ll make sure I’m married first.” He shot his dad the side-eye.
Before Caleb could argue, Lily interjected. “Remi, darling, since you’re going with our Hannah to the rodeo next weekend, I should let you know there’s a band playing after, and she always enjoys dancing to their music.”
“I didn’t know that,” I replied. “That’s good information to have.”
Cormac put his fork down. “So, we’re all just accepting the two of them?”
Everyone looked around at each other before giving a chorus of yeses. Then Elena spoke for the family.
“We adore our Hannah, and we love Remi. That’s really all we need to know in these early stages.” She flicked her manicured nails. “When it’s time to know more, I trust you two will tell us. Especially if you intend to have more breakfasts at the diner where I have to hear about it from Mae Whitaker and not my own daughter.”
Jesse pushed up on his knees and threw his arms out. “Will someone just tell me what we’re talking about?”
Caleb nudged his shoulder. “Butt in the seat, kid.”
Lily was a little more forthcoming, leaning into Caleb as she put a roll on his plate. “It’s romance and kissing. Do you want to talk about that?”
“Oh no.” He covered his mouth like he was gagging. “That can stay grown-up stuff. No thank you.”
Grinning, I turned to Hannah once the topic moved on again. “You know, you never did ask me to go with you.”
Her tongue darted out to wet her lips. “I was hoping it had been implied.”
“And you were hoping I’d say yes?”
“If you want to go…”
“Hannah”—I took her hand under the table—“you don’t need to worry about me turning you down. That isn’t going to happen.”
She sucked in a sharp breath and shot me a narrow-eyed look. “I wasn’t worried, I—”
“Think you were, sweetheart. So, even though you didn’t ask, I’ll give you an answer. I’d love to go with you. Even more, I’d love to take you dancing after. I have to warn you, though, my moves are pretty rusty. You might want to make sure your toes are covered up for your protection.”
Her scoff was soft and amused. “I think I can manage that.”
Cormac’s laughter drew us apart. We both turned in his direction at the other end of the table.