“This is Scarlet,” I say, putting my hand on her shoulder. She’s nervous, and her words come back, echoing through my head. She’s never been to a family dinner, and while this doesn’t seem like anything special to the rest of us, it’s probably overwhelming to her.
“Hey, I’m Owen.” My little shit of a brother gets up, flashing her a charming smile and shakes her hand, taking the wine from her. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“You too.” Scarlet returns his smile.
I spread my fingers over her shoulder, and the warmth of her skin through the material of her dress feels like fire. It’s burning me, but I can’t remove my hand.
“And that’s Logan,” I say, pointing to him. “Don’t feel bad if you can’t tell them apart.”
“I’m the better-looking one,” Owen says with a grin as he opens the wine.
Scarlet laughs and looks from Logan to Owen. “Logan’s in the black and Owen’s in the blue. I’m good for now at least.”
“That’s Dean, his wife Kara, and Archer, Quinn’s fiancé.” We take a few steps forward into the kitchen. “This is my mom, and my dad is somewhere.”
“He’s getting Nana,” Mom tells me, striding over. “It’s nice to meet you, Scarlet.”
“You too,” Scarlet says with a sweet smile.
“Nana?” I question, trying not to grimace. Our Nana has a few screws loose and suffers from what we’ve dubbed Old Lady Syndrome, meaning she’s lost her filter and it’s gotten worse since last year.
“It’s been a while since we had her over,” Mom reminds me. “How are you liking it in Eastwood?” she asks Scarlet. “You’re from Chicago, right?”
“I am,” Scarlet answers. “And it’s nice here. Very quiet.”
“Quinn lived in Chicago for a few years and I used to enjoy going for a visit. Though a visit is all I could stand. I was born and raised here. I like my yard and my privacy.”
Scarlet laughs, nodding in agreement. “I could see that. I’m used to hearing the L and the constant chatter of people on my street.”
“The L?”
“It’s a train, Mom,” Quinn answers, sitting down next to Archer.
“Oh, right.” Mom nods. “Anyway, welcome to Eastwood.” She looks down at Jackson and smiles. “And I hope this little guy is being a perfect gentleman.”
Jackson giggles. “I always am, Grammy!”
“He has been perfect,” Scarlet agrees.
“Just wait,” I warn her with a wink. “He’s still in the honeymoon phase, trust me.”
Scarlet smiles down at Jackson. “I think I can handle it.”
Owen comes back over with two wine glasses, offering one to Scarlet and keeping the other for himself.
“We got that for Mom,” I deadpan. Owen gives me a look and then gives Mom the glass.
“I prefer beer anyway,” he says.
“What happened to that moonshine you were raving about?”
Logan snorts a laugh. “Yeah…what did happen to it?”
Owen glares at Logan, and I motion for Scarlet to sit with me at the island. “I’d rather not talk about it,” he mutters.
“You don’t have to.” Logan takes his phone from his pocket. “I have evidence.”
Mom shakes her head. “I don’t think I want to see this, do I?”
“No one wants to see it,” Owen interjects, going over and trying to steal Logan’s phone. Mom shakes her head and goes into the living room to play with Jackson. Giving up trying to get the phone, Owen takes Emma from Quinn and pulls a silly face, making her laugh.
“Your baby is adorable,” Scarlet tells Quinn, taking a drink of her wine.
“Thanks,” Quinn and Archer say at the same time. All the bar stools are taken now, so Quinn sits on Archer’s lap. He wraps his arms around her and leans in for a kiss.
“Get a room,” Logan teases.
“Don’t encourage them,” Dean replies dryly.
“Upstairs is free,” Owen goes on, blowing a raspberry on Emma’s cheek. She lets out a shriek of laughter. “They need to have another baby for me to play with.”
“You could have your own,” Archer counters.
Owen’s eyes widen, and he shakes his head. “Nope. It’s not for me.”
“Not yet,” I tell him with a laugh.
“You and Quinn can have the babies. I like being an uncle.”
Kara flicks her eyes up from her phone. “Are you going to have another?” she asks.
“Not soon,” Quinn answers, looking into Archer’s eyes. “I want to be able to drink at our wedding and go on all the rides at Disney. Ideally, I’ll be pregnant by the time we come back from our honeymoon.”
“Gross,” Dean mumbles.
“Stop envisioning it,” Archer teases.
Dean gives him a dead stare. “I’m still scarred by that time I walked in on you two.”
“Dean!” Quinn squeals, eyes wide. If looks could kill, he’d be dead on the floor.
Logan laughs. “When did this happen?”
“A long time ago. Before Emma was born,” Quinn laughs, burying her head against Archer.
“At least he never saw the picture,” Archer whisper-yells to Quinn.
“Picture?” Owen asks, cuddling Emma against his chest.