“No!” Olivia answered, her eyes wide with trepidation. “I’m not ready.”
“Too late.” He took the cake from her hands as Tessa rushed into the entry, a wide grin already spreading across her face. “Hello!”
“Hi.” Olivia stepped back as if she were alarmed by Tessa’s mad rush, but Tessa just opened her arms and caught Olivia in a hug.
“It’s so good to finally meet you!”
“Um.” Olivia tentatively patted his sister’s back. “We already met at the brewery.”
“Yes, but not like this. This is official.”
Jamie grinned until Olivia finally smiled at him past his sister’s shoulder. “First girl I’ve ever brought home,” he said with a wink.
Tessa snorted. “First girl whose name we even learned,” she clarified.
Olivia eased out of the hug and laughed. “I feel kind of like I’m your prom date, Jamie.”
“Don’t worry,” Tessa whispered. “I’ll only make you pose for a few pictures.”
“Um. Okay.” Olivia clearly couldn’t tell whether or not Tessa was joking. Actually, Jamie wasn’t sure, either.
“Luke will be here in a few minutes. He had to work—”
Tessa was interrupted when the front door opened on a loud whoosh, but it wasn’t Luke.
“Oh,” Eric said, his eyes flying to Olivia as he stepped inside. “Hello.”
“Olivia, you’ve already met Eric,” Jamie said dryly.
“I have. It’s nice to see you again.”
“Yeah,” Eric said. “Nice to see you, too. And, um… I’m sorry about the last time.” Eric was actually squirming. That was something Jamie had never seen before. He was pretty sure he was enjoying it, so he didn’t bother to step into the awkward silence. Instead, he just smiled. Let Eric be the one left swinging in the wind.
“So,” Eric said, his eyes sliding away.
Tessa jumped into the pause. “You brought a cake!” She snatched it from Jamie’s hands. “It looks delicious. Dinner’s not quite ready yet, so Jamie, why don’t you show Olivia the house. I’ll put this in the kitchen.”
“Thank you!” Olivia called as Tessa hurried away.
Laughing at the dazed expression on Olivia’s face, Jamie took her hand and led her on the grand tour. He started upstairs, pointing out the window in his old room that he’d used as a frequent escape route as a teenager. Then the banister where he’d broken his arm trying to slide down it as if he was grinding on a skateboard. In the hallway, there were pictures of his family. He’d always wondered how Tessa could stand to live with the pictures of Mom and Dad on constant display, but now he was glad they were here.
“You really do look like him.” Olivia touched a finger to his dad’s cheek. “He looks happy like you.”
“He was.”
“And what’s this?” she asked, pointing at the senior picture Tessa had forced him to sit for.
He shook his head, but Olivia didn’t drop it. “Look at that smile. Was every girl in your school in love with you?”
“No.”
“Liar. It doesn’t matter. You’re mine now.”
“I am.” He glanced toward the kitchen, and when he didn’t see his sister, he pulled Olivia into his arms. “You know my favorite thing about you? All my family can see is my new responsible girlfriend. They have no idea what you’re really like underneath that cardigan.”
“Jamie,” she warned, her eyes widening as she glanced around. But he noticed the way her neck arched when he kissed it, giving him better access to that spot just beneath her ear…. She sighed when his mouth closed over it.
By the time he drew back, her eyes had gone soft and dreamy. God, he loved her like crazy. “All right, I won’t molest you in the hallway. But I’m giving you a heads-up. Your final exam is after dinner.”