Page 108 of You Make Me Feel
AUTUMN:
Right troops. I hope you’re all awake. The coffee is on, the pastries are in the oven, and you’d ALL better be here in half an hour.
ASHER:
Can you let me sleep for five fucking more minutes? I love you, but I’m about a heartbeat away from sending my crack squad over to silence you for good.
My mouth twitches. Nothing really changes in my family. Switching it off, I walk back into the bathroom where – miracle of miracles – Sadie is still waiting for me, sitting on the counter, her legs swinging.
“Who was it?”
“It doesn’t matter,” I say, my voice thick. “Now where were we?”
SADIE
He’s taking you to meet the family? Not gonna lie, that’s epic. I need all the details after. And coffee. Lots of coffee. – Romy
He’s taking me to breakfast with people I already know. Who come into the shop multiple times a week. But of course I’ll bring you coffee. Mostly because if you’re drinking you can’t talk. – Sadie
I put my phone down and look out of the windshield at the lighthouse as it comes into view. Morning sunlight glints off the windows, and there’s a line of cars parked in front, like a welcoming committee is waiting for us.
Zach pulls in behind them, then lets out a sigh.
“If they do anything to piss you off, use the safeword and I’ll get you out of there before you finish speaking.”
I glance at him, biting back a smile. “I think I can handle your family. Even if Autumn is in full-on-dictator mode.”
“At least one of us can.” He steps out of the car, then rounds it to open my door.
The sun catches his eyes and he blinks hard, his hand missing mine as he goes to grab it. He pulls his sunglasses over his eyes, and turns away. “Looks like everybody’s already here,” he says.
We walk toward the lighthouse, the sound of gulls overhead, the scent of sea air curling around us. The front door’s open, voices carrying out onto the porch. The air is full of laughter and shouting. Somewhere in the background I can hear a baby squealing. It’s the closest I’ve had to a family in a while.
Like he gets it, Zach squeezes my hand.
“Uncle Zach!” Ayda runs out of the lighthouse, throwing her arms around him. “Mom said you’re bringing a girlfriend, but I told her it’s just Sadie.” She looks up at me. “Hey, I read theBabysitters Clubbook you gave me. I’m totally a Kristy.”
My lips twitch. Kristy is the founding member. Of course she’d want to be her.
But before I can reply, Skyler appears in the doorway, a coffee mug in one hand and an arched brow aimed at her daughter. “Come back to the table and finish your breakfast.”
“But I wanted to ask Sadie if she has the next book in the series.” Ayda rolls her eyes at me, looking every inch the teenager she’ll be in a few years time. “Seriously, moms are so annoying.”
“I heard that.” Skyler takes a slow sip of her coffee, eyes narrowing over the rim. But I can tell she loves Ayda calling her ‘mom’. “And for the record, I was reading those books before you were even born.”
Ayda crosses her arms. “Yeah, but that was like a hundred years ago.”
Zach coughs out a laugh.
Skyler shoots her daughter a narrow-eyed look. “Don’t bite the hand that feeds you, kid. I’m the one who pays for those books.”
Ayda has the good grace to look sheepish. “Sorry.” She looks back at me. “Do you have the next one?Claudia and the Phantom Phone Calls? Mom said she’ll bring me into the shop next week but that’s forever away.”
“Zach?” Asher calls out from the side of the lighthouse, where he’s walking with Hudson, the two of them in deep discussion. “Can you help us with this?”
Zach glances at me, the corners of his mouth tugging down like he’s not ready to let go of my hand. “You okay?” he asks.
I nod, because I really am. I’m not sure I’ve ever met a more welcoming family than the Fitzgeralds. “I’m fine, honestly. Go on, I’ll be inside. Skyler looks like she needs someone to back her up.”
