Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 94512 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 378(@250wpm)___ 315(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94512 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 378(@250wpm)___ 315(@300wpm)
“If you’re talking about my brother, that’s pretty hard to believe,” an unfamiliar male voice said.
Liza stepped back and looked up at the man who had to be Faith’s husband, the eldest Barron brother. Like Dare, Ethan had brown eyes and even darker hair. She vaguely remembered him from when they were younger as a bad boy on a motorcycle.
“You must be Ethan.” Liza stepped forward. “Thanks for having me to dinner,” she said with a smile.
“Any friend of Faith and Dare’s…” he said, extending his welcome.
“Ahem. Can we eat now?” Tess asked, her annoyance clear.
“We’re still working on her manners,” Dare explained.
Faith nodded. “No matter how hard we try, she insists on acting like the Neanderthal of the family. Let’s go into the dining room.” Prodding the girl in the back, Faith edged her forward.
Anna, who Faith reminded Liza had been around since Faith was a little girl, served a delicious chicken dinner. Liza was starving and truly appreciated the good food.
“Thank you so much for having me,” Liza said to Faith. “You’re right. I wouldn’t have been up to making anything for myself.”
“I had a concussion last year, so I completely get it.” Faith offered her an understanding smile.
“Really? What happened?” Liza asked.
Tess cleared her throat loudly. “So you’re Dare’s new girlfriend?”
Liza nearly choked on her water.
Beside her, Dare let out a groan. “I am so going to kill you,” he muttered to his sister.
“Tess! Cut that out,” Ethan scolded the teen.
“Sorry. That’s Tess’s way of changing the subject,” Faith explained. “She doesn’t want to talk about how I got my concussion.”
Tess met Liza’s surprised gaze and grinned shamelessly. With her blue eyes and lighter brown hair, she resembled Nash more than her other brothers. But her impish grin was pure Dare.
“So you’re not his girlfriend?” the teenager asked.
“I’ll answer that if you tell me how Faith ended up with a concussion.” Liza raised her eyebrows, determined to hold her own with the teen.
“Touché,” Dare said, and beneath the table, he reached over and squeezed her leg in silent support. Of course, his grip on her thigh sent a pure bolt of desire sizzling throughout her body, and she found herself reaching for her water glass once more.
Tess, meanwhile, looked at Liza with something like admiration in her baby blues, but she still had a determined expression on her face that made Liza wary.
“Okay, no girlfriend talk. So…I heard your brother has a mean throwing arm,” the teenager said next.
“Tess!” Every adult with the last name of Barron yelled at the teenager at the same time.
Liza shifted uncomfortably in her seat.
In the silence that followed, Liza realized Dare was staring at his sister with distinct anger in his gaze. Liza didn’t want to be the cause of problems and was about to nudge Dare to let it go when Tess spoke.
“Sorry,” she said, looking at Liza. “I was just kidding.”
“Some things aren’t funny,” Dare told her.
“That’s okay, Tess. I’m just not used to big joking families.” Liza didn’t know what possessed her to admit such a thing. Though Tess had a smart mouth, she didn’t seem to mean any harm.
And a part of Liza wanted Dare’s sister to like her, she realized, the thought taking her by surprise.
“Okay, then,” Faith said. “Let’s talk about something else.”
Tess nodded, picked up her fork, and began to eat once more. Liza followed her cue. Thankfully, the rest of the meal passed with easy conversational talk about things like scheduling a meeting in the next few weeks to go over the fundraiser details, Tess’s art and school, and other innocuous things. All earlier tension gone, the easy banter returned, and an hour later Liza realized she’d just experienced the real Barron family.
The night showed Liza that her instincts about Tess were right. She hadn’t gone after Liza to be mean. Tess tested everyone in her orbit. Over and over again. She held nothing back, not in teasing her siblings or showing surprising moments of openness and vulnerability. In return, the Barrons gave back to Tess in equal measure.
The overwhelming emotion at the table was love and acceptance. It was obvious this family had become a unit, no matter how hard the road getting there had been. For anyone else, the night might have been normal, but Liza’s experience with family was anything but. She’d never been on the receiving end of love or acceptance, and Liza grew increasingly uncomfortable despite the fact that they all tried to include her in the conversation. She was grateful Nash and Kelly weren’t there, or she would have been even more overwhelmed.
She hadn’t realized she’d completely spaced out on what was happening around her until Dare placed a hand on her shoulder.
“Ready to go?” he asked quietly, so no one else could hear.
Liza blinked, startled.
“Unless you want dessert, but you look exhausted, and I’d guess your head hurts?” he asked softly. His understanding gaze told her he knew she’d had enough.