“Trust me, I’m not. My mom’s never talked about someone like this before. She hasn’t even asked me about Ember and Declan since she met you.” He grabs another box and throws it into the cart. “Ember’s basically living with us right now, and when I told her, she breezed past it.”
“I can’t imagine my brother finding out about my relationship that way,” I begin. “It was embarrassing enough you meeting Jay for the first time because my mom overdosed, but if I had a brother and he caught me in bed—”
“I think he was angrier about her keeping it from him than it happening in general.”
“I don’t blame her, though. Sometimes, it’s easier to keep something private until you’re sure about what it is.” I smile as Zeke walks around the cart, grabbing my hand and pulling me into him. “We’re in a very public place,” I whisper. “Anyone could see us.”
“Let them.” He plants a soft kiss on the side of my head. “We know what we are now, right? You’ve met my mom; I think it’s time for you to meet the rest of the crew.”
“Really?”
“If you’re down to meet them, then yeah.”
“Is it weird that I’m almost more nervous to meet them than I was to meet your mom?” He wraps his arms around me, resting his head on my shoulder.
“You’ll fit in with them perfectly,” he says. “The house has become a woman's cave since Ember moved in; Tate and Brinley are there twenty-four-seven now. So, after we drop these groceries off at your place, we can stop by there, and you can meet them.”
“Today?” I turn to look at him. “Isn’t that a little soon.”
“We’ve been sneaking around for months, Stewart. I don’t think this is soon at all.” He laughs. “Alright, hop on so we can finish this shopping.”
I stand on the cart, Zeke boxing me in between his arms as he pushes us down the aisle. We head toward the frozen section before he stops, but he doesn’t grab anything. He looks around like he’s trying to make sure no one is watching, and then he speeds up, jumping onto the cart with me as he sends us down the aisle.
“Zeke!” I screech. “This cart is going to flip over.” I might sound scared, but I’m far from it. Zeke has brought so much joy back into my life, joy I didn’t know was possible to feel again.
As we near the end of the aisle, a woman with two young kids comes around the corner, forcing Zeke to jump off the cart and bring it to a halt.
“Sorry.” He grins at the woman as I get off the cart as well.
“Don’t worry about it. You guys are adorable.” Her eyes beam. “I remember what it was like to be young and in love.”
I bite my lip, turning toward Zeke and then back to the woman. Is that what we are? Young andin love?
“Diane, where’d you guys go?” I hear the voice before he turns the corner. I don’t need to see him. It’s been over ten years since I last heard his voice, and I didn’t think I’d remember it. But I do. Clear as day.
“Sorry, the kids wanted to look at the popsicles,” she replies, and that’s when he sees me. It’s almost as if he’s trying to place me. Figure out why I look familiar. I can see it in his eyes the moment it clicks.
“Dad, can we get these ones, please!” The little girl looks up at him, but his eyes are still on me.
“Stewart?” Zeke grabs my hand and gives it a squeeze. “You okay?”
“Ha,” Diane swats my dad’s shoulder, “what a coincidence. Our last name’s Stewart, too.”
“Small world,” I reply.
“Oh.” Zeke’s grip on my hand tightens, and I know he gets it.
“I was just telling these two how cute they are.” She looks over to him. “Reminds me of us when we first met.”
“It was nice to meet you.” I force a smile. “Sorry we almost ran into you guys, but we have somewhere we need to be.”
“Oh, of course, I didn’t mean to hold you guys up. You have a great day.”
“You too.” I walk away, leaving Zeke to push the cart. It takes no time for him to catch up to me.
“Do you want to talk about it?” I don’t look at him; I just keep walking.
“Not really,” I mumble. “Maybe tomorrow.