“Nice to meet you, Cecilia. I’m Lizzy, Bash’s girlfriend.” Bash’s chest puffs as I say it, clearly proud of the title.
Cecilia takes my hand and leads me into the room. “This is my husband, Roman,” she introduces me to a rough-looking man. But by the way this sweet woman looks at the tattoo-covered, buzz cut man, you’d think he was a teddy bear.
He immediately stands and pulls his wife into his chest. He tears his soft eyes from her to look at me curiously. “It’s nice to finally meet the girl who has my baby brother losing his head.”
I shake his offered hand as his words echo through my mind. Did he really tell his family about me? Which part? Do they know about the past six years?
“Don’t be an ass!” a tall blonde with a bob hisses at Roman. She looks like a model. They all do. She approaches me with an older man at her side. While she doesn’t look much older than me, he looks to be in his forties. But I can tell by the way he looks at her that she’s his wife. They remind me of lions. While the lion is the king of the jungle and the male does the hunting, the only creature he bows to is the lioness. This woman is definitely a lioness. “I’m Katerina, and this is my husband, Dominic. Welcome to family dinner. Be prepared, they’re a rowdy crew.”
Katerina leans into her stoic lion. In her heels, she’s almost eye level with him. These two could take over the world. I’m sure of it.
“Thanks. I’m–” I start to introduce myself for the third time, only to be saved by Bash.
“This is Lizzy, my girlfriend.” Bash turns us to face the whole room. “I believe you’ve now met everyone except the little ones.”
I spot Margot and Matthias holding a toddler and wave at them. Margot perks up and thrusts her son into her husband’s arms. “It’s so good to see you again!”
As she stands to hug me, Bash redirects us to an empty bench seat. It seems out of place, so I’m guessing they made extra room in expectance of me.
“So Lizzy, tell us about yourself. What do you do? Where are you from? What’s your family like?” Evelyn asks excitedly.
Bash tenses at the second and third questions, but I just bypass them. “I’m the secondary zookeeper of the reptilian exhibit at New Hope Zoo. I handle all my sweet animals at the zoo. In fact, I kind of brought work home with me. I have seven different reptilian pets.”
The room descends into silence, and as I look around, his family all have forced smiles clearly unsure how to respond. But my sweet boyfriend is beaming next to me.
“She’s amazing. Many schools ask for her by name for their field trips. That exhibit couldn’t function without her!” he boasts.
“Uncle Bash has a lizard too. Maybe that’s why he likes you,” a small voice interrupts the silence. I turn to see a girl identical to Sofia except her dress is orange.
“That’s right, Isabel. Uncle Bash does have a lizard. Which is crazy because he used to be so scared of them,” Roman’s tone confirms his daughter’s statement, but the gleam in his eyes means trouble.
I look questioningly at Bash, silently asking if it’s true. But how could it be? How could he be afraid of lizards but still want me?
He pulls me closer into him and whispers, “I’ll explain later.”
No one seems to notice because Matthias starts laughing and regales us with a time that Roman and he hid a lizard in Bash’s bed.
Evelyn gasps in horror. “I can’t believe you boys tormented your baby brother like that! The poor thing cried once when one fell onto him when he was outside.”
When I make eye contact with Margot who’s pretending a lizard is falling on her, I can’t stop the laugh from escaping. Which causes Margot to lose it as well. Bash clutches his heart with a look of utter betrayal, but there’s a twinkle in his eyes that alleviates my guilt.
Chapter 37
Sebastian
My heart swells as my family accepts Lizzy. I knew they would. She’s my favorite person, my perfect match. Who could dislike her?
They don’t understand her passions like I do, but that’s okay. As long as we understand each other, we’ll be content. They don’t understand me and my puzzle obsession either. But they know us well enough that when Lizzy told them about our first date, the women cooed. They were impressed. I tried not to be cocky, but of course I planned the perfect date for Lizzy. I know her better than I know myself.
What makes tonight even more special is the way Lizzy has thrived around my family. She seems genuinely happy to be here. Her smile hasn’t wavered since our arrival. Being able to provide her with the family she’s always craved gives me a sense of purpose. All this time, I could’ve been contributing to her life in more ways than I realized. I curse my hesitancy.
“I think we should meet in the office.” Dom stands as he says it. He turns to Mom and Dad. “Could you two help Margot and Cecilia watch the kids while we discuss some things?”
Mom’s eyes immediately narrow. “Now why is sweet Lizzy going with you? You better leave her out of all this Syndicate nonsense!”
“Mom,” I say calmly, approaching my worried mother, ready to mollify her. “Lizzy needs our help. You know I’d never endanger her. For her privacy, I won’t share the details. But know, this is for her.”
Lizzy shoots my mom an encouraging smile. “It’s true. They’re helping me.”