Page 34 of The Love Penalty

“These bastards are trying to steal you from me,” I whisper with a head shake.

“Trying? I’m sorry Bobbert, but they had me the moment I walked through that door,” she says, grinning at me.

Fuck. She’s goddamn perfect.

We spendThanksgiving morning baking the pies and the focaccia, working together seamlessly. Olivia asks me lots of questions and I have her assist me with every step. We work so damn well together. I wonder if she notices that too. It’s like we’re in perfect sync.

We head out to my parent’s house, which is an hour drive out of town and right on a small lake. While it’s not snowing yet, the temperature has dropped to freezing, so we make sure to bring coats. I turned the car on early and preheated the seats for us which Olivia made fun of me about. Whatever, at least her butt was warm the whole drive.

As we pull into my parent’s driveway, I can tell Olivia is nervous, even though I did my best to reassure her she has nothing to worry about.

“Hey,” I say, and turn in my driver’s seat to look at her, “you remember what you told me when I met your grandma?”

She stops fidgeting and turns to face me as well, “Not really.”

“You said,don’t worry, she won’t bite.”She gives me a small smile and takes a deep breath. “They won’t bite either. Except for my nieces, they might actually bite you. Just fair warning.” Thatgets me a laugh and I’ll take it as a sign that we’re good to go. “Ready?” I ask.

“Yeah, let’s do this.”

We don’t ring the doorbell because my parents always leave the door unlocked. I lead Olivia inside, both of us carrying the dishes we made. The house is already a mess. There are toys everywhere, courtesy of my nieces Lory and Katie and there is loud conversation coming from the kitchen. We pass the living room and I see my dad, Jordan, and my sister, of all people, sitting on the couch watching the football game. Jordan and my dad are watching the TV, having a conversation about how our team is making a comeback this year, and Alice is watching…Jordan.

I shake my head, astounded I’ve never noticed her crush before and call out, “Hey, Al. Can I get some help here?” Her head immediately turns in my direction and her cheeks are bright red from getting caught ogling one of my best friends. I give her a smirk expecting her to get mad, but she’s not looking at me anymore. Her eyes are glued to Olivia.

Alice gives me a smirk right back and says, “Olivia, hi, it’s so nice to meet you!” Then she all but tackles her with a hug. “I’ve heard so much about you!”

To her credit, Olivia accepts the hug albeit wearily and squints her eyes at me. “All good things, I hope.”

“Of course! I’m so happy you’re here,” Alice says, and I can see the relief in Olivia’s shoulders as she takes in my 5’4” sister with her dark blonde hair and blue eyes. Out of my two siblings, Alice and I look the most alike. My brother inherited my father’s dark hair and my mother’s brown eyes.

Speaking of my brother, he rounds the corner to the living room and pats me on the back. Nohello, nohow’ve you been,no offer to take one of the three pies I’m balancing in my arms. He does however notice Olivia and introduces himself.

“Hey, I’m Michael. You must be Olivia!” He’s all smiles and politeness now. “Can I take those focaccias from you?”

“I don’t see you offering to take some of these pies,” I grumble.

“You’re not a guest, dummy.”

“Honey, be nice,” Tangela says, coming out of the kitchen to see what all of the commotion is about. She grabs one of the pies from me and I give her an appreciating smile, which she returns.

“Good to see you, Robbie, and nice to meet you, Olivia! Let’s get all these in the kitchen and introduce you to the rest of the family.”

The kitchen is overrun with both people and food. There’s barely any space to put down the bread and pies, but somehow I manage. Tangela rounds up her daughters and gets them to join their grandpa and uncle on the couch. Eli is helping my mom peel the potatoes and Ash seems to struggle arranging a charcuterie board.

“Who let Ash in the kitchen?” I quip.

“Ha-ha, just because I’m not as good as you, Grandpa, doesn’t mean I can’t help out,” he says, shoving a handful of cheese in his mouth.

“Classy,” I say, rolling my eyes.

“Olivia, is that you?” he says with a mouthful. Everyone’s gaze turns to the woman that’s half hiding behind me and she gives a shy wave and a nod.

I clear my throat and move my arm around her, letting my hand rest on the small of her back and bringing her forward. “Everyone, this is Olivia.” I keep my eyes trained on her face and notice the slight pink there.

“Nice to meet you all.” She barely gets the words out before my mother comes over and wraps her in a big hug. If it catches her by surprise, she doesn’t show it. Olivia immediately returns it and gives me a small smile.

“We’re so glad you’re here,” my mother says. “Any friend of Robbie’s is practically part of the family.” She lets Olivia go and returns back to her pot of gravy.

Olivia is quiet and when I look over at her again I see her eyes are a bit misty. I move in front of her and use my fingers to bring her chin up. There’s a vulnerability in her eyes that makes me pause. I can tell she’s overwhelmed right now and my mom’s comment about being part of the family is probably what caused it. I ask her in a whisper so no one else hears, “Are you okay?”

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