Page 53 of Hail Marry
Tori looks at my hand, and a little flash of amusement crosses her face.
A quick glance informs me I’m holding her bra.
Her eyes crinkle at the sides. “Go ahead. Toss it on the floor. Wearemarried, after all.”
Mortified, I don’t toss it so much as drop it.
Tori reaches into the laundry bag I brought, takes my cologne out of the sock I wrapped it in for protection, and sprays it around the room. Closing her eyes, she inhales. “This stuff is like crack.”
A thrill of satisfaction trickles through me. I like to smell good. Playing football goes in direct contradiction to that, which is why I shower twice a day and own the world’s largest collection of laundry detergents and odor blasters.
The doorbell rings, and Tori’s eyes fly open. “They’re early! Of course they are. They love to make my life difficult. Okay”—she starts walking out of her room—“remember: you’re completely head over heels for me.” I follow her out of her bedroom—our bedroom, whatever—and she sets my cologne nicely on the bathroom counter. Then she reaches in my bag and grabs my toothbrush and sets it next to hers.
She puts the bag inside the laundry room, then hurries toward the door only to double back and grab my hand to pull me with her.
She stops shy of the door and looks at me. “Ready?”
“No.”
“Me neither.” She pulls open the door, and a crowd of people stares back.
“Hello!” says the woman I quickly identify as Tori’s mom. She hugs Tori, who keeps my hand in hers. Everyone else’s eyes are on me.
“Luca,” says Mrs. Sheppard, looking me over. “You’re so handsome! All those photos you sent didn’t do him justice, Siena.” And then she pulls me into a hug while my confused eyes dart to Tori. I thought Siena wasn’t coming.
“You came,” Tori says to the brunette who shoulders her way through the others, and my gaze lands on the subtle roundness of her stomach.
“Of course I did,” Siena says. “And baby and I aren’t happy about it. No real weddinganda five-and-a-half hour drive.” But she pulls Tori into a hug.
Inside, there’s a weight in the pit of my stomach. In marrying Tori, I didn’t just depriveherof a proper wedding experience, I took it away from her family too.
There’s no time to dwell on that, though. I’m too busy getting hugged and inspected by every Sheppard—all nine of them. It’s chaos, but no one has punched me yet, so we’ll call it a win.
“That dip really needs to get in the fridge, Rick,” says Mrs. Sheppard.
Mr. Sheppard salutes, then jogs back to the car.
“Might as well grab the rest of the stuff while you’re at it,” she calls after him.
Troy hands the blonde baby girl in his arms to his wife and follows his dad, as do Austin and Jack.
Seems like this is what the men are doing, so I let go of Tori’s hand and follow.
I haven’t gotten far enough to miss Mrs. Sheppard saying, “Look at that. Going to help without being asked. What a sweet boy.”
It seemed like overkill to have five grown men get whatever Mrs. Sheppard was referring to, but it’s not. The entire trunk of their SUV is covered in an assortment of foods. Dip, chips, a mini crockpot with lil’ smokies, a vegetable platter, a cheese ball made to look like a football, a tray of ham-and-cheese sliders, and a cake decorated like a football field, complete with the wordsTeam Lucain cardinal and gold.
I stare at the array, completely bowled over by the preparation it must have required. Tori’s family doesn’t even know me. In fact, they’ve got every reason to dislike me. They could’ve showed up and given me the cold shoulder or yelled at me, but instead…
“You’re the man to trust with the football,” Mr. Sheppard says with a wink as he grabs the tray of sliders, leaving the cheese ball for me.
I obediently take the platter, then reach for the button to close the trunk. “Do you have the key to lock it?”
“Oh, it’s okay,” he says. “You can leave it open. I’ll come back in a while for the rest.”
I frown since the trunk is now empty, but I’m not about to question him, so I leave the trunk open and follow him toward the house.
He slows enough for me to catch up. “Feeling good about tonight?”
