Page 105 of Forecheck
My answering smile was watery. I couldn’t imagine having anyone but her at my side as I met Brent’s parents for the first time.
With a deep breath, I pushed open the door to the suite. Immediately, as though she’d been watching for me, I was enveloped in a crushing hug and a cloud of vanilla mixed with Chanel No. 5.
“Oh, Berkley!” the woman all but yelled in my ear. “It’s so great to finally meet you!”
She pulled away at last, allowing me to get a good look at her. Sandra Jean was only a few inches taller than me, with heavy, dark hair and soft, delicate features. Her eyes were precisely the same shade of blue as Brent’s, including that small dot of brown near the pupil of the right one.
“Hi, Mrs. Jean,” I said, giving her what I hoped was a warm smile. “It’s great to finally meet you, as well.”
“Sorry if I startled you,” she said sheepishly. “And please, call me Sandra.”
“No, you didn’t startle me. Just nervous about tonight.”
“I hope about the game and not about meeting us,” Sandra said, clasping my hand in hers. Her gaze fixed over my shoulder a moment before she said, “Who’s your friend?”
Lexie stepped forward, hand outstretched. “I’m Berkley’s best friend, Lexie,” she said.
Sandra waved the hand away and pulled Lexie in for a hug. The height difference between them was comical, and I barely bit back a snort. “Any friend of Brent and Berkley’s is a friend of mine.”
“I’m also kind of dating Mitch,” Lexie blurted, and I turned to her in surprise.
That was the first time she’d ever said as much out loud. I was worried I’d have to content myself with her brushing off questions of their relationship status for the rest of my life.
“Our Mitch?” Sandra asked, dark brows raised on her forehead in shock.
“Uhh…yes? Mitch Frambough,” Lexie clarified.
Sandra studied Lexie with renewed interest. “Well, then you’re practically family, too.”
Lexie grinned, wider than I’d seen in a long time, and my own smile unfurled along with it.
“Berkley!” someone yelled from behind me, and I spun in time to catch a young brunette girl in a hug.
“It’s so good to finally meet you,” Brent’s little sister, Mackenzie, gushed when she pulled away.
“You, too!” I wrapped my arm around Kenzie’s waist. “How’s school?”
“School is school,” Kenzie said with an eye roll, and I laughed. I’d often experienced that same emotion where my education was concerned, but I couldn’t imagine doing anything else with my life.
“You’ll be done before you know it,” I told her.
“I hope you’re right. But come on. My dad is dying to meet you,” she said, tugging on my arm. I shot Lexie an apologetic glance over my shoulder, but she winked, assuring me she was just fine chatting with Sandra.
We’d only taken a few steps when a man detached himself from conversation, meeting me halfway with a proffered hand. “Ron Jean,” he said. “We’ve heard so many wonderful things about you. It’s nice to finally meet you.”
“You as well,” I said. I couldn’t help studying him a little closer. I’d seen enough pictures of the man to know Brent strongly favored his father, but seeing him in person was a bit disconcerting. There was the familiar straight nose, strong jaw, and slightly crooked smile. The same thick dark hair that waved across his skull, though Ron’s had started to grey at the temples. The same shaped eyes fringed with criminally long lashes.
Ron Jean was Brent in about twenty-five years, and…damn. I was a lucky woman.
The last of the Jean clan joined our group, his hands shoved deep in his pockets.
I wasn’t surprised by Nate’s demeanor. Brent had told me his brother was a bit on the spectrum in that he deeply valued his personal space, and unwanted physical touch of any kind had the ability to send him into a tailspin.
“Great to see you, Berk,” Nate said, his grin reminding me exactly what he’d witnessed between me and his brother the morning he’d shown up unannounced—and how I’d answered the door without pants on.
Thankfully, Brent’s shirts were basically dresses on my five-foot-two-inch frame.
“You must be Berkley,” the tall, handsome, dark-haired man in navy scrubs said when I swung the door open.
