I take a deep breath as Declan reaches for the door, and then suddenly I’m led into a large, beautiful kitchen that is near to bursting with people and a dog that is currently leaping, trying to get the piece of meat that a little boy is holding high for him.
“Samuel Beauregard, take Derek outside, or you’re grounded from the computer for a week!” a petite brunette yells.
“That’s Gabby,” Declan says. We still haven’t been spotted by the crowd of people. “She’s Sam’s mom. Her husband, Rhys, is the guy holding their daughter, Ailish.”
My gaze moves from the beautiful woman to her husband sitting at the breakfast bar with an adorable baby.
“You’re here!” Sam exclaims and hugs Declan around his waist. “And you brought a lady!”
The room hushes as everyone looks over at us. Declan ruffles Sam’s hair.
“I can’t get anything past you,” he says, then takes my hand and squeezes reassuringly. “I hope it’s okay that I brought a plus-one.”
“Of course it is,” Gabby says and smiles as she wipes her hands on a towel and walks over to us. “Welcome. I’m Gabby.”
“Callie,” I reply and shake her hand, certain I’ve met her before.
“I’ll introduce you to everyone,” Gabby says as she slips her arm through mine and skillfully guides me away from Declan. “This is our mama.”
“Pleasure,” I say and smile at the lovely woman with eyes the same as all of her children.
“Oh no, child, the pleasure is all mine.”
“This is my oldest brother, Beau.” Beau is sitting next to Rhys, his eyes assessing but friendly. “And my husband, Rhys, is next to him, with our little one.”
“She’s precious,” I reply and grin when Ailish leans over for me to take her, which I readily do. “Aren’t you, princess?”
“She likes you.”
“I like her too.”
“The guy with his nose buried in the redhead's hair is my brother Eli, and that’s his girlfriend, Kate. Charly’s chopping the collard greens.”
“I’d come shake your hand, but I’m a mess,” Charly says with a smile. “But it’s nice to meet you.”
“And this is Savannah, Declan’s twin sister.”
My eyes immediately find Declan’s. “Twin? That’s great. Nice to meet you, Savannah.”
“Call me Van,” she says and shakes my hand. The Boudreaux are a beautiful bunch of people, and they’re obviously surprised that Declan brought me.
“So am I the first?” I ask the room at large.
“First?” Van asks.
“The first girl that Declan has brought to family dinner.”
Beau laughs while the others simply smile. “You know him pretty well already,” Beau says.
“It was just a hunch.” I kiss the baby’s cheek and take a deep breath, enjoying her baby smell. “And you’re the most precious thing in the world.”
She grabs my cheek and giggles.
“How old is she?” I ask.
“About five months,” Gabby replies and takes her daughter from my arms. “And thanks. We think she’s pretty great.”
“My shoes!” Charly exclaims, pointing at my feet.
“Excuse me?” I glance down at my favorite red heels.
“You’re wearing my shoes!”
“I knew I recognized you!” Gabby adds with a smile. “Charly owns Head Over Heels in the Quarter.”
“The fabulous shoe store!” I nod enthusiastically. “I love that place.”
“I sold you those shoes,” Gabby says.
“Since when do you sell shoes?” Rhys asks with a frown.
“It was a long time ago,” she replies, waving him off. “And they still look amazing on you.”
“They’re my favorite.”
“I have all the new fall shoes in,” Charly says as she finishes chopping the greens. “The girls are going to come by after closing next week. You should come too.”
“Oh, I couldn’t—”
“Yes. You could,” Van says with a wink. All of the Boudreaux are bossy. But I grin and nod.
“You’re right. I could.” I glance at Declan, to make sure this doesn’t make him uncomfortable, but he just smiles and kisses my forehead as he passes by and hugs his mama.
“How can I help, Mama?”
“You always ask when it’s all done,” she says and shoos him away. “You’ve done that since you were a boy.”
“I have to warn you,” Beau says. “Declan’s not a great cook.”
I simply nod and smile as I remember having cereal in bed just yesterday morning. “I’ll take that under advisement.”
“Hey, stop trying to scare her off,” Declan says and slips his arm around my shoulders.
“It’ll take more than bad cooking to do that,” I immediately reply.
“He’s also not good at laundry,” Eli adds.
“That did it.” I move to walk out the door while everyone else laughs, but Declan catches my arm and twirls me back to him, plants his lips on mine, and right here in front of his mother, lays a kiss on me that makes my toes curl. “Okay.” I swallow. “I guess that makes up for the laundry.”
***
“That was fun,” I say as we pull away from the inn into the dark Bayou. It was surprisingly easy. As rich and intimidating as the Boudreaux family can be, I found them to be welcoming and funny.