Chapter 67

“Shush, you.” Mrs. Byrne glared at each of her sons until they averted their eyes and mumbled an apology.

The entire family was present except for Esther and her husband. Morning sickness plagued her all through the day, and she didn’t leave the house unless she had to. Matt wasn’t there either, but no excuse was given for his absence, which meant he was most likely only late. As usual.

Dinner with eleven Byrne family members was a loud affair, even when the Hell Sisters showed themselves from their best side.

“Girls, hop onto your own chairs and let Beckett eat in peace,” Mrs. Byrne said, but Leah and Hanna shook their heads.

“It’s okay, Mrs. Byrne,” I said, even though my legs were getting numb and it was difficult to eat with two five-year-olds on my lap.

Levi scowled at his sisters and put his hand on my lower back.

You okay? he mouthed when I turned to look at him. I nodded and gave him a smile that didn’t seem to placate him entirely.

The front door opened with a bang and after a second Matt hollered, “Hello family. I have arrived.”

“Did your watch break again?” sixteen-year-old Grace yelled.

“People, people. One would think you were raised by wolves.” Mr. Byrne shook his head, but he wasn’t angry. He had a fond look on his face, and there was no doubt that he adored his family. Loud or not.

A few seconds later Matt sauntered into the dining room. “Why is it so quiet in here? Did someone finally cave and drug the H-Sisters?”

“Matthew!” Both parents admonished him at the same time.

He did a double take when he noticed me. “Becks? What are you doing here?”

“He’s here with me,” Levi said, and they were the first words he’d uttered out loud since we sat down to eat.

I reached out for his hand that lay fisted on his thigh under the table, enveloped it with mine, and gave him a squeeze. The displeased wrinkle between his eyes disappeared. He opened his fist and laced his fingers with mine.

“Isn’t it too early to meet the parents?” Matt asked after taking his seat. He ladled his bowl full of chicken dumpling soup and grabbed a large chunk of his mom’s homemade bread. “I mean, I haven’t brought Liza to meet the ‘rents yet.”

Levi’s grip on my hand tightened, but he didn’t say anything, just pressed his lips tight together.

“Leave your brother alone,” Mrs. Byrne said.

“It’s not like you ever bring anyone home to meet us,” eleven-year-old Judith said.

Levi’s silence bothered me. To see my boyfriend—who was usually so talkative and assertive when it was just the two of us—take a step back and let everyone talk over him didn’t sit right with me. I wanted his voice to be heard, too, in this sea of opinions, but if he didn’t feel comfortable speaking up himself, I’d do it.

“Besides, our relationship is serious,” I said, hoping I wasn’t assuming too much. We hadn’t talked about it, but both of us had been equally eager to spend every possible minute together.

I hadn’t needed to worry. Levi’s face lit up in a smile that rivaled the brilliance of the sun and lifted our joined hands to his mouth and pressed a quick kiss on my knuckles, before putting them back on his leg.

“How do you know?” Matt asked, oblivious as usual to when it would serve him better to keep quiet. “You’ve only been together for…what? Ten minutes?”

“Seriously, Matthew. You and your brother are very different,” Mr. Byrne said. “He’s never needed to…” he threw a glance at his younger children before continuing, “…try every flavor ice cream before deciding which one he likes the best.”

“Ice cream!” Leah said.

“I want ice cream,” Hannah agreed.

“If they get ice cream, I want it, too,” nine-year-old Aaron said.

“Now you’ve done it,” Mrs. Byrne sighed.

“We’ll talk about it after all the plates are cleared,” Mr. Byrne said, and all three of them quieted immediately and concentrated on their food.

“Serious or not,” Mrs. Byrne said, “there will be no more sleepovers and no moving in together before marriage. That’s the rule.”

My eyes widened at her words, and I wanted to throw the Hell Sisters off my lap and run and hide to avoid this conversation. And judging from the way Levi stiffened next to me, he felt the same.

“Matt has sleepovers,” Samuel said with a gleeful grin.

“And he knows how we feel about that,” Mrs. Byrne answered with a pointed look at her oldest son, who kept eating and pretended he hadn’t heard her.