He’d been nervous since last night, when we lay in bed and talked about coming to dinner at my dad’s house. It had been news to me that Storm had never met a girlfriend’s parents, not even Jennika’s. His nerves were valid, and I told him as much, but I also told him he had absolutely nothing to be worried about.
Based on a phone conversation I had with my dad earlier in the week, it sounded like Storm already had the fatherly stamp of approval. Tonight was more about starting off on the right foot and making new traditions where I brought my partner to dinner rather than arriving solo.
I smiled and rustled the bouquet of flowers in my hand. Storm had picked them out for Casey. “All right. Well, when you’re ready, don’t forget the cigars in the middle compartment.”
Storm nodded and stared straight ahead at the garage door. “Right. Cigars.”
I waited.
And waited.
Finally, I lost my patience and opened his door for him. “Now you’re just being silly. You’ve already met my dad and he is the least intimidating person ever. You just wait. All he’s going to want to do is shoot the shit with you, have a smoke and a laugh, and maybe play cards after dinner. He’s super easy to please.”
“You’re sure? You’re not just saying what you think I need to hear?”
I gave him my sweetest smile and leaned through the window to give him a sweet kiss. “I’m sure. Casey is the one you need to watch out for.”
He paled.
Laughing, I opened his car door. “Get your ass out of there. You’re building it up to be bigger than it is in your head. You’re Storm Thornton for crying out loud. You’ve dealt with worse this week, letting people go and having difficult conversations at work. You can handle my dad in your sleep.”
Storm didn’t look convinced, but he grabbed the cigars from the center console and got out of the car. We strode arm in arm up the driveway toward the front door.
I was genuinely excited about tonight. For the longest time, dinner at my dad’s was something that either went really well or really badly. The success of the night usually depended on mine and Casey’s temperaments. Ever since last week at the Valentine’s Day show though, she and I had been getting along really well.
At Storm’s suggestion, she and I went for brunch on Wednesday to catch up and make amends. I started things off by apologizing for being overbearing. I never realized how my incessant need to make Casey more like me had pushed her away, and she never understood that all I was trying to do was help get her up on her feet and proud of herself. She spent too much time with people who used her and didn’t see her potential, and they’d worn away her confidence. All I was ever trying to do was get her to see her worth, but I’d been going about it in all the wrong ways.
Casey opened up, too. She explained how she wanted to do better and she wanted to grow. She also told me that she’d had some open and honest conversations with Dad, and he was helping her let go of some of her old habits. He’d invited her to move back home with him while she figured out what her next move was, and she expressed interest in going back to school and finding a job that would support her as well as fulfill her.
She hadn’t figured out exactly what job that might be, but she was spending a couple of hours a day doing research, and I had complete and total faith in her that she had finally made the break from her old life.
Just like Mom did when she chose and settled down with Dad.
At brunch, Casey told me how happy she was for me, and for once that happiness wasn’t spoiled by jealousy. She’d made me tear up, and not being one for the tears or dramatics, Casey had joked that just because she was happy for me and making better choices didn’t mean I was off the hook for paying the bill.
Tonight would be our first dinner as a family with Storm, and with Casey and me on the same page since childhood.
It felt like I was walking into a new phase of my life with the man of my dreams on my arm. Lexi had said as much the other night when she popped over for a visit—and to raid my fridge for snacks. She’d admitted that she misjudged him and asked if he had any rich friends or cousins she could date. I’d laughed and told her I’d see what I could do, but chances were high anyone related to him would be a bit, well, shitty in the heart and soul department.
Lexi said she didn’t care. She was in it for the money.
Storm shifted his weight from foot to foot when I knocked on the front door. I gave his arm a squeeze when we heard Dad’s footsteps on the other side. The door swung open, and Dad grinned at us, his eyes shooting immediately to the cigars in Storm’s hand.
“Good man! You brought them! Come in, you two. Come in. Dinner is in the oven. Casey is just cutting up a salad. Leave your shoes on, if you like.”
Storm and I both stepped out of our shoes. On the way down the hall, he paused to look at Mom’s gallery wall, and he happened to take interest in my favorite Christmas picture.
He smiled. “Is this your mother?”
I nodded at the picture of her smiling at Dad behind the camera. “It is.”
“She was beautiful. You look just like her.”
“I always thought Casey looks more like her.”
“You both do, in your own ways. Look, you have her nose. And your eyes crinkle just like that when you laugh.”
I wasn’t looking at the picture anymore. I was looking at him. “They do?”
“Absolutely. You didn’t know?”
I shook my head. “Nobody has ever told me.”
He cupped the back of my neck, pulled me to him, and kissed my forehead. “Well, now you know.”
Dad beckoned us to come into the kitchen, and we found him checking the lasagna in the oven while Casey stood in front of the window, mixing up a spring green salad with mushrooms, peppers, carrots, onions, and cucumber. I wandered over to give her a hug and stole a small piece of cucumber from the salad.
She smacked my wrist. “You can wait.”
“Rude,” I muttered.
Storm presented her with the bouquet of flowers, which made Casey blush. “What are these for?”
“I saw them and thought of you,” Storm said.
She stared at the lovely arrangement of daisies and greenery in bright shades of yellow and pink. “I don’t… um… thank you.”
Storm grinned. “You’re welcome.”
Having a man who cared about making my sister feel seen and special made my heart soar. In the past, none of my old boyfriends had spared Casey a second thought. Admittedly, she’d been much younger then and even more annoying than she was now, but she’d never crossed their mind as someone they needed to “get in good with” in order for our relationship to work. Storm wanted to have a friendship with her because he respected and cared about her, not just because it was important to me, and that meant everything to me.
He understood my heart better than anyone.
And secretly? I suspected he liked being nice to her because he got a kick out of how much it made her squirm. She wasn’t used to gentlemen taking the time to do something nice for her. Maybe once she got to know Storm better, she’d raise her standards for her personal dating life.
We all stood around talking in the kitchen like families do when they’re waiting for food to be ready. Dad popped open a bottle of red wine and went on and on about the winery it was from in California and how he’d gone there with Mom when they were newly dating. Storm suggested that one day we go back there, and Dad jumped at the suggestion.