Chapter Eighteen

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"Is there anything I should know about your family before I meet them?"

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"Is there anything I should know about your family before I meet them?"

Taylor's eyes flashed briefly to my face before he refocused them on the road.

"Like what?"

I shrugged, even though I doubted he could see the gesture out of his peripheral vision. "I guess just a rundown of their personality, things I should expect."

"Yeah, sure," Taylor agreed. I looked at his face, where I could see evidence of his deliberation in the tense muscles around his eyes and the slight pull of his mouth. "My mom, for one thing, is very friendly and social. She's also very, um....touchy."

"As in sensitive?" I played with a lock of my hair, twirling it around my finger. The last thing I wanted was to say something stupid and offensive because I'm so nervous I'm not thinking clearly.

Taylor's tongue poked out of the corner of his mouth and he smirked.

"I wish. I meant literally touchy. Expect lots of hugs and hand holding and things like that. But if you're not comfortable with that, you can tell her. Or I can, if you'd be more comfortable with that. I promise she won't get offended."

"I'm okay with it, actually."

I was. I grew up in a very affectionate family. Hugs and kisses and arms around the shoulder were the norm.

"And what about your dad and uncle?"

"My dad is nice as well, but he's a lot quieter than my mom. If he doesn't say a lot, it doesn't mean he doesn't like you. He just prefers to listen than talk."

Okay. I could live with that. After all, he sounded a lot like someone I knew.

Myself.

"My uncle, on the other hand, loves to talk. Mostly about hockey. It's pretty much all he knows."

He'd probably get along with my dad, then.

"Anything else?"

With his face looking directly ahead, giving me a perfect view of his profile, he said, with a completely straight face: "If you hear something scream from the basement, don't worry. We feed it every so often."

"Hilarious," I said, biting down on my lip to contain the smile that was desperately hoping to come through.

"Well, it made you laugh."

"That was a scoff, not a laugh. I found that joke pathetic, not funny."

"Pathetic, ouch."

I was so tempted to reach over and give Taylor's arm a light punch, but I wasn't sure if that was appropriate. It was how I'd react if he was Thomas, but maybe I shouldn't get in the habit of treating Taylor like my brother.

Or maybe I should.

"Do you have a dog, by the way?"

With an amused smile, his eyes cut to my face.

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