The Contract (Brides of Beaufort Book 5) by Jess Mastorakos

Author:Jess Mastorakos [Mastorakos, Jess]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-08-23T16:00:00+00:00

13

ZOE

The second we walked in Katsaros Family Restaurant, the smell of home and family and spanakopita flooded me with joy. I might not want to work here like my sisters or marry the chef like my parents wanted, but I loved this place with every fiber of my being.

After having breakfast at the boutique hotel this morning and then taking more than our usual one stop on the way up, Chase and I decided to go straight to the restaurant instead of stopping at my parents’ house when we made it to Wilmington. I wanted to relax after the emotional whirlwind I hadn’t expected last night—who knew getting married would cause so many mood swings?—but no, everyone had already arrived and there was no time for that.

Cheers erupted from the party room as Chase and I made our way back to join them. Some of the diners in the main dining room called out their well-wishes too, since it was a small community and plenty of my parents’ friends and regulars knew about our wedding plans. I waved and smiled to a few people we passed, then jumped slightly when I felt Chase move close behind me.

“I thought they’d be a little less thrilled about this,” he murmured in my ear as we stepped toward the back room.

I tried to ignore the flash of heat that ran up my neck at his nearness and spoke in a low tone through my smile. “The church is booked, and the invitations are out, so as far as they’re concerned, you’re already family.”

He didn’t have time to reply, however, because the second we stepped through the painted archway of the party room we were swept into tight hugs from everyone in my immediate and extended family—okay, not everyone, we wanted to limit the lunch to twenty guests today—but I didn’t miss the awe in Chase’s eyes as my family welcomed him into the fold.

They kissed his cheeks and patted the side of his face, like they were greeting an old friend rather than meeting him for the first time. Or even the fifth, in some cases. He looked stunned by their displays of affection toward him. Did his family not act like this? They must not, judging by how utterly confused he looked behind the bright smile he wore for them.

“Chase Mitchell,” my dad said, stepping through the crowd and pulling him into a hug. “I knew it.”

From across the room, my mom yelled at him in Greek. “Oh, George, let it go. Nobody cares.”

“You do,” he fired back—also in Greek—making anyone listening hoot with laughter.

“Right about what, sir?” Chase asked, looking between my parents with a nervous laugh.

“I knew you had your eye on my daughter,” my dad said, pointing a tanned finger at him. “And I know it’s too late to scare you away … but remember one thing.”

Chase’s eyes flicked back and forth from my dad’s finger to me. “What?”

“It’s never too late to simply scare you.”

“Arketá, Papa,” I said, telling him that was enough.

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