Orion and Ava had been dating for almost two months. They met at a sponsors’ party, where the tall, long-haired brunette was representing one of the brands and immediately caught Orion’s attention. She was kind, modest, and when he approached her, her wit and intelligence completely disarmed him.

The blond couldn’t stop thinking about her, and since she gave him her number—well, her business card—he took it as a sign that she wanted to hear from him too. Fortunately, when he called, she confirmed that she hadn’t given him her contact information just for work reasons.

One coffee date led to another, and before they knew it, they were a couple. Orion briefly introduced her to Amelia and Rick, but Ava went even further. After a short meeting with her parents when they visited her apartment, he was now facing a weekend at their family home.

For some, it might have seemed too soon, but Orion took it as a good sign. His last serious relationship had been during his first year at university, and after breaking up with Laura, he had gone on a few dates, but his dating phase had never lasted long enough to reach the stage of meeting the parents.

Ava told him her parents lived in a small town, in a family house with her younger brother. The description reminded the blond far too much of his own home, so he agreed to the visit. He knew exactly what to expect. Or at least, he thought he did.

They arrived in the late morning, and Ava’s mother welcomed them with open arms. The house was filled with the scent of a meal being prepared, and Ava and Orion were sent to her room to put their stuff down and settle in before lunch was served.

“So, you’re planning to marry her, since we’re letting you sleep in the same bed?” Ava’s father joked. At least Orion assumed it was a joke, since Ava and her mother responded with laughter.

Orion chuckled briefly as well. “We’re doing really well, sir. You don’t have to worry.”

Then the couple in love went upstairs and began unpacking, though they hadn’t brought much for the weekend.

“Where’s your brother?” Orion asked when he realized he hadn’t yet met the last member of the household.

So far, he knew nothing about Ava’s brother, just as she knew nothing about Teo beyond his name. In such a short time, Orion hadn’t had the opportunity to introduce them. When he wasn’t busy with work, Teo was pulling long shifts at the hospital. Lately, they hadn’t had much time for each other, but since their relationship had improved significantly over the past few months, Orion had learned not to panic over it.

“Probably somewhere with his friends,” the brunette replied. “He’s seventeen. You know what teenagers are like.” She waved her hand dismissively and continued making space in the drawer so her boyfriend would have somewhere to put his things.

“I thought he was younger.”

Ava didn’t talk about her brother often. But when she did, it always sounded as if Aiden were no more than twelve. He had a strict curfew, spent most of his time at home because their parents were stern, and Ava always referred to him as her “little brother.”

“He’s at the worst possible age. Trust me.”

Something in her tone suggested she wasn’t happy with her brother’s behavior, but Orion didn’t press further. He knew very well what he had been like at that age and how easily a teenager could cause trouble—especially for a single mother.

He laughed and stepped up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and leaning toward her ear. “I’m sure he’d say we’re old fossils.”

Ava shared his amusement.

“We’ve got one foot at the altar or in the grave.”

She turned in his arms, looping hers around his neck to give him a kiss. Short but sweet—the kind most appropriate in her parents’ house.

Maybe Orion should have taken her mention of a wedding, barely two months into their relationship, as a red flag. But distracted by her lips, he didn’t give it much weight. Maybe he was hopeless.

“You’re lucky my mom watches my dad’s cholesterol. Otherwise, as old people, we’d need an afternoon nap after lunch,” Ava continued jokingly.

“Don’t get ahead of yourself. I might need one,” he replied, sliding his hands a little lower along her back and squeezing her firmly around the waist. Not that he planned on having sex in her parents’ house, but he enjoyed flirting with her. He loved the way she looked at him when he did.

“Hasn’t anyone ever told you not to go swimming right after eating?”

“I like to take risks,” he declared in an overly serious tone, scrunching his nose and earning another amused laugh from the brunette.

“You’re terrible.”

After her accusation came a sweet kiss, clear proof it was only pretend.

Though their relationship was moving rather quickly—at least from Ava’s side, since she hadn’t yet met Orion’s family—they were still deep in the honeymoon phase. Everything felt beautiful and positive, and Orion hoped it would stay that way.

He liked to think he had made a good impression on Ava’s parents. When they went downstairs, he asked how he could help, but Ava’s father—Micah—immediately stopped him, saying cooking and serving were women’s work, so the only thing Orion could do was have a beer with him.

Orion politely declined. He rarely drank, and after learning why his brother drank even less, he had tried to limit himself further so that whenever they were together, his brother wouldn’t feel out of place.

“We just got here, give him time.”

Ava snuggled against his side and placed a hand on his chest.

“Yesterday would’ve already been too late,” Micah remarked with a hint of humor as he grabbed a beer from the fridge and opened it with the bottle opener that doubled as a magnet.

He seemed like a typical small-town father, and the Barnetts appeared, on the surface, like the perfect American family. Orion knew first impressions could be deceiving, but since this was only his second time meeting them—and he hadn’t even met Ava’s brother yet—he didn’t want to judge too quickly. So far, they had only made a good impression on him.

“Lunch is almost ready,” Mary announced as she pulled a baking dish out of the oven with oven mitts.

“It smells amazing,” Orion complimented her.

“You’re sweet.” The shorter, fuller-figured woman offered him a gentle smile. Unlike her husband, she seemed more modest and shy. From what Orion had learned so far, she was a housewife who spent most of her time at home or with other mothers from the neighborhood.

While they were chatting in the kitchen, the sound of a door opening echoed from another part of the house.

“I’ll make sure our boy remembers he’s supposed to be home for lunch on time.”

Micah stepped away from them. Though he said it lightly, something in his tone didn’t sit right with Orion. He couldn’t jump to conclusions, so he chose to ignore it for now.

“He’s a good boy, but lately he’s been rebelling. We’ve had our hands full,” Mary commented. Her smile was a little more convincing now, and the blond nodded in understanding.

“Is he having trouble at school?” Orion asked, partly out of genuine interest, though mostly out of politeness, since she seemed open to the topic.

“He has trouble focusing,” Mary clarified. “Nothing serious. Micah had a talk with him. Thankfully, his grades are still good, so we have nothing to be ashamed of.” She laughed. The choice of words unsettled Orion, but he had no right to speak up in someone else’s household, so he simply nodded with a polite smile.

Learning what had happened to Teo at the same age had made Orion more attentive to details, especially when it came to interactions between people close to him. He never wanted to overlook something important again. It was both a gift and a curse, especially in moments like this, when he had no place interfering in someone else’s family dynamics.

“He’ll be fine,” Ava cut in. “There’s nothing Catholic school can’t fix.”

That was new information for the blond.

“You went to Catholic school too?” he asked, turning to his girlfriend with interest.

“Uh-huh. The best years of my life.” She gave him a charming smile.

“I’m looking forward to hearing more about it.” He leaned in and pressed a kiss to her cheek, not daring anything more in front of her mother.

The positive atmosphere in the room didn’t last long. Something shifted in the air when Ava’s father returned. He no longer looked so relaxed as he took a sip of his beer, and whatever had happened with Ava’s brother seemed to have irritated him.

“Everything alright?” Mary asked her husband, and from the look she gave him, she expected a certain answer.

“No worries. He’s pulling himself together,” Micah replied between swallows of beer.

The tension in his posture remained despite the explanation, but his wife tried to smooth it over and lighten the mood again. With a warm smile—now slightly forced—she sent them all to freshen up before lunch and move to the dining room.