Chapter 25
Who Doesn’t Love a Brunch
Jules
Noah and I were headed up the walk to Jake and Ivy’s place, a dessert carrier in his hands.
I’d insisted on making something and, upon looking at the groceries Ivy had stocked, I realized I had all the makings of a peach-and-blueberry cake.
Of course, it would be better when the fruit was all in season, but it would still be delicious now.
Bonus points, it gave me something else to obsess over while we sat around this morning.
I knew these weren’t Noah’s parents. Hell—now I would never meet them, not that he would have even wanted me to.
But somehow it felt like Jake’s parents were stand-ins for the parental figures that Noah, and in many ways Ivy, lacked.
I wanted to make a good impression. I felt certain my joggers and lightweight long-sleeved tee weren’t dressy enough, but Noah explained that all the Spencer siblings were big fans of a casual and leisurely brunch.
If I dressed up, I would be out of place, thus I went with it.
As we got to the sidewalk that curved up to the back door, Noah tugged on my hand and I came to a stop in front of him.
“You sure you want to do this?” he asked.
“Of course. Who doesn’t love a brunch?” I said, momentarily uncertain if that was his way of hinting he’d rather go alone. “Do you still want me here?”
He shook his head and placed a hand under my chin, tilting my face up and pressing the sweetest of kisses to my lips. Moving back just a breath, he whispered, “I’d really like you by my side. I just don’t want you to do anything you’re not comfortable with.”
“I’m good. Promise.”
In response, Noah leaned down for another kiss.
We fell into it and I silently ranked it against all our kisses so far.
How was every one of them better than the last and far and away superior to any I’d had before?
I was continuing to enjoy this one when I heard some whistling coming from the house.
We pulled back, and I looked beyond Noah to see Jake, Ivy, Drew, Kate, and two new folks I was assuming were Steph and Theo on the porch.
Drew looked to us, then to his siblings and in-laws. “This feels like a whole lot of déjà vu, am I right?”
They all laughed at what seemed like an inside joke. Noah grabbed my hand, squeezed it in a quick gesture of comfort, and we headed up the walk.
“Welcome.” Ivy stepped forward and gave me a hug. “I’m so glad you came.”
“Jules.” Jake stepped up and pulled me in a hug after Ivy, then pulled back and pointed at the two people to his side. “This is my much older sister Steph and her long-suffering husband Theo.”
Steph smacked him on the back of the head, then gave me a wide smile. “Welcome to the circus that is a Spencer family brunch. Hope you’re hungry.”
Theo reached out and shook my hand. “We can always use some more non-Spencer blood around here.”
“It’s that bad?” I asked, mainly joking. Mainly.
“It’s something,” he replied, clear in his tone that while he was serious, he was also fond of this crew.
“Daddy,” Addie cried, coming out on the porch, positively vibrating.
“Which one of us?” Noah asked, looking from himself to Jake.
“She used to call them Daddy One and Two, which made it a bit easier to tell the difference. Now she often drops the number, which is fine except when you want to know who she’s talking about,” Steph stage-whispered all that to me.
“Both of you,” Addie said to the audience. “I need you to come in since everyone is here. We can have donuts, and Emily, Jennie, and I have been waiting forever.”
“Or five minutes,” Ivy said from behind her hand.
“We’re coming.” Jake began ushering us all in.
We walked through Jake and Ivy’s back door, which took you straight into their kitchen. There was a large island running the length that was positively groaning under the amount of food spread out, which was truly positively shocking in quantity.
A couple that was clearly the Spencer parents stood at the stove and were arguing about how many pancakes they were making.
Addie and two other girls were now standing by the donut boxes, debating which ones they would choose.
A chocolate lab was lying on a dog bed in front of a window, his tail thwapping the floor in a clear indication of his joy at being surrounded by this crowd.
This was a lot to take in.
Ivy called from her spot, “Jules, do you want a mimosa or coffee?”
I looked to Noah with big eyes. They really were serious about their level of brunch. “Um, I’ll take a mimosa.”
She looked to Kate and Steph. “Refills?”
The ladies cheered, and Mrs. Spencer looked up from her conversation at the pancake station.
“Ahh, new recruits.” She was my size but had a presence when she came around the island to meet me.
“I’m Margot,” she said as she pulled me to her.
“Hope you’re a hugger, because I am.” She stepped back and pointed to her husband.
“That’s Sam. He can’t be bothered while he’s making pancakes. ”
Sam waved in introduction. “Plain, blueberry, or chocolate chip?”
“Any,” Noah replied.
Sam nodded and got back to work.
“So.” Margot leaned against the counter, giving me an assessing glance. “Did Noah mention that I was pretty rough on him when we met?”
Noah shook his head, looking toward the ceiling before accepting a coffee mug from Drew with a thanks.
I took the proffered champagne glass from Ivy and looked back to Margot.
While it was true that everyone, including Sam, was in casual wear, Margot’s look was far more upscale than an outfit from Athleta or the like.
She had on loose linen pants and a T-shirt, but it was accessorized with a chunky beaded necklace, orange Birkenstock sandals, and thick turquoise glasses. I wanted to grow up to be her.
“Why’s that?” I asked to her comment.
Margot shrugged, seemingly unrepentant regarding her previous treatment of Noah. “I didn’t think he was good enough for Addie and Ivy.”
I stood up straight, ready to give her a piece of my mind while I heard Steph to my right murmur interesting to Kate. Whatever. “Why would you think that? He’s an exceptional human. Addie is lucky to have him as her dad.”
My heart rate was up as I worried a tad about offending the woman I’d just met, but I’d rather do that than let her comment go. Who knew I could go from nervous to pissed in a matter of seconds?
“Oh dear,” Margot murmured. “I didn’t mean to offend. Noah knows how much we care about him now.”
“Easy, kitten.” Noah came up to my side. “Claws in—Margot was just looking out for her family.”
I spun toward him. “You were not the bad guy here, Noah, and shouldn’t have been treated as such.”
He gave me a look of such gratitude that my knees threatened to buckle from the weight of it. “Jules,” he murmured.
“She’s right,” Ivy said, coming to my side. “And I wish I had spoken up more in defense of you, Noah.”
He looked in surprise from Ivy to me, a crinkle forming between his brows. “Margot was really fine.”
“I was cold,” Margot said, giving him a haughty look now like no one should dare question her. “And I’m sorry for it. You’re a great dad, and it wasn’t my business why you weren’t around as much when Addie was a babe. You were there when you could be.”
“Not enough,” Noah said as he watched Addie with a look of sadness.
She was playing with her cousins, laughter abounding. Addie grabbed Chief, and the three girls took off out the back door with the pup to race around the fenced-in yard.
“Ugh!” Ivy growled out the word, drawing attention back to our circle.
“Noah Michael Lawson, I’m going to whip your ass if we must have this conversation again.
You are a great dad. You are now, you were then, and you need to get the hell over yourself about the fact that you were in Africa, trying to make a better world for kids who have so much less than your daughter.
Do you know what kind of role model you are to her?
Do you understand that you are the reason she wants to volunteer at the animal shelter because she learned from you that when you see a need, you can fill it with your own hard work and not just platitudes like most of us do?
” Ivy was breathing heavily, her hands on her hips.
“Do I seriously need to remind you of all this again?” She threw her hands up in the air like she couldn’t even believe she was having to say that.
Silence filled the kitchen. I glanced around and saw that every adult was focused on our group.
Noah was looking at his feet, not meeting Ivy’s gaze as he processed her words.
I didn’t know Ivy super well, but from what I knew of her, this was totally out of character.
She was typically relaxed. I’d classify her somewhere in the world of hippies or boho chic, but definitely chill. Right then she was anything but.
“Ivy cussed,” Steph said at my side.
“Twice,” Kate said from just beyond Steph.
Apparently I wasn’t the only one noticing the out-of-character behavior.
Noah looked up, focusing on Ivy. “I appreciate the kind words, but—”
“This ‘but’ is going to piss me off, isn’t it?” Ivy looked fierce.
Noah was undeterred. “But you have said it yourself, you and Addie struggled to make ends meet when she was first born. That’s why you’re so cautious with money even now.”
Ivy looked to the ceiling and visibly counted to ten.
Looking back at Noah, she took a step toward him and gave him a lighthearted slap on the temple.
“Noah Lawson, you might drive me crazy today. Yes, we struggled, but if you remember, you wanted to help us financially at the time and what did I do?”
“Ow,” he replied, rubbing his head, but I could see the lightness in his eyes. He was pushing her buttons, and the fact that he was teasing her gave me some relief. “You said no.”