Ren spins in my arms and backs up into my chest. I press my hand to her hip and smile at her parents.

“Mom, Dad, this is Griffin Knightly. Griffin, these are my parents, Gloria and Harry.”

I lean forward and shake both of their hands. “Mr. and Mrs. Winters, it’s a pleasure to meet you. Would you like to sit down? I can grab a sample plate to share and some drinks.”

“That would be lovely,” her mom says, and her dad’s eyes light up when he takes in all the fudge and goodies behind me.

The man seems to have a sweet tooth like his daughter. Thankfully, I can make one hell of a sample plate for him.

“Right this way.” I take Ren’s hand in mine and ignore the blatant staring from Jen, her mouth hanging open. The sneaky pictures Reid is taking don’t go unnoticed either. I know he’s seconds away from texting pictures to the whole family.

I get Ren and her parents settled at one of the café tables we have set up and head to the counter, where I start putting together a sample plate of fudge and bakery items, Reid hovering over my shoulder.

“Got yourself a girlfriend, do ya? Meeting the parents?”

“Back off, Reid.” I take a piece of each flavor of fudge we have and spread them across a plate.

“You kissed her in front of everyone.”

“Well aware of what I did.”

“But . . . but . . .”

I stand up straight and turn to face him. “But what?”

And in that moment, I see a change in Reid. Instead of being the annoying little brother constantly nagging at me, he actually looks pleased, happy. “Dude, you’re living your life. Finally.” He clasps my shoulder. “I’m proud of you.”

Thankfully we don’t have a lot of customers right now, or else this would be really awkward. I lower my voice. “I couldn’t stay away. I like her too damn much.”

“And there’s no reason for you to stay away.”

I bite my bottom lip and stare down at the fudge. “You think I’m good? That she’ll be okay?”

“Dude, are you seriously worried about that?”

“Yeah, sort of. It’s in the back of my mind.” I go to the baked goods and start cutting up small portions of scones and cookies for the second sample plate.

“Do you need help?” Ren asks, coming up behind me, ending all conversation with Reid.

“I think I’ve—”

“Ren, you finally got this guy to admit to his feelings,” Reid says, nudging me with his elbow. And here I thought Reid had suddenly matured. Guess that was short lived.

Being the good sport that she is, Ren smiles. “I had to wear him down at some point, right?”

“It was the camping trip, wasn’t it?”

She shakes her head. “No, it was the dancing in the street.” Her voice softens, and she leans up and presses a quick kiss against my cheek before taking the fudge plate and making her way back to her parents.

Fuck, I’m a goner where she’s concerned.

“Dancing in the street?” Reid asks just as Jen steps up next to us and begins bagging up scones for a customer.

“Yeah, dancing in the street? What’s that about?” Jen asks, taking her time.

I finish up my sample plate and set down a pair of tongs. “Nothing you two need to worry about.”

I’ve started to walk away when Reid asks, “Were you being romantic?”

I look over my shoulder. “I was being romantic as shit.”

“So you’ve lived here your whole life?” Mrs. Winters asks between bites of apricot scone.

“Yes, ma’am.” I’m sitting next to Ren on her couch, holding her hand, as I answer every single question her parents throw my way. There have been a lot, ranging from my profession and my volunteer work—all questions from her dad—to my intentions with Ren and what I like most about her—questions from Ren’s mom.

They’ve been easy questions to answer, not making me think much; I’ve just spoken from the heart.

The answer that earned me a hand squeeze from Ren, though—that was a good moment.

What’s your favorite thing about Ren?

Easy: her gentle soul. She has such a beautiful sense of community, wanting to be involved, and not in a negative way but in a way that lifts up everyone. She loves saying yes, and when she gets involved in something, she puts her whole heart into it. It’s a very attractive quality to me, something that caught me right from the start.

“My parents actually still live in the same house I grew up in,” I say. “They never wanted to take away our childhood home. In the kitchen-pantry doorway, there are still growth charts climbing up the wall for each of us. My mom assigned us different colors so we always knew where each of us stood. She started measuring my sister Jen’s kids in the same doorframe.”

“Oh, that’s so sweet. Do your parents spend a lot of time at the shop?”

“Not as much anymore. They’re semiretired. They check in and help out when we need it, but it’s pretty much Jen and I who run everything.”

“And . . . Reid, is that his name?” I nod. “He helps out too?”

“For the meantime, until he gets back on his feet.” I don’t go into detail, and thankfully Ren’s parents don’t ask what happened. That’s Reid’s story to tell, not mine.

“It’s amazing how much you two look alike.”

“I thought the same thing,” Ren adds. “The first day I was here, I met all four brothers in the span of just a few hours, and I kept thinking I was running into different versions of Griffin.”

Her mom chuckles and then says, “And you two met . . .”

“I was the firefighter who rescued her from her car.”

Mrs. Winters puts down her scone, and Mr. Winters leans forward, a scowl on his face.

“Rescued her from where?”

Uh . . .

I turn to Ren—her eyes are wide with panic. I know I should cover for what I just said, but nothing is coming to mind. Did she not tell her parents about her moose encounter?

Shit.

Of course she wouldn’t want to worry them after her car accident in California, when they already weren’t happy that she’d moved out here.

Ren’s hand slips from mine.

“I’m . . . shit,” I mutter close to Ren’s ear. “I’m sorry.”

“You were in another car accident?” Ren’s mom asks, fury blazing in her eyes. “And you didn’t tell us?”

“It was the first day, Mom, and it was barely anything. Just a moose jumping out into the road. I avoided it and drove down a ditch, where I got stuck between two trees. I was fine.”

“Why didn’t you tell us?” Her mom looks like she’s about to cry, and I feel like I should leave.

“I’ll, uh, give you some space.” When I go to stand, Ren places her hand on my quad, forcing me to stay seated.

Keeping her attention on her mom, she takes a deep breath. “I didn’t tell you because I knew you would freak out. I wanted to start a new chapter in my life, and I knew if I told you, you would have been on the first plane out here to take me home.”

“Yes, you’re right about that.” Mrs. Winters now folds her arms over her chest, a mask of anger taking over her rather pleasant smile. “This is exactly why I didn’t want you moving across the country, because you clearly can’t take care of yourself—”

“Hey.” Ren sits up straight, her voice growing sterner with every word she speaks, showing a stronger side of her I haven’t seen before. It’s sexy. “I can take care of myself. I’m still living and breathing after the accident; I’m actually thriving here, and without any help from my parents. It was a bump in the road, one I didn’t need you freaking out about.”

“I could have helped you.”

“Yes, you could have, but I didn’t want your help, Mom.” Mrs. Winters’s face turns solemn. “And not because I don’t love you, but because I wanted to do this on my own.” Ren takes a deep breath and leans over to her mom, taking her hand in hers. “I love you dearly, but I also need some independence from you. And frankly, I’m glad I drove into that ditch, because not only did it show me that I could get through an obstacle on my own, but it was also when I met Griffin. It was the start of our friendship, a friendship that’s blossomed into so much more, and I wouldn’t trade that in for anything.”

I wrap my hand around Ren’s shoulder, her warmth spreading through me, to my very core, warming up the cold soul I’ve been carrying around for so long.

I wouldn’t trade that in for anything.

She’s so strong, confident, in us . . . in me. It makes me want to be the man she deserves, the man who doesn’t worry, who can live freely and give her my whole heart.

The man I want to be.

Her mom looks between us. “I don’t like that you didn’t tell me about the accident. What if something seriously happened to you?”