I inch back until I’m even with Hades, safely on the other side of the peninsula counter. “Are they always like this?” I murmur.
“Yes.”
No one bumps into each other. No one even hesitates. And they manage it while all talking at once. It’s overwhelming in the extreme. Not just the sheer competence; it’s the fact that I can feel their love for each other in every word, every movement.
“So this is what family really looks like.” I don’t mean to say the words out loud. I sure as fuck don’t mean for Hades to hear them.
He huffs out a dry laugh. “Yeah, it shocked the fuck out of me, too, the first few times. You get used to it.” He hesitates. “It’s even kind of nice sometimes, especially when they let you help.”
It strikes me that Hades is another person in Olympus who wouldn’t have much in the way of family experience. His parents died when he was a little kid. I glance at him. “Brave to step into that tornado.”
“Just wait until you’re in the middle of it.”
Strangely enough, I can’t wait.
Within ten minutes, the women have us hauling food to the table. Dinner is just as much a whirlwind as the preparing seemed to be. Psyche and her sisters talk over each other, with Demeter interjecting dry comments at regular intervals. It’s chaotic and more than a little overwhelming.
But Hades is right. It’s…nice.
I can feel the love they hold for each other, even when Persephone and Callisto start bickering over a misremembered instance of sibling injustice. I’m content to pick at my food and soak up the energy. This is what family feels like. What home feels like.
I like it.
Once everyone’s eaten their fill, Hades clears his throat. “We’ll do dishes.”
“Smart boys.” Demeter’s smile is knife-sharp. “We’ll be in the living room.”
Hades heads into the kitchen and the women whisk out of the room. All except Psyche. She glances after her family and takes my hand. “Are you doing okay? I know we can be a lot at first. If we need to leave—”
“I’m good.” The love I feel for this woman about bursts out of my chest. Of course she’d pause to check in on me, to offer to leave early even though she’s obviously enjoying herself. I squeeze her hand. “Better than good. Go enjoy your mother and sisters. We’ll be in once we’ve finished the dishes.”
“If you’re sure…”
“I am.”
She finally nods, her lips curving in a slow grin. “Oh, by the way, I almost forgot. I have a surprise for you when we get home.” She leans close and lowers her voice. “I bought some new lingerie. Play nice and I’ll let you tear it off me with your teeth.”
“You little asshole,” I breathe. I have to adjust my pants a little, which makes her smirk. Even her damn smirk is sexy. “Just for that, I am going to tear it off with my teeth, strip by lacy strip.”
“Oh no, not that,” she says, deadpan.
I laugh. It’s big and freeing and banishes the last of the nerves that clung through dinner. A beautiful wife who is everything I never dreamed of deserving. A loving family that seems all too ready to draw me into their circle. I really am the luckiest son of a bitch in Olympus.