Free Carolina Dreaming: A Dare Island Novel by Virginia Kantra

her husband. But . . . “You’re a student?” he asked.
    She smiled. “Even worse. I’m a high school English teacher.”
    “Meg, what about you?” Luke asked. “Glass of wine?”
    His older sister shook her head. “I’ll pass, thanks.”
    Allison’s eyes widened. “Oh, my God, that’s it. That’s the announcement!”
    Matt glanced down at his wife. “What announcement?”
    “The reason Meg and Sam wanted us all to come to dinner tonight,” Kate said from across the room.
    Tess turned from the stove, spatula in hand. “Sweetheart, are you—?”
    “Pregnant?” Meg finished. She nodded. “Yep.”
    The tall dude next to her, with wavy dark hair and lots of teeth, took her hand. Gabe recognized him from the day before, when Luke had introduced them outside the bakery. Sam Grady, the contractor. Meg’s fiancé.
    There were shrieks. And hugs.
    Gabe edged out of the way, clutching his beer as every female in the room swooped on the mother-to-be like seagulls on a bag of chips.
    “Why didn’t you say anything?” Tess demanded.
    “We just confirmed with the doctor today,” Sam said.
    “Kind of early to be telling everybody, then,” Luke said.
    Meg’s face was pink. “Not everybody. Just family.”
    Not my family, Gabe thought.
    He didn’t want to intrude on the Fletchers’ happy moment.But he didn’t know how the hell to extract himself without making the situation even more awkward.
    “Of course you wanted to tell everybody,” Allison said.
    Tess nodded. “You’ll want to move up the wedding date now.”
    Meg’s mouth jarred open. “But everything’s planned. We reserved the venue.”
    “For October,” Tess said.
    “But I ordered my dress.”
    “No offense, Aunt Meg,” Taylor said. “But I don’t think your dress is going to fit in seven months.”
    “Not that you won’t look beautiful, anyway,” Allison said.
    “But—”
    Sam put his arm around Meg’s shoulders. “We’ll work it out. We haven’t had time to think ahead that far.”
    “Seems to me you should have done your thinking before you got pregnant,” Tom said.
    “Daddy. It’s not Sam’s fault.”
    Tom snorted. “He’s the father, isn’t he?”
    Meg rolled her eyes. “Of course he’s the father. I just meant . . . Well, I’m not the first member of this family to, um . . .”
    “Get knocked up before you got married?” Josh supplied cheerfully.
    Matt cuffed his son’s head lightly.
    “Three for three.” Luke grinned and hugged his sister. “And here we all thought you were the smart one.”
    “I think it’s wonderful news,” Mrs. Fletcher said firmly.
    “I’m old enough to babysit,” Taylor said.
    “Too bad your ugly face will scare the baby,” Josh said.
    She grinned and stuck out her tongue.
    “I would love to have you babysit,” Meg said. She shot her nephew a pointed look. “Both of you.”
    Gabe took another pull on his beer. He counted at least four separate conversations bouncing back and forth between the Fletchers like beach balls at a rock concert, everybody in everybody’s business while the kids bickered amiably ina corner. It was nice, sort of, just a little . . . overwhelming. Somebody had let the dogs back in, and the cream-colored mutt had backed the old shepherd under the table and was trying to coax it to play. Gabe figured the stray locked up in his motel room would have fit right in.
    He was less sure if he did.
    “Get you a refill?” Sam asked.
    “I’m good, thanks,” Gabe said. Mr. Fletcher was still watching like he was waiting for Gabe to drop and give him fifty pushups. “Is it always like this?” he asked Sam.
    “Pretty much.” His gaze met Gabe’s with unexpected sympathy. “Of course, it’s not every day they find out their only daughter is pregnant.”
    Gabe raised his bottle in salute. “Congratulations.”
    “Thanks.”
    Meg escaped her sisters-in-law to join them, slipping her arm through Sam’s. “That’s it, we’re