A Week With the Hollands

Chapter Three

    I turned my head, and there they were. I saw the resemblance of Tom in them. Tom and I quickly walked up to his parents and he hugged them and I hugged them. "This is Emily," Tom introduced me.

      "Wait," his father said. "Either I'm finally losing my mind, or last time you mentioned her, she was Bianca? What'd you do, pick up a new girl?" He laughed.

     That's exactly what he did, I thought. But I didn't voice that, only laughed at the joke.

      Then the lying started. Tom said, "Emily is her middle name. Sometimes I call her Bianca, and sometimes I call her Emily."

      His mother couldn't stop beaming. "It's so nice to finally meet you, Emily. And welcome to the family!"

     She hugged me a second time, and I answered, "You too! Tom talks about you all the time! I feel like I already know you so well."

     Tom's father, Dominic, helped with the bags and the four of us exited the airport. "The boys are waiting at home," he said as he loaded the luggage into the back of their car. "They're so anxious and excited to meet you."

     "I can assure you, I'm equally as excited," I gushed. Tom and I got into the backseat while his parents rode in the front.

      I would be lying if I said the car ride wasn't a little awkward. We had trouble trying to make conversation, but I felt like I still did a sufficient job at keeping my act up. At least, they seemed to like me enough.

     Honestly, I was scared to meet Tom's brothers. They probably knew him better than his parents, and, most likely, would be able to see right through me. I'd have to put up quite the act. Anyways, it wasn't like it was that hard to pretend to be attracted to him. Heck, I didn't really even have to pretend all that much. He was handsome. Good-natured. Charming. Everything. And I'd only known him for, like, a day.

      Hopefully I wouldn't fall for him in a week.

     While Tom and his dad were unloading the car, his mother, Nicola, and I walked ahead into the house. It was a pretty home, with plenty of windows and flowers everywhere. When you walk inside, it looks bigger than it does on the outside, which is surprising.

     Mrs. Nicola wanted to see the ring, so we gushed over that for a bit. Then she exclaimed how excited she was for us, because Tom was her first-born, and this was a special time for her. I felt a little guilty because I knew that it wasn't real.

     But suddenly, mine and Nicola's small talk was interrupted by the voices of three boys. They'd just walked in. When I first saw them, I knew they belonged. The two eldest were the exact image of Tom's parents. I noticed that the younger one favored his mom more. Then I realized how Tom was a perfectly even mixture of the two; perhaps that was why he was noticeably the handsomest of the boys.

     One of them stepped forward and we embraced. "Hello, my name is Harry," he said. "It's nice to meet you. It's crazy to think that Tom is getting married."

     I nodded along and replied, "Yes, I'm sure it is. I don't have any siblings, so I can't even begin to imagine how you're all feeling, but I know it must be hard."

     I was quite the actress.

     I hugged the other two, and learned that they were Sam and Paddy. Tom had told me a bit about them on the flight, but I hadn't realized how young Paddy was. Anyways, we got along fine, and soon Tom and Dominic came through the door.

     I was introduced to the family dog, a blue Staffordshire terrier that they called Tessa. Tom was quite attached to her.

     Nicola had made a fancy dinner, so all of us ate and talked and laughed. I had such a good time! That first night felt so right. It was such a family-atmosphere. I loved joking with Tom's parents, and pretending that we were engaged. I loved talking about what style wedding dress I would like and bonding with these people I'd just met; it just felt so wonderful.

     After dinner, I was getting ready to take a shower, and Tom stopped me in the hallway before I entered the bathroom. "They really love you," he said. "I can tell."

     This made me so happy, yet I didn't know why. After this week, I would never see them again. Relationships didn't matter. But I couldn't help saying, "Really? I'm so glad to hear that; I like them too. I really do, Tom."

     He smiled. "Oh, and, uh, tomorrow morning we're all going golfing. We'll leave at around eight o'clock. I was just letting you know."

     "Thank you," I said.

     I turned to open the bathroom door, but he stopped me again, saying, "You've got enough towels and cloths? Because if not, I can go grab some."

     Then the butterflies came again. I inwardly pushed them down and said, "No, I'm fine. Thanks anyways."

     Just then, Harry walked by and said, "Keep it PG guys!" in a very loud voice with his hands cupped over his mouth as if to make a megaphone. We only laughed in return, but as he passed by Tom, he whispered in his ear, "She's a keeper, mate." Then he winked at me.

     Harry made the butterflies come back, and I knew that I was blushing madly in front of Tom. "I'll see you tomorrow," I said with a smile.

     "Right. Goodnight."

     Then I shut myself into the bathroom and tried to breathe.

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Come back tomorrow when I'll be posting the next chapter!