Page 143 of Wrong For Me

“Congratulations, kid,” he says. “That’s a great accomplishment.”

Holy shit, has anything ever felt weirder than shaking Daltrey Ransome’s hand while he congratulates me?

“I wouldn’t have gotten it if it wasn’t for Rose recommending me,” I say honestly.

She waves away the credit. “And yesterday he found out that his application for the Williamson Fellowship moved into the second round of consideration.”

I smirk at her beaming face. “You’re pretty cute when you’re bragging about your boyfriend, Rosie.”

When Daltrey barely grumbles at the word boyfriend I know we’re really making progress.

Rose says she’s thirsty so we excuse ourselves from her parents and head up to the makeshift bar where Cash is currently filling a red plastic cup. “You slinging drinks tonight, Uncle Cash?”

He grins at her. “I was just getting a soda for Sam,” he says. “But I’ll mix up whatever you like, Rosie. Anything for my favorite niece.”

The three Ransome cousins who are standing nearby boo him and Rose laughs. “We’re just going to grab beers, but thanks anyhow.” Then she leans over and wraps her arms around his middle. “Congratulations,” she says. “I’m so happy for your family.”

Cash’s chest puffs out with pride as he looks over to Eva and Will. “It’s pretty great, isn’t it? My boy made a good choice.”

“A very good choice,” she agrees, releasing him. “Hey, did you hear? Leo got that internship!”

“Sweet!” he holds out his hand to shake mine. “Congrats, kid.”

“Uh, thank you,” I say, feeling incredibly awkward. “Congrats to you, too. For the uh, you know, engagement.”

Behind Cash’s back, Rose is grinning in a now familiar mischievous way. Once we walk away from the bar, beer in hand, I grab her waist and pull her close. “You did that on purpose.”

She bats her eyelashes at me. “I thought you said it was cute when I bragged about you.”

I narrow my eyes. “That wasn’t you bragging.”

She kisses my cheek. “Maybe not. Hey, did I ever tell you thatyou’recute when you’re embarrassed?”

“Rose.”

“Your face gets all red and you start stammering. It’s adorable.”

I sigh. “You’re going to do this all night, aren’t you?”

She beams at me. “Absolutely.”

Rose is true to her word—for the rest of the party, every single person we encounter hears about my internship, from her grandparents to every cousin to Eva’s friends—who I’ve never even met. And I am equally red-faced and stammering every time, much to her obvious delight.

The weird thing, though, is the way all of her family reacts to the news. They seem…thrilled for me. Like, genuinely excited and impressed. They can’t all be that good at acting, right?

When I mention it to Rose, she gives me a weird look. “Of course they’re impressed and excited. I might be teasing you a little bit right now but this is a big deal, Leo. You get that, right?”

“Of course I get that.” Working at an internship in my field—instead of construction or bartending or freaking tour boat operating—and still getting paid for it is huge for me. But I don’t really understand why her family cares.

Rose’s face softens. “They’re excited because they like you, Leo. They want good things to happen to you.”

Now I’m really embarrassed. “They don’t even know me.”

“They know enough. Besides, my parents told everyone you’re going to be sticking around for a while, so of course they want what’s best for you.”

My eyebrows go up. “Your parents said that?”

“Yup,” she says, like it’s no big deal at all. And now I know what that odd sensation was when I realized she’d told her parents about my interview. This must be how it feels to belong.