Chapter 15

**Blue**

For the first time in my life, I don't dream. My sleep is so peaceful that I wonder if I'm asleep at all. I feel so comfy and warm that I snuggle deeper into the soft bed and sigh happily. Something suddenly tightens around my waist and I think maybe I'm dreaming and a snake just wrapped me in its coils and is going to eat me alive. Then I realize how crazy that is and throw that thought out.

Another thought comes to mind and my eyes fly open. The room is still mostly dark but a sliver of light shines through. I feel strong arms around me and I realize the warmth I was feeling was coming from body heat. From Artemis's body! He's spooning me right now and since he hasn't tried to move away from me I'm assuming he's asleep and doesn't realize it.

The smart thing to do would be for me to carefully try to remove one of his arms so I can roll away and pretend this never happened. It was a plan firmly planted in my mind until the door to our bedroom flies open and hits the wall. The sudden sound makes me yelp in surprise which wakes Artemis who less than gracefully rolls me out of his arms and jumps to his feet. In his groggy state, he searches the room for any danger before his eyes land on the figure standing in our doorway.

"Rhea?" Artemis asks blinking rapidly at her as if he isn't sure that she's really there.

It takes me a second to fully make the woman out but when I do I notice she has a phone in her hand and she's holding it up like she's about to take a picture. Fear has me quickly pulling the blankets over myself to hide what might look like a compromising situation.

The woman laughs. "Sorry I didn't mean to scare your friend, but I had to capture the sight of my brother spooning a woman. I didn't think that would be something you would like big brother."

Brother? Rhea? Artemis's sister!

"Why the hell are you here?" Artemis snaps at her.

I look the woman over with this new information in mind and can pick up the clear resemblance between them. She has the same dark hair as him and she can't be more than a few inches shorter than he is. Which puts her at about five foot and eight or nine inches. With her slim frame and beauty, she could be a model. Didn't Artemis say she had kids?

How does she look like that after having kids?

"Mother requested I fetch you for lunch! The whole family will be there. She said instead of brunch this Sunday we'll be having a party in your honor." She sounds about as excited as Artemis does when he speaks of his family.

"What could we possibly be celebrating?" He says as he walks over to the closet and pulls out a fresh shirt.

"Are you serious? Your engagement silly!" She says before turning her head to look at me.

I expect to see disgust at finding some woman in her brother's bed but what I find is a smirk of amusement.

I can only imagine what she can be thinking right now. Actually, I don't know what there is to think about. Nothing happened last night and unintentional spooning is not too serious. There is absolutely nothing for me to be ashamed of. But how would she know or believe that nothing happened when I'm wearing her brother's shirt and he had nothing but boxers on?

Oh god. This is embarrassing.

"Y-your Artemis's sister right?" I ask trying to move on from this awkward situation.

She smiles and walks over to my side of the bed. "That's right I'm Rhea the family screw-up. Well, until my brother here announced he was engaged before telling the family. Nice job bro, you are so screwed."

He sighs but doesn't seem that upset at the idea of upsetting anyone. Which I have come to learn is natural for him.

"God I can't wait to see dad's face. He's going to have a coronary right there at the table." She looks at me again but this time it's an examination. "You're a cute little thing aren't you?"

"I guess." Is that supposed to be a good or bad thing?

Also if that's a dig at my height I would have you know that there are far more people my height than theirs!

Uh, whatever.

I throw the blankets aside and climb out of bed too. When I look down at what I'm wearing in the light of day I cringe.

"You can't go to lunch in that even if you have killer legs," Rhea says teasingly. "

She walks out of the room with her phone in hand before Artemis or I can say anything else.

"How did she know where we were?" I ask him.

He's dressed now. Well, he has his shirt and pants on anyway. The sleeves are rolled up and he doesn't have any shoes on just black socks. For some reason, I like the look on him.

"My parents know people. They could find us if we were hiding in the sewer."

My nose crinkles at that but he makes his point.

"I guess I'll be meeting your parents sooner than we thought. Any advice?"

I know no amount of prepping will make those people like me, but I should at least try...right?

"You don't have to do anything. Most likely they'll do all the talking."

Okay, no talking. I can roll with that.

"I'm sure they have a list of objections and complaints at the ready." He still sounds so nonchalant about all this.

While I'm standing here in a panic and still in his shirt!

Rhea comes back into the room once again like she owns the place. "My stylist is on her way. She will have exactly what you'll need for lunch!"

She starts walking toward me and my spine straightens. The closer she gets the more I find myself leaning away from her. What's she going to do?

To my surprise, she wraps her arms around me. "I can't wait for us to be family!"

Uh, okay that's not what I was expecting. I pat her on the back and look at Artemis whose expression makes him look as shocked as I feel. Was he expecting her to do something worse? Why didn't he stop her or warn me just in case? The bastard. She could have slapped me for all I know!

He locks eyes with me and I tilt my head at his sister in question. All I get is a shrug in reply.

He is no help.

When she finally pulls back she's smiling down at me. "I'll finally have a sister-in-law that isn't a raving bitch."

"Rhea," Artemis says in what I'm guessing was supposed to be a warning but comes out as amusement.

"What do you mean?" I ask her once she releases me.

"Our brother Tet's wife is a bitch of epic proportion. I don't know how he puts up with the woman." She finally steps out of my personal space and

"He doesn't. They don't spend any time together except for public appearances." Artemis says from where he's sitting and lacing up his shoes.

Rhea chuckles. "I thought you didn't care. You sure know an awful lot about their relationship. Are you keeping track of our personal lives brother?"

He scowls when he gets to his feet again. "Hardly."

Rhea chuckles. "Right, well she will be joining us as well."

"Great." Artemis turns and leaves the room with Rhea right behind him.

I stay behind and let my brain try to work through the reality that I'm about to meet Artemis's entire family soon.

And I'm still wearing his T-shirt!

With a huff, I march to the bathroom where I had left the clothes from Abigail folded on the counter. I notice that Artemis had set aside some things for a shower but we must be in too much of a hurry since he didn't bother with it. That has me hustling to pull my clothes on.

This is going to be another crazy day. Getting engaged and meeting the parents in less than 48 hours. Nothing could possibly go wrong!