Sean stared at his family, holding Catherine’s warm body close to his side, daring them to say something. His brother and Amanda looked embarrassed, his grandmother smiled warmly, but his mother and sister glared back at him.

“I told you I’d bring her to dinner, mother,” he said. “So please tell me what she’s doing in your living room drinking tea without me.”

“We just wanted to get to know her,” his mother said.

“I see,” he said. “Well, now you know her, and we’re ...