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“And I’m Kelsey,” she replies with a glance toward her daughters.
Emma is now standing right next to Leann, pointing around the room, and both of them have smiles on their faces.
“Come on, dinner should be ready,” I tell them with a smile of my own and everyone follows me to the dining room where, sure enough, they’re just laying out our meal now.
“Ooh, excellent!” Leann exclaims when she sees the table, rushing over to claim a seat before glancing back at us. “Are you guys coming?”
Emma laughs and sinks down into her usual chair while her mother sits across and I find my way to my own chair.
It’s awkward at first, though the fact that everyone is digging into the food helps. And then Leann’s excited chatter about the house, what she’s seen of it so far, seems to draw everyone in.
“You haven’t seen anything yet,” Emma admits with a slightly wider grin now. “Just wait until you see the rest of the house. It’s beautiful here.”
“It seems like a lovely home, of course,” her mother begins but she turns toward me and I can tell this is where she’s really sizing me up. “But what about you?”
“What about me?” I ask, trying not to feel defensive at her question.
“Having a nice house is lovely, Mr. Warren,” so we’re back to that again too. “But I want to know what you really have to offer my daughter and the baby.”
“I hope everything that she wants,” I reply, looking toward Emma myself. I can feel my entire being softening just by looking at her. I can feel the smile that spreads across my face of its own accord and can see it mirrored in her.
Yes, I certainly do hope that whatever it is I can offer to Emma and our baby, it’s enough for them. Enough for her to see me as more than just the father of her child and her roommate. But … something much more.
“You two met at her work, I understand. You own the place.” Her voice is matter of fact, but I can tell there’s at least a bit of censure there and I wonder just how much Emma has told them.
“I do.”
From the look on her face, it’s clear Emma hadn’t actually told them that. She seems surprised that her mother has said it. Surprised that her mother knows.
“You didn’t really expect me not to do some checking up on your new boyfriend, did you?” she asks when she sees the startled look on Emma’s face and now there’s a wry grin there instead.
“Of course not,” she agrees.
But things seem to progress better as the evening goes on. Because I can see the way that her mother starts to soften toward me. Not to Leann’s level of exuberance, but enough that she smiles and laughs when I speak, and when we take a quick tour around the place she seems at least slightly less tense and judgy as she was when she walked in.
By the time Emma takes them back home, she actually seems pleased with me and I breathe a sigh of relief as I take my few moments alone. Because when Emma comes back I have something to talk to her about.
As soon as she walks back in the door, she comes to the living room, sinking down onto the couch beside me, her head dropping onto my shoulder.
The familiar gesture, the comfortable aspect of her curling into me, it all feels perfect, and I immediately drop an arm around her, pulling her closer still.
“It went well. Mom actually liked you, which is saying something because she usually takes a while to warm up to people.”
“Not like your sister,” I reply with a grin and Emma laughs.
“No, nothing like Leann. Leann loves everyone. And especially anyone who she thinks makes her family happy.”
“And I make you happy?” I latch onto the comment, turning to look at her.
She blushes slightly but nods. “Of course.”
“I’m glad. I have a proposal for you.”
“Oh?” She looks confused now but it’s my turn to smile.
“I want your family to move into the guest house.”
“What?” Now the smile fades from her face, replaced by a look of surprise, eyes wide, those beautiful lips slightly parted.
