Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 78011 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78011 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
“Great,” she says, trying to smile. “Just what every parent wants to see. Their child with a diva.” I lean forward and kiss her lips. “You can’t keep doing that.”
“Doing what?” I ask her, now pulling her to me.
“Kissing me when we are talking.” She tries to pull away, but she just sinks more into me. Her arms now going around my shoulders.
“Why?”
“Because you kiss me, and then everything gets hazy,” she says softly, now playing with the collar of my shirt.
“Do you know how many times I thought of kissing you?” I tell her, and she looks at me, and I’m lost in her just as much as she’s lost in me. “And now that I have the chance to kiss you when I want”—I lean in—“I’m going to. So get used to it.”
“That.” She points at me. “You need to stop the sweet talk also.”
“Dad,” Aiden says, coming to the door. “Are we leaving now?”
“Hey, buddy.” I open one arm, and he comes over, and I pick him up. “Did you have a good day at school?”
“I have a birthday party on Sunday,” he says with a huge smile. “Mom said I could go.”
“That sounds like so much fun,” I tell him. “I’m going to go and change, and we can get going.” I kiss his neck and then walk over to my house. Opening the door, I walk upstairs to the spare room, checking on the surprise that I’m doing for her. I look around the room, and my heart speeds up. I close the door and walk back to my room, slipping on jeans and a shirt.
When I walk out of the house, I see that Aiden is sitting on the stairs watching something on his iPad. “Dad’s here!” he yells over his shoulder, and I see Eli come out with two flower arrangements. They are so big she almost drops one of them, and I step up fast to catch it.
“What is all this?” I ask her.
“You think I’m going to show up at your parents’ house empty-handed?” She looks over the flowers in her hand and shakes her head. “I have a fruit basket and also a wine basket.”
“She didn’t even buy cake,” Aiden says, not looking up from his game. I don’t use this time to tell him that my mother has been baking all day long for him.
“We should get going so we aren’t late,” Eli says, walking down the step to my car and opening the trunk. She places the flower basket in the back and then runs back into her house to grab the other two baskets.
“Aiden,” I call him, and he gets up, walking over to the car and getting in.
We get into the car, and I make my way over to my parents’ house. My parents walk out of the house and stand on the porch. “Oh, God,” Eli says, “I think I’m going to be sick.” I am about to lean over, and she glares. “Don’t you dare lean over and kiss me in front of your parents,” she says, and I laugh. I get out of the car and raise my hand to wave at them.
I open Aiden’s door. “Let’s introduce Aiden and then we can take the stuff out of the car,” I tell her, and she just nods at me and opens her door. I unbuckle Aiden, and he jumps out of the car and holds my hand.
I look over at my mother standing next to my father, who has his arm around her shoulder. Her hand covers her mouth as she cries. “Are you ready for a million kisses?” I look down at Aiden who shrugs. I wait for Eli to get out of the car and hold her hand. “Here we go,” I say, and we walk to the front of the house. My mother wipes the corner of her eyes. “Hey,” I say, walking up the four steps and smiling, “I guess I should introduce you guys.” I try to make light of the situation, but standing here on the steps of my childhood home and introducing my parents to my son makes my heart pound just a touch more. “Mom, Dad,” I say, “this is my son.” Looking down at Aiden, I’m filled with pride. “This is Aiden.” I inhale. “And this beautiful woman is Eli. Guys, these are my parents, Dominic and Gabriella.”
My mother is the first to step forward, and she walks to Eli and hugs her, surprising Eli who quickly drops my hand to hug my mother. “It’s so nice to meet you,” my mother says and then steps back and goes to Aiden. “You have your dad’s eyes,” she says, grabbing his face in her hands and then kissing his cheeks.
“It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, Eli,” my father says, going to her and taking her shoulders in his hands and kissing her on both cheeks. Then he goes over to Aiden, who is still getting kisses from my mother. “Gabriella, let the boy breathe,” he says, and my mother gets up and glares at him.