“She’s on a girls’ weekend,” Ben replies with a small sigh. “One of her friends’ birthdays.”
Mary’s brows draw together in a faint frown. “I thought she was grounded.”
He exhales. “She is.”
Mary gives me a sympathetic smile. “Ben mentioned Laney’s been… having a hard time adjusting to your relationship. Just give her time.”
Ben reaches over and laces his fingers through mine, giving my hand a reassuring squeeze.
“I will,” I murmur softly.
“You won’t get any resistance from us,” Mary says warmly. “It’s been a long time since we’ve seen Ben this happy and we know that’s because of you.”
Ben squeezes my hand again, and warmth rushes to my cheeks. He’d told me his parents were supportive, but I hadn’t expected her to be quite so upfront about it.
“You should have woken me,” a voice says from the doorway.
We all turn to see an older man standing there, looking frail but steady on his feet.
“Dad,” Ben says as he rises from the sofa and walks toward him. “Come and sit down.”
“I’m fine, son,” his dad replies, waving off Ben’s attempt to help him. Slowly, he makes his way across the room and settles into the seat beside Mary. His eyes flick to me and he smiles before turning to Ben.
“Aren’t you going to introduce us?” he asks.
Ben sits down and rests his hand on my knee. “Dad, this is Ashlyn. Ash, this is my dad, Jeff.”
“It’s nice to meet you,” I say, offering him a warm smile.
“You too, sweetheart. Ben’s been talking about you for months,” Jeff says with a knowing grin.
“Dad.” Ben groans, clearly embarrassed.
I glance across at Ben, teasing. “Months, huh?”
He chuckles and leans in to press a soft kiss to my cheek. “What can I say? I knew you were something special from the start.”
My cheeks heat again, and Mary smiles as she stands. “I’ll go and get dinner served. We’ll eat in the dining room.”
The rest of the afternoon is spent eating, laughing, and sharing stories. Ben’s parents are warm and welcoming, and it’s easy to see how close they are as a family. Though my brothers have come around to accepting my relationship with Ben, it’s a relief to feel his parents’ support from the very beginning.
There’s no mention of our age difference, Ben being my boss, or even Molly. Instead, the conversation often circles back to Laney, and they clearly dote on her. I can’t help but hope she loves them just as much. Maybe their acceptance will help her come around to us too.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Ashlyn
It’s Thursday afternoon, and I’m wrapping things up at work before heading home. My students left a while ago, and I’m just trying to finish planning next week’s lessons before I leave. I haven’t seen Ben outside of work at all this week. He’s been swamped, getting ready for an out-of-town conference, which he left for this morning and won’t be back from until Saturday night. We’ve talked on the phone every night, but it’s not the same as seeing him, and I miss him more than I’d like to admit.
“I’m locking up, Miss Brookes. You about ready to head out?” Eddie, the janitor, asks as he pokes his head into my classroom.
“Almost,” I reply, gathering up my laptop and papers. “Give me one second.”
“Sure,” he says, standing in the doorway.
“Any plans tonight?” I ask him as I push my laptop into my bag.
“Um, just a night in front of the TV, I think,” he says quietly. “What about you?”
