I think my parents like him. My belly swirls from the nerves. I haven’t introduced anyone to them in years. Not since Michael. My parents had been fond of him, but I see my dad watching Jaxon a lot closer than he’d eyed Michael. He doesn’t want my heart broken again. With that said, I think even his wariness is waning. My mother, on the other hand, looks smitten. She’salready planning our wedding and thinking about grandbabies. I can see it all over her face.
“So, what are the plans for tomorrow?”
“I think I’ll take him sight-seeing for a bit.”
“That’s a good idea,” Dad mutters after wiping his mouth with his napkin.
“Would you be open to me taking you all out for dinner? May, would you like to pick somewhere nice?”
“That would be lovely, but wouldn’t you rather it just be the two of you?” she asks, eyeing between Holly and me.
“We came to see you guys. I will happily take Holly on as many dates as she wants when we get back.”
My mother all but swoons in her seat, while my father smiles broadly like Jaxon just passed some test.
“All done, young man? Want to have a beer and catch a little of the Cardinals game in the living room with me?”
Jaxon wipes his mouth, but I notice the twitch of nervousness his leg gives against mine beneath the table. I reach to squeeze his thigh, and his muscles relax under my palm.
“That sounds like a plan, Sir, if your daughter is fine with it?” Jaxon tilts his head to me in question, and my dad seems happy that Jaxon is concerned with what I want instead of only caring about a beer and the game. I smile and pat his leg, and he leans in to brush a chaste kiss against my cheek. I hear an audible sigh from my mom.
“None of that ‘sir’ crap with me. Jacob, remember?”
“Alright, Jacob. You’re on. I’ll grab the beer. Ladies, do you need anything? May, the sandwiches were fantastic. Thank you.”
“Bottle of water sounds good,” I answer.
“Make that two, please, and thank you,” Mom replies with a warm smile from his praise.
“Coming right up.”
After he hands us our bottles, the men walk out of the kitchen, and I send up a silent prayer that it goes well.
“I LOVE HIM!” Mom whisper-shouts the second she thinks they’re out of range.
My cheeks feel like they could split wide open from grinning so wide.
“He’s pretty great, isn’t he?”
“Temper?”
“Patient.”
“Communication?”
“Probably talks too much.”
Mom snorts and almost spits out her water.
“What do you mean? A man that talks is a good thing.”
“He says what he’s thinking and is honest to the point that sometimes it might not benefit him. I won’t leave out the fact that he’s relentless.”
“Patient, honest, knows how to communicate, relentless, athletic, smart… I don’t see any cons here. Have you found a fault?”
“The guy is good at driving me crazy. Mom, you should’ve seen how this man chased me. In the beginning, we lost touch because we didn’t have each other’s numbers, and he couldn’t find me. He finally found Colin.”
“So, he searched for you?” She clasps her hands in front of her chest like it’s such a romantic thought.Yeah, I guess it kind of is…
