Page 18 of Alfie

Myla paused, the iron in her hand. “What?”

“You’re smitten.”

Her cheeks heated. “Mom.”

“Come on, it’s sweet.”

The front door opened and Alice called out. “We’re in the dining room,” her mom said. “Talking about Alfie.”

“Oooh,” Alice said, her voice ending in a chuckle. She joined them in the dining room, hugging both Myla and her mom. “Is he coming to the party?”

“I haven’t asked him.”

“Why not? You said you were head over heels for him when we got coffee yesterday,” Alice said.

Her mom’s brows winged up. “Did you now?”

“Okay,” Myla said, adjusting the tablecloth and finishing the side. “Yes, I did. And he knows about the party, but I…don’t know why I haven’t asked him.”

“Are you afraid Dad is going to threaten him? Because he would only look threatening, not actually be threatening,” her mom said with a hum and a smile.

“That’s not helping,” Myla said.

“My dad told Milo that he would bury him in the Pine Barrens if he ever hurt me. And that was on our first date!” Alice said.

Myla’s dad, Joe, was an in-state truck driver. Her whole life, he’d left the house in the morning, driven all day, and was home for dinner. He was a big guy, and protective of his family. She could definitely see him giving Alfie a very serious look when they met.

“It’s not about that,” she said. “Alfie’s a great guy. I just… I really like him. And I am falling for him, but we just met Saturday night after that awful blind date.”

“You should bring him,” her mom said, ducking out to the kitchen when a timer went off.

Alice helped lay the freshly ironed tablecloth on one of the folding tables. “It’s only fast if your heart is telling you to slow down. If you think anyone in the family is going to say oh no, you can’t fall in love after a week—they won’t, I promise.”

“It is fast, but it feels right too.”

“That’s how it was with Milo. I swear I fell in love with him on our first date. He was the first guy I dated who opened doors for me. It was such a small thing, you know? But oh, my heart.” She grinned, her eyes dancing.

That was how Myla felt about Alfie.

He’d stolen her heart when he stepped in front of her and pushed Eddie away. And then he’d repeatedly shown this past week that he listened and cared. It wasn’t love-bombing—it didn’t feel like he was throwing up red flags with overly romantic behavior to hide anything. It felt very genuine and very real. And she liked that.

There was trust there, new for sure, but there all the same.

“I will,” Myla said.

“Invite him?” her mom called.

“She’s got ears like a bat,” Alice whispered.

“I heard that,” her mom called.

Myla and Alice both giggled.

“Yes, Mom, I’m going to invite Alfie.”

“I can’t wait to meet him. Oh! I’ll show him your baby book.”

“Don’t you dare!”