AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I arched an eyebrow. “The only part of it that’s still a surprise is the when. I always intended to marry you, Alessandra. I’m sure I told you already.”
Her cheeks blushed a lovely pink. “That was back when we were both in high school; you could have changed your mind in that time.”
I let Alessandra finish eating. She didn’t give a confirmation, but I knew she was okay with it. I paid the bill, then handed Trent back to his mother so she could feed him, with a blanket covering them both. While they were busy, I put in a call to my mom to let her kno
w I wanted to meet her for lunch, and I’d be bringing a guest.
Then, the three of us went to have fun. Before we knew it, it was time. We made our way to my car, and I drove us to my house. The whole drive, Alessandra was stiff in her seat, though she would occasionally fidget; she would clasp and unclasp her hands, tap her fingers on her thighs, or start restlessly moving her legs around before she realized she was doing it, then stopped.
I knew it had to be difficult, but we were already on the way, and she wasn’t saying anything more about it. With some light traffic on the way, we made it in a little over half an hour.
“This is my first time being here,” Alessandra murmured as I stopped the car in front of the gates, waiting as they slowly pulled open. “It’s way bigger than Wendy’s place.”
I glanced at her. “It’s your fault, Mom probably had a hand in it, right?”
She pursed her lips. “Well, she was disapproving of me from the moment she met me. She just tolerated me while we were in high school, and after we graduated, she wouldn’t even do that. I knew the atmosphere would be awkward.”
We rode up the driveway, leaving the gates to close behind us. I got out of the car first and moved to remove Trent from his baby seat in the back. Then, holding Alessandra’s hand, we walked into the house.
I had been home recently, and it was where I grew up, so none of it seemed interesting to me. Alessandra, however, kept looking around.
“Wow,” she murmured. “It’s bigger than I thought it would be.”
I chuckled. “Should I take that as a compliment?”
She stuck out her tongue at me.
I led us to the parlor where mom loved to spend most of her time, and we found her there. It was a reasonably large room, with a dining table for six set near the extensive collection of windows. On the inside of the room to one corner was a fireplace, surrounded by a couch, a love seat and some single seats. There was a larger, more formal dining room, but when it was just us close family, we usually dined in here.
Mom was seated on the couch, and when she noticed us come in, she stood up to receive us.
“Joshua… Alessandra. Please, come in, both of you.”
I could sense Alessandra’s hesitance. She had stopped, and when I walked forward, I had to tug on her hand a little before she would follow me.
“Hey, Mom,” I said, subdued. “Sorry for intruding.”
Her eyes landed on Alessandra, before quickly fleeting off. Her expression was composed, but I thought I saw the emotion in her eyes for a second that I had never seen my mother display before.
“You could never intrude, Joshua, you know this will always be your home. Lunch will be served not too long from now, so would you like to move over to the table now, or wait?”
I glanced at Alessandra, who just shrugged.
“Let’s sit here first. We can relocate after they’re done the serving,” I decided.
They both nodded. Mom sat back down, and I pulled Alessandra over to the love seat with me.
Mom’s eyes fell to the bundle I held protectively around my chest. I saw her tremble a little as she took in a deep breath.
“Is…”
Her voice was quiet, and it trembled even on that one word. I knew what she wanted to ask though, and I repositioned Danny so that she could see him better.
“It’s your grandson. Would you like to hold him?”
She hesitated, before tentatively holding out her arms.
“Can I?”
