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“Shall we sit?” I ask.
“Yes. Come,” my father says, leading us to the table. We all take our seats, and the waiter joins us not a minute after. He takes our drink orders and leaves. My piccola feels tense beside me, so I reach under the table, grip her knee and give her a supportive squeeze. She smiles up at me before her eyes move.
“So, Thalia, how are you enjoying the tour so far?” my father asks. It’s his way of putting her at ease. I forgot this is the first time she’s done something like this. Meeting the parents. I have been her only relationship. Will be her only relationship.
Her smile lights up the room. I don’t think I will ever get over how stunning my piccola is. “It’s amazing. I even beat Theo for the first place win today.” Her smile turns into a smirk as she glances at me. I chuckle as my father and mama laugh.
“Very good. I bet Theo, being the competitive man he is, loved that,” dad teases.
I grin. “Let’s just say if it had been anyone else, I might have been pissed about it. My baby did amazing though. She deserved that win.” I smile down at her, feeling the pride I did earlier when she beat me out of first place.
Thalia beams at me and without, caring about my parents, I lean forward and drop a kiss to her lips. She pulls back, her eyes darting to the other side of the table. I follow her line of sight to my mama who literally has heart emojis in her own gaze.
“Michael, our son is in love,” she coos. “My heart is so full right now. I couldn’t be happier.” And I can tell she means it. Shame punches me in the gut that I allowed so much time to pass without seeing my mama. It was never her fault, yet I stayed away because of all that went on. It won’t happen again; I’ll make sure of it.
* * *
After a wonderful and successful dinner with my parents, we all take the steps leading down to the beach for an evening stroll. My parents are staying five minutes from the restaurant and it’s on their way back to their apartment so we thought we would join them.
My mama is enamored with my piccola just as I expected she would be. She currently has her arm threaded through Thalia’s as she talks her ear off. I smile as I watch them, my mind going to the future. Marriage. Children. I want it all with my girl.
“She’s amazing, son.” I turn to face my dad. He watches me with a knowing look.
I smile, sighing. “She is. I’m going to ask her to marry me.”
He shakes his head with a soft smile. “I knew that was coming. But I thought you said Thalia wants to take things slow?”
“She does but we both know we’re it for each other so what’s the point of waiting around?” I shrug. “When this year’s tours are over and we go back to Wellington—which we will, because I’m going to ask her to move in with me,” I state with confidence, “I’m going to put a ring on her finger.”
“You think her father will go for that? She’s only nineteen,” my dad points out my only concern. Christian Maxwell. I know he’s being supportive, but I can tell it’s only to appease Thalia.
“I don’t know. But it won’t stop me. I will do the right thing and ask his permission; she would want that. But if he says no, it won’t change anything. I’m marrying her no matter what. No one will stop me. Not even her family.”
He blows out a breath as a large palm lands on my shoulder. “You love her, and she loves you, a blind man could see that. But go at her pace. You went through a lot in the last year and so did she. It’s better to take it slow than scare her away.”
I sigh. “I know. I want everything with her. And I want it now. But you’re right. After all the shit with Mel, I need to make sure Thalia is happy. That’s my priority above all else. If I think for one moment that she isn’t ready for that next step, I’ll wait,” I say begrudgingly. My father is correct, I can admit that - even if I don’t particularly like it.
“Good. Now, since you mentioned Melody,” he spits her name. “Has she stayed away?”
Nodding, I say, “She has. I can’t help but think she has something planned though. It’s in her nature,” I admit my fears out loud for the first time.
“If she knows what’s good for her, she’ll stay the hell away from both of you. I know the Maxwells aren’t aware of what happened back in Wellington regarding Mel drugging Thalia’s horse, but if they were, I know they would hit her with a lawsuit. The power a man like Christian holds is more than we could ever imagine. Let’s just say, it’s my guess Mel would be rotting in prison where she belongs if Thalia’s parents knew,” my dad finishes.
I run a hand through my hair. I’ve thought about this several times, but what would it achieve aside from her child being without a mother? As much as I hate her, I couldn’t do that to an innocent child.
Mel didn’t win, and that’s all that matters.
