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Luna
One week later
Mom wraps her arms around me and gives me a hug. “My baby’s home,” she says. Her voice wraps around me like a warm blanket. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Aiden shake Dad’s hand, and hear him say, “Mr. Jones, it’s a pleasure to meet you in person.” Both men are tall, and well-built. Dad is attractive, with his cropped hair, broad shoulders, and dark mocha skin.
“Aiden, call me Leslie,” he replies. Mom lets me go, and Dad opens his arms. “Sweetheart,” he greets in his deep, baritone voice. He engulfs me in his arms, dwarfing me. “Hi, Daddy.”
Aiden reaches for Mom’s hand, and shetsks, waving her dainty hand in the air. “I’m a hugger, Aiden.” He chuckles and gives her a hug. “Mrs. Jones, it’s nice to meet you.”
“Adaline,” she says. “Please call me Adaline. We’re so glad you both made it.” Her green eyes are alight with joy and excitement, wrinkling at the sides. I got my bone structure from Mom, with her pouty lips and big, round eyes.
I step away from my dad, and he gestures for Aiden and me to walk in ahead of them, helping Aiden with our luggage. “You pack bricks in here?” Dad remarks, grunting when he lifts my suitcase. Aiden shoots me a look, and I shrug. Just that morning, Aiden had laughed at me because my suitcase wouldn’t close.
“Oh hush,” Mom chastises, flicking her blonde hair over her shoulder. “She’s home, and that’s all that matters.”
“It’s not bricks, it’s Christmas gifts.” I try to defend my over-packing, but Aiden shakes his head, mouthing ‘it’s not’ to my dad. “Traitor,” I tease, sticking my tongue out at him as we follow him through the foyer and towards the open-plan kitchen area. “I’m afraid you’ll have to sleep in separate rooms,” Mom tells us, trying to contain her amusement. “At your father’s insistence.” She giggles, and I can’t help but join her. “Dad’s old fashioned,” I tell Aiden with a shrug. “Still thinks he has to protect my virtue.” That ship sailed when I was seventeen, and there’s the part about me being married, and no longer living under my parents’ roof. Aiden and I share a look, and I’m wondering if he’s thinking the same thing. A week in separate beds? How the hell are we supposed to manage that? I blow him a kiss, and that makes him smile. “You can point me in the right direction,” Aiden says, holding up our luggage. “And I’ll just take these upstairs.”
Dad leads Aiden upstairs, and as soon as they disappear, Mom ushers me into the kitchen, and starts making us some coffee.
“He’s gorgeous,” Mom whispers.
I feel my cheeks warm, brushing my hair out of my face. I left it loose, and the curls are a little wild.
“I know,” I sigh. “And he’s perfect, Mom. I’ve never been happier.” While the coffee machine brews, she slides over and takes my hand in hers, admiring my ring. It’s three diamonds set in a platinum band, the middle diamond the largest of the three.
“He’s got good taste,” Mom says, raising a brow. She rests her hand on mine and looks at me. “You look so happy, sweetheart.” Her voice cracks, and I feel the lump grow in my throat.
“I am.” My voice is thick with emotion. “And the best part is, I wasn’t even looking for him, Mom. He drives me crazy,all the time, but in the best way.”
Mom sniffles and catches a tear below her eyelid with a knuckle. “I’m so thrilled for you, Luna bear. Daddy and I have been worried about you being so far away on your own, and now you’ve met someone, and you’re gettingmarried.”
“It all happened so fast, I admit, sliding into a barstool at the marble top kitchen island. “Sometimes I worry it wastoofast, you know?”
Mom takes four mugs from the cabinet, and while she pours us some coffee, she glances up. “You remember how Daddy and I met, don’t you?”
I laugh. “It’s my favorite fairytale.” Mom used to be a cheerleader for the New England Patriots, and that’s how she met my dad. But the real story is that they accidentally got locked in the locker room after a Super Bowl game at Gillette Stadium at a time when they couldn’t stand each other. If my parents were a trope in a romance novel, they’d be enemies-to-lovers. However, the moment they gave in to how they really felt about each other, they were attached at the hip and married within three months. I still get giddy when Mom talks about it, and even years later, they’re still as happy as the day they realized they were in love. As a little girl, I coveted their love story, and wanted nothing more than to have a story like that of my own.Maybe now I’ve finally found it.
“Then I don’t have to tell you that sometimes, when it’s the right person, timing only matters when you know he’s who you’re meant to be with. Your father drove me crazy too,” she shrugs, laughter in her tone. “But I can’t imagine my life without him.” She still gets the little spark in her eye when she talks about my dad, and I wonder if I have that same sparkle when I speak about Aiden. “Besides,” Mom adds, pushing a coffee cup towards me, “he gave me you, which made everything else we went through worth it.”
I wrap my hands around the steaming mug just as footsteps, loud and heavy, sound down the stairs. I turn in time to see Dad walk into the kitchen with Aiden behind him. Aiden comes to my side, and kisses the crown of my head, his hand resting on my back. I move a coffee mug towards him, which he accepts gratefully.
“Mom suggested we get some Italian take-out tonight,” Dad says, joining my mom on the other side of the island. They make a striking couple. They always have. He wraps a large arm around her shoulders and pulls her into his side. “Aiden and I can go grab it.” I look up at Aidensurprised, but his expression, and his body, is relaxed. No sign of nerves over meeting my parents. Aiden slides onto a barstool next to me, his leg brushing mine as he rests a hand on my thigh.
“So, Aiden, Luna said you own a bar,” Mom says, lifting her mug to her mouth. She watches him over the rim of her mug, her gaze a little probing and a little inquisitive.
“Yes, ma’am,” Aiden replies easily, a slight twang in his tone.
“It’s the love of his life,” I tease.
Aiden squeezes my leg. “Not before you,” he murmurs, and can practically hear my mom swoon. Aiden is smooth, I’ll give him that, but he’s anything but disingenuous.
“How’s the bakery doing?” Dad asks. I give them regular updates when I call them, which is often, but it’s nice to talk about things that matter to me in person. “Really well,” I tell him, my smile wide. “Aiden’s sister, Olivia, is actually running it for me while we’re here so I don’t have to close over Christmas.”
“We’re so glad you could come home, honey,” Mom says, exchanging a smile with Dad. “It was nice of Aiden to surprise you.”
“It was,” I admit. “I got a ring,anda trip home. I’m a lucky girl.”
Dad checks his watch and finishes his coffee. “We should get going,” he tells Aiden. “It’s not a far drive.”
