AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"You're kidding."
"No. They were working on it for two days before I got here."
"Oh, my gosh that's so nice of them." I laughed and added, "Ithinkit was nice. I almost had a heart attack."
Beau laughed and hugged me, and I went to him, resting my head on his shoulder. I could smell him—the cologne on his shirt mixed with the mints we ate. I loved having him next to me. I loved him period. I felt so at home with Beau Cameron that I didn’t even notice that I wasn't in Chicago. Having him there with me was a game-changer.
"We better go see your family," I said. "They're not going to believe how good you got me."
We walked through the house talking and smiling but not holding hands. We had kept our feelings hidden the last time we were here together with his family, and it was natural for us to walk without touching even though I felt the urge to hang onto him like he was a vine and I was Tarzan. I refrained from doing that even though I wanted to.
I made my way into the living room, feeling like I was walking on clouds. I was in love—the type of in love where you constantly have to concentrate on not smiling and humming. My life was full of people, change, and action, and none of it was as exciting as having Beau there. He was back in America early, and he was there for me. His parents knew he had come for that reason. The curtains and the whole bit were to surprise me. It was surreal to walk out there and encounter them now that I knew what all they had done.
"Oh, my gosh, how did it go?" Beau's mom said as soon as we made our way to the main living room where she could see us.
Eric, Hope's brother, was there, and so were Hope and Charlie. Eric was a charismatic guy who enjoyed skateboarding, juggling, and other physical trick type challenges. He was fun to be around, and he had moved back from Nashville recently, so he picked up work helping his dad at the Morgan's house this summer. He was currently there, not as an employee, but hanging out with Hope and Charlie. Rose was back in Chicago now, but Eric could often be seen hanging out with her this summer since she was trying to learn how to roller skate. Eric, Charlie, and Hope were all in the living room with Astrid, and they all looked at us like they were curious.
"It's a good story," Beau said, looking around at all of them. "But it's a whole story, so I'm just going to save it until everyone's sitting around. Where is Dad?"
"Uncle Max is in the hot tub. Casey and your dad are out there with him. We were waiting for you because I wanted to see how it went."
I craned my neck to look out of the window. I thought Ralphie would have found me by now, so I figured he was outside, but I didn't go find him right away.
"We'll grab some dinner, and we can all go out there with them so I can tell the story to everyone at the same time," Beau said.
"Did it go good?" Astrid asked, needing more details sooner than that.
"The meeting?" he asked.
"Yes, both. I was talking about the surprise. I thought you were going to tell us about the meeting outside."
"I'm going to tell you everything outside," he said.
Astrid's eyes roamed downward, scanning our appearance. It was as if she was looking to see if we were holding hands—like she gauged how well it went by whether or not we were touching each other. Beau must've noticed because he reached out and took my hand.
"We'll make something to eat and meet you guys outside." Beau pulled on my hand, and I followed him into the kitchen.
I was thankful for his willingness to take over and tell them the story. I had good interactions with all of them when I was there without Beau, but I was relieved to have him there with me. He pulled me into the kitchen, around a corner where no one could see or hear us.
"Do you care if I elaborate on how you…" Beau trailed off and made a pose where he threw his hands up and stiffened out, causing me to laugh quietly.
"No. I don't care. It was hilarious."
"I was just making sure. I forgot to ask you earlier, and then when I thought about telling the story just now, I panicked and didn't know if you would mind."
"I do not mind. I think it's really funny. You can be as honest as you want."
He smiled and leaned in and kissed me but we broke apart quickly because his mom followed us in.
We fixed our plates. The food was some kind of rice and gravy stew mixture that Max had made. I knew it would be delicious because they always ate good food, but I wasn't hungry at the moment. I never dreamed I would say this, but I was too in love to eat.
I made a small portion and planned on eating it in spite of all the butterflies. The meal was still hot, so it only took a moment to dish out our plates and make our way to the backyard where the others were gathered. Ralphie ran to me, jumping and turning circles from excitement while Beau led the way to a seating area with couches. He yelled at his dad and the others to come over.
Astrid was looking at me curiously the whole time. I had gotten to know her more while Beau was in Japan. They were a protective family and I could see her sizing me up, checking me out, seeing how I reacted to her son. I hoped to do the right thing. I wanted them to know how much I liked him and how good I wanted to be to him. Max and the others came over to us, and they all sat around on couches and chairs.
"Was it a surprise?" Max asked. He looked at me with that roguish grin. "Did we get you, or did you know he was here?"
"I had nooo idea," I assured him with wide eyes.
