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Phtt.Nothing got by Talia. He might havethoughthe’d hidden his little panic attack, but…? Not even close.
“Not evengoodholy shit moments?” he asked cheekily, now that he was back on solid ground.
She tilted her head up and gave him a heady smack on the lips. “We will be having lots and lots of those,” she guaranteed him. “Just not right now.”
“Why not?” he pouted, more than ready to go again.
“Because I invited your parents over for supper, and if they see the trail of textile-crumbs you left for me outside this bedroom, they may be scarred for life.”
Fleet wasn’t thrilled about the timing, but he loved that his parents were in town again. He’d been prodding them to explore real estate and move north permanently, and they’d set up a few house appointments the following day.
It looked like they might be getting serious about relocating.
* * *
There would be no scarring.
Once Talia had told him of the impending visit, Fleet had leaped up, snagged a warm facecloth from the bathroom to wash them both off, then slipped on his sweats. He’d retrieved all his and her clothing from the living room to stash away in the laundry, after which he’d looked around to see that the place was sex-train-free.
“What are we making?” he finally called out, opening the fridge after having heard Talia get out of the shower.
“Chicken parm,” she yelled back. “I defrosted the chicken overnight, and we’ll make a separate vegetarian version for you.”
Ahh. Here was something he could help with. He made a stellar sauce.
* * *
Four hours later,with food eaten and a lively round of whist played, Fleet’s mother Lodine clearly couldn’t hold it in any longer. “Are you two living together now? Your apartment looks more sparse than usual.”
Talia grinned and deferred to him.
“We are, Mother,” he revealed. “We’ve decided that this place suits us both. Although I’m keeping the apartment above my studio in case I have late nights and feel the need to crash. Also…if you want to pack up and leave Huntsvillebeforeyou find a place, we can put your big stuff in storage and you can stay there.”
He’d had this plan in his mind for weeks, and he wondered how his parents would respond.
“I think we’ll take it slowly.” Jim Eggers was not to be pushed. “We want to make sure we find our perfect retirement home.”
“Which you can do better, if you’re local,” Fleet sent back gently.
“If something new comes on the market, it’s better if you can jump on it right away,” Talia added.
Lodine laughed. “Are you two sure about this?” she asked them.
“So sure,” he responded without a second’s thought. “We want everyone we love here, together.” He took a deep breath and bit the bullet Talia had been urging him to take between his teeth. “We’ll even go down to Huntsville and help you pack.”
Damn.That was a hard sentence to say. Fleet hadn’t been back since he’d been railroaded out of town sixteen years previous. But he knew, with Talia’s strong backbone propping him up, that he’d survive the ordeal.
“Really?” His father’s brows couldn’t have raised higher if they’d been helium-filled.
Fleet eyed Talia who gave him an encouraging nod and a satisfied grin.
“Really,” he stated succinctly. “How does three weeks from now, sound?” Talia had already told him she’d asked for time off that Sunday and Wednesday, surrounding her new regular down days.
“Jim?” Lodine looked so hopeful that Fleet chuckled to himself. There was no way his father could possibly deny her.
“Yeah. Well. Okay,” he grumbled, but only half-heartedly. “We already made up our mind to move. What’s a few months, one way or another.”
“Yes!” Talia got up, then leaned down to hug his parents one by one. The three had formed quite a bond during the time they’d been here previously, helping Fleet recuperate, and he could see that connection growing even tighter in the future. He couldn’t be happier…
