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She nodded. "Yeah, I've been trying to avoid cuisines where they might serve coffee like diners or burger joints. Mexican is pretty safe. I've gotta say it makes fulfilling my waffle cravings really tough, though."
"That's what you've got me and a waffle maker for." I brushed a strand of her silky hair away from her eyes, and she leaned into my touch. Fuck, it was hard to control myself around her.
The waitress popped up, and we ordered food and drinks. I figured now would be a good time to bring up what I wanted to talk to her about, but I didn't know how the conversation would go. I felt anxious about it and swallowed back the lump that had settled in my throat.
"There's a couple of things we need to talk about. We've been putting it off, but I'm done with that. I know you might not be ready, and it might not make you comfortable, but we're sort of on a time crunch here." I gestured to her slightly protruding belly with a smile. "I have a feeling little P isn't going to wait for her parents to get their shit together before making her grand entrance."
Amara flashed me a small smile before lifting her water and taking a sip. "Don't get used to hearing me say this, but you're right."
I chuckled softly. "Fair enough. So, what do we do? Are we telling your parents this weekend?"
Her body stiffened next to me. "I can't believe you want to come with me for that. You have no idea how hard it's going to be. They barely tolerate me let alone like me. They hate Kennedy now that she's with Zen. It's going to be so ugly."
"Honey, I get that they're your parents, but why do you want them in your life? They sound toxic and look at how much the idea of talking to them is stressing you out." I rubbed her shaking arm.
"I know, but they're my parents. I want to give them the chance to be involved in little P's life." She looked up at me with her almost golden eyes, which were shiny.
"If that's what you want, then there's no way in hell I'm letting you go through with this alone. Let me at least hold your hand when you tell them." I grabbed her hand and laced our fingers together.
She sighed. "I need you there with me, but it feels selfish because I know how horrible they're going to be to you. I need to apologize about a thousand times in advance."
"Trust me, I can take it. I'm tough." I put on a brave face, but inside I was freaking out a little bit. I'd never met anyone's parents, let alone had to go in knowing they were going to hate me. On top of that, I'd have to tell them I'd knocked up their daughter without marrying her first. The logical part of me knew they couldn't do anything to me, but it killed me that at the end of this day there was no chance in hell Amara would walk out of there without tears.
As the waitress dropped off our food, I decided to bring up the rest. I waited until Amara dug into her enchilada before I started so she wouldn't be able to interrupt me. "Move in with me."
She nearly choked, coughing before taking a sip of her water. "Did I hear you right?"
I nodded. "Move in with me. This past month nearly killed me. I can't take being away from you like this again."
Tears brimmed in her eyes but didn't fall. "It almost killed me, too, but I can't just move right away. I need to see if I can keep my job and work remotely. When I talked to my boss a couple of weeks ago, he didn't seem to like the idea unless I took a demotion. I don't know if I want to do that. I've worked really hard to get to where I am."
I leaned down and pressed my lips to hers. "I know you have, and I don't want you to give up your dreams, but is this really your dream? What about that app you're building?"
She perked up. "GRLFRND? I haven't had a chance to do anything with it in a while, but I feel really strongly that it could be amazing. I hope once little P comes and we settle into a routine, I'll have more time to work on it. Someday maybe." She sounded sad at the end.
"Honey, if you move in with me, you can work full time on your app and just focus on building it and growing little P."
"That's true. I hadn't really thought about that." She sniffed, and I wrapped my arm around her shoulders and pulled her into my side, pressing a kiss her hair.
"Think about it. I'm not going anywhere. I'll put off everything until you decide one way or another, and then we can decide together how to move forward. You're it for me, Amara. You and our baby. You're my family, and I'm done being away from you two. If I have to move here and figure out how to make it work, I will."
"You would?"
I nodded. "In a heartbeat. It wouldn't be easy, but nothing worth it ever is." A tear escaped her eye then, and I swiped it with my finger. "So, when are we talking to your parents?"
She let out a watery laugh. "Let me finish this enchilada, and we can head over there. Maybe we'll get lucky and I'll Exorcist-puke all over their house after they throw their fit."
"I'll cross my fingers."
Knocking on the wood door, I squeezed Amara's hand while we waited for her parents to answer. She'd sent her mom a text and let her know we were on our way. I had a strong impulse to throw her over my shoulder and run. My instincts were screaming at me to protect her and our baby from what was coming, but I knew she'd never let me.
I didn't understand parents that weren't supportive of their kids. My parents had always supported me in everything I'd done, doing their best to give me advice and guide me when I needed it and to pick me up and set me straight when I messed up. Hale, too.
This was something else entirely.
The door swung open, and a shorter, older version of Amara stood in the entry with a smile on her face. As she noticed me, though, her smile faltered. When her gaze dropped to our joined hands, her eyes narrowed and her lips pursed.
"Amara, who is this?" she demanded.
