AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I knocked on the door, my heart beating harder than the first time I met a girl’s parents on a date. Mrs. G. opened the door, wearing an apron, and I breathed in the smell of apples and cinnamon. “Silas. The boys aren’t home.”
I loved that she called her sons, who were grown men, boys. My parents had a different parenting style. It was less affectionate and more filled with expectations of perfection and success. “I wanted to talk to you and Mr. G. about Gia.”
“Is she okay?” Mrs. G. asked as she ushered me in.
There were cooling pies on the countertops.
“Harper’s keeping an eye on her.” I hated that I couldn’t see Gia yet. I had a few things to take care of first, and I had a feeling Gia was going to be stubborn about hashing this out. She probably thought we’d broken up, but I wouldn’t back down without a fight. I didn’t give up that easily. She wouldn’t be able to pretend nothing had happened between us.
“I think Papà is too hard on her, but he won’t listen.” Mrs. G. opened the stove and pulled out another pie.
I stood awkwardly in the doorway. “I hope he’ll listen to me.”
Mrs. G. turned and narrowed her eyes on me. “Is there something going on between you and my daughter?”
I gave her the smile women said was charming. “I can’t stand up for your daughter without being in a relationship with her?”
She moved closer to me. “Of course you can, but I have a feeling you are.”
“We’ve been seeing each other.”
“And you’re here to talk some sense into my stubborn husband.”
I chuckled, some of the tension easing. “Then I need to talk to your daughter. I have a feeling she’s just as stubborn.”
“Those two. They were always butting heads. They’re nothing like the boys. Their relationship was always harder. I tried everything I could to help them over the years, but they were both too stubborn. They refuse to talk to each other or listen, for that matter.”
“Do you mind if I talk to him?” I asked her.
“Are you in love with my daughter?”
I opened my mouth to answer her when Mr. G. walked into the kitchen. “Who’s in love with my daughter?”
His voice filled the room, and tension pricked my shoulders.
“I am, sir.”
He raised his brow. “Does she love you?”
I chuckled without any humor. “That remains to be seen, but I hope so.”
“That’s what you came to talk to me about today?”
“That, and your relationship with her. I know it’s none of my business, but I want Gia to be mine, and I don’t want her to be hurt.”
“She’s upset?” Mr. G. asked, looking uncomfortable for the first time.
“Your opinion matters to her, probably too much. It’s what drives her to work so hard. I think she’s searching for your approval. And sure, she needs to learn that the only person she needs to impress is herself, but she also needs to know that her family loves her unconditionally. I wanted you to know how much it hurts her when you don’t support her.”
“I didn’t think she cared what I thought. She’s always so strong.”
That made sense to me. That he thought she didn’t care, so he was harsher with her. “It hurts her a lot. She cares what you think of her more than anyone else.”
“I’m proud of her. She built that business from the ground up.”
“All she hears is that the wedding planning business is frivolous, and she should come back and work for you.”
Mr. G. shook his head. “I think I’ve handled it all wrong. But it’s so easy to fall back into old patterns when she’s here.”
