She nodded and he picked her up in a giant hug. “I almost can’t believe it.”
“Why? Because it’s something amazing?” he asked her.
“Yeah, you know I always wanted to know even if they were just as awful as her but Dwight…”
“He’s the best possible outcome you could ever hope for?”
“Completely, I imagined whoever it was to be someone smart, nice. That if they knew about me, they’d love me, the way you and Arthur did and now…”
“It’s all true,” he said pulling her close. “I told you it’d be okay Mel-Mel and now you have yet another male completely devoted to you.”
“Probably four more,” Jordan corrected. “Dwight and Lori have three boys. You’ll get to meet them tonight at dinner. You should be getting mom’s invitation any moment.”
“Tonight?” Tate said staring at her.
“Why not? This is the best news possible. Right now I’d probably give Jennifer a hug for simply showing back up because it led me to the truth,” she said as the two men hugged her to their sides as they left.
∞∞∞
“Would someone please tell us what’s going on?” Alana asked as they came through the doors into the living room. “We’ve been dying since we got the invite.”
“Yeah, Jordan,” Nicole said with a grin towards them. “What news could you and Mel possibly have for us that you’d want everyone here for?”
“For the last time,” Mel laughed. “I’m not pregnant.”
“And everyone’s not here yet,” Jordan added.
“Actually we are,” Dwight said as he ushered the boys into the room with Lori beside him. She sent Mel a warm smile and took Dwight’s hand.
“Alright, so what is going on?” Jake stated. “If Dwight’s here it’s got to have something to do with the school, the company, or a combination of them.”
“Not exactly,” Mel said moving over to Dwight and Lori who gave her a hug. Jordan followed and stood behind her as they faced the room. “This is going to sound a bit crazy but…”
“What?” Grant asked as she glanced at Dwight and then back to Jordan. “Come on just tell us already.”
“Why don’t I tell them?” Dwight stated and she gave him a smiling nod. “Last week Mel’s mother showed up, and the truth is I already knew her. Now, lo and behold, when Mel becomes a world-famous architect, I will be incredibly lucky to say that not only was she my most brilliant student but also my daughter.”
“What?!” flew from the mouths in the room and she couldn’t hold back the smile and laugh at the reactions.
“Wait, she’s our sister?” Steve, the middle son at thirteen, asked.
“Did you cheat on Mom?” Tyler, the fifteen year old, inquired.
“Can we eat?” the youngest at eleven Ryan questioned not seeming at all concerned about it which made her laugh a bit.
“I know you’ve all heard me talk about Mel before,” Dwight told them. “And yes, we got the test results this afternoon.”
“Your dad ended a relationship with Melinda’s mother before we met,” Lori added for them.
“And she never bothered to tell him there was a possibility that I was his,” Mel stated. “But now…”
“So you’re not having a baby?” Nicole teased.
“No, I promise when we finally decide to start a family, we won’t keep you all in the dark,” she laughed. “Now why don’t we eat so we can all really get to know each other?”
The dinner was a success, and she soon found that Tyler loved to play pool while Ryan was the artist and Steve the school whiz. She and Tyler played a couple games with Arthur coaching him and Tate purposely trying to block her shots as she started them, and she knew that she’d finally found something she’d never known she was missing.
Later that night as she laid in Jordan’s arms, she wondered what he’d say if she rolled over and told him she loved him. The fear that he’d reject her brought a sigh to her lips and she felt him pull her tighter to him as he kissed the top of her head. She snuggled back against him and smiled when she felt him stir, he might not love her, but he wanted her and he’d never shown interest in anyone else, and that made her happy.
