I could only hope. I signed off after promising him I would give him an update Sunday night after they left.
* * *
After breakfast,Daddy turned on a Disney movie so we could cuddle up on the couch. He did everything he could to keep me calm, but I couldn’t help watching the clock. Any minute now, the doorbell was going to ring and then it would be show time.
I knew it was coming, and yet I jumped when the melodic chimes echoed off the walls. Daddy—Theron—drew me into a hug as he kissed my forehead. “Everything’s going to be fine.”
“I know, but—”
He pressed his index finger to my lips. “No buts. Do you want me to hang back while you answer the door?”
“It’s your house. You should answer it.”
Daddy took me by the hand. Dammit, I was so screwed. There was no way I was going to remember to call him Theron all weekend if I couldn’t even say it in my head. “We’ll both greet them.”
“Ugh, fine.” He didn’t even let me hide behind him as he swung the door open, the big meanie. I plastered on a smile as mom did her best to hug the life out of me. “Mom, Dad, hi! Where are Rose and Alex?”
It bummed me out to not see my siblings standing on the porch with their eyes glued to their phones. I needed them here to take some of the spotlight off of me.
“You’ll have to forgive my son. When he’s nervous, he forgets his manners,” Mom explained. I buried my face against Theron’s back, pleading under my breath for him to put me out of my misery. The meanie head laughed. “I’m April, and this is my husband, Edward.”
“It’s nice to finally meet you. Sam’s told me so many wonderful things about both of you.” Oh, he was good. I mean, I knew he could be charming when he wanted to be, but I hadn’t realized how awesome he’d be at the whole meet-the-parents thing. He took their overnight bag out of Dad’s hand and ushered them into the house. “I’ll take this up to the spare room while Sam shows you around the house.”
“Oh.” Mom’s gaze narrowed. Yeah, she was going to have questions. Great. “Thank you, Theron. That would be lovely.”
Lovely?Mom was laying it on thick. The only thing she was missing was a posh British accent as she kissed my cheek. I narrowed my eyes, silently warning her to quit laying it on so thick.
“You didn’t tell me things were so serious between the two of you,” she stage-whispered as she took my hand.
“Oh…well, um,” I stammered, trying to figure out what to say. Our relationship certainly felt serious, but we’d never officially talked about anything. And that was probably weird. The only official discussion we’d had was back at the very beginning when he said he wanted to be my Daddy. Then again, I had a key to his house, and I hadn’t been back to my apartment in over a week. That wasn’t exactly a casual fling. “I mean, it’s not like we’re going to be reciting vows any time soon, but yeah, we’re…”
God, why was this so embarrassing. Mom obviously didn’t have a problem with him being older than me or having his life figured out when I was still trying to work up the nerve to tell my parents the only place that I wanted to use my degree was with Jack.
“You love this man.” There wasn’t the faintest hint of a question in Mom’s declaration. I looked past her to Dad, hoping he’d tell her to back off, but he simply held his hands up in surrender. Mom cupped my cheek and her smile went all soft and dopey. “I’m so happy for you, sweetheart. You know we worried about you finding someone who would see past—”
“April, enough.” Mom pressed her lips tight when Dad scolded her. Knowing what I knew now, I was seeing them through fresh eyes. It wasn’t the first time I’d heard him use that tone with her. The way she blushed as she looked at him, I wondered—
Nope. I most definitely wasnotgoing to think about that. Because ewww, those were my parents. Nope. Totally off-limits.
“I’m just saying, he knew—” Dad silenced her with nothing more than a glare. And fuck me, Iknewthat look, not because he’d ever given it to me, but it was the one Daddy gave me when I was testing his patience.
Nope. Don’t go there. It’ll ruin you forever.
“We’re happy for you, Samuel.” Dad pulled me into a tight hug. I wasn’t sure if he heard me whisper my appreciation, but he held me tighter. I didn’t give him nearly enough credit for the way he’d stood up for me since the moment I came out. He was the one who led the charge and he didn’t stand foranyonepointing out the bits of me that were different. “Theron makes you happy?”
“Happier than I ever thought possible,” I admitted.
“It has to be easier for you to work here than at your apartment,” Dad observed as I led them through the main level of the house. My mom was distracted by the framed prints lining the walls, giving Dad and I a few seconds to chat.
“Definitely. I didn’t realize just how loud it is there all the time until I wasn’t surrounded by the constant noise.” My dad gravitated toward the kitchen, letting out a low whistle when he saw the high-end appliances. I chuckled because the first time I’d visited Theron, I’d thought about how my dad would fall to his knees for the opportunity to prepare a meal in a space like this. “If you ask him nicely, he might let you make dinner tonight.”
It was a selfish request. One thing I missed about home was my dad’s cooking. Yes, my dad’s, not my mom’s. I shuddered at the thought. I loved her to death, but the woman was a danger to herself and her family when she had to do anything more than warm up whatever Dad had prepped. But they were our guests; it was probably wrong of me to hope he’d cook. But itwasmy birthday weekend, so maybe it wasn’t so bad if I wanted a meal that reminded me of home?
“What are you getting yourself worked up about?” Theron slid up behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist. My tension melted away as he kissed his way up my neck. “I don’t even have to look at you to know you’re sitting there worrying about something.”
I blinked rapidly when I heard my mom say something about how sweet we looked together. Shit. We weren’t alone. Right. Parents.
Oh well, they might as well get used to seeing me hanging onto Theron like a spider monkey. It wasn’t my fault physical contact was the easiest way to get me to settle.
