“Jesus. I really did a horrible job at trying to disguise it.”
“Oh. It was awful. But it’s kind of cute, watching you hide your smiles and flirty looks that you pass each other.” Aster reaches over and pokes at my thigh.
“You know. You should tell her to come over here. We’d like to talk with her, too.”
I narrow my eyes at the two of them, shifting my eyes from one girl to the other. “Yeah sure. That’s just what I want. You two–”
“Three! Maggie wants to hang out with her too.”
“I don’t want to spend a night watching the four of you have a girls night while I sit around waiting to get my girlfriend back.”
“Oooo. Dad has a girlfriend.” They both tease with a cooing voice.
“You suck. I’m out of here.” I turn and walk towards the garage.
“Don’t forget some breath mints. That garlic is pretty strong and we don’t want yourgirlfriendkicking out because of your stinky breath.”
I throw them the middle finger over my shoulder to their laughter, but really I’m soaring on the inside.
Life can be a little nutty, but right now it’s perfect.
EPILOGUE
The chatter grows louder and curious faces all watch me.
I stand at the top of the small metal staircase in our packing warehouse with Santi, Papa, and Mama at my side. Our guest of honor is quietly standing by, waiting for the signal.
I hold up my hand and raise my voice over the noise. “Could I get everyone’s attention?” The voices quiet and they turn to look at where I stand. “Thank you all for taking a few minutes to join us here. We have some exciting news to share and want you all to be the first to know.”
Smiles look back at me.
“First,” I begin. “Happy National Pecan Day! April 14th is a special one for us and that is why I chose today to share this exciting new journey.” I look at my family for reassurance and they nod. “As many of you know, we have had our friends at Steele Nuts with us for the last seven and a half months, busy in our kitchen cooking up amazing recipes for their line, Nutty Delights. We have loved having them here.
“Breaking into the food sector of the market has been a goal of ours as well as expansion. And after some talks and lots ofnegotiations, we can say we are finally moving forward into that sector. But it’s not how you all may be imagine.”
My palms sweat and I grow fidgety, but power on.
“For years we have tried to acquire Steele Nuts but I realize we were going at it all wrong. Steele Nuts is a company with much to be proud of. We would never want to strip them of their legacy. So instead we have come to an agreement to a merger.”
I say the word and the door into the office creaks open.
“We are so happy to announce our new partner, Burke Steele and his daughter Aster Steele, and welcome in the new venture, Regal Steele Pecans and Food.”
The employees clap and whistle and Burke comes to stand next to me along with Aster. He holds up his hand with a wave and mouthsthank youover and over. Papa hugs both Aster and Mama, and Santi stands with a wide smile on the other side.
I look at the line of us standing on the platform and feel like everything has fallen into place. I couldn’t be happier.
I feel a strong hand grip mine and look down to see Burke’s fingers wrap around mine. My eyes trail up to meet his and he winks. People have know about the two of us for the last few weeks after going public to our families.
We thought about keeping things quiet outside of our homes, but it was just too difficult to hold it in. We could barely refrain from touching and kissing one another, and it was getting too tough to hide it.
Before we agreed on the merger, we thought it would be best just to spill the beans. Funny, but most people had figured it out. I was never a liar or a sneak, so I guess I didn’t put up a good front.
Employees are happy and as we make out way down the steps and people begin to congratulate us, it almost feels like they know our other secret. Somehow I’ve been able to keep thatone under wraps and I’m quite proud. Burke too because he is equally bad of hiding things.
His arm goes around my waist and he snakes his fingers around to tap my small belly. Soon it won’t be easy to disguise, so the news will definitely be coming out. But for now we’d like to live in our own world.
I wasn’t lying when I said I was on birth control. I’ve never missed one day and I’m religious about taking them. However, Burke’s swimmers are still pretty motivated and it seems one got past the barricade.
