I take Mom and Dad on a quick driving tour of the island, pointing out where the new house will be and a few other landmarks. They ooh and ahh appropriately, and I can tell how relieved my mother is to finally see the place we are calling home. As we head back toward the main part of town and my apartment, we pass the driveway for the inn.
“Oh, that’s where your father and I are staying, why don’t we drop off our bags now,” my mom exclaims.
“You’re not staying with us?” Toby asks, and I realize I hadn’t thought that through, either. We don’t have a lot of space at the apartment and my parents must have realized that. Still, them staying at the same inn as Kayla feels like a little bit of destiny.
We pull up to the inn just as the front door opens and Kayla and Tawny come walking out. Toby immediately starts to climb out, calling her name as he runs up and wraps his arms around Kayla’s leg, causing my mom to look at me with a rather pointed stare.
“Who’s that lovely woman, Samuel?” she asks under her breath, but before I can answer, Toby is dragging a blushing Kayla over to our group.
“Nana, this is Kayla, she’s going to have sleepovers with me and Daddy!”
My dad laughs, my mom’s jaw drops open, and Kayla looks like she wants to run and hide. Thinking quickly, I realize yet again that honesty is the best way forward, so I go to Kayla and wrap my arm around her, squeezing her comfortingly.
“Mom, Dad, this is my girlfriend, Kayla Michaels. Kayla, meet my parents, Rob and Maryanne.”
Dad shakes her hand, saying how nice it is to meet her, and then Tawny is taking him and Toby inside to get my parents checked in. Mom is still recovering from the news, but once she does, she’s pulling Kayla in for a hug that I think does more to shock Kayla than Toby’s announcement.
“Well now, I see my boys are making friends quickly,” my mom quips, but I see only curiosity in her eyes, not judgement. “You must come for dinner tonight, Kayla, so we can get to know you better. I’m making lasagna, it’s Toby’s favorite.”
“I, oh, well I mean, I don’t…” Kayla’s floundering and looks to me desperately for help. Without thinking twice, I lean in and kiss the side of her head.
“Come for dinner, babe.”
She smiles at me and I see a hint of the confident woman who was in my bed last night. Then she turns to my mother and replies, “Okay, I’d love to.”
“Excellent. I’m going to just pop inside and freshen up, then we’ll head back so I can start dinner.”
I nod at my mother without looking at her; I’m too busy watching Kayla. I hear mom chuckle, then walk away. Once I look around to make sure no one is in sight, I lean in and kiss her the way I wanted to when I first saw her.
“Surprise,” I whisper to her softly, and she groans and drops her head to my chest.
“Oh my God, Sam! Dinner with your parents?”
“They’ll love you, just like I do.”
I freeze. But Kayla caught my confession and is looking at me with wondrous eyes. She goes to open her mouth and I lightly cover it with my hand.
“Pretend you didn’t hear that.” Her face falls and I quickly go on. “Not because I don’t mean it, but because this is not how I planned on telling you. You deserve roses and candlelight, not a moment that could be interrupted by my kid or my parents.”
Now Kayla’s eyes are dancing and I uncover her mouth to hear what she was going to say.
“I think this is the perfect moment, Sam. Because there will always be a risk of a kid interrupting, or your parents, or my sisters, or your editor, or my work. And I don’t care, because I love you, too.”
She goes up on her toes to kiss me sweetly. I instantly take it deeper, needing to pour my love into her. After a moment, she pulls back and wiggles her eyebrows at me. “And I love lasagna.”
12
Kayla
Any of my earlier fears about meeting Sam’s parents so soon have disappeared. Knowing that he loves me and confessing that I love him has made me feel stronger than I have in weeks. Deep down I know we’ve still got a lot to figure out, but he is my new beginning.
I let Sam take Toby and his parents back to his house for a while, because I know I’ve got to face the sister inquisition that is waiting for me in Ella’s cottage. I saw Tawny head over there a couple of minutes ago and there was no mistaking the pointed look she gave me that couldn’t mean anything other thanexplain.
I’m grinning like a fool when I push open Ella’s front door and plop down on the couch beside my twin sister.
“Somebody’s a little love-drunk,” Tawny says drily.
Ella giggles and wraps her arm around my shoulder. “I think it’s adorable. Kayla’s in loooooooove.”
