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She snorted as she stood and threw her arms around her dad’s belly.

“I’m glad he picked you,” she said. “I can’t wait until grandma meets you.”

I gasped, tuning my horror filled eyes to Drew.

“We can’t get engaged yet,” I said, pulling the ring off my finger and handing it back to him.

He wouldn’t take it.

“No takebacks,” he laughed, shaking his head and backing away

I glared at him.

“We have to make sure your parents like me first!” I assured him. “What if they hate me? Christmas will be incredibly awkward if that’s the case.”

He shook his head. “Honey,” he said, moving closer to me. “My mom’s going to love you.”

I took a deep breath.

“But what if my mom doesn’t like you?” I asked.

“Your mother likes me,” he said.

“They don’t know you.” I told him. “I can’t marry someone that my mother hates.”

“Wanna bet?” he asked, pulling me up snugly against his side. “All mothers like me.”

I shook my head.

“You’re full of it.”

“You call your parents, and I’ll call mine. I have a week off starting this Saturday. We’ll meet up at Beaver’s Bend. That’s about halfway for my folks and halfway for us. Sound good?”

I nodded, but I couldn’t help the nerves that took flight in my belly.

Maybe I was ready.

***

So there I was, sitting on the edge of the bed, staring at two dresses. One was a simple black number that hit me right above the shins. The other was a white number that flowed all the way to the bottom of my ankles.

“What should I wear?” I asked Drew, looking up to find him doing push-ups next to the window.

He looked over at me, then moved his eyes to the dresses without stopping.

“Black. You’ll get the white dirty,” he puffed out.

He then moved to the jumping push-ups, his hands alternating close and wide. In. Out. In. Out. His hands moved as if he weren’t even trying.

If I were to be doing the same thing, he’d likely have to pick me up off the carpet.

“I feel like I’m going to barf,” I said, counting for him in my head.

Ten. Fifteen. Twenty-three. Thirty-five.

On and on he went until he reached a hundred.

Then he stopped, went up on his knees, and stared at me.