Page 77 of Moonstruck Kiss

“Now, Dad!”

“Okay, okay. Hold your horses.” He flicks the switch.

I try again. “Ollie and I are not leaving. At least, not yet.”

Joey freezes.

“I was able to negotiate another two months’ leave with my boss, so Ollie and I are staying put for that time.”

Mum lets out a delighted scream. “Is that why you were laughing while I was crying, you little munchkin?” she asks Ollie.

“Yes! ‘Cause Dad says it’s a surprise. I didn’t want you to cry, Grandma.”

“Oh, my darlings.” Mum beams at me before raining kisses on Ollie’s face.

Great, that’s my mother sorted. As for Joey…

Relief floods me to see her standing and looking at me.

“I’ll only work one day a week for these additional two months,” I say as I hold her gaze. “I hope to spend much of that time getting to know each other better. Getting to knowusbetter. Then, if things go the way I hope they would, we could make decisions that will work for the both of us. For all of us,” I add, glancing at Ollie.

“Thank you, Brax,” my mum says, her face a picture of happiness as she sways Ollie in her arms with her eyes closed. “I’m so happy with that.”

“Uh, darling,” Dad says, “I don’t think he’s talking to us.”

Mum opens her eyes. “Who’s he talking to?”

I smile and return my attention to Joey. “What do you say, Dimple?” I ask, trying not to freak out that she hasn’t said a word.

I have no idea if she’s happy with my announcement. And I hope she’s okay with me pretty much announcing to the whole room that I want us to date seriously.

But there’s no sense in hiding anymore. It’s one of the causes of us losing time together.

I send her a pleading look. “I don’t expect any promises right now, and I know there are no guarantees regarding our future together. But I’d rather try my hardest to make it work and be heartbroken if it doesn’t pan out than be heartbroken because I’ve been too foolish to give it a chance.”

Finally, Joey walks towards me.

Is it my imagination or are her eyes much softer than a few minutes ago? And is that a smile she’s trying to suppress?

To my surprise, she stands next to me and takes the mic.

“I know that if I say something and not everyone hears, they’ll just ask me to repeat it,” she starts.

“You know us so well, Joey!” Emory calls out amidst a round of applause.

Joey snickers. “I probably would have preferred a private conversation.”

“You were leaving,” I say. “I needed to stop you.”

Her eyes water. “I’m glad you did. All I wanted was more time with you, too, so that we could…get to knowusbetter, like you said.”

“Do I hear wedding bells?” someone shouts.

Cheers of approval go up.

“Hey, hey!” Emory interjects, hurrying to us and grabbing the mic. “People, let’s give these two some space, okay? If we’re in their faces all the time, Brax might decide he totally hates the lack of privacy here and hightails it out. Do we want that for them?”

“No,” the whole room answers.

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