Page 135 of His Virgin Romance Series

“Oh, Rachel,” Marta said, clapping her hands together. “That’s fantastic news.”

Watching as Marta embraced Rachel, I realized how much Rachel missed a maternal presence in her life. Rachel spoke to her mother once each month, and it was usually a short conversation that ended less than pleasantly. Her parents were still adjusting to the fact that Brent was in jail and when they had learned that Rachel had testified against Brent in court, they had nearly hit the roof.

It had taken awhile before the conversations had turned civil again, but either way, her parents were not happy about the fact that we were together. Marta had taken on the role of mother in Rachel’s life, and I could see how important that relationship was to her. Which was why she was the first person we were inviting to our housewarming party.

When we had finished lunch, Rachel and I walked back to our new apartment together. It was barely furnished, but we had a few boxes there, and we liked to camp out on the floor with nothing but a soft duvet for a mattress. There was something cozy about it. We would lie on our duvet, in each other’s arms and imagine what the future had in store for us. Rachel always came up with different scenarios, but I always saw the same thing.

I imagined a future that was much the same as our present. Rachel and I wrapped in each other’s arms with the knowledge that our children and grandchildren were out there living their lives and traveling the world, having got the start in life that we ourselves had never received.

“Have you thought about inviting your parents?” I asked gently, as we walked towards our new apartment.

“I’ve thought about it.” Rachel nodded. “But I’ve decided against it.”

“Are you sure?”

“They don’t accept our relationship,” she said. “Which makes it hard for me to accept them.”

“They’ll come around.”

“It’s been six months,” she reminded me. “They haven’t come around so far. They still keep finding reasons to blame me and you and the whole world for what Brent did wrong. Every time I speak to Mom she asks if we’ve broken up yet.”

“What do you think it will take to convince them that this relationship between us is permanent?” I asked, as we turned the corner that led right to the apartment.

“I don’t know…marriage maybe?” Rachel said distractedly. “But that’s still a long way off, and I’m not even sure that will do the trick.”

I took her hand and kissed it gently. “I’m willing to try and talk to them,” I said.

“Talk to them?” Rachel repeated. “To what end?”

“To try and convince them that I love you and will look after you,” Jared said. “Maybe to try and show them that I’m a decent guy.”

She smiled at me. “You are the best guy,” she said. “And, you don’t need to prove anything to my parents. The truth is, I’ve realized that their opinion no longer matters to me. I know who you are and that’s all that matters. We’re in this for the long haul, and my parents are just going to have to get used to that.”

“They know I’m a firefighter, right?” I asked.

Rachel laughed. “Somehow Dad keeps forgetting you’re a firefighter and keeps referring to you as a cop and Mom… She just doesn’t care. I think it helps her to blame someone for Brent’s conviction. And next to me, you’re the easiest target.”

“Well, like you said, their opinion doesn’t matter as long as you know who I am,” I said.

“Exactly.” Rachel nodded, kissing me softly on the cheek.

We entered our apartment, and I saw Rachel’s smile as she took in the view. We were on the eleventh floor, which gave us a beautiful view of the city. It was peaceful and picturesque, and it fit Rachel’s personality. Neither one of us had ever lived in a place this nice before.

We had no couch and no real chairs. What we did have was a thick blanket that was spread on the floor in front of our balcony. We kept the blinds drawn most of the time and though the kitchen was not fully stocked, we kept a few things here so that we had something to eat in an emergency. Most often we just brought food home and had little picnics on the blanket.

The one thing that our new apartment did have was a television. We moved our TV from the old apartment to this one; it was sort of our little initiation ceremony, and we also loved watching movies before falling asleep.

“How about dessert?” Rachel asked as she turned to me from the view.

“How could I resist.” I smiled, pulling her towards me and pushing up her blouse.

Rachel laughed and smacked my hands away. “I didn’t mean sex,” she said. “I meant actual dessert.”

“Sounds boring in comparison.”

She shook her head at me. “There’s a pint of ice cream in the fridge. How about we unpack some boxes and then have some rocky road?”

“Boxes?” I asked in confusion. “What boxes?”

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