Page 389 of His Virgin Romance Series

“Hey, you,” she greeted, with a little laugh. “I didn’t even hear you come in.”

“You’re in a good mood,” I pointed out.

“Aren’t I always?” Gabby asked.

“True.” I nodded. “But I meant that you seemed happier than usual.”

“Well… that’s because I have some news,” Gabby said, turning to me.

“Oh, yeah?”

“I got a job,” she said, with a wide, excited smile.

“No way!”

“Yes, you remember I’ve told you about Professor Milton, right?” she asked.

“Of course.” I nodded. “She’s your favorite professor.”

“Exactly.” Gabby nodded. “She recommended me to Hammersmith’s!”

“Hmm… the name sounds familiar.”

“It’s this exclusive private music school in the city,” Gabby explained. “They teach music to children of all ages, and they have this amazing auditorium that they rent out for special music concerts and performances. Anyway… it’s an amazing school with wonderful programs, and they’re willing to give me a temporary contract there. It’s six months, but if I do well and the fit is right, they’ll hire me in as part of the permanent staff. They don’t usually hire people that easily, but Professor Milton really went to bat for me, and they had a vacancy because one of their teachers just them to move abroad… so the stars all aligned in my favor.”

She was incredibly excited, and I didn’t want to take away from her victory, so I kept mum about the check in my back pocket. I’d let dinner be just about her, and I decided I would tell her my good news after dessert when it was just the two of us.

“When are our guests expected?” I asked.

“They’re on their way,” Gabby told me. “Leah is coming with Mom and Seth. Any news from Zack?”

“He should be on the way too.” I nodded, glancing towards the table again.

“Babe?”

“Yes?”

“I think you’ve miscalculated.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well… we have four guests coming, six in total with us,” I said. “You’ve set two extra place settings.”

“Oh,” Gabby said, looking away from me guiltily. “That’s not a mistake.”

“It’s not?” I asked, with a frown.

“I invited two more people,” she said. “I hope you don’t mind.”

“Of course not,” I said. “Whoever you want to invite is fine… who are the extra two?”

“Uh… your parents,” Gabby said, as she turned to the stove.

“What?”

Gabby placed the meat on the table and gave me another smile. “I’m sorry, I probably should have run it by you first, but I was thought you might say no and then I wouldn’t have been able to do it.”

I couldn’t help but laugh at that reasoning. “It’s fine,” I said. “I just think… it might be a little awkward.”

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