Page 68 of The Likelihood Of You

“I promise you’ll be okay.”

“Am I dressed okay?”

“Florence.” He chuckled.

“But—”

“They’ll love you, Flo. Trust me.” His hand made its way to my thigh, squeezing it ever so gently. “They’ll love you purely because of how much I do.”

He didn’t give me time to respond; he pulled me in for a quick kiss before I could do anything about it. Not that I would, because our kisses were magic. Our kisses felt like the moment before a firework goes off; you don’t know when it’s going to happen, what kind of colours or sparkles will light up the night sky, but you know when it does that it will be more beautiful than you thought it would be.

Our lips released each other, and my mouth quickly curved into a smile, his pecking my forehead before sinking back into his seat. My eyes found his, which were peering out the window, and it was like my worries had floated away with the jet fumes, never to be seen again.

Knowing that he’d told his Mom about me that long ago, before everything, made me feel welcomed, and accepted, even though I hadn’t even met them yet.

“Do you think they’ll love me so much they’ll give me the recipe for the apple pie?”

Jacob’s head fell back and hit the plane seat, a forced ‘HA’ leaving his mouth as he did. “Put it this way, I’m their son, and they’ve never let me see it. So I’ll resent you for the rest of my life if they do.”

The challenge while I'm here: get that recipe.

“This is the house of my dreams.”

I was stood in front of the most glorious house I’d ever laid my eyes on. It was a red brick townhouse with stone steps that led up to a brown oak door and white marble archway. There were two sets of bay windows on either side of the house, three on the first floor, all boarded with dark green shutters and matching planters embedded with white roses.

My favourite thing, though, was the pink blossom tree that was planted to the right of the house that had branched so far it hovered over the door archway.

Jacob slipped his fingers into mine and pulled my attention away from the house and onto him. “You ready?”

“Uh-huh,” I sang.

We headed up the steps, and Jacob knocked on the door. I took those last remaining seconds to smooth out my baby blue satin dress, which I’d paired with a white knit jumper underneath it and my dishevelled, high-top Converse. I fixed the white bow I’d shoved in my lazily curled hair, and made sure my baby hairs were sitting nicely on my forehead.

“Will you relax, Flo?” Jacob chuckled. “You look gorgeous.”

I dished him out a side-eye and a smirk. It was easy for him to be so calm; these were his parents for one, and he also looked amazing in every item of clothing he slipped on his body. And today was no exception. He had picked some sage green cord trousers and a plain white sweater, and of course, he looked gorgeous, too. His hair was tousled so it rested perfectly on his head, and he smelt just as sexy as he did last night.

Without warning, flashes from last night’s antics invaded my head.

You’re about to meet his parents, Flo, for crying out loud don’t think about what he was doing to you last night.

I heard the bolt from behind the door slide open, and my eyes slipped from Jacob to the tiny woman who stood in front of us.

“Oh Jacob, honey, thank God you’re here. Your Mom’s freaking out. I’ve never seen her so stressed about a damn cookie recipe in my life.”

She pulled Jacob in for a quick hug, untangling our fingers and then ushered him inside. She made sure he was halfway down the hallway before turning towards me and grabbing my hands. “Right, now he’s gone, I can introduce myself properly.” She let go of my hands and embraced me for a couple of seconds, reaching onto the tips of her toes slightly, before settling back down and returning her hands to mine.

“I’m Julie, and it’s so nice to meet you finally, Miss Florence. I can’t remember the last time Jacob called me and didn’t mention your name, so it’s delightful to finally put a face to all his stories.”

I grinned like a lunatic. “It’s nice to meet you too. Thank you for letting me join you guys today.”

“Oh honey, thankyoufor coming. Hopefully, your being here will distract the rest of the family from how slapdash this opening will be. Thank God that Party City offers next-day delivery is all I’m saying.” She chuckled softly, that classic Emerson smile resting on her mouth. “Jacob told me that you two met at our little Rolling Pin store! Ain’t that something?”

I released a breath. “To tell you the truth, Pin’s was the place I felt most comfortable in those first weeks after I moved to New York. That apple pie became my pick-me-up if I was feeling down. So really, I should be thanking you for creating it.”

“That pie is my secret weapon when Fiona has the hump with me. So it’s no surprise it’s worked its magic in another way.” Julie scrunched up her face and let it fall forward, chuckling to herself as she did.

So that’s where he gets it from.

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