Page 63 of Raspberry Cake
“I reckon your boyfriend got along with your family?”
“Yes, was part of it the second he arrived. The boys even called him uncle.”
“Good. He seemed to be in a good mood when he got back.”
She crooked her brow at him. “You two talked?”
He shrugged nonchalantly, colour rushing to his cheeks. “You never called, so I went to make sure you were okay.”
“Aww you’re such a softy!” she teased. “We had lots of fun. The boys were all over him.”
“Ah, yes, only the boys.” Jeronimo threw his head back, laughing at his own joke.
“Jeronimo! Inappropriate!”
“What?” He could barely contain himself. “We’re both adults here.”
She shook her head, her cheeks on fire.
“When can I expect you to go on maternity leave?”
“We haven’t been together that long,” she mumbled.
“Fine, when should I put down the date for the honeymoon? I think everyone would be excited to be part of the wedding so we might need to give everyone a day off after to recover.”
“Not for you. You’re banned from the open bar.”
“What a disappointment that will be.” Then he turned serious. “All jokes aside, I would love for you to stay together.”
“Thank you, me too.”
“Of course you do. He’s a hardworkingandgood-looking young fella.”
Thankfully, the conversation shifted to work. Jeronimo spent the next hour or so filling her in on everything she’d missed before he left to meet a potential client.
That evening, even with both Luna and Flake curled up to her she felt lonely. There weren’t any sounds of children bickering and no one to talk to but herself. Though as if he had sensed it, Renley’s name popped up on her phone.
“Hi.”
“Hello kitten, how was your first day back?”
“Good… odd. You never told me you and Jeronimo had a chat.”
“Fucker scared the shit out of me,” he mumbled. “Thought I’d done something wrong. Kept me on edge till the last second.”
“What did he say?”
“He demanded that I not break your heart. Well, not in so many words, but that’s what he meant. He’s looking out foryou.” When she didn’t break the silence, he continued, “Shannon wants to get together sometime soon—all three of us.”
“Maybe dinner sometime this week? Unless he wants to do something bigger.”
“He just wants to get to know you better, that’s all. Dinner sounds great.”
“Does he have a favourite place? I need to score some extra brownie points.”
“Cheesecake factory.”
“Isn’t there one at Memorial Mall?”
