Page 78 of Down the Aisle
Chapter 28
Adam
The way Eliza's feetshuffled in her spot was rather adorable. I mean, her nervous energy wasn't cute, but I didn't have any tricks to ease her nerves, unfortunately.
Leaning down, I kissed her forehead and squeezed her jittery hand tightly. "Darling, breathe before you pass out." I could see the quickening rise and fall of her chest with each breath; she was a few seconds away from full-on hyperventilating. "My parents are going to adore you, especially my mom."
It probably didn't mean much coming from me because they were my parents, but I spoke the truth. They adored Eliza the moment I told them about her, and even after I told them abouther past and Asher, they still loved her. Actually, after they heard about everything, I was pretty sure they loved her more.
They weren't judgmental people by any means. The only thing they cared about was if Eliza was a good person on the inside and if I was serious about her. When those two check boxes were ticked off, they went full in with loving Eliza and Asher way before even meeting the two.
"Eliza, they already love you, so don't sweat it." Hailee tried to calm Eliza by rubbing her shoulders, but that only seemed to make Eliza tense up more.
Asher lurched out of my arms, wrapping his tiny ones around his mother's neck to comfort her with a baby hug. "Mama?" Of course, poor little Asher had no idea what was going on; just here for the ride.
Breathing deeply, Eliza plucked Asher from my arms to fully snuggle him. "What if they—"
She didn't get a chance to finish her worried thought with how the door practically flew open with my mother's excited greeting. A flurry of Italian was thrown our way, along with my mother's arms and kisses.
Hailee and I were instantly suffocated by our mother's scrawny arms that were somehow stronger than a damn python. Our faces weren't spared from how much she smothered every inch of our faces in smooches. "Oh, my babies, I missed you so much!" Stepping back, she looked at us up and down with her observant eyes, her lips twisting a bit in a frown. "You two have gotten so skinny! You need more meat on your bones!" She grumbled something in Italian about how we were walking sticks and that we had no love on our bodies for others to appreciate, as well as other stuff along those lines.
In an instant, her head snapped over to Eliza and Asher, both of whom stood there with a dumbfounded expression. Of course, the moment my mother's attention landed on them fully, theirfaces widened a little with shock when she somewhat tackled them with a hug. "Oh, you two are just the sweetest-looking things!" My mother gushed.
Eliza's eyes drifted over to me in a cry for help as my mother sweetened them with compliments that were almost teeth rotting. Sighing, I settled my hands on my mother's shoulders. "Mamma, you're scaring them." Chuckling nervously, I pried my mother away from Eliza and Asher.
"Mia rosa, this is my mother, Maria." Adam chuckled, smiling proudly.
With a nervous chuckle of her own, my mother simmered herself down to a more doable energy level; hopefully her toning it down a bit would be enough to not overload my poor Eliza. "Oh dear, I'm sorry. I'm just so happy to finally meet my little Adam's woman and my new little grandson," she apologized in a softened voice, reaching back out and hugging Eliza tightly. "You look so much better and prettier than the pictures Adam showed me. Really, you are such a doll."
"Mamma, you're making her blush." Hailee giggled, smiling happily at the scene with me.
Laughing softly, my mother released Eliza to give Asher her full attention. "Oh, and this little man is just the most handsome thing ever," she spoke in a baby voice while wagging a finger at Asher. "Hi there, my little one. You are just the plumpest grape in the field now aren't you."
At least Asher wasn't too freaked out with my mother. Granted, I didn't have any doubts about Asher taking to anyone because he was the friendliest child ever. Sometimes, his lack of stranger danger terrified me, if I was honest. The amount of times he's followed and gone up to basically anyone remotely friendly looking scared the hell out of me because I knew how fucked up some people could be. At the very least, Asher never strayed too far from me, Eliza, or anyone who was his immediatecaretaker. Still, the fear of him being kidnapped or going missing was always present whenever we went out.
The fact James was now out there didn't help ease my anxiety over the whole situation any. Thinking about that bastard getting his hands on Asher made my blood boil and the veil of red cloud over my vision. If that ever happened, then that'd be a nightmare come true for all of us, especially Eliza. I didn't want to imagine the devastation Eliza would go through if such news were ever to reach her ears.
She knew nothing about James being in the city, and she never would as long as I could help it. Jameswillbe a thing of the past, and hewillno longer be a problem for much longer.
Any minute now, a message from one of my men informing me of James's capture would buzz on my phone.
"Wait, where's papa?" Hailee interrupted the warm moment with her confusion.
A hard knock at the door pushed it open, and in came my stumbling father, who nearly tripped over all the bags and luggage he had in his arms.
Instinctively, my feet scrambled over to my father, and my arms shot out to catch him before his body hit the ground. "Dad, I have men for a reason, and I'm also here to help. I don't want you throwing out your back or something at your age," I fretted, pushing all the things away from my father so he wouldn't grab at them.
"Just because I'm old doesn't mean I can't whoop your ass still. I'm more than capable of handling some bags and your mother's luggage," he shot back at me with a sneer.
"Your stupid pride is going to put you in the grave, I swear," I grumbled with a roll of my eyes. "Why do you guys have so much stuff?"
While using me as support, he patted my chest with a hearty chuckle. "Then you better watch out for this pride as well 'causeyou are just like me," he remarked, letting out some winded breaths. "And all that stuff are things for the kiddos." He tried to wave it off, but Hailee didn't let it slip.
Groaning rather playfully, Hailee ran her hands through her hair before looking at our mother with a flat glare. "Mamma, Adelaide has way too many toys and clothes."
Rolling her eyes, my mother swatted a playful hand at Hailee, dismissing her while keeping her eyes on the two kids who occupied her arms. "Oh, there's no such thing as too many toys and clothes for these little ones." She giggled, tickling the toddlers with her nose.
"Oh, just let your mother be a grandma. It keeps her sane and off my ass," my father joked, barking out a laugh that earned him a few kicks to the shin from my mother.
