Page 75 of Finally Yours (Love & Wine)

“Yeah?”

She swallows, glancing at Dad and nudging him awake before she turns back to me. “Mel contacted us.”

“What?!” I half shout. “Are you fucking serious?”

Mum nods. “Yes,” she says. “Apparently she’s been trying to get hold of you and can’t. Wants to know where you are.”

I shake my head. “Fucking hell,” I mutter. “She just can’t take a hint. Did you tell her?” I ask, even as I hear Lu’s front door open and I know I need to end this conversation right now.

“Well, yes and no,” Mum says, looking a little sheepish.

“What does that mean?” I ask, even as I hear Lu call my name. “Hang on,” I say, holding a hand up to the screen. “In here,” I call to Lu. “Come and say hi,” I add, reaching for her.

“To who?” she says, taking my hand.

I pull her closer and onto my lap as I gesture at the screen. “Mum and Dad,” I say. “Dad, remember Lu, don’t you?” I add.

“Oh my god,” Lu breathes out at the same time a huge smile breaks out on my mum’s face. She won’t remember Lu because she didn’t come to the states that time I did, but she’ll definitely remember hearing about her, especially as my dad loved to give me so much shit about how much I liked her. Even more so when I told them both I was coming over here to work and planned on looking her up again.

“Lulu Somerville,” my dad says, a huge smile on his face. “Look at you.”

Lu blushes as she says, “Hi, Mr. Wilson.”

Dad chuckles. “God, call me Tony, please,” he says, suddenly more awake than he was two minutes ago.

“Dad’s a little pissed,” I say, kissing Lu on the cheek.

“He is?” she asks, turning to look at me. “What’s he pissed at?”

I laugh, kissing her on the lips this time as I explain, “No, pissed as in drunk, not pissedoff.”

Lu shakes her head as she turns back to the screen murmuring, “You Aussies are so weird.”

I see the huge smile on my mum’s face as she watches us, clearly not missing the fact that something is going on here between Lu and me. I mean it’s pretty obvious considering she’s on my lap and I’m kissing her.

“So,” Mum starts, gesturing toward us. “Is this a…” she asks, trailing off as though she isn’t sure how to define it.

I chuckle. “Yeah, it is,” I tell her. “Lulu finally admitted she fancies me,” I add, squeezing Lu’s hip as she pinches me. “It was always going to happen, obviously.”

Lu shakes her head at me as Mum actually claps her hands and nudges my dad, a murmured, “I knew this would happen,” still audible through the speakers.

I shake my head, even as I’m smiling at them both.

“So, you’re staying a while then?” my dad asks.

I shrug. “Yeah, at the moment,” I tell him, even as I feel Lu tense in my arms because an end date to my trip is something neither of us likes talking about. “Still waiting on some parts for that crusher anyway, so I’m here indefinitely at the moment.”

“Maybe we should come over and visit,” Mum says, her smile wide as she looks from me to Lu and back to me again.

I smile, relieved for the subject change. “You should,” I tell them. “We’d like that.”

The conversation continues for a few more minutes, but it’s clear Dad’s in desperate need of some sleep. After we tell them again that they should come and visit, we say our goodbyes and log off.

“Your dad hasn’t changed a bit,” Lu says, sliding off my lap as she walks around to grab some wine from the fridge.

I chuckle. “No, he kinda hasn’t.”

“And your mum is so nice,” she continues, pouring us both a glass.

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