Page 100 of Forever Fascinating

“Call me crazy…” she breathed nervously. “But has anyone ever told you that you look really familiar?”

“Mother and son look alike, don’t they?” the man said kindly, walking up to Jana. He held out his hand to her and she took it, numbly, before being pulled into another hug by his mother.

“She’s so pretty, Sam,” Anna smiled happily, wiping her eyes. “I can see why Matthew adores her.”

“You’re… Matthew’s parents?”

“We couldn’t wait to meet you – and thought it might be a good thing to be a little closer so we can keep in touch better or see my sweet boy if he has a chance to come visit.”

“Uh… hi,” Jana said weakly, feeling nervous and a whole lot surprised. “Wow. Oh wow. Okay. The house… um, can we just go have coffee or something somewhere? Are you really wanting to see the place – or just me?” she squeaked out.

She hated to be so candid, but there was no time like the present.

Matthew always spoke so kindly about his mother, respected his stepfather, and there was an underlying pain that would never heal from his biological father who’d abandoned him. It was just a lot to swallow, because she’d never faced anything like that before or so close to home.

As a realtor, she got to know people and what they wanted in a home, but never crossed a line into their personal business. She could make recommendations, offer suggestions, and help as much as possible… but home therapy sessions didn’t come with buying or selling property.

“Both,” Anna and Sam said at once, looking at each other as Jana’s phone rang. She glanced at the caller ID and saw it said UNKNOWN… which meant it was either a spam caller – or Matthew.

“I really need to take this,” Jana said apologetically. “Just a moment, okay?”

Sliding her thumb across the screen, she took a deep breath.

“Hello?”

“Hey darling,” Matthew’s beloved voice echoed in her ear, sounding so tired. “How’s it going?”

“Did you know about this?” she hissed, trying to keep her voice down, glancing over her shoulder. “Did you know, because you really could have warned me so I could look nicer or be ready…”

“Know about what?” he interrupted, sounding alarmed.

“Your parents are here! They are having me show them a house,” she whispered. “I’m a mess because I couldn’t sleep last night and…”

“My parents are there?” Matthew repeated, stunned. “Really? Wait, you couldn’t sleep last night? Are you okay, honey?”

“Just miss you…” she replied softly, turning her back towards the couple. “And yes, they are very much here – incredibly excited – and keep hugging me… and I thought that I hugged a lot.”

Matthew chuckled easily.

“No, darling. I had no idea, but they must be really excited to meet you,” he offered. “Listen, do you have a pen? I don’t want to run out of time, and I might need to call you tomorrow night, too.”

“Oh?”

“My leave got approved, and I want to make sure the dates work for you. It’s coming up quickly – June 1stthrough the 6th. That gives us six days in Iceland. Alone. Maybe we can stay in one of the glass-faced little rental houses so we can watch the northern lights together.”

“That sounds phenomenal…” Jana whispered. “I would love that.”

“My card is almost up… shoot,” Matthew uttered in frustration. “That’s it. I’m calling tomorrow night, too. Can you put me on speaker really quickly?”

“Sure,” she smiled, knowing he was going to say hello to his parents. “You’re on speaker, Matthew.”

“Perfect,” he began. “I exaggerated about the calling card, darling. Jana Sorensen, will you marry me?”

Jana met the other couples wide-eyed stare as his mother put her hands together in a triangle over her mouth, in surprise.

“Uh… Matthew?”

“Yeah, darling?”

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