Page 108 of Family Bonds- Gabriela & Luca

She winked at her brother. They all knew she was joking.

Not about the pink frilly dresses though.

Her mother wiped a tear from her eye. “I can’t tell you how happy and excited I am to be a grandmother. Is this news allowed to be public or do we keep it quiet?”

“You can tell people,” Justine said. “We’ll start on Monday at work. We just wanted you all to be first. The only person who knew was my sister, and of course Ava.”

She wanted to complain about that, but it wasn’t fair. Justine had the right to confide in her only sister, Jordan.

Who was a surgeon and lived in Indiana.

“I bet Jordan is super excited.”

“She is,” Justine said. “And looking to make the move to Boston. It might take time. She’s looking into fellowships and that’s not easy, but she will try to get closer at the very least.”

Gabriela looked at her father. “I’m sure you could put a word in, if not Uncle Michael. That’s his field.”

“I can if she wants me to,” her father said. “But since I’m just hearing this now for the first time, I’m not sure what is out there.”

“I’d love it,” Justine said. “But I’m not sure how Jordan will feel. We’ll let you know. We just started talking about it last month. I know I’ve got family here though. All of you.”

“Awww. You’re going to make me cry. I don’t like to cry,” she said.

“No, you rather tell jokes,” Garrett said. “Or we can change the subject and put you on the spot with Luca.”

She knew that was a possibility tonight.

And with this news, she was kind of glad he wasn’t here for it.

Not that she thought he wouldn’t be happy about it. But she wondered about every time someone he knew said they were having a child, how he felt.

“It’s not putting me on the spot,” she said. “Things are going well. I’m heading to his place once I leave here.”

“He’s working, isn’t he?” her mother asked.

“Yes, but I’ve got a key. I’ll be there when he gets home and I won’t be back tonight. Sometimes on the weekends we do that. Not always. It’s hard to go ten days and not see someone.”

Her parents exchanged glances.

They knew that admission was just a step closer in how serious her relationship with Luca was.

Her mother’s mouth curved into a knowing smile. “Ten days. That’s hard.”

“It is. Or harder than I thought. But he misses my personality. Can I help it that I’m awesome?”

Garrett snorted. “You have a key, you’re doing overnights, and you’re counting days. But sure, totally casual.”

“Don’t start,” she warned, though there was no real heat behind it. “And no one said it was casual.”

“I believe the whole ‘we’re friends’ thing was said for a solid month,” her father said.

“Wewerefriends at that point. But then it turned into more. We said slow, but not casual.”

Her father crossed his arms, studying her with quiet satisfaction. “We’re not interrogating you. We’re just noticing.”

“Noticing what?” she asked, even though she knew.

And it wasn’t a big deal.