Page 101 of Twice as Tempting

Damian looked to Kelly for guidance, and she nodded her head. As soon as he left the kitchen, the women all began chattering at once.

“Marty will be so disappointed when I tell him that you’re off the market,” Marsha said as she carried some dishes to the table. Marsha had been trying for years to set Kelly up with her son, but Kelly had never been interested. He was a nice enough guy and decent looking, but there had been no chemistry between them whatsoever. Besides, he lived here in Florida, and Kelly lived in Michigan, so she rarely even saw him.

“Your babies will be so beautiful,” Lucia said while she stirred the gravy on the stove.

“When are you getting married?” Sofia said.

All heads popped up at once when Damian reentered the room.

“Um…excuse me, ladies. I just came in to grab a beer.”

Kelly hurriedly stuck her face in the refrigerator to avoid eye contact with him and came up with a beer. When she handed it to him, he smiled broadly. “Thank you, princess,” he said and sauntered out of the room.

Maria crossed her hands over her heart and said, “Oh, how sweet. He calls you princess.”

Kelly rolled her eyes and said, “Ok. That’s enough, everyone. Time to talk about something else.”

Damian was relaxed and attentive toward her throughout the rest of the afternoon. If he had overhead the conversation in the kitchen, he never let on. While Kelly helped her mom clean up after dinner, she heard him yelling at the football game along with the rest of the men. At one point, he came in the kitchen to grab another beer, and this time, he kissed her on the cheek. “Come and join us when you’re done,” he said sweetly.

Maria and Kelly were the only two left in the kitchen, since Maria had shooed the other women out. She hugged her daughter tightly and said, “I can see how much that man loves you.”

“I love him too, Mom.”

“I know, and I’m so happy for you.”

Kelly peered through the doorway to make sure that no one was coming, and then she said, “Damian’s going to buy a house in the spring, and he wants me to move in with him.”

Her mother didn’t flinch. “Oh. Well, that’s a good thing, right?”

“Yes, it is, but…”

“But what, sweetie? What are you worried about?”

Kelly peeked out again, and satisfied that they were alone, she continued. “There’s a part of me that wishes he would have asked me to marry him first.” There. Finally, she had shared what had been bothering her ever since Damian had shown her the house. She hadn’t realized that she was a traditionalist until he had asked her to move in with him. While she wanted to be with him always, she wanted them to commit to each other first—to truly commit to each other, in front of their families and before God. Kelly had been struggling with her revelation and was trying to decide how and when to tell Damian, but now she felt better just having shared it with her mom.

“Oh, sweetie,” her mom said and gathered her in for another hug. “Maybe he wants to take things slow.”

“But that’s just it. Damian and I don’t do slow. Our relationship has been full speed ahead since the beginning.”

“Well, then I think you need to tell him how you feel.”

“But I don’t want to pressure him into it.”

“Pressure me into what?” Damian asked, strolling back into the room.

Think quick, think quick! “Um…Dad wants to take you to see Gary’s truck tomorrow morning, but I didn’t want you to feel pressured into going.”

“Ha! That’s no pressure, Kell. Your dad and I have already talked about it. He’s picking me up at ten tomorrow morning.”

“Oh. Ok, then,” Kelly replied, breathing a sigh of relief.

“Terrific! While you two are gone, I’ll get to spend some more time with my daughter,” Maria said smoothly.

Shortly after that, Kelly and Maria served dessert in the living room and enjoyed it with the rest of the guests. When the football game ended, Kelly announced that she and Damian were leaving. “He promised me a walk on the beach,” she said to the room, and there was a collective “Ahh.” Everyone understood that the lovebirds wanted to be alone.

After a hearty round of goodbyes, some more pats on Damian’s cheeks from Sofia, and a wink from Lucia, they were out the door.

On the way back to their hotel, Kelly asked, “So, what did you think?”

“I think your Aunt Lucia’s a trip!”

Kelly giggled. “But did you have a good time?”

“Yes. Compared to my family gatherings, that was easy! I enjoyed myself.”

“Good,” Kelly said, turning her attention out the window.

“I am curious about one thing though.”

“What’s that?”

“All the whispering going on in the kitchen. What was all that about?”

Kelly kept her eyes trained out the window. “Oh, that. That was nothing,” she said dismissively, and she hoped like crazy that he believed her.