“Then take some time to think about it.” Rae shrugged. “There’s no rush.”
Right. There was no rush. She’d figure it out.
“Mommy, Aunt Rae, come look! All done!”
“We’re coming,” she and Rae chimed together, glancing at each other and laughing. There was no rush. Right now, she had everything exactly the way she’d always pictured it, except better—Rae and Ana at home, and her own life when Ana wasn’t there. A life that included a boyfriend. While she hadn’t pictured that before, she’d grown. Changed. It fit. She and Mitch worked together this way.
She didn’t need to combine her worlds yet, not when everything was going so well as it was.
Mitch
“It was very nice to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Ortiz.” Mitch gave Domi’s parents his most charming smile. I’m a totally normal young man. I definitely didn’t spend last night clamping your daughter’s nipples, plugging her ass with an expanding, vibrating plug, whipping that ass, then fucking her raw. Domi’s mom beamed back at him through the computer screen, though her dad seemed a little more suspicious.
From everything Mitch had heard, that was normal. Dads were protective of their daughters, especially when they were dating. It was impossible to tell size on a computer screen, but he got the impression Domi’s mom was petite like her, while her dad was taller and bulkier. Domi definitely got her hair from her mom, who had similar corkscrew curls.
He was relieved his first time meeting the parents was a video chat introduction. It was much less intimidating than meeting in person, though he’d be ready when the time came for that. At least Domi’s mom liked him.
“It was wonderful to meet you, too, Mitch. We’re so happy Domi has such a nice boyfriend. Si, Enrique?” Because of the screen, it wasn’t possible to see exactly what she did, but Mitch was pretty sure she’d elbowed her husband.
“Uh-huh,” Domi’s dad said unenthusiastically. Mrs. Ortiz elbowed him again. “I mean, nice to meet you. I look forward to meeting you in person when we come up to visit in a few months.” He sounded more dubious than sincere.
“Me, too, Sir.” A few months was plenty of time to prepare. Besides, if he wasn’t mistaken, Mrs. Ortiz was the dominant personality in their relationship, and she was thrilled to meet him. Hopefully, she’d be able to convince her husband.
“Alright, adiós mami, adiós papi. Les hablo luego gracias por el video chat,” Domi said, leaning forward. Thanks to the video chat, Mitch could see her bemused expression clearly. High school Spanish had been a long time ago, but he understood enough to know she was saying goodbye and thanking them for the chat.
“Adiós, cariño te quiero!”
“Yo también tequiero.” Domi clicked off the call and leaned back. “Well, I think we can call that a success.”
“Me, too.” Mitch pulled her in for a short hot kiss he had to end far too quickly. “If I didn’t have to get to work, we could celebrate.”
“When you get off work, I could come over, and we could celebrate then,” she suggested, watching him get to his feet. She leaned back, giving him a sassy look, then winced as she shifted her weight on her welted ass. Mitch grinned in appreciation.
“Sounds good to me.” Sliding his fingers into her hair, he tugged her head backward, dropping another kiss onto her lips. Fuck, he loved kissing her, spending time with her, and he was flying high, knowing he’d passed the parent test.
They’d only been official for a few weeks, but it felt good. Easy. Right. Like the other relationships at Stronghold.
Brian had asked if Mitch was worried about Domi not introducing him to Ana as her boyfriend yet, but he and Domi had talked about it, and he understood she wasn’t ready yet. Yeah, sure, there was a part of him that was impatient, but only because he understood what a big step that was. An important step and a necessary one if they were going to have a future together.
She was a single mom doing her best, and he was the first boyfriend she’d had since becoming a single mom. He also had a bit of a track record. He wasn’t going to blame her for being cautious. They’d get there.
Meeting her parents was proof of that. One step at a time.
He was halfway to the hospital when his phone started playing the Imperial March. Sighing, Mitch answered using the car’s system.
“Hey, Dad.”
“Hello, laddie, how are ye doing?” His father’s Scottish burr was as strong as ever. No matter how long he’d lived in the states, it never seemed to let up. Mitch suspected it was a deliberate choice on his father’s part since women went nuts for the accent. While Mitch could do the same and sound completely genuine, he’d always preferred not to follow in his dad’s footsteps in any way.
“Not bad, but I’m on my way to work. What’s up?” His dad wasn’t the talker his mom was, the opposite in fact.
His dad cleared his throat.
“I’m going to be in town next week for a few days and was hoping I could spend some time with you. Maybe get dinner.”
“Yeah, sure, that sounds fine.” Mitch’s brain was already jumping ahead. “Are you free on Wednesday?” Domi always had dinner with Ana, Ana’s dad, and stepmother on Wednesdays, and Mitch had off, so that would work out well.
Unless… did he want to introduce Domi to his dad? No, not really. They’d have to meet eventually, but it would be better if he introduced her to his mom first. Otherwise, it might hurt his mom’s feelings. Unlike Domi’s relationship with her parents, things were always a bit awkward between Mitch and his dad. He didn’t want her seeing that right after he’d charmed her parents.
“Wednesday is good. I’ll see you then. Also, you should talk to your ma soon, she wants you to come home for Passover. Bye, Son.” The phone clicked off, hanging up before Mitch could respond, so he wouldn’t have to answer any questions about how he knew what Mitch’s mom wanted.
It wasn’t a surprise his mom wanted him home for Passover. It was one of the bigger Jewish holidays, but the only reason his Catholic dad would be saying something was she’d said something to his dad. Which meant they were talking again. Typical. Scowling, Mitch shook his head. Yeah, he wasn’t ready for his parents to meet Domi yet. Introducing her to that dysfunction could wait.
Chapter Nineteen
Domi
“This one, mommy,” Ana said, tugging on the skirt of a dark purple dress Domi almost never wore. In fact, she was pretty sure the last time she’d worn it was for a friend’s wedding before Ana was born.
“That’s a little fancy for Pasta Plus, sweetheart,” Domi said, hesitating. When she’d agreed to let Ana pick Domi’s outfit for her birthday dinner, she hadn’t expected her daughter to go straight to the back of her closet where her cocktail dresses were hanging. All three of them. Of course, Ana had picked the flashiest one with lace and tiny sparkling gemstones. Since they were going to the same restaurant Ana always chose when she had the choice, Domi didn’t know why her daughter suddenly wanted her to look so dressy.
“You said I could pick.” A mulish expression Domi recognized settled onto Ana’s face. She was not going to be easily talked out of this.