His Shortcake

Chapter 50

Dustyn Franco

"Where's Mara?" I asked Emil as soon as I entered the house. It was Sunday, exactly seven days before our wedding. Things had been a mess since Jack was discharged from the hospital. It had been hard for any of us to do anything at all.

The media had been on us since the news went public, with cameras following us everywhere we went, even going so far as to camp out at our houses. They closely monitored our actions and speculated about our next moves.

"They're out in the back garden, sir," he told me as he guided me outside.

"What are you, a butler?" I asked, laughing a little as the maid easily made way for us.

He looked at me, shaking his head. "I'm their last wall of security. I've caught at least four people from the media trying to sneak into the house to get some pictures."

I nodded, understanding how worrisome such a thing was. If I hadn't been living in an apartment on the highest floor, I would have been worried too. "Has Alec stopped by?"

"No. He hasn't been here since Miss Mara moved back."

I sighed, completely defeated. Our conversation stopped as soon as we stepped outside, where Mara and Jack were eating. Mara was wearing a plain green shirt and white jeans paired with flip-flops, while Jack wore something similar, though he looked a lot thinner than the man in the photos the media was using. He seemed far worse than Mara had told me over the phone when she went to pick him up from the hospital.

"Miss Mara." Emil's voice caught their attention. Mara instantly stood up to welcome me, giving me a hug and a kiss on the cheek before pulling me over to where Jack was.

"Dad, look who decided to stop by," she said with a smile.

"Dustyn! Been a long time. How have you been?" he asked, carefully standing up from his chair.

"I'm good, Jack. Are you feeling better now?" I replied with a smile.

"Well, it's the first time I'm eating solid food, so I would say I'm doing fine," he said with a smile. "Oh, did you know your parents are here?"

I raised my eyebrow at his words. "They are?" I asked, looking at Mara.

She grinned up at me. "They're in the kitchen. Jaclyn brought home-cooked food for Dad."

"Dustyn, son. What are you doing here?" Dad's voice made me turn in his direction. He had just come out of the door leading to the kitchen, holding a bowl of soup in his hands. He was soon followed by Mom, who was also carrying a plate of food.

"Oh, just in time for breakfast, I see," Mom said, not even flinching at the sight of me. "Come on, let's eat."

Shaking my head in amusement, I sat quietly at the table and enjoyed the breakfast that my crazy parents had prepared for us.

"Can I steal Mara for a while?" I asked them as I stood up from the couch. We had moved from the back garden to their living room due to Emil's warnings about the media piling up outside. He didn't want to risk a single picture of us being taken without our permission.

Jack looked at me and smiled. "Of course. Us adults will just stay here and have adult talk."

Mom nodded her head. "Yes, yes. Go do what couples do."

"And no grandkids before the wedding, okay?" Dad added bashfully, making everyone laugh.

I shook my head at them and took hold of Mara's hand. She turned red from all their teasing and had stopped thinking. I had to pull her gently away from them. "You okay?" I asked, nudging her on the shoulder as we walked up the stairs.