Forever Yours

Charming [36]

36. Charming

Maureen

And there they were.

At first, their gazes were on me; self-consciously, I ran my fingers through my hair. Next to me, Ryan smiled and casually removed his sunglasses.

"You must be Ryan," my father spoke, drawing closer. I glanced at Ryan then at Dad, feeling the trepidation rise up again. Even though we had had that long conversation the day before, and even though I was now allowed to date Ryan, I knew that not much else had changed. Dad was still going to be cautious and overprotective. What if he changed his mind?

"I am, sir. It's a pleasure to finally meet you," Ryan said, stepping forward to shake my father's hand. I watched them carefully. Dad stared at him for a long moment, assessing him. He did not smile but his eyebrows rose in an expression that I recognized as reluctant approval as his gaze went from Ryan's deep blue eyes to his polite smile, down his leather jacket, tee shirt and jeans to the tops of his black shoes.

"The pleasure is all mine," my father said simply and then gestured to my mother, who I had barely noticed. She stepped forward and I looked at her in surprise. A dazed, almost dreamy look had come over her eyes. "This is my wife, Rose."

"Mrs. Carvelli, how are you?" Ryan said, taking her hand with another charming smile. My mother smiled, charmed.

"Call me Rose," she said graciously. Her brown eyes appraised him for a moment. She obviously liked what she saw by the delighted expression on her face. "I'm so glad to finally meet you."

"As am I," Ryan grinned.

Suddenly from the other room, another adult appeared and I blinked in surprise when I recognized my Aunt Gertrude - Dad's half-sister. She was younger by a few years, and had three kids - my cousins, Violet, Harold and Johnny. They visited sometimes; this must be one of their surprise drop-in visits.

"Hello Maureen!" My aunt, breezy and impatient as ever, fluttered into the room, pecking my cheek. "How are you?"

"Fine, Aunt Gertrude. And you?" I asked politely. I wasn't too fond of Aunt Gertie (or my spoiled cousins) but Dad felt sorry for her because she'd had a rough upbringing. We were all expected to be polite and genteel... no matter how difficult it could sometimes be.

"I'm fine. Tired. I drove all night to get here this morning." She said distractedly to me, finally noticing Ryan, who stood silently next to me. "Oh..." she said slowly. "And who are you?"

"My name is Ryan, it's a pleasure to meet you," Ryan said, extending his hand. Aunt Gertrude shook it, sizing him up.

Obviously, she liked what she saw.

"You should meet my Violet," she said and I had to bite my tongue from saying anything rude.

Ryan smiled, but didn't answer. It reminded me of his professional smile, the one he used to give Cara when we were first getting to know each other. Aunt Gertrude nodded distantly and then cast a cool glance over us.

"Well, I'd better check on Johnny. It was nice to meet you, Ryan... Maureen," she nodded to me and then swept out of the room. My mother was quick to fill in the silence.

"Ryan, sweetheart, why don't you come and meet the rest of the gang? They're all hanging out in the family room."

"That sounds great," he said, relieved.

We all walked towards the family room and I kept a surreptitious eye on Dad, who hadn't said much at all. He looked thoughtful and I avoided catching his eye, wanting to leave him to come to his own conclusions on his own.

"Here we are," my mother announced, and paused in the doorway. "Hey guys, this is Ryan," she called out to everyone.

Thirteen pairs of eyes were suddenly on us as Ryan and I came into the room. He smiled and suddenly, there was pandemonium.

"Ryan!" My little brothers screamed jumping up from their seats to launch themselves at him. Violet, Gertrude's fifteen year old daughter, stood up quickly and shook back her blond hair as her dull gray eyes lit up, going from Ryan's perfectly tousled, dark hair, down his exquisitely handsome face, across his broad shoulders and down his long form. Her small, petal pink lips turned up at the corners in apparent satisfaction.

I stepped back as my little brothers tackled Ryan. He laughed and tried to stay upright as David and Timmy hung from his shoulders, letting out exultant hollers and yells. Samantha hopped up from her seat and grinned, dimpled cheeks flushed pink and eyes bright.

I hadn't thought they would react this way. My heart swelled in a pleasantly full way. Even when I was younger, and the idea of having a boyfriend was still a strange and foreign concept, I had yearned for the day that I could bring home my significant other to introduce to my family. I wanted to see my father clap him on the shoulder and welcome him into the family. I wanted to see my mother's eyes light up as she smiled in pride. I wanted to see my sisters' faces as they assessed him and gave me their approval. I loved my family and my entire life revolved around them. I couldn't describe the happiness I felt as I was finally able to share the boy I loved with them. And I had to admit, as I saw their faces and felt the excitement pulsing in the air, that this was even better than I ever could have imagined it.