Daylight

Chapter Seventeen

Sitting beside Luca in the town car, Ava's eyes were cast out onto the sidewalk beside her. There was so much to see. Everywhere she looked she found a place she might want to explore and she made little mental notes for herself. When we come back, we'll have to check them out.

Still, her awe didn't eliminate her nervousness and in her usual way, she smoothed her hands over the skirt of her blue pinstriped dress. She'd left her hair down, its gentle wave tucked behind one ear. As she felt the car begin to pull to a stop, she sort of snapped out of her trance and turned to smile at Sebastian. "What should we call her?" she asked, suddenly realizing she hadn't asked that yet. "Ms. Stan, yes? I don't want to say the wrong thing."

Sebastian chuckled as he rolled up the sleeves of his button down shirt. "You can try, but she'll probably ask you to call her Georgetta."

"Georgetta," she murmured to herself, glancing out the window again to see that they'd stopped at an apartment building.

"Are you nervous, Mami?" Luca asked from beside her, drawing her eyes down to him with a telling smile.

"Just a little," she admitted, reaching out to unbuckle him as the driver came around the car to let them out. Turning, she set her feet on the street before stepping up onto the sidewalk, reaching for Luca's hand.

"Should I be nervous?" he asked her, raising a brow.

Ava laughed softly and shook her head. "Absolutely not," she assured him, rustling his hair a little.

Sebastian climbed out of the car and smiled. "No need, little man. You're meeting my mom today. She'll love you like we do."

"That would be cool if she does," Luca mused as he took Sebastian's hand to walk to the apartment building and inside. "She's kind of like... like an abuela?" he asked, finding his mother's gaze.

Ava's heart tugged as he asked his question. "Um... yes, kind of. But don't call her abuela, not today, okay?" The last thing she wanted was for his mother to think that she was trying to invade her life.

"I'm sure she'll give you something to call her today," Sebastian commented as they reached the elevator. He pushed the button for the machine to come down to them.

Ava leaned down and kissed the top of Luca's head as they waited for the elevator. She kept her breaths slow and steady and as the doors opened, she ushered Luca inside and stood next to Sebastian. Reaching out, she slipped her hand in his and gave it a gentle squeeze.

The ding to signal their arrival at his mother's floor startled her a little and she jumped before she shook her head at herself, laughing softly. "Please don't tell your mother I did that," she murmured to Seb, looking up at him.

Sebastian looked over at her before leaning in to kiss her cheek. "Secret's safe with me." He led them down the hall, to his mother's door then knocked firmly.

As Sebastian knocked, Ava stood a few steps back from him with Luca. Her nerves spiked as she heard footsteps moving toward the door and as it opened, she broke into a soft smile.

"There's my boy," Georgetta said as she opened the door, bringing Sebastian in close to hug him and give him a kiss on the cheek.

"Hey, mom." Sebastian hugged her tightly before pulling away and stepping to the side. "Ma, this is Ava and Luca."

Georgetta's attention pulled to the two that Sebastian had just introduced and she offered a friendly smile. "It's so nice to meet both of you, please come in," she greeted, waving them inside.

Ava's smile brightened as they were welcomed and once they were inside of her apartment, she turned to face Georgetta more directly. "It's wonderful to meet you too, thank you for having us," she said gently.