Unexpected Love

Chapter 3

A few hours later Kelly had no idea what she had been so worried about. Her family was actually pretty nice. Yes, her mom was a little cold towards him and hadn't said two words to Stella since the exchange of words earlier. Even though dinner went well, he did notice that Stella didn't eat; she just pushed her food around her plate. Taylor was his favorite; she seemed the most down-to-earth one so far. April and her family weren't able to make it tonight, so he would have to wait until tomorrow to meet them. Megan's husband and kids came, but Megan wasn't feeling well, so she didn't come either.

Stella's dad seemed cool; he shook his hand and talked about golf and football, was impressed with Kelly's family being firefighters, and was even curious about him being a writer. Chris and Donnie were also pretty cool; the three of them hit it off right from the start.

But as for Kirsten, well, she's another story. Kelly wasn't sure how to win her over. He would occasionally see her giving him an evil glare. He could tell she didn't like him much. They went to the family room after dinner, all talking and telling stories. It was then that Kirsten acknowledged Kelly for the first time.

"Kelly, did you say earlier that both your parents worked?" Taylor asked in an innocent voice.

"Yeah, my dad was a firefighter for over thirty-plus years. And mom is a professor at NYU."

"That's awesome." Taylor chimed in.

"If your mom was working, who raised you?" Kirsten asked.

"My parents raised my brother, and me, my grandma helped. Till we got old enough to be by ourselves."

"That's a shame," Kirsten said in a disappointed tone.

" Kirsten?" Aaron said, giving his wife a don't start looking.

"What's ashamed?" Kelly asked. "My parents did a fantastic job raising my brother and me. We are the men we are today because of our amazing parents. Their love and support, and always having our backs, I am truly grateful for them. "

"Kelly, don't mind my mom. She is part of the old generation." Donnie told him.

"I need to go clean up the kitchen," Kirsten said as she walked out of the room.

"Ignore her," Taylor tells him.

"Kirsten and I were raised in a time where the wife stayed home, raised the kids, cooked, cleaned, and took care of the husband." He paused. "I'm not a fan of today's ways of life, but I understand times have changed. My wife doesn't like the change."

Kelly nods, and he decides not to continue the conversation. Everyone is entitled to their opinions. He sat there listening to Donnie tell a story about something that happened a few Christmases ago. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of Stella standing in the doorway that led to the kitchen, watching the group, her face expressionless. When they laughed, she didn't. She didn't even crack a smile. She looked so unhappy.

He stood up and said, "Where do you think you're going?" Taylor asked

"To the bathroom. With your permission, of course," he said, causing her to laugh.

"Upstairs," she said, "third door on the right." When he came back down, he went into the kitchen, moving behind Stella and wrapping his arms around her waist. He kissed her neck. "Will you relax?" he said, as she jumped a little.

She sighed. "You fit in well with them. You've been accepted. Lucky you."

"You say that like they're aliens."

"Funny," she deadpanned. "Sorry about my mom."

"You don't have to apologize for her." He looked down at her as she turned in his arms and pecked his lips.