The Lost Child

Chapter 11

"Hey dad, um, I'm wondering if William and I can go with the boys to Uncle Ian's before we head over to Nonna's?" I nervously ask dad, shifting between my feet uncomfortably.

"Bud, you don't need my permission to hangout with your brothers, or your boyfriend at your uncle's house," dad says with a grin at my stunned expression at him stating that he knows William is my boyfriend. "He asked if he had my permission to ask you today."

"Oh," I mumble, trying to wrap my brain around this, and I can't help the bubble of laughter that escapes my mouth. "Well, can we?"

"Yes, just make sure all of you are at your Nonna's on time, okay?" he replies with a chuckle along with William chuckling. "We don't want to upset Nonna."

"Don't worry, I'll make sure we leave on time, even if I have to pinch some ears to get everyone moving," I assured him, and he laughed knowing that's how Nonna gets us to move our rears into gear on time.

William drives us over to Uncle Ian's house, and when we arrive, we find that my brothers are already there - they rode together there in Vincent's truck. William parks behind Vincent's truck, and we climb out, and meet at the hood. I'm surprised in a good way when he holds his right hand out toward me, and I shyly place my left hand in his, so we can walk hand in hand to the house. Dad didn't come with us to his younger brother's house because he said he's going to grab a few groceries from the store for Nonna, and he's going over to spend more time with her. Entering Uncle Ian's house after knocking twice, we take our shoes off by the door, and leave these against the wall.

"In the kitchen!" Uncle Ian hollers, so we head into the kitchen, and everyone is around at different spots, putting together multiple dishes.

"Okay, what can we help with?" William asks, and Uncle Ian tells us to frost the chocolate cake that's on the center island.

We get started on this task, and an hour later, everything is finished, and packed to be taken to Nonna's house for dinner. This is what we do for big dinners for birthdays and holidays at her house, so she isn't the only person cooking. Nonna's sixty-nine, and it's not fair to have her cook so much food for a lot of guys who can pack away the food. Nonna's name is Olivia Matthews, and papa died ten years ago, and he never knew about me. Wow, I just sounded really selfish right there, sorry about that.

"Alright boys, let's head out, so we're not late," Uncle Ian states, clapping his hands together once as he scans over the food that we've packed up to be taken to Nonna's. "Your Nonna and your dad will have my head if we're late."

We laugh at his comment because he's not wrong. We grabbed the food, left his house, and drove to Nonna's. After William started driving, I shyly reach over to take his hand that's resting on his thigh into mine. A dark blush blooms across my cheeks when he flashes me a quick grin before focusing on the road again.

"You're too damn adorable for my own good," he mumbles, and my blush darkens.

His grip on my hand tightens for a second, and when we reach Nonna's a moment later, I lean over the arm rest between us to give him a soft kiss on the cheek. He looks at me in surprise as he parks his truck, and his own cheeks bloom into a light pink blush.

"Come on, lovebirds!" Orian hollers as we open our doors, climbing out, and William and I flip him off as we carry some of the food toward the door.

Orian's mouth drops open in surprise as the rest of us chuckle at his expression. Entering the house, we take our shoes off by the door before heading into the kitchen to place the food containers on the counter.

"Hello my boys!" Nonna hollers excitedly as we enter the kitchen while smiling brightly at us as she approaches us.

She hugs and kisses Uncle Ian on the cheeks before moving onto my brothers before reaching William and me. She smiles down at our joined hands before reaching her hands up to cup William's cheeks, which are tinted pink from her attention, and she gives him a soft kiss on the forehead once she's pulled him down to her level.

When she drops her hands from William's cheeks, she focuses her attention onto me, and I instantly smile widely at her, and she pulls me into a tight hug. Wrapping my arms around her thin waist, and bury my nose into her shoulder as she murmurs a 'happy birthday, dear boy,' into my shoulder, and I softly thank her.

"Alright, now let's eat, 'cuz I don't know about you boys, but I'm hungry," Nonna states, pulling back from me with a wide smile and a wink.

Softly giggling at her, we grab the food, and head toward the table in the dining room, and sit around the already set table. Nonna insists on saying grace before we eat, so she's the one who says this prayer.

"So, Lake, how are things between you and William?" Nonna questions once we've started eating, and I instantly choke on the bite of lasagna.

Nonna softly chuckles at my reaction along with my wide eyes while William gently thumps me on my back until I'm okay.

"Um, what do you mean, Nonna?" I ask for clarification because I don't know what dad's told her about William and me.

She gives me a dull expression of 'cut the shit,' and I grin at William before turning my grin onto her; "Will and I are dating, Nonna. He asked me to be his boyfriend earlier today."

"About damn time," she replies with a smirk at William and me, and my eyes widen in shock at her comment. "He's been pining after you for a while now, my dear grandson."