You Are My Sunshine

Chapter Thirty-Two: Family Dinner

"Where's my little granddaughter?" Charles asked stepping out of the house, it had been an interesting couple of weeks and he was pleased that they were going to have a night with the family. 

Joe had been pretty busy now that he was back at training and with Gabriella back at work, there wasn't much time for the two to spend with their parents or to do much else. 

Gabriella smiled collecting Elena from her car seat, she seemed to be getting bigger every day and she was surprised how fast everything seemed to be moving for them. 

Charles grinned taking Elena from his daughter and cuddling her, the weather was beautiful and it had been a great idea to host a dinner for the family; things were only going to get crazier as the Euros approached. 

"How's the head?" Catherine asked moving to greet the couple, she was so happy they had been able to come especially since it was the first time in a while since they had gotten together like this. 

Gabriella chewed on her lip and looked at Joe, he still didn't seem to remember that he had proposed to her; she wondered if he ever would and it did make her think about the future that they could have together. 

"Better," Joe replied with a smile, he was glad that things were back to normal and he just hoped that it would stay that way; he looked at Gabriella knowing that they would always have each other. 

Elena babbled happily as her maternal grandparents fussed over her, it was strange to think that it had been nearly a year since Gabriella had come into Joe's life. 

His life had been completely different before he had gotten Gabriella pregnant, Joe felt much happier about his life now than he had ever felt when he had been with Georgina. 

It only made sense that he was ready to take that next step, Joe just hoped that he would be able to catch Gabriella's father alone today.

***

"She's getting so big," Louise fussed smiling at Elena, she was thrilled that they were doing so well and she could see how happy Joe was when it came to the small family that he had formed. 

It was going so well and Louise had a feeling that Joe wasn't going to wait around before he did something to make this more permanent; she could only imagine when he would actually get around to popping the question. 

Joe was never one to rush things but Louise doubted that he would actually hanging about, Gabriella had changed everything for him and they were doing so well. 

"She is," Joe agreed sitting down next to his mother, he looked at Elena still unable to believe that she was nearly four months old; she was growing so quickly and Joe loved spending as much time with her as possible. 

It was going to be easier when the football season ended, Joe planned on whisking her little family away on holiday once the wedding that Gabriella was organising had happened; he wanted to relax with his family with him. 

The holiday was booked and the couple would be spending two weeks in Jesolo, Italy; Joe had made sure that they wouldn't be disturbed by booking a private villa near the beach. 

Everything was going perfectly and the holiday was booked for the end of July, it would give them more than enough time to relax and not worry about rushing back. 

"So two weeks in Jesolo, Italy, I am a little jealous," Catherine teased taking a seat, she looked at Joe knowing that the holiday would do the couple wonders and it was just what they needed. 

Gabriella was going to need a break after organising the wedding of her ex-fiancé; it had shocked her parents when she had told them about it, they couldn't believe that Adam was doing this.

Chuckling Joe nodded his head, he was looking forward to having Gabriella and Elena to himself and he hoped that it would go well; he couldn't imagine what it would be like only that they would have a great time. 

Elena would be about six months old and a lot easier to travel with, Joe was even hopeful that Gabriella would be able to fly out to the Euros and watch him play if they got past the group stage. 

"Any big plans?" Catherine asked smiling, she shared a look with Louise knowing that things had been going well and it wouldn't surprise them if Gabriella came back engaged. 

Joe raised an eyebrow, he wasn't going to give anything away even if everyone except Gabriella was expecting him to propose in the near future. 

"Just to relax," Joe replied easily, he looked over at Gabriella knowing that he was going to take his time; he had gotten a bit of an answer when he had asked her if he had done anything stupid while he was in hospital. 

It had been a little bit of a test and Gabriella's decision not to tell him that he had proposed meant that she wasn't quite ready yet to get married. 

Joe didn't blame her especially since they'd only been together a few months, waiting a little longer didn't bother him and he was happy to wait until she was ready. 

Gabriella was the one that Joe wanted to spend the rest of his life with, Joe was just happy that they had made it this far and that he had the family he had always wanted. 

They were going to be together for a very long time, their relationship would always be accelerated because of what they had been through and they had Elena to think about.

***

"I want to ask for your blessing?" Joe asked sitting down across from Charles, he had been waiting all afternoon for a moment like this and he wanted to do this right; he knew that this was just a start. 

Raising an eyebrow at Joe, Charles couldn't help but smile knowing that he had been expecting this since Elena had been born; he was honestly surprised that it had taken Joe so long to come and speak to him. 

"My blessing?" Charles asked innocently, he had been expecting this sooner or later but it did surprise him that Joe was asking now. 

Gabriella was just in the kitchen with her mother and the last thing that Joe wanted was for them to be overhear what was going on in the living room running the surprise. 

"I wish to ask Gabriella to marry me," Joe mumbled nervously, he already had the ring and he was just waiting for the perfect moment to get down on one knee. 

Their trip to Italy in nearly three months would be the perfect time and Joe was just hopeful that it would work out for them; he wanted to spend the rest of his life with Gabriella. 

The idea of calling her Mrs Gabriella Olivia Hart was very appealing and he was sure that it would happen one day; Joe looked at her father knowing that he would never let her down. 

After hearing what Adam had done, Joe could understand her reluctant in getting engaged again but he had no interest in ruining things between them; he just wanted to prove himself. 

"You have my blessing Joe... look after them both," Charles murmured patting the footballer on the shoulder, it was something that Adam had never done and Gabriella certainly had found someone better than her former ex-fiancé. 

Feeling a weight lift from his shoulders, Joe nodded his head knowing that he wouldn't let anything happen to them.