Total pages in book: 41
Estimated words: 38483 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 192(@200wpm)___ 154(@250wpm)___ 128(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 38483 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 192(@200wpm)___ 154(@250wpm)___ 128(@300wpm)
I pause in the doorway when I see the time out the corner of my eye. “It’s almost time for lunch. Do we have anything besides sandwiches that we can make for your parents?”
He waves off my concern. “Don’t worry about it. I’m sure my mom will have it covered. No matter how many times I tell her not to, she stocks my fridge whenever she comes over, and I highly doubt today will be any different. If anything, she’ll probably go even more overboard than usual, because she’ll be nervous about meeting you and excited about finally getting to hold Jenna.”
It’s hard for me to believe she might be as nervous as me, but for all I know, it’s normal. I’ve never had a boyfriend before, so I haven’t experienced the whole meeting the parents thing. “You really think so?”
He nods. “After a week of waiting, she’s probably a mess of nerves by now.”
“A week, huh?” I shake my head. “It feels like it was just yesterday that I gave birth.”
“Yeah, time seems to be flying by,” he agrees then tips his head to the side. “Go shower, baby.”
“Right.” I turn and head down the hall then check on Jenna before I get into the shower. Dressed and waiting in the living room forty minutes later, I jump slightly when there’s a knock on the door.
“It’s going to be okay,” Justin reassures me with a quick kiss before he opens the door.
“There’s my baby boy!” His mom tackles him with a hug before she even makes it all the way into his apartment, and I smile at how tiny she is in comparison to him.
“Mom.” He bends to kiss her cheek, and her eyes lock on mine.
“And you must be Aubrey!” She leaves his side and rushes toward me, wrapping me in a tight hug. “Look at how gorgeous you are.” She leans back to study me then shakes her head. “No wonder my boy is so smitten.”
“Jesus, Mom,” he grumbles, and his dad claps him on his back and chuckles.
“Don’t act so surprised. You know how she is.”
“Maybe, but I wasn’t expecting her to practically attack her.” He shuts the door and moves close, wrapping his arm around me. “She’s still recovering from having Jenna.”
“Stop. I’m fine.” I look up at him, leaning into his side, and I swear I hear his mom sigh.
“I can’t wait to meet your baby girl,” his mom says, gaining my attention. “But first, since my son seems to have forgotten his manners, I’ll introduce myself. I’m Cora, and this is my husband Jasper.”
“Sorry, Mom.”
I smile at how quickly he apologizes and wonder if he’s had a lot of practice doing that.
“Cut the boy some slack, Cora. I’m sure he isn’t getting much sleep, and he’s probably wondering if we’ll be on our best behavior around his girl or if we’ll do our best to embarrass him,” Jasper says, setting two large tote bags on the kitchen counter before turning our way.
“Oh!” Cora grins at her husband. “You should’ve reminded me to tuck one of his baby albums into the bag. Then Aubrey could’ve seen how adorable he was when he played pirate in the bath—”
“Jenna is in the bedroom, Mom,” Justin cuts her off. “She should be waking up any minute now to eat, if you want to go check on her.”
“Ooh, can I?” She turns to me, and I nod. I follow her into the bedroom and smile as she lifts Jenna, who’s blinking her eyes open, out of the bassinet. “It looks like I have perfect timing.”
“She’s on a pretty set schedule now. I swear she wants to eat every hour and a half. She’d probably eat more if I fed her.”
“I remember those days. They lasted a long time with Justin, since he was such a greedy little boy.” She heads toward the recliner in the corner of the room that Justin had delivered yesterday. “Do you mind if I sit with her for a minute?”
“Not at all. I’ll be back in a minute to change her diaper and feed her. I’m just going to grab the stuff from the living room.”
“Take your time.” She doesn’t even bother looking at me and I smile. I head into the kitchen to grab a glass of water, since I always get thirsty when I breastfeed, but Justin’s already poured one for me.
“You doing okay, sweetheart?” he asks, wrapping his arms around my waist from behind.
“Yeah,” I whisper back. “It’s not as bad as I thought.” I blush when I hear his dad’s deep chuckle behind me. “Sorry.” I turn to face him. “That sounded worse than I meant it.”
“No apology needed, Aubrey. I’m not offended at all—more the opposite, actually. I wouldn’t have liked you half as much for our boy if you weren’t at least a little worried about meeting his parents.”