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They guided his parents back to the kitchen where Emily joined the others working on the food. She could see in the eyes of her sister and friends that they had witnessed the exchange between her and the Carters. The smiles and looks they all shared spoke volumes, and almost made her uncomfortable.

“You guys better shut up and cook,” she warned, busying herself. Her focus on her task allowed only vague awareness of the interaction between the Carters and the two new additions to their family happening around her breakfast bar.

“So you two not only ignore your mother’s calls, but you don’t even bother to get up and say hello. What kind of children did I raise?” Tina looked sternly at her children.

“Sorry, Mother, we had to watch over the cupcakes.” Gabriel chuckled and pointed at the tray in front of him before kissing his mother on both cheeks and turning to hug his dad with a “Whassup, Pop?”

“And by watching the cupcakes you mean that you’re hungover and lazy, right Gabe?” Taylor teased, walking to the other side of the breakfast bar. He leaned on the counter by the stove to peek at what Emily was cooking. They exchanged glances and smiles before she dipped a spoon in the apple and cinnamon garnish she was making for the waffles and, after blowing on it a few times, brought it to his lips. He tasted and left some on the spoon, which she licked clean before tossing it in the sink.

“Fu . . . ” Gabriel began a retort with a few choice words that his mother didn’t approve of, halting when he saw the arched brow on her face.

Rolling her eyes at her brothers, Penelope jumped from her stool to hug and kiss both her parents, who greeted her warmly.

“Mind your language, son. You’re in a lady’s home, show some of the respect your mother taught you,” his father said with a smile towards Emily and his eldest son, who were blissfully unaware that they were being watched. “And speaking of ladies, who’s this lovely young woman?”

Gabriel looked at Tara, who looked somewhere between glowing and uncomfortable. At that moment he saw her not only as a beautiful woman, but also a nice woman who was good for him in ways that went far beyond the horizontal—and even though they hadn’t discussed their relationship much further than birth control methods and whose house they were sleeping in, he realized that the idea of a relationship with her wasn’t one that he frowned upon. In fact, he actually thought it could be interesting. That realization pushed him into making the decision he’d been pushing off for the past two months.

“Mom and Dad, this is my girlfriend, Tara Day,” he introduced, standing up and placing an arm proudly around her shoulders as he stared deep into her eyes. “Tara, these are my parents, Christina and Richard.”

Tara cleared her throat and extended a hand to them. “It’s so nice to meet you, Mr. Carter, Mrs. Carter.”

With another wide, white-toothed smile Tina greeted her, insisting she called them by their first names. Amongst kisses and hugs, the older woman also complimented her on her pajamas. When no one was watching, she exchanged glances with Emily and mouthed a “thank you.” With Tara introduced, there was only one more introduction to be made, and every member of the Carter family was holding their breaths in anticipation.

Rick eyed Jude, who was politely talking to Toby and Zack, before returning his gaze to his daughter. “Aren’t you going to introduce your new fella to your old man, Penelope?”

She smiled and called her boyfriend. As Jude walked towards the massive Rick, Emily eyed her friends and family, telling them to find something to do and give the family some privacy. Like rats in a sinking ship, they scattered at record speed. With the kitchen mostly empty, Poppy introduced her boyfriend to her parents in a respectful way.

“Hello sir, it’s very good to meet you. And you, ma’am.” Jude’s politeness was ill-fitting to his overall rebel look. Rick squeezed the hand the young man was offering a little too forcefully, and was content that the boy didn’t flinch. All the warmth and friendliness he showed to both girls and the rest of the group was gone.

“It’s good to meet you too, dear, and you can call us Rick and Tina as well,” Tina said with her proud momma smile, which earned her an angry glare from her husband, who didn’t like her encouraging familiarity with boyfriends.

“Thank you Tina. I would like you to know that I think your daughter is a very special, intelligent and beautiful woman.” He looked at his girlfriend with adoring eyes and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. She returned the look he’d given her with one of her own. “There’s nothing more important in the world to me. She and her happiness are my highest priorities.”

Jude squared his shoulders and looked Rick in the eyes before speaking again, earning a little of Rick’s respect.
If a boy that thin is not afraid to look me in the eyes, it’s because he’s damn sure he’s not going to make me angry,
Rick thought, and waited for the boy to continue. “I know it’s a little too late to ask for permission to date Penelope, so I won’t. I’ll ask for your blessing instead.”

I’ll be damned,
Rick thought. His wife looked at him with motherly joy before hugging the boy and then her daughter.

He looked at his daughter with loving eyes and had to clear his throat before speaking. “Well, you seem like a nice enough man, and you seem to understand how great my baby girl is. She seems happy, so I’ll give my blessing. But if you hurt her, I swear to god I’ll break both your legs, and my boys will help.” He extended his hand to shake Jude’s, who nodded his understanding.

Relieved that the most unpleasant portion of the morning was over, Tina turned back to the kitchen with a broad smile on her lips. “Where should we change?” she asked Emily.

“You can use our room,” Emily replied before thinking.

Only her sister and two best friends knew that she’d shared her room with Taylor that night, however, no one other than the two of them knew she referred to the room as theirs. It was their little secret, and having the thirteen heads that now stared firmly at her with surprised looks, made her cheeks fill with a scorching crimson blush. Knowing that backpedaling her words would only make the admission more awkward, she simply closed her eyes and pointed in the direction of the hallway. “Down the hall, the door to the left.”

In the middle of her mortification, a set of hands gripped her shoulders lightly. “I really liked the sound of that.” Taylor’s voice sounded in her ear, a smile on his lips. He delivered a loving kiss to her temple and released her. Clearing his throat, he walked towards his parents. “I’ll take you.”

As soon as Taylor and his parents disappeared into her room, Emily opened her eyes and gave her best stern look at all the people still staring at her. “Unless you want to go without breakfast this morning, you all better quit staring at me.” Turning her back to them, she heard chuckles and giggles as she took in long, deep breaths.

The moment they crossed the threshold to what was now his bedroom, Taylor’s mother folded her son in her arms and rained kisses over his face. He thought of asking what it was all about, but there was no point; he knew that, in a matter of seconds, she’d start blabbing about it.

“She’s so wonderful, honey, I’m so happy for you.”

With a roll of his eyes and a smirk, he hugged his mother back tighter. “Thanks, Mom. She really is wonderful, but we’re just friends.”

“Friends who apparently sleep together,” Tina said under her breath.

“We just slept, that’s all. We talked, she rolled towards me, and then fell asleep on my chest. It was the best night of my life and nothing more than that.” His smile was small, but his parents could see the enormous joy in his face. “Now put your pjs and let’s go eat some pancakes.” Winking at his parents, Taylor exited the room and made his way back to the living room where the impressive banquet was being assembled.

They made everything you could wish for in a breakfast meal: buttermilk pancakes with warm maple syrup, waffles with apple and cinnamon garnish, two different kinds of eggs, toast with various spreads and jams, oatmeal, hash browns, cupcakes, croissants and muffins, greek yogurt and granola, fresh fruit, orange juice, coffee and a wide selection of teas. Everything was placed in either colorful china or wicker baskets and carefully arranged on the dining room table. The pile of Emily’s mismatched colorful plates was arranged in one corner along with glasses, mugs and silverware.

They obviously wouldn’t all fit around Emily’s modest table, but before they all dug into the food and scattered around the apartment, Zack distributed champagne flutes to everyone and proposed a toast.

“We have a lot to celebrate today. First, I would like to propose a toast to our dear hosts, Emily and Taylor. May this home always be filled with happiness.” They all cheered before Zack continued, “To the new additions to our little weird clan, it’s a pleasure having you with us today.” A second round of cheers sounded around the room. “To the newest member of this family, who will be here by tomorrow afternoon and just in time for Christmas—this is to Alice.”

Charlotte squealed and clapped. She threw her arms around her husband’s neck, as he and all the other guests joined in her happiness.

With a new smile on his lips and a long glance at his boyfriend, Zack made his final toast. “And finally, to my beloved Tobias, thank you for agreeing to share a home and a life with me. I love you more than words can say.”

Everyone looked at the two men; the amount of love in their gazes filled every heart in the room. Emily and Jody were smiling at their best friend through teary eyes when Taylor slipped his hand into Emily’s and, without removing her eyes from Zack, she squeezed it. That simple gesture was filled with every emotion she felt and couldn’t quite name. The room erupted with cheers that were enthusiastically headed by Tina, who was clapping and yelling woo-hoo. And, even through the cheering and the glass clinking, Taylor and Emily held on to each other.

It was the beginning of the afternoon when the large group finally left the apartment. Charlotte and Chuck left with the rest of them to go visit their daughter on her last day in the hospital, leaving Emily and Taylor alone and exhausted.

“Good lord, I can’t believe it’s over,” Emily said, leaning against the back of the couch. “I’m so tired it feels like ten p.m.”

Taylor laughed as he walked over to her and took both her hands, pulling her to her feet. “Come with me, ma’am.”

“Where are we going?”

“To our room.” He looked into her beautiful blue eyes and with a smile, continued, “Where you’re getting a foot massage and we’re napping before dinner with my folks tonight. What do you think?”

Her smile almost split her face in two. “Yes, please!”

Once inside the room he let go of her hands and walked towards the bed to turn on the lamp. After closing the door Emily pulled on the strings that were tying her kimono closed, and started unwrapping herself. Taylor knew she wasn’t trying to seduce him. She was simply being herself inside the bedroom she called theirs.

For that reason, he found that whole unwrapping process ten times sexier than any seduction would ever be and, in that moment, he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that they belonged to each other the way couples do.

“How about some Coverdale?” he asked fussing with her iPod.

She settled herself on the rearranged pillows as David Coverdale’s perfect voice filled the room. “Yes, please.”

Taylor sat facing her, his back against the metal frame at the foot of the bed. She looked like an angel, humming the tune and loosening her ponytail. His hands took hold of her feet and with tender, sensual movements he began massaging them. Her eyes fluttered closed and a contented sigh escaped her semi-parted lips. He kept working his way up and down the soles of her feet, her toes and ankles, until he found a spot just on the edge of her instep that, when pressed, resulted in a small moan that sounded sweeter then the most beautiful love song to his ears.

“You have such small feet. My hand is bigger,” he said playfully, as he measured it against her tiny foot. “Can you even find shoes this small?” He continued to inspect her foot with his head cocked to the side, a crooked smile on his lips and an incredulous look in his eyes.

“Of course I can. I’m a six, Tay. It’s a perfectly normal shoe size. Your hands are bigger than my feet because they are too big.”

“Well, in that case, you know what they say about photographers with big hands, right?” He chuckled.