Liana

 

 

 

“Are you sure this is okay?” I ask, nervously playing with my new dress. “And my hair? You don’t think I should do more with it?”

Joseph fixes the cuff on his suit and smiles at me through the reflection in the mirror.

“You look fantastic, Liana,” he says. “Stop worrying so much.”

“Mhm,” I say, trying to catch my delirious breath.

I pace up and down the width of the bedroom, trying to think of things I still have to do before we drive to the airport, but there’s nothing left. Nothing needs to be cleaned, baked, prepared. There’s nothing to occupy my busy mind.

“You are so adorable,” Joseph comments from across the room, now walking over to me. “What are you so worried about?”

I look up at him. It’s been six months since we’ve come to the end of our arrangement. Six months during which I turned my life around with his help.

Despite our uninterrupted first thirty-nine days together, I was reluctant to move in with him when he asked me to. I’ve made the mistake of moving too fast before. Luke and I moved in together after only knowing each other for a few weeks, and I swore to myself that I wouldn’t repeat that same mistake.

Of course, with Joseph things are different. So very different. It was a stubborn certainty that things would fall apart that kept me from agreeing to do the thing that felt truly natural with him. This house had become my home before I was even willing to let it happen. It’s outside the city, the countryside, a place I never thought I’d want to live.

But things change. I changed. I’ve come to love the calm landscape, the beautiful estate surrounding our mansion, the gardens and the sound of birds replacing the constant rush of traffic that I’m used to. Besides, the city with all its hustle and bustle is not far away.

Saying goodbye to the apartment that carried so many bad memories of my former relationship was the easiest part of all. I was glad to leave it behind.

Yet I’ve only officially been living with him for two months now, and I still catch myself calling it his home instead of ours. For some reason, Joseph thought that this would change once we invite two people who’d welcome me into this home just as much as he does.

His grandparents. The people who raised him and who turned his life around for the better.

They’re on their way here now, and we are about to leave for Logan Airport to pick them up.

“I’m just so nervous,” I say, my entire body shaking. “I mean, meeting family, that’s huge. And, it’s you. Your grandparents.”

He chuckles and places a kiss on my cheek.

“You say that as if I was someone to be scared of,” he whispers. “Or them.”

I shake my head.

“I just want them to like me,” I say, knowing how silly that must sound.

“They’ll love you,” he promises. “I mean, I do. I never thought I’d deserve to be loved by a woman like you. And I didn’t think I was capable of giving love in return.”

He pauses, his dark hazel eyes fixating on mine with intent.

“You proved me wrong,” he adds. “If I can’t resist your charm, how could anyone else, especially my grandparents?”

He kisses me again, his finger tracing along the sterling silver that adorns my neck.

I’m wearing my day collar, a subtle silver chain with a ring-shaped decor at the front. It sits rather snugly around my throat, but other than that, it can pass off as just another piece of jewelry. An innocent necklace my loving boyfriend bought for me.

I was a little heartbroken when he took my collar away on that day we left his house together for the first time. But he soon replaced it with this, after giving me a few days to decide whether I really wanted to be with him, all things considered.

I didn’t need those few days, but I took them anyway, trying to sort out my life and even considering what it would be like without him in it.

But I knew I couldn’t return to my old life. I knew it when I said my goodbye at the cemetery, and that certainty only grew during the days I had to spend away from him to think about everything.

I’m perfectly happy where I am right now. Happy, not just content.

And that’s something I’ve never been able to say before.

“You’re sure they won’t notice?” I ask him, pointing to my collar.

He shakes his head.

“You’d have to know what it is to understand,” he says. “And if you know what it is, you don’t ask about it.”

He pauses and laughs.

“Besides, I highly doubt my grandparents are in to any of this,” he adds. “They’re good people.”

“Oh, and we’re not?” I ask him teasingly.

Joseph places his palm against my cheek, smiling lovingly at me.

“No, my pet,” he says in a soft voice.

“We are us.”