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“Yeah, the same one I want, but I went ahead and picked out something different that I loved just as much.”

Edeen laughed. “That must be a problem when you’re sisters. My brother and I have never had that problem.”

Robert said, “I should hope not.”

Everyone laughed, and they sat down to eat lunch.

“This is great,” Lachlan said. “I didn’t think we would have such excellent company for lunch.”

“They came by to show me our pet photos. They’re beautiful.”

“I’m so glad. I can’t wait to see them,” Lachlan said.

“I can show them to you,” Robert said, “while Maisie orders her and her sister’s Christmas gowns.”

“Sounds good.”

“This is great chicken,” Maisie said.

“All the veggies are too,” Lachlan said.

Once they finished eating lunch, Robert showed Lachlan their pet photos, and Maisie ordered the gowns from Edeen. Now they were all set.

Then Lachlan and Edeen had to get back to work while Robert and Maisie walked back to their home.

As soon as they entered the house, Maisie got a call from her mother. “Hey, Mom.”

“Can we meet Robert and visit a bit with you both at your house in a couple of hours before we go to the dinner at the pie shop?” her mom asked.

“Yes, absolutely. That would be great. We can’t wait for you to get here. See you soon.” Maisie put her phone on the kitchen table.

“Your parents are coming to see us?” Robert asked.

“Aye, in a couple of hours. So we might need to straighten up the house a bit. I’m sure they’ll want to see my new living accommodations.”

He laughed. “I hope they love it.”

“They will, but even if they didn’t, all that matters is that we both love it. I wouldn’t want to stay anywhere else.”

The house was really pretty neat. Both of them tended to like things organized, she’d discovered, though Edeen had asked about how he was doing in that regard. But maybe with his new house instead of a smaller apartment, he had more room to put everything away. Neither of them had to pick up after each other yet, so it worked out great. So far, they had helped each other prepare meals and clean up afterward. Now, they broke down the packing boxes, since all her clothes were put away.

Once Robert was working long hours at the clinic, things would probably change, but both of them were extremely flexible, and she was ready to prepare meals for him, no matter the hour, if he was busy working. She would have breakfast early with him, and then she would help Anne prepare breakfast for the guests. They would figure it all out.

For now, she just hoped that he got along with her parents and vice versa. It was really important to her that they accepted each other as family, but Robert was her mate, so she just hoped it all went well.

***

Robert was looking forward to seeing Maisie’s parents.

“Are you worried about meeting them?” Maisie gave Robert a hug.

“No. They have to be wonderful to have raised you and your sister so well.”

She laughed. “Thanks. They are pretty wonderful. I have to say thanks so much for talking to them about moving here too.”

“That’s what family does for family.”

They laid out string to mark off where she wanted her garden beds and paths. He figured tomorrow was the open house, so they would be too busy to start working on it. But the next day, they would begin to build it.