Page 171 of Soul Mates: Hercules Valentine and I

“Better.” I wince at my tight throat.

“Well, I think it’s a good thing,” Mom continues. “Ronald’s a good pick. And your dad and I, we’re in our sixties. Sure, we still have a whole lot of life still left to live, but we are getting up there.”

The table has been set, and now we’re playing mental ping-pong.Where is she going with this discussion?“Okay…” My tone leads her to finish her point.

“Ronald’s a smart guy. He’ll match your intellect,” my dad adds.

I fling my head into a severe tilt. “I hear you making a connection between the two of you getting older, Ronald being a smart guy, and our intellects matching?”

My mom groans as she rolls her eyes. “Goodness, Paisley, we’re not talking algebra. We’re just having a conversation about life.”

“Whose life?”

“Your life. Our life…”

“Ronald’s life,” I interject. “Don’t start planning a wedding yet. It’s just dinner.” I sip in a deep breath and let it out slowly.

“We know, but…” Mom shares a look with my dad.

I set my fork on top of my plate and fold my arms. “But?”

My parents pass each other another look. They’re on autopilot mode, determined to finish whatever they set out to accomplish before I sat down for dinner.

“As I said, your father and I aren’t getting any older.”

I’ve seen this tag-team performance before. That’s why I set my focus on my dad before he starts to speak.

“No,” Xander says on cue. He adjusts in his seat. “As Groves, we have a lot of wealth to consider. Your mother and I will never push you and Max into marriage.”

“Have children,” Heartly adds.

“And carry on our… legacy. But we feel it is time to consider our family’s future.”

I’m grinning, but not because I’m happy, I’m oddly amused by their two-person act. “Are you suggesting I marry Ronald Ashton, have babies, and pass our wealth down to them?”

“What’s wrong with marrying the person you love, Paisley? Your father and I married each other, had Max, then you,” Heartly says.

“And we love each other more than we did on the day we said ‘I do’ to each other,” Xander says.

My mom reaches a hand toward my dad. “We’re not saying that nearly forty years of marriage was always easy. Right, Xan?”

My dad nods. “Right, babe.”

“But with mutual respect and growing together as human beings. And of course, your dad is still so damn handsome,” Heartly says, flapping her eyelashes at my dad.

Smirking, he winks at her. “And you’re still the most beautiful woman I’ve ever laid eyes on.”

For a second, they’re lost in each other eyes, giving me a brief period to ponder the fastest way to excuse myself from the table and head home. But the servers collect our plates then quickly put authentic Italian tiramisu on in front of us.

Damn it.My mom knows I can’t resist tiramisu.

Since I’m not ready to make my escape, I slice my fork through my dessert and ask, “Why the full-court press on me? What about Max? He’s in his mid-thirties. Where’s his Ronald Ashton?”

Mom groans as if the subject of Max’s love life is too heavy to bear.

Xander shakes a finger at Heartly. “What was that girl’s name, honey? The one who never combed her hair.”

Hearty snorts sarcastically. “Which one?”