8. Leslie

CHAPTER 8

LESLIE

Asa drives us toward my parents’ house for the moment of truth. I can’t help but steal glances at him, seeming oddly calm, but his relaxed demeanor does little to quell the whirlwind of anxiety swirling inside me. Every freaking nerve in my body is on high alert, and the butterflies are having an all-out rave in my stomach.

“Are you ready for this?” I ask, trying to sound light when all I feel is the weight of this family dinner.

“Don’t worry, love. Everything is going to be fine,” he replies, his voice smooth, without a hint of anxiety in his expression.

“I know it is.” I take a deep breath and watch the trees passing by outside the window while Asa brings my hand to his lips and places soft kisses on the back of my knuckles.

He completely distracts me, and before I know it, we pull up in front of the big, white colonial house. I take a shaky breath, gripping the edges of my seat. “Here we go,” I mutter, half to myself and half to Asa.

He parks next to the driveway, and as I step out, the looming house feels like a fortress. My heart races, knowing this is my moment to prove to my parents how serious I am about Asa.

We stroll to the front door, and my dad greets us, wearing a casual polo shirt and khakis—definitely a departure from the usual dress code of button-ups, ties, and slacks. “I’m glad you made it!” he says, pulling me in for a hug before turning to Asa. “And you must be Asa.” He holds out his hand to Asa.

“Thanks for having me, Mr. Langley,” Asa responds, steady as a rock while shaking my dad’s hand.

“Your mom is busy in the kitchen,” my dad says, leading us into the house. The familiar smells of home envelop me.

We find my mom in the kitchen, stirring something on the stove. She turns around and gives me a smile. “Welcome, Asa. We didn’t get the chance to formally meet the other day.” She completely glosses over their first meeting. “Please, call me Gloria.”

“Thank you for having me over for dinner, ma’am.” Asa gives her a genuine smile, and I can see my mom already falling under his spell.

“Why don’t you come to the living room, and we can get to know each other while the ladies finish up dinner,” my dad suggests to Asa. “I want to know your plans for the future. I especially want to know if you plan to run naked through the town again.”

Oh my goodness. I can’t believe my dad would bring that up, but Asa handles it well. “I definitely won’t be doing any naked runs in the future, sir.”

“I’m glad to hear it,” my dad responds as he walks over and pulls two beers from the refrigerator. That’s new. I don’t remember ever seeing my dad drink beer. “Would you like one, Leslie?” My dad winks at me, and I realize he listened to my tirade and is making an effort to make me happy.

“Thank you, but not right now.” And hopefully not for the next nine months if Asa gets his wish. “I’ll go set the table.”

“I need your help with the casserole.” My mother smiles at me. “Dad and Asa can set the table before they head to the living room,” she tells the two men, leaving no room for refusal.

“Yes, dear.” My dad walks over to the cabinet and grabs plates and silverware before they disappear to set the table.

My mother tells me about the monthly employee meeting while we put together my grandmother’s chicken and wild rice recipe. After my mom puts the casserole in the oven, she turns to me. “Why don’t we go make sure everything is okay.”

As we move into the living room, I hope for the best but prepare myself for the worst. In the living room, we find my dad, grinning too widely, showing Asa something with pride. I squint, trying to make sense of it. When I realize what he’s holding, a giggle rushes up my throat.

“Sweet baby Jesus,” I mutter under my breath.

It’s a used target from the gun range, riddled with bullet holes. There are several holes in the heart area and, disturbingly, a few clustering in the private area. Dad’s grinning like he’s just brought home some kind of trophy.

“This is my target from today,” he tells Asa, puffing up his chest a little, and I can’t help but roll my eyes. “If you ever break my daughter’s heart, I’ll do this to you.” He points to the heart. “And if you ever do my daughter wrong, this is what I’ll do to you.” Now, he points at the private area.

Asa glances over at me and winks before running his finger along one of the holes. “What caliber did you use on this?”

My father blinks several times, looking like a deer caught in headlights. “Uh… five… no, make that ten.” My mother bites her bottom lip and turns to face the wall, trying not to laugh.

“Oh.” Asa looks from the target back to my dad. “Why don’t we go to the range sometime? I was a marksman, and I can teach you a few things about firearms. Because if I ever hurt her, we want to make sure you know what you’re doing.”

My dad rubs the back of his neck as a bright red flush crawls up his neck and over his face. “It was that obvious, huh?”

“Only to a pro.” Asa laughs while walking over to wrap his arm around my shoulders. I settle into his embrace like I’ve been doing this forever.

“If you’re going to teach me how to shoot, you should at least call me Alfred.” My dad chuckles and all the tension in the room immediately dissipates.

“Alfred, there’s something I need to ask you.” His fingers tighten on my shoulder and I hold my breath as he turns to my dad. My stomach clenches as I wait for his question. “I love your daughter more than life itself, and I want to spend the rest of my life with her. I’d like to ask for your permission to make Leslie my wife.”

“As a father, I feel like I should tell you to wait and get to know each other better, but I’m not going to. I trust my daughter to make the right decision. If you can convince her to marry you, you have my approval.”

He already convinced me. Now, I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with my bad boy.

The dinner went surprisingly well, and to my utter relief, there weren’t any awkward silences or disapproving glances. Asa effortlessly bantered with my dad, discussing everything from sports to the finer points of gun range trips. It felt like I was watching a natural rapport develop right before my eyes. My parents genuinely seemed to like him, which is probably the biggest relief I’ve felt in ages. They even chuckled when I nervously mentioned just how fast this relationship was moving. “It’s good for you to have a little adventure,” my mom had said, and I nearly fell out of my chair.

“You’re awfully quiet over there,” Asa comments, breaking me out of my reverie as he shoots me the heart-stopping smile that always turns my insides to mush.

“I’m just glad everything went so well,” I reply, finally realizing how tense I had been through the whole dinner. When something goes as smoothly as this, it’s hard not to feel a bit giddy.

As Asa turns down a quiet road, I watch the trees whiz past. “So, are you really going to teach my dad how to shoot a gun?” I ask, the image of my father holding a rifle suddenly popping into my mind. That sounds like a sitcom waiting to happen.

A grin spreads across Asa’s face, and he shifts his hand to my thigh, giving it a gentle squeeze before wrapping his fingers around mine, igniting a spark deep in my girly parts. “Hell yes, I’m going to teach him how to shoot. Our daughters are going to be fucking gorgeous, and he’s going to have to help me keep the boys away,” he replies, a cheeky edge coloring his voice.

I can’t help but crack up, excitement bubbling inside me at the thought of having Asa’s children. “Our daughters? What if we have sons?”

He raises an eyebrow and declares, “Oh, I want at least three little girls who look just like their beautiful mother. Then we can start working on a few sons.”

I blink at him, the sheer audacity of that statement leaving my mouth dry. “You’re planning on six or more kids?!”

“To start,” he smirks, and I can’t help but smile back, my heart racing as he brings my hand to his lips, planting a soft kiss on my knuckles. “Since I’m pretty sure our first little angel is already in the works, we have a head start.”

“I love you.” I can’t believe how easy those words are to say.

“I love you, too.” He parks in front of his home and turns to me. “Once I get your gorgeous ass inside, I’m going to show you how much.”

Wow. Life doesn’t get any better than this—the good girl wins the bad boy’s heart and they live happily ever after.