Chapter 19

Emilia

As my grandparents bickered, I wondered how I could tell them about my upcoming sudden nuptials. I'd phoned my mum earlier and she was beyond excited, but she said she would need to join forces with my Grandmother before she would broach the subject with my Dad. I felt Cyrus poke my ribs, and I turned to glare at him.

"Where are you, Emilia? That's not your apartment," my Grandfather asked as he peered around my background, which caught my Grandmother's attention towards me. "Are you on an assignment?"

My Grandmother had a big grin on her face. She knew about my interest in Cyrus, but I'd not told her how things had progressed since I'd been on my back for the last three days.

"Where is he?" she asked.

"He is sitting next to me."

"Who are you talking about?" my Grandfather asked, looking confused.

"Hello," Cyrus said as he put his arm around me and sat beside me.

"No. Not an American, Emilia. We have historical beef with them. You were due to come back home after a couple of years over there," my Grandfather lamented.

"Oh, hush, she is a grown woman. And everyone has historical beef with us," my Grandmother said as her eyes narrowed on Cyrus. "Oh, my. I can see why you've not had time to call us."

I began to snicker when my Grandfather glared at her.

"Does your father know about this?" my Grandfather waved his hand around dramatically on the HoloTime call. All I could do was watch.

"Ah, that's why I'm calling. Mum's going to be in touch because we are getting married next weekend. Surprise," I said as I watched my Grandfather begin to bluster.

It seemed my Grandmother had kept her word and hadn't told anyone about Cyrus.

"Hello, Cyrus. I hope you're ready to meet your new family," my Grandmother cackled.

"Emilia has told me so much about you all, and we can't wait to see you. Just tell me the date and number of people, and I can arrange for a direct flight for you all."

I reached for his hand, and he slipped his fingers between mine, but my Grandfather didn't miss a thing.

"Why aren't you wearing an engagement ring?" he asked suspiciously.

"That's my fault. I can't pick one," I piped up because I couldn't tell him that rings had been the last thing on our minds.

"He's a pauper," my Grandfather whispered to my Grandmother, who rolled her eyes.

"Is that why he offered to fly us on a private jet to America?" she asked in a dry voice. "I will make sure everything is smoothed out over here. Alejandro will behave if I have him over at ours for dinner."

"Can you ask Mum to video it for me if the knives come out?" I asked.

"Of course, darling," she said with a wink.

We chatted for a little while longer, and I was shocked by Cyrus's remarkable patience. There wasn't a single eye twitch in sight. He closed the laptop and flopped back onto the bed, only to pull me down with him.

"Knives at dinner?" he asked as he put his arm around my waist.

"You don't want to know, but apparently, my Dad used to be a bit of a wild child in his younger days."

"He doesn't work as a lawyer?"

"God, no. The law firm went to my Uncle Alistair. My Dad has a chain of gyms."

"And you have two younger brothers and one sister?"

"Yes. My Dad has one brother and two sisters, 19, 16 and 6. If you add in all my cousins, there are quite a few of us. My Mum doesn't have any family on her side, but my grandparents always made her feel like a daughter rather than a daughter-in-law."

"At least one side of the church will be full," he mused.

"I didn't think you would want a church wedding," I said as I rubbed his chest.

"I'd marry you anywhere, but I respect your family's values. You said they all got married in a church. After all, they kept you safe, and because of that, I got to burst your sweet little cherry," he said with a chuckle, making me slap his chest.

He moved onto his side and looked at me with a frown.

"We can't have any daughters," he said so seriously that I burst out laughing.

"Ah, I think your sperm determines the gender. So it's up to your little swimmers. What's wrong with having a daughter?" I asked as I wiped my tears away.

"I'm going to kill anyone who looks at her," he groaned.

I shook my head at him because he was exactly like my Dad.

"It's okay. We will get through this together," I said, rolling my eyes.

He ignored me and leaned over my belly only to begin to whisper something. I flung my head back onto the bed to look at the ceiling and wondered where I had gone wrong.

"Let's go get you a ring," he said after he finished exorcising my belly from any potential Y chromosomes.

That sounded like a nice ordinary trip to the shops.