Page 156 of The Scientist
His smile was breathtaking as he pulled me in for a kiss that seemed a lifetime in the making. There was still so much we needed to talk about, but I gave myself to this moment, savoring that perfect feeling of belonging to each other.
I drew back to look up at him, my fiancé. My heart turned over in my chest at just the thought of that word.
“I need you to do something for me,” I said, threading my fingers through his.
“Anything,” he responded solemnly.
“I need you to take me to my mom’s.”
Surprise flickered across his face, but he nodded in agreement. In less than ten minutes, we were driving up to her house. Before I could even knock on the door, my mom had swung it open and had me wrapped in a tight embrace.
“You said yes!” she squealed in my ear as she bounced up and down on the balls of her feet.
I chuckled. “How do you know that?”
“One look at Lex and it was perfectly clear,” she replied before pulling him in for a hug.
I glanced over to see him wearing a proud smile as he wrapped an arm around her. His other hand had never left my waist throughout any of my mom’s exuberant displays of affection.
“Congratulations,” she whispered to him as tears started to well in her eyes. I had to turn away before I became a sobbing mess right here on her doorstep.
As excited as I was to share this moment with her, there was something serious she and I needed to discuss. “If it’s okay, I’d like to talk to you and Carl about something, Mom.”
She released Lex and gave me a disconcerted look. “Okay.”
We followed behind her into the house. “Carl, honey,” she called out. “Can you come here for a moment?”
There was a loud, rustling noise before Carl came rushing down the hallway. “What is it? Are you okay?” His face was full of worry until he spotted me standing there. “Oh, Hadley’s here! Hi, dear,” he said, relieved. “And Lex…” He said his name with a hint of uncertainty, as if unsure if his presence was welcome, but then his eyes slid to our intertwined hands.
“Yes. Keep up, honey,” my mom said in faux exasperation. “I swear you miss everything with all the tinkering you do in that room back there.”
“You mean the same room you ask about every morning to check if I finished building the bookcase you wanted?” he said, smiling.
“Oh, is that what you’ve been doing back there all this time?” she replied with a wink.
“Why don’t we all go sit at the table?” I suggested, feeling the nerves gnawing at my insides. She gave me another concerned look as her eyes searched my face.
I started heading towards the table when my mom leaned over to Lex and asked, “Any idea what Serious Sally wants to talk about?”
He shook his head, grinning. “Not a clue.”
We sat down at the table, and I looked around at the most important people in my life.
“Well, don’t leave me in suspense, Hadley,” my mom said. “I already know you’re engaged so what else do we need to talk about?”
“Wait. They’re engaged?” Carl said, wide-eyed. “Since when? And how long have you known?”
My mom rolled her eyes. “Honestly, Carl, if you weren’t so obsessed with that bookcase, you might be more informed with the happenings of the world.”
I sighed. “Mom…”
“Okay, I’m sorry,” she said, putting her hands up in surrender. “What is it, sweetheart?”
I glanced over at Lex. His face held nothing but curiosity as he leaned closer to my side. I took a deep breath and said, “Lex is going back to Sweden.”
I felt him go stiff as a board next to me as his grip on me tightened. I turned to look him in the eye. “And I’m going with him.”
His eyes went wide with shock.