Diana's POV

I look at Lizzy with a frown on my face as my jumbled thoughts come together. Of fucking course she was going to be here tonight, and probably the rest of her family as well. When Patricia — Aaron's mother invited us, I thought it would just the four of them, but obviously I thought wrong. It took me a while to realise that I didn't know his parents name, because Derek never mentioned it, and I had never seen Lizzy call them from their names either.

So, very reluctantly and awkwardly, I asked Aaron. It's safe to say he made fun of me and laughed because we had been dating for six months now, and I still had no clue about his parents' name.

Lizzy smiles at us, bringing me back to the situation, the same smile that she wore around Aaron all the fucking time when we weren't dating. God, I need to check my anger in check tonight and not spoil Aaron's birthday. That's the last thing I should be doing considering everything.

"Hi guys, come on in!" She says, stepping aside like it's her house and I have to really resist rolling my eyes.

Emily tugs at my arm so I look down at her. She's giving me her adorable smile which I return before looking Aaron who looks between Lizzy and I. I sigh as I start to move in, Emily going in first. I remove her big warm coat as we step inside, and put it by the coat hanger where there are already at least five already.

I feel Aaron's hand on my back as I remove my cream knee length jacket as well, and he helps me with it, earning a small smile from me.

While we were getting ready I already told Emily where we were going, but she still looked so excited to be in Aaron's childhood home. She loves him, she really does. But I really hope that the rest of the people here aren't as nosey as Lizzy is.

"Who is it, Liz dear?" I hear a masculine voice and my eyes snap to Aaron's father.

His face goes a little expressionless as he looks at us then his eyes move to Emily, his expressions softening a little.

"Hey Dad." Aaron says, taking ahold of my hand which isn't grasped by Emily.

"Aaron." He gives his son a small smile and then his eyes move to me.

"Mr. McCall." I give him an addressing nod which he returns.

"Well come on in." Robert gestures towards the living room and I give him a small smile as Aaron tugs me forward.

When we stand by the couches, almost everyone turns towards us, and I can see at least four new faces amongst the crowd. Their gaze is fixed on Aaron, smiles erupting on their faces as they look at him.

"Happy Birthday, Aaron!" Everyone says together, reminding me of childhood birthday parties which makes Emily look up at me and I give her a smile.

"Thanks guys!" He laughs, moving to hug his mother.

"Diana, Emily." She turns to me.

"Thanks for inviting us, Mrs. McCall." I tell her.

"Of course. Let's get settled for dinner, shall we?" She says, motioning to the dining table.

"Well, who is this young lady, Aaron?" A man in his mid forties ask. He's eyeing me curiously which makes me a little attentive as I look back at him confidently.

"I'm Diana, his girlfriend." I say before Aaron can respond, freeing my hand from him and offering it to the man, "Nice to meet you." I give him a formal smile.

"Oh, the person who was the major topic of conversation on Christmas dinner." He grins, giving Aaron an approving nod as he shakes my head, "I'm Levi, his Uncle. And that is my wife, Mary." He motions to the woman behind him.

I give them a small smile and he turns to Emily, "And that must be your daughter." He says, bending down in front of Emily.

Now, Emily is a really talkative child but she's still a kid who gets easily intimated. She moves a little behind me and Aaron gives her a curious look because he has never witnessed her like this. But, I turn to Emily, bending down so that I can talk to her.

"You okay, Em?" I ask and she looks up at me with her big eyes, blinking as she looks between the strange faces and then back at me. "It's okay sweets, they are Aaron's family." I assure her, my hand on her cheek.

She still looks unsure and a little nervous so I turn to Aaron who gives me a small nod before picking her up in his arms, his shirt creasing a little.

"Alright, Em?" He asks and she gives him a hesitant look. "How about you meet one person at a time?" He suggests, getting her to agree.

Levi is the first in line, "Hi girly." He says, smiling politely at my daughter, "I am Levi, wanna be friends?"

She finally smiles, "I am Emily." She sticks out her tiny hand which Levi takes which a chuckle.

The next few minutes pass in introduction. Derek comes to stick by my side as I introduce myself to Levi's wife and Mr. and Mrs. Jones, Lizzie's parents. When Emily is still opening up, I move to the kitchen and offer to help his mother.

"Hi, is there anything I can do?" I ask, a little nervous and she beams at me.

"Sure, can you help with setting the table?" She suggests.

I nod, "I think we might need an extra hand." I smirk and then look at Derek hanging by the couches, texting on his phone. "Hey Derek!" I call out and he looks up from his phone.

He comes to the kitchen, "Yup?" He asks casually.

"Help with the table." I tell him and his Patricia gives me an incredulous look like I have gone crazy.

"You fucking kidding me, right?" He says and I narrow my eyes at him.

"Language." I remind him.

"Look who's talking. Emily isn't here." He rolls his eyes.

"Just keep these things on the table." I pass him the salad and he gives me a look. "Come on! I thought you were a nice guy now." I tease and he huffs.

"Dammit! Fine." He grumbles, making me laugh.

He helps me set up the table as everyone talks in the living room, Aaron's eyes often finding mine, his gaze roaming down my body which makes heat swirl in my stomach as I give him a longing look.

"Stop flirting with your boyfriend from across the room!" Derek nudges my side and I nudge him right back.

"Don't pout because your girlfriend's not here."

"She's not my girlfriend." He grumbles and I look at him.

"You serious? Is this some unrequited shit?" I laugh.

He glares at me, "No, I know she has feelings for me, but she's making me prove myself, it's so fucking hard being nice. How do you do it?"

I chuckle, "Sorry, wrong person. Ask your brother."

He laughs and winks at me before I turn to Aaron and he's scowling at the two of us. I give him a reassuring smile because I know from his expression that he's jealous. He still continues to pout but Patricia calls everyone for dinner soon.

"I never thought Derek would be setting up dinner table in this home." She tells me and I break a smile.

"He's trying to be a good person." I shrug.

She sighs, "I am sorry about the things that have occurred in the past. Aaron seems happy, and I would really like it if we could put the past behind us." She says.

I freeze at her apology and slowly turn towards her, gulping. God, I hate to be the one to apologise but she already did, and though she said some awful things to me, I need to let them go for the sake of Aaron.

"Yeah, I'd like that. I am sorry too, by the way." I say, keeping it short and simple because that's all I can manage.

"Come on, Aaron kind of looks nervous about what we are talking." She says and I avert my eyes to the dining table where Aaron is looking at us but trying not to be too obvious.

I finally make my way to the dining table and Aaron is sitting on the left of his father who's sitting in the middle, while his mother takes a seat on his right, Derek being next to her. Emily is sitting next to Aaron and the seat next to her is empty, for me. I immediately settle down and realise that Lizzy is sitting across me, while Levi is sitting on my left. I don't mind Levi that much, but I hate that I will have to avoid making eye contact with Lizzy for the rest of the dinner.

Lizzy's parents say the grace, and I unconsciously say it with them. But when I open my eyes, half the table is staring at me with their mouth wide open and I cringe inwardly. Shit, I didn't realise that.

"Uh, my parents used to do that.." I trail off, glad that Emily is too lost playing with the frill of her leggings to pay attention.

Everyone nods and we start eating the dinner. I help Emily have food but she's mostly able to eat herself, something that she's getting better at each day. Aaron manages to steal glances at me, and touch me here and there while passing food.

"So, Diana.." Robert starts, almost making me choke on my food because I didn't expect him to talk to me at all. But he continues, his intense gaze on me, "Are you in college?"

I take a sip of my water to swallow the bite of mashed potatoes before I answer him, "No, I graduated about six months back. I work at the front desk of S.M. Publishing."

He looks surprised by my answer and turns to Aaron, "That's where you have been interning at and now have a job, isn't it?" He asks.

Aaron nods, "Yeah, I met Diana coincidentally there when I went for my internship interview." He shrugs.

"That's what you call fate, Aaron." Mrs. Jones smiles and I can't help the smile on my face either.

If it weren't for that job, I don't think Aaron and I would come as close as we did, or even started dating. God, it feels like a lifetime ago when I spilled coffee on both of us.

"Yup, fate that I managed to ruin his shirt with coffee yet he got the job." I muse, earning a laugh from Aaron who gives me a look that melts my insides.

There's nothing but so much love in his eyes for me. How the hell did I win him over?

"Well, what did you pursue in college?" Robert asks.

"Literature." I tell him confidently. I mean I might not have scored amazing grades with managing a job at a coffee shop that paid bills and having a daughter, but I had earned a degree, which meant a lot to me.

"Why not go into that field?" He asks, obviously curious.

"She might." Aaron pipes in and I frown at him.

"We haven't decided that yet." I tell him before planting a small smile on my face and turning to his father, "Mr. Wilson is actually a father figure to me, he's my maternal uncle, so he offered me the job at front desk, considering my situation. It pays the bills, and I don't have that much interest in literature, I just wanted a degree." I answer truthfully, not caring about their judgement.

Aaron immediately turns to me, "First of all, you do much more at that job than just being at front desk. You literally go through manuscripts before passing them on in the editorial section, which takes skill. Secondly, you deserve whatever you get from it, because you work for it. And third of all, you are talking to Mr. Wilson about trying to work in the editorial team."

I glare at him. Is he seriously going to do this right now when we are in the middle of a family dinner at his home? I groan inwardly and give him a look, but he stares back at me with equal challenge in his eyes.

"Water!" Emily says, trying to reach for her glass but failing and Aaron and I immediately pass her our glasses at the same time.

Everyone laughs at our actions but I only roll my eyes as I let him help her. "Why aren't you trying for editorial team if Aaron is so persistent that you're good?" Patricia asks and I flush a little.

"Uh, I have a nack for poetry, but that's all. Plus, he's biased." I give her a small smile which earns me an eye roll from Aaron.

"Leave all this official shit, what did you get for your birthday and graduation presents?" Derek asks Aaron, obviously bored with the conversation and I look at Aaron nervously.

"Uh, Mom Dad wrote me a cheque?" He says, sounding unsure which makes Levi laugh.

"Of course!" He looks at me, "What did you get him?"

Well, does anyone know the term 'privacy' here? What if I got him nothing, or worse — what if my present was totally sexual?

"Don't wanna know." Derek says, eyeing me and I already know he's jumped to the conclusion that it's sex related which makes me glare at him.

"She got me a key to her apartment. I am moving in with her." Aaron says, and a loud clinking sound goes off on the table.

My eyes widen as I gape at him then turn to his parents who look shocked at his words, "Are you serious?" His father asks.

Aaron shrugs, "Yeah, it's not a big deal. I'm there more than half of the time anyways. And she got me tickets to and from Chicago at the end of the month." He tells everyone confidently and I have this sudden urge to smack him on the head.

Is he not realising that this conversation is making this dinner extremely uncomfortable and Emily so nervous as she keeps looking between everyone, her lower lip jutted out.

"Aaron." I warn him and his eyes snap to me. He looks at Emily, then at everyone and mutters something under his breath.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to—"

"It's fine. We understand." His mother says, giving him a small smile but he still looks tense.

He looks at his father who looks like he has seen a ghost when Derek speaks up, "He turned twenty two today, remember Dad? He's an adult."

That seems to snap something inside of the man and he nods, taking a sip of his water as he turns to the two of us, "Do you mind if we drop by sometime to your apartment?" He asks me and I hold in my breath.

Relax, Diana. He's the father of the man you love. He's just trying to make an effort for his son, something you would do for Emily.

I repeat the words over and over to myself and then nod, "Sure, just let us know when." I tell him.

The rest of the dinner, I stay silent and so does Aaron. But he's almost upset which doesn't set well with me as I keep trying to look at him. Emily starts talking though, she talks with Lizzy, her parents, and even Levi.

When it's time for desserts, Aaron excuses himself and I look over at Derek, motioning for him to keep an eye of Emily and he nods.

I make my way upstairs to the familiar terrace, where I know I'll find him. I immediately miss the warmth of my thick coat as the freezing wind blows. I see his shadow sitting the edge of the terrace, the same place we spent talking talking and kissed.

He notices my presence, but doesn't say anything so I take a seat besides him, careful not to trip on my heels and break my neck.

"Hi." I say, scooting closer to him and he looks at me.

"I screwed up tonight, didn't I?" He sighs.

"Well, I'd rather have you screw up than I." I joke and I'm glad to see an amused smile on his face, "Kidding." I add, kissing his cheek.

"I know. I should have waited before telling them." He says, wrapping an arm around my shoulder as I snuggle closer to him.

"It's alright. They don't seem to mind too much. In fact, it feels like they have made peace with the fact that you're dating me, and that you have this another family you want to know." I tell him, my finger tracing the edge of his jaw as he stares at the sky.

"Yeah, I am kind of surprised at how nice they are being."

"Well, I kind of see where you get that from. Did Derek bump his head somewhere in his childhood? Because I swear he seems like the real asshole of the family." I joke, causing him to chuckle.

"You sure he's an asshole? You two looked kind of comfortable by the table back there." He says, and I smirk at him.

"Are you jealous, Aaron?"

He immediately shakes his head, "Nope."

"Yes, you are." I laugh.

He sighs, meeting my eyes, "It's hard sometimes, you know? To accept that I met this girl who was so sexy and totally out of my league which made me so nervous around her. But now she claims to be in love with me, but deep down, I am aware you are capable of finding so much better. It scares me at time."

I open my mouth but then close it, his words sinking in but they make me frown. I don't understand how he thinks that way, because I feel like he totally got it backwards.

"Baby, the only one capable of doing better within us is you. We both know that. I was just some bitch, yet you somehow managed to make me fall in love with you." I tell him, honestly and he smiles.

"I love you, Diana." He whispers.

"I love you more, Aaron." I kiss him softly, earning a smile. "Can we go downstairs now? I am freezing." I tell him and he laughs, nodding.

"We had our third kiss here, right in this spot until you ran away from me." He says.

"You really wanna go there, buddy?" I arch an eyebrow.

He holds his hands up in defence, "Alright, alright. Let's go downstairs." He laughs.

When we get to the table, Emily has chocolate smudged almost all around her mouth which makes Aaron laugh like an idiot while I shake my head disapprovingly at my daughter. Apparently, Patricia has shifted into my seat to help her with it and I feel a little uncomfortable at the sight, but don't say anything. Everyone's having brownie and ice cream for dessert — Aaron's favourite.

"She's a good child." Mary tells me and I give her a small smile.

"How old is she?" Lizzy asks, looking at me.

"She turned three a few months ago." I tell her, my voice a little clipped.

When Aaron's mother realises that I am back, she gets up from the seat and offers it to me. I nod at her before taking the chair and pulling Emily in my lap.

"What have I told you about eating chocolates?" I ask her, and she gives me a sheepish smile.

"Sowwie." She goes to hold her ear with chocolate filled hands but I hold it.

Aaron passes me a tissue and I clean Emily's hand with a disapproval look on my face which only makes her giggle at me.

"Em." I warn her in a stern voice as she keeps shaking in my lap, not letting me wipe the chocolate from her face. "I will turn your room pink if you don't settle down right now." I tell her and her eyes widen.

"No."

"Yes." I tell her and she stops moving as she lets me clean her face. I smile at her after I am done, "Good girl."

"She doesn't like pink?" Robert gives her a curious look.

Aaron smiles,"No, she likes it. But she has an unhealthy obsession with blue."

His father nods, not saying anything in return while Emily looks up at me with those big puppy dog eyes of hers. I sigh, "What do you want, kiddo?" I ask.

"Ice ceam?" She smiles and I shake my head at her before picking up my dessert plate.

"You're only getting two spoons, because it's freezing outside and I cannot handle you being sick again. Alright?" I say and she happily nods.

I feed her the ice cream a little and devour down the delicious brownie myself. Aaron helps his mother clean the table, as does Mary. Derek excused himself a while back and I am pretty sure that he's talking to the girl who has managed to knock some sense of sanity in him.

After a while, I look at Aaron tiredly because my level of being social and nice is deteriorating with each second, also Emily's bed time has been sacrificed for a while now.

"I think we're gonna head out." Aaron says, looking at his parents and I mentally thank him.

"That soon?" Lizzy asks.

"Yeah, it's past her bedtime." I say, looking at Emily who's half asleep in my arms.

"Alright then." Patricia stands up and we bid everyone goodbye while her and Robert come till the front door.

"See you soon, son." Robert hugs Aaron and I give his parents a small smile before turning around.

___

After we came home last night, I woke Emily up to brush her teeth and change out of her clothes before putting her into bed. I still haven't gotten my period, which is starting to annoy the hell out of me because I am all cranky.

It's Aaron's first day at the office as Finance Manager and he has been nervous throughout the whole drive. One good thing about us living together is that we can drive to office together. Emily's preschool reopens on Monday, so she's staying with Shelly for the time being, while I'll be at the office and leaving through half day as usual.

When we reach the front desk, I settle down my jacket by the desk, and turn on the system while Aaron stands by nervously.

"Babe, relax. You've been working here for a while now." I tell him, my hand rubbing up and down his arm.

"Yes, but I was an intern before." He reminds me.

"You did the same work Nick has been doing, and he's not an intern. You got the same pay, just little more advantages." I remind him and he huffs.

He's wearing a suit, and he looks absolutely amazing in the navy jacket that fits his body perfectly. "You need to stop looking at me like that."

"Like what?" I ask him, innocently and he shakes his head at me.

"It was hard enough to leave the apartment in the morning." He says.

"I am sure it was hard." I bite my lower lip to stop myself from laughing and his face flushes as he stares at me.

"I hate you." He groans and I laugh, not being to control.

"You love me babe, now come on, Marcel will have my ass if he comes and I haven't already shown you to your office." I pull at his arms and he stares at me with eyes.

"I have my own office?" He asks, walking by my side with surprise dripping his tone.

I nod, passing Lucy on the way who waves at us. On New Year's Eve when she turned up with her date, I was honestly taken aback to find out that she's a lesbian. It's not because I have something against her, it's because it made me feel stupid for ever being remotely jealous. Yup, Aaron had a good laugh out of that.

"How's Sophie?" Aaron asks her and she blushes.

"Officially dating me, I guess." She says and I laugh.

"You go, girl!" I tease, realising how there was a point when I couldn't stand being this nice to people. Aaron definitely brings out my nice side.

"Showing him to his office?" She asks me and I nod, earning a wink in return from her which makes me smirk.

When we reach a hallway of offices, I push open a glass door and motion for Aaron to follow me. When we reach a wooden door, I look at it and then look at the emotions swirling on Aaron's face as he reads his face.

Aaron McCall
FINANCE MANAGER

"Holy shit." He whispers and I smile at him proudly before turning the door knob and opening it wide for him to step in.

"Babe? This is.." he stutters as he steps in, taking in the mahogany desk sitting in the middle of it, cream walls covering the office with an abstract painting on the wall opposite to his desk.

"Amazing?" I fill in his words and he turns to me, nodding.

"Much more than I expected." He tells me, his eyes still taking everything in.

I slowly shut the door behind me, because even though every office is sound proof, in case the doors are open, the voices echo in the hallway, disturbing the entire cubicle staff outside.

He takes a seat on his chair and I can't help but be in awe of how perfectly he fits in here. He deserves this, he has worked his ass off for the last year and he earned this job. I don't care what anyone else says, I know he can handle this.

"Come here." He tells me and I walk to him.

He pulls me in his lap, kissing me lightly which I return, "You have no idea how hard it was not to tell you all this. I knew you wouldn't expect it because let's be honest, you're a little dumb like that." I tease and he pinches my ass, making me gasp.

"You were saying?" He asks, a grin on his face.

"You know there are cameras around here, right?" I say and his eyes widen, as he almost pushes me off his lap which makes me chuckle.

He frowns at me but when the realisation sets in, he glares at me, "Liar."

"Babe, even if you had cameras in here, I would have probably paid the security to turn it off for us." I say, making him give me a confused look.

"Uhh?"

I smirk, "Sometimes I forget that you are innocent." I kiss his jaw.

He squeezes my side, "That's not what you were telling me last night."

"That's because I got new lingerie and you were excited." I whisper, knowing that it will annoy him if I keep on teasing him.

He huffs, "Please, you love me in bed, or in the kitchen.. or in bathroom, even on the couch, as well as by door and wall.." he continues to kiss my shoulder.

His words fills my mind with images of the day we actually had apartment all to ourselves and we managed to taint almost all the surfaces. God, that day actually tops the best days of my life, including the best sex list.

"Or on this desk." I say and his eyes lit up, as he gapes at me.

"You aren't serious."

I smirk at him, "C'mon."

"First of all, it's my first day at work. Second of all, Marcel will be here any moment. Third of all, we are not having sex in my office."

I pout, "Don't knock it until you've tried it. Plus, you want to. I can actually feel you throbbing, I hope you know that." I say, making myself more comfortable in his lap which makes him groan as he hides his face in my shoulder, his lips grazing my exposed skin. "And Marcel wouldn't be here for another half an hour. I know his schedule." I remind him, my voice low as I pull his chin up, my lips brushing his.

"Door." He mumbles and I smile in victory.

"Locked." I say, as he stands up, with me in his arms, setting me down on the desk as he comes to stand between my legs, his lips meeting my mine.

"You actually planned this, didn't you?" He asks, his voice deep and making my skin turn hot with desire.

"Please, I didn't wear skirt in this freezing weather for nothing." I grin mischievously and he shakes his head before kissing me with passion.

___

Dun dun dun!

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