“Then, Becca it is.” Rob clapped his hands happily with a smile and crossed his arms on the table. Leaning forward, he looked like he was dying to ask a question. “Your job seems very interesting.”

I stopped myself from placing a piece of steak in my mouth. “I love my job. Though sometimes it can be stressful, much like any job, I get to read stories created by many talented potential authors.”

“Is there any particular genre you like to read?”

“Young adult paranormal romance,” Matthew blurted, then shoved a broccoli in his mouth. He had no idea everyone was gawking at him since his eyes were on his food. Till...it was so silent that he finally figured it out and looked up. “What?” He chuckled. “I don’t read that stuff. Becca told me about them.” He shrugged his shoulders and got back into his food.

After laughter was shared at the table, it became quiet as we dug into our food.

“Jenna and I have good news to share with everyone,” Max said all of a sudden. After he’d gotten all of our attention, he spoke again. “As you all knew, Jenna and I are engaged. We’ve decided to move up the wedding date.”

“That’s fantastic.” Ellen’s eyes sparkled. “When?”

Max held Jenna’s hand, kissed the back of it, and gave her one hell of a sexy wink. It was his way of letting her know everything was going to be fine. He was so sweet that way. Then he turned to his parents. “We didn’t plan this, but we’re happy about the news I’m about to tell you.”

“What is it?” Rob asked impatiently. “Max, you’re killing us. Stop rambling.”

Ellen’s eyes were watery. Her hands covered her mouth as if to stop saying what she wanted to say. She definitely knew what was up. At this point, I was afraid for Jenna. When Jenna placed her head down, I knew she’d seen Ellen’s reaction. I was nervous for her. Please let Ellen’s expression be a happy one. It was hard to tell.

“You’re going to be grandparents soon,” Max announced.

Silence.

Matthew squeezed my hand so tightly, I thought he was going to break it. Or was I holding his hand tightly? He looked at me, letting me know everything was going to be okay.

Dead silence.

Ellen burst into tears. Rob stood up, looking baffled.

Oh shit! I swore if they said anything negative, I would have lost all respect for them. My fear vanished when Ellen dashed toward Jenna and embraced her. “I’m going to be a grandmother!” Ellen squealed. Tears escaped her eyes, falling over her cheeks.

Jenna got out of her chair, looking surprised and happy. With tears flowing down her face, she gave Ellen a proper hug.

“Congratulations, Max,” Rob said, with a hug. “Finally, we’ll have grandchildren before we get too old.”

“Thanks, Dad.”

After the tears were wiped, everyone settled back down. Ellen looked at Matthew and me. “I’m going to assume we’re the last ones to know.”

I smiled and kept my mouth shut.

Matthew shrugged his shoulders. “I’m his brother and you’re our parents. You said parents before friends.”

“That’s right. No matter how old you are, we are your parents first, then friends.” Ellen turned to Jenna. “My dear, soon to be mother of our grandchild, you have nothing to worry about. I understand your dilemma and what you must have been thinking. I assure you, we will embrace our grandchild with loving arms.” Ellen slipped her hands into Rob’s. “We were so busy as working parents that we missed too much of Max and Matthew’s childhood. It’s going to be different for our grandchildren. I promise.” Ellen started tearing again.

“Let’s toast,” Matthew said, raising his glass. “To Max and Jenna’s wedding and their child.”

With a clink of glasses, everyone took a sip.

“When’s the wedding? We have to hurry and plan. Many vendors get booked up so fast. Sometimes you have to wait for a couple of years,” Ellen informed.

“Jenna and I already discussed having a small wedding with our family and close friends. Becky is going to be her maid of honor and Matthew will be my best man. That is all,” Max said. “I’ve already spoken to Pastor Sam. He agreed to marry us. We would plan this wedding sooner, but one of Jenna’s closet friends is getting married in three weeks. We also need to get ready for the fashion show in Australia.”

“There’s so much to do,” Ellen said. “I can make some phone calls. We can...oh my...we can...can we? ” I could tell Ellen was running with thoughts in her mind from her smile and her sparkling eyes.

“Mom,” Max chuckled. “Slow down. I think I read your mind. And yes, Jenna and I were thinking that it might be a wonderful idea to have the wedding at our favorite getaway. The Grand Del Mar in San Diego.”

“San Diego, here we come.” Ellen nodded her head in delight and slipped her hand around Rob’s arm. When she snuggled closer to him, he kissed her forehead. It was the sweetest sight. “I’ll make some phone calls for you, Max.” She turned to Jenna. “Please, let me help you. With my connections, they will treat you like a queen and cater to your needs.”

“I can use all of the help I can get,” Jenna said with a smile. “We don’t have much time.”

“Perfect. I’ll make an appointment for your wedding dress. We need to contact the florist. Decide on the flavor of the cake. Oh, the invitations. We need to get those out. There’s so much to do. The list goes on. I’ll contact you as soon as I talk to the manager at Del Mar.”