Professor Astor (Off-Limits)

Amara comes crashing into the living room, looking just as flustered as I feel.

“Are you ready?” she asks.

I shake my head. “No. I’m terrified.”

My grandfather and Aunt Charlotte walk in with a mountain of gifts in their hands, and my palms start to get clammy. I wipe them on the suit trousers I’m wearing and straighten my tie. We can’t fuck this up. I don’t think I’ve ever been more nervous.

“What’s going on?” Lucy asks.

I turn to the kids, unsure what to say. I know Colton and Leia are talking again, but I’m not sure about Lucy. While I absolutely can’t delay this any longer, with Leia and her father at odds with each other, I also don’t want to tell the kids anything if it’s going to worsen their relationship with Leia.

I pause for a moment, but in the end, I decide on the truth. “I’m going to Leia’s house to ask her parents if she can officially join our family,” I say, my voice soft. “Her family is very traditional, so I have to ask them for permission. In Leia’s family, it would be customary for me to go to her family with my family. We’ll be bringing them gifts and sweets, in the hopes they’ll say yes.”

Lucy’s eyes widen. “If they say yes, Ley will come home?”

I straighten my tie, worried about how Lucy might react if I clarify the situation further. It doesn’t escape my notice that she used the word home, just like Colton did. They already consider this Leia’s home too, even if things aren’t what they used to be between them. “If they say yes, I’d like to marry Leia. She’d come to live with us, forever.”

“Forever?” Lucy and Colton repeat in unison.

I nod. “If your family is supposed to go, then why aren’t we coming with you?” Colton asks, his tone high-pitched and upset.

“Since you don’t seem to like Leia much these days, I didn’t think you’d want to come.”

Lucy crosses her arms, a stubborn expression on her face. “Who said we don’t like her? We never said that.”

I run a hand through my hair as I stare down my two kids. “I don’t think you understand how important this is. If her parents say no today, we would lose her forever. Maybe that’s what you want, I’m honestly not sure anymore, but I can’t let that happen.”

Lucy sniffs, tears gathering in her eyes. “We don’t want that, Dad. We love her. We do. I was wrong… I was mean to her, but I didn’t… I-I love her.”

Colton wraps his arm around his sister and nods. “Yes, Dad. We love her, and we want Leia to join our family, too. You have to let us come with you.”

“You want to come with me?” I ask, confused.

They nod. “I… I don’t know. If you come with me, you have to be on your absolute best behavior. This is extremely important, you understand?”

“We know,” Colton says.

“Great!” Amara says. “I’ve brought you clothes to wear.”

I look at my cousin, who’s holding up a suit for Colton and a pretty dress for Lucy. What the fuck? I thought we agreed the kids wouldn’t be coming with us, so why the hell does she have clothes for them?

She winks at me as though she knew this would happen, and I shake my head. Amara scares me sometimes.

“Go on, get changed then,” I tell them.

Amara nods and hands them their clothes. “You’d better be on your absolute best behavior,” she tells them. “If you aren’t, Leia’s heart will never recover. She’s already hurt, but if today goes wrong, her heart will always stay broken. You understand that, right? This is your chance to make up for how you ignored and hurt her,” she warns.

The kids nod, both of them looking determined. They rush up the stairs with their outfits in hand, and I pray it goes well.

“It’s going to be okay, Adrian,” Grandpa tells me. “We aren’t strangers to Leia’s family. They’ll hear us out at the very least, even if it’s just because they love Amara so much.”

I nod, but I can’t seem to calm my raging heart. I’m so scared something will go wrong today. The worst part is that I totally understand why they think Leia can do better. I just hope they’ll give me a chance. It hurts to know that the kids I love so much are part of the reason I’m not deemed a suitable partner for Leia, when I’m so proud of them.

The kids walk down the stairs with Star Wars items in their hands, and I frown. Colton is holding a limited-edition Millennium Falcon LEGO set he got from my grandfather, and that likely cost a bomb, while Lucy is holding a Baby Yoda replica.

“You said we were bringing gifts,” Lucy says. “Leia’s dad likes Star Wars. That’s why he named her Princess Leia.”

“Um, right,” I mutter.

“Aren’t you the sweetest?” Amara says. She ushers them out the door and to her car, and I follow along.

“I’ll take your aunt,” Grandpa says, heading to his own car. I nod as I join Amara. They both went all-out, taking what appears to be the most expensive cars the Astor family owns. We’re definitely aiming to impress today, and I hope that won’t backfire.

I don’t think I’ve ever known genuine fear before today. The thought of them saying no scares me. Where would that leave Leia and me? I’m not sure she can take yet another blow. She might act stubborn right now, but I know how much her family means to her.

I barely even realize when we pull up in front of Leia’s house — I’m totally consumed by my fears. Grandpa has had me negotiate multi-million dollar deals in the last couple of weeks, and that didn’t faze me. This? This has me feeling completely terrified.

The kids are clutching their gifts as we approach their front door, and my heart nearly stops beating when Amara presses the doorbell.

Asha opens up almost instantly, as though she was expecting us. She tries to look surprised, but fails miserably. “Amara!” she yells. “Come in!”

She opens the door wide and lets us in, mouthing ‘quickly’, as though she’s scared her parents will throw us out the moment they realize what’s going on.

We follow Amara’s lead and take off our shoes before following her into the living room. Leia’s parents sit up in shock when they see us, and for a moment they just stare at us. For some reason, I expected really traditionally dressed people, but they’re anything but. Amara’s dad is wearing jeans and a t-shirt, while her mother is wearing a summer dress. They look just like my family does.

“Auntie, Uncle,” Amara says. “Let me introduce you to my cousin, Adrian.”