Page 8 of I Always Will

“I know,” she deadpanned, pulling back to look at him. “You’ve done all sorts of things with your life that usually take years and years.”

He laughed, rolling his eyes when she looked pointedly over his shoulder towards where Esme appeared to be practically bouncing with excitement in their booth. “As I’m sure you have.”

“Well, she did get another promotion recently,” her dad stated pointedly, causing Alexandria to groan.

“Let’s not, shall we? We only just got here,” she insisted.

“We’re just saying, dear—” her mother followed up, leaning in to kiss Daniel’s cheek.

“We know what you’re just saying, Mum,” Daniel laughed. He was always so carefree and happy. Alexandria didn’t know where he got it from. “But it’s hardly the time.”

“It is never the wrong time to get a solid, stable, respectable job,” their dad muttered, following Daniel over to Esme.

“We’re in a pizza place,” Alexandria retorted. “Somehow, I don’t think him getting a job here would please you all that much.”

“Don’t be a smart arse, Alexandria,” her mother chastised, shooting her a frown, before pasting a polite smile on her face as they reached the table.

“Mum, Dad, Al,” Daniel said, grinning wider when Alexandria shot him a glare at the name, “this is Esme.”

Esme—a woman from whom the sun just seemed to bubble, even at night—stood to greet them all, grinning widely and clearly ready to go in for the hug.

Their mother cut her off with a quick and obvious thrust of her hand into the space between them and the way Esme just failed to stifle a giggle told Alexandria that Daniel had warned her things would be like this.

“It’s such a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Daley,” Esme said, returning the handshake.

Mrs. Daley.

That was what Hailey had always called Alexandria’s mother, no matter how much time she’d spent at their home—and it was a lot. Susan was alwaysMrs. Daleyand Richard was alwaysMr. Daley.

Hailey went with it mostly because she thought it was amusing how formal they were. Not to mention how much she liked to talk about how she wasHailey greeting the Daleys. The memory brought a small smile to Alexandria’s face and her head filled with music that had nothing to do with the overly-loud jukebox.

Even after all this time, she’d never quite had another friend like Hailey. She wasn’t the most outgoing person and she’d never found anyone who got her or was willing to put in the effort Hailey had. Though she was certain rose-coloured glasses were playing a part.

She shook the memories off as Esme approached her. She was shorter than Alexandria by quite a few inches, but she held out her arms, almost in question. Daniel’s warnings about their family had obviously included pointing out that Alexandria might be more willing to allow the hug than their parents but that caution in the approach might be wise.

And, while she might not be the biggest hugger in the world, this was the woman Daniel had chosen to marry. It didn’t matter that Alexandria had questions about their rational thinking skills. What mattered was that Daniel loved her and Alexandria wanted to support him, so she stepped into the hug and said, “It’s so nice to meet you, Esme.”

“You have no idea how nice it is to meet you,” Esme gushed, squeezing her a little too tightly. “Dan’s told me so much about you. He speaks so highly of you, Al.”

Alexandria stepped back, her expression falling. “I’m going to murder him.”

Esme’s eyes grew wide and alarmed. “For speaking highly of you?”

Alexandria almost laughed at the concern on her face and in her voice. “No. For calling me ‘Al.’ My name is Alexandria,” she said more loudly, looking at Daniel.

“It’s just such a long name,” he complained, laughing.

She frowned. “I believe you and I have discussed this.”

Esme looked between them, clearly a little confused, but writing it off as sibling nonsense. “I think Al suits you. It’s cute and nice and friendly.”

Alexandria frowned slightly. Those were not usually things she was accused of being.

Sure, she was polite, professional, and competent. But cute? Friendly? Nice, even? She wasn’t sure about those.

It was very Daniel to find the most optimistic person in existence to up and marry on a whim.

“My boss knows someone called Alexandria,” Esme said as they moved to join their parents in the booth.

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