Stella

Three

rules

"Grandmamma!" Stella's brown eyes lit up at the sight of her spritely grandmother.

"My beautiful Stella," Ida smiled at her granddaughter and kissed her cheek. She was so fond of her girl. "How have you been my darling girl?"

Stella smiled and took her arm as they made their way into the home. "I've been well, Grandmamma."

"And how's your Pappa?"

"He's happy. Gina and her children moved in yesterday."

Ida hummed. "Are they good children? Or are they brats I need to frighten?"

"No, they're very nice. Lexi seems like a sweet, innocent girl. A nursing student in college. I can see Father's fond of her."

Ida pulled her to a stop and reached up to cup her cheeks, her thumbs stroked the soft skin. "Now, you know your father will never try to replace you, hm? You know he loves you and Robert more than anything in this world." Her brows furrowed with conviction. "He loved your mother too and would never try to replace her either. You aren't going to lose your father, and you most certainly aren't going to lose me."

Stella smiled softly at her grandmother. "I know, Grandmamma."

Ida patted her cheek and began walking again.

"They seem very ignorant of our way of life. I believe Robert and I may have alarmed Gina when we first met her."

"I wouldn't expect anything else, my dear. As long as they adhere to certain rules, there won't be any problems." Her brows pulled together as she thought about Gina.

"Arthur is making a wonderful meal for lunch. Please, be nice," Stella implored.

"It depends on the quality of his meal, doesn't it? You can't blame me for last time, the lad added far too much salt."

"You make him nervous. He mixed up the salt and the sugar."

"Does he not taste his own food?"

"Like I said, Grandmamma, he was nervous."

"Hmph."

"Grandmamma, it is so wonderful to see you!" Robert grinned and hurried to greet his grandmother and kissed her cheeks.

"Oh, my Little Bobby," she teased. "Look at you, so handsome." Her wrinkled hand patted his cheek. "I have to say, my knack for raising children seems to improve every generation." She grinned, her wrinkles deepening. "If I'm around when you two have kids, they're going to be superb!"

Stella and Robert chuckled as they led her through to the foyer where their father was murmuring words of comfort to Gina and Lexi who were looking unsure while Lucas was tugging at the tie around his neck.

"Mother," Richard smiled and stepped forward to greet her.

She just harrumphed at him and gave him the side eye. "Is this how we announce an engagement in this family?" She raised a brow at her oldest son. Richard cleared his throat, his face strained. "Well?"

"I'm sorry I didn't speak with you first, Mother. I'm sure you can understand how easy it is to get carried away."

"Well, I suppose," she muttered. "My only concerns are Robert and Stella and what this means moving forward. I hope you know how I expect things to work, and we will be going through everything over lunch." She smiled. "Understood?"

"Of course, Mother."

Ida looked around her son to the three people behind him. She wore a genial smile and stepped over to the brunette with pretty green eyes. "You must be Ms Gina Jones."