Cry wolf! (Sequel of 7 mates for 7 brothers)

choked up about me?

“Your sisters will be so happy.  They also got her some stuff that they wanted to give her after you gave her your gift.”  She returned his one armed hug as he walked past her to the door.

With a broad smile he left to fetch the car he would be using for the day.  He stopped outside Mandy’s house and stood there nervously. This was the first time he was actually taking her on a date.  Should he knock at the front door, or go in by the back like he normally did?  He was spared the dilemma when Rudi opened the front door and beckoned for him to come in.

Closing the door behind Tyler he made a quick enquiry.  [When?]

Tyler immediately knew that Rudi was referring to the ‘gift’ he was going to give Mandy.  [When we come back from town.  We are having lunch first, and then we might do a movie or take a walk or something like that.  I told my mom and dad that they could come along, she will more than likely make arrangements with you all to meet us there.]

[OK, have fun then.]

[Thank you Rudi, we will.]

Rudi knew Tyler was also referring to his agreeing for Tyler to propose to Mandy whenever he wanted.  Goodness knows he had enough time to come to terms with it all.  More than Dinah he knew how deeply Mandy felt towards Tyler, she was his little girl after all and nothing under the sun could ever change that.

[Sure, I know you will not dare mess it up now.]

Tyler barely resisted the urge to roll his eyes at Rudi.  Or to make a snarky response.  Instead he just asked if Mandy was ready yet.

“No.  She is still in there with Ellie.  Don’t know what the two of them are up to, but it can’t be anything good if you ask me.”

Silently Tyler agreed.  Somehow during the almost two years he and Mandy never got to talk, she and Ellie had become rather close.  He had been rater pleased, because Ellie would keep him informed of how she was doing.  She usually was much more honest than he would have liked, but at least he knew he could trust her to tell him if there were any serious problems he had to take care of.

Eventually Ellie came sauntering past him and she did no more than give him a quick kiss on his cheek before leaving; saying that she would see him later.

Soft footsteps alerted him that she was on her way, and he did not even notice it when Rudi made an excuse and left in a hurry; leaving him alone to meet Mandy.

When she came into view, she was wearing a nervous smile.  And some tight fitting well worn jeans that hugged her all over, her soft blouse only hinting at the curves they were hiding.  Now that her hair was much shorter, it was constantly surrounding her head like a halo, making her look more like an angel than ever before.

“Hi.”  Her voice was so soft he almost didn’t hear her.

“Hey squirt.  Ready to go?”

The use of his old nickname for her made her smile as she held her hand for him to take.  “Yeah.  I am ready.”

Her hand in his made him warm all over, and he found it very hard not looking at her all the time while he was driving into town.  He stopped outside a small Italian place because he knew how much she enjoyed her pasta.

During their meal he did not even taste what he was eating.  It could have been cardboard and he would still have enjoyed it for no other reason that she was the one sitting next to him.  Talking to him.  Blushing ever so often when she caught him staring at her, which turned out to be quite often because he could not keep his eyes off of her.

It was almost as if he was using a new set of eyes when looking at her.  She looked completely different.  He loved the way her mouth quirked and twisted up on the one side when she was trying so hard not to laugh.  He loved the way her eyes sparkled when she told him about her afternoons that she spent with one of her human friends at a home for the elderly, her friend’s grandmother sounded like a real sport.  He loved the way she held her head to the side when she listened to him intently.  He loved it when she bit the one side of her bottom lip when she was flustered if he stared at her too much.