Acting on Instinct

New Beginnings

"Joe, can you grab my purse?" Dianne shouted toward her bedroom door, before turning back to her phone, shooting a sheepish smile toward the screen as she saw her mum dramatically cover her ears over Facetime. "Oops, sorry Mum."

"Your volume level never fails to deafen me," her mum grinned, dropping her hands. "Even over the phone."

"Sorry, it's the dance teacher in me," Dianne apologized again as she hurried into the kitchen, propping up her phone and tidying up areas she had already cleaned as she anxiously checked the time again.

"We're going to be so late," she muttered to herself, picking her phone back up and heading toward the bedroom to see what was taking Joe so long.

"So tell me more about where you're going?" Rina asked, as she settled back onto her sofa, her reading glasses on, the room dark around her. It was late, but she had promised Dianne she would help her out with a cake recipe earlier that day. What they had planned to be a quick conversation had turned into an all-day therapy session as Dianne had nearly set the kitchen on fire. Though Rina would never complain - she missed these times with her only daughter and so she'd stay on video chat with her for days if necessary.

"It's Zoe's storefront grand opening," Dianne answered distractedly, still not seeing Joe. "You know, the stores Joe and I worked on? The stores I'm...well, sort of in charge of now?"

Dianne grinned at her mum as she smiled knowingly. She had come clean on all the details about their crazy journey a few weeks ago, after that fateful board meeting, including her decision to sign on full-time, managing the Zoella storefronts. She had been a bit unsure, her prior shop dreams still looming over her head, but after Zoe  promised she could leave any time she wanted to pursue her own shop (as long as there could be a Zoella section, of course), she'd caved, knowing deep down she couldn't fathom leaving the company she'd grown to love so much. She wasn't sure what the future held - but for now, she was content working with and learning from the girl who had become one of her closest friends. 

After keeping her mum in the dark about the details of her and Joe's evolving relationship, she'd also finally caved and come clean on that front. Much to her surprise, her mum had been thrilled, and when she'd begged Dianne to introduce Joe over FaceTime, she was suddenly watching him become best friends with the entire Buswell clan - mum, dad, brothers, cousins, nan, pop - the whole lot. His genuine interest in getting to know her family made her fall even more in love with him. Which she hadn't thought was possible.

"Well a grand opening sure sounds exciting. But where is that handsome boyfriend of yours?" Rina teased as Dianne peeked into her closet and the bathroom.

"He's still in the bloody shower!" Dianne suddenly exclaimed as she heard the water running. "He is as slow as a tortoise I swear, we are going to be so late!"

Rina chuckled, as Dianne flopped down onto the bed, her scowl apparent through the camera as the water finally turned off.

"Give him a break, you were forcing him to help you measure ingredients all afternoon," Rina laughed as Dianne's eyes narrowed in annoyance. "You really need to learn how to add fractions, Dot."

"Truth, Rina," Joe's cheery voice rang out behind the phone and Rina couldn't help but laugh as Dianne's glare shifted off the screen toward the sound of his voice.

"Don't even start--"

"I'm ready!" Joe shouted defensively, doing a quick spin in the middle of the room, finishing up with a toss of the purse Dianne had requested earlier, as she continued to grumble. Somehow he had managed to jump out of the shower and come out fully dressed, hair perfectly coifed and that pair of thick rimmed glasses on his face that always made her swoon. He was annoyingly perfect and she wanted to simultaneously shout at him and kiss him silly.