That's Amore! - Janelle Denison [13]
"Good enough." He kissed her cheek and smiled at her. "I appreciate you getting everything done and finalized while I was away. You've done an amazing job putting the wedding together."
She returned his smile, though she suddenly looked very tired and weary. And emotionally exhausted. "I was happy to do it."
Jason truly believed Leila's statement, but it was apparent that the stress of the past few weeks without him had taken its toll on her. Dealing with her mother's resistance while trying to plan a wedding and reception was tough enough, not to mention catching the flu on top of everything else.
Fortunately, in another few days it would be over and their lives together would finally begin. Hopefully, with her parents' blessing.
AFTER DINNER Jason headed outside with Mani and Paulo while Leila stayed behind to help her mother clear the table and do the dishes. Unfortunately, her mother was giving her the silent treatment after the exchange between them at the dinner table about her moving to the Mainland with Jason.
Leila put away a container of leftover sweet and sour pork in the refrigerator and released a long, low breath that did nothing to ease the tension coiling within her. It was important to her that her mother came to accept her choices, especially now that there was more at stake than just her relationship with Jason. Now there was a baby involved, a grandchild, and Leila desperately wanted her child to grow up in a loving environment, free of the resentments her mother currently harbored.
With that in mind, she turned toward her mother and addressed the issue at hand. "Mom, I really wish you'd stop punishing me for wanting to marry Jason."
Standing at the sink where she was washing the dishes, Nyla stiffened at what she obviously perceived as an accusation. "I just don't want you to make a mistake you'll regret later."
That was an impossible notion, Leila knew. With all her heart and soul, there was no doubt in her mind that she was meant to be with Jason.
Grabbing a terry towel, she began drying the clean plates her mother put on the dish rack and gave their conversation an unexpected twist. "Was marrying Dad a mistake for you?"
"Of course not," her mother said with a disapproving frown. "But that's different."
Leila was well aware of the differences her mother was referring to, and strongly disagreed. "It's no different, Mom. Jason might not be a native, but he's a kind, caring, hard-working man who'll take good care of me and our family. He has many of the great qualities Dad does, and most importantly, I love him."
That declaration didn't seem to sway her mother in the least. "You've changed since you've met Jason. You're no longer the proper, modest girl you once were."
Leila grit her teeth. Yes, her mother had raised her to be sweet and demure when it came to men, dating, and relationships because that's what her own mother had taught her. And for years Leila had been that mild-mannered, accommodating woman, until things had turned serious between herself and Kalani and she'd realized how unbalanced their relationship was. She'd been too passive and too eager to please, and knew she'd end up being a submissive wife if she'd married him—eventually feeling stifled and very unhappy.
Thank God she'd come to her senses, because marrying Kalani would have been that huge mistake she would have grown to regret—and resent.
After their break-up, she'd embraced her independence and freedom. She was now a confident, self-reliant woman—personality traits her mother had a difficult time adapting to, even now. Leila had also vowed that the next man she became seriously involved with would accept her as his equal, and she'd found that, and so much more, with Jason. Not only were they best friends and lovers, they were partners in every sense of the word.
"I have changed," Leila admitted as she put away the last of the clean and dried