Is this destiny?

By dinner time, everyone returned to the event hall.

The news was spread that JoAnna is expecting twins and people who were not on the yacht approached her and Jeff to offer their congratulations and well wishes.

Penny and Benjamin also joined for dinner. Benjamin was not willing, but Penny told him that she owes a lot to Jeff and JoAnna and that staying in the suite will be selfish.

"We will return here after dinner…", she assured him while getting off the bed. "And I need to rest."

Ben patted the bed next to him. "Isn\'t this a resting place?"

She looked at him and arched an eyebrow. "Based on last few hours… no."

He laughed and followed her into the bathroom to shower.

Penny was excited when she found out that JoAnna is expecting twins.

"Our kids can play together!", JoAnna exclaimed when she pulled Penny into a hug.

Penny looked at JoAnna and Jeff and wondered, what would her parents say if they can see her now? For years they were grooming her and trying to get her into Jeff\'s bed, and now… their kids will play together. But it was all in order to establish connections, right? Maybe they would be happy to know that she is so friendly with Jeffrey White and his wife. Maybe.

Penny knows that her parents are financially ruined and ostracized by the circle of people they convinced themselves that they belong to. They moved to an old family home on the outskirts of Austin which was left behind by her maternal grandparents.

JoAnna asked Penny if she wants to visit them, but Penny is not sure. If she goes to see them, will she feel sorry for them? Will she cave in and give them her support? Will they be happy for her? Probably not. The most she can hope is that they realized how their lifestyle was wrong, totally wrong.

After the delicious dinner, it was time for the birthday cake!

The massive seven-tiered cake was wheeled in. It was well made, and it looked like seven boxed presents stacked on top of each other.

After the cake, they served variety of small desserts.

Penny observed all the happy faces around her and leaned her head on Ben\'s shoulder. "Thank you.", she told him.

Ben looked at her questionably.

Penny smiled. "If I didn\'t meet you, I would still be in hell."

How Penny sees it, if she didn\'t stumble onto Ben in that gentleman\'s club by accident, and if the next day in the hotel room he didn\'t hold her back asking for an explanation, she would probably still be living with her parents, listening stories about Jeffrey White. Oh, that is not right… It would be stories about Lukas White.

Thanks to Ben she is surrounded with friends and she is about to become a mother… and she learned what love is.

Ben looked at Penny\'s gentle smile and he smiled as well.

"Do you want to dance?", Ben offered to Penny.

She responded with a nod. This will be their first time to dance. She is excited about many more firsts, with Ben.

…

Emma leaned onto Charlie and watched Penny beam from happiness on the dancefloor with Ben.

She is happy for her friend. Now that Penny is financially settled and back with Ben, Emma thought how they will not get to share an apartment. It\'s a pity because Emma is confident that Penny would be an amazing roommate. But she will still give Penny that penthouse as a gift.

"When are we going to have a baby?", Charlie\'s lips moved against Emma\'s ear.

Emma craned her neck to look at her fiancé. "There are several things that should come first. Right?"

"Sure. I will arrange for you to meet with my family, and then we can get married."

Jarred warned Charlie to delay introducing Emma to the rest of the Smiths as much as possible, but if they are about to get married, he can\'t postpone it much longer. He does not want to hide Emma, it will make it look like he is ashamed of her and he knows that Emma has confidence issues. He is proud to be with her, and he will make sure Emma knows it.

Charlie heard stories from his Uncle how ruthless his cousins can be, and he understands that Emma will be in danger, but… he is too selfish. He wants to be with Emma, and he will NOT allow anyone to get in-between them. Even if they are from his family. Charlie will make sure to talk to Emma, to warn her about the possible threats, and he will also talk with Jeff and JoAnna as well. He is confident that they can help him keep his future wife safe, at least with some advices. He will also talk with Sarah and Aiden about them training his bodyguards. They spoke about it earlier, but then Aiden was hurt so that topic was pushed aside. It\'s time to bring it up again.

"Before we get married, you should meet my family as well."

Emma\'s words pulled Charlie out of his thoughts.

"Your family?"

"I have a mother and three brothers."

Charlie\'s expression showed how surprised he is. Emma never mentioned her family, and they know each other for months!

Emma shifted in her seat a bit awkwardly. "I guess I don\'t talk about where I came from. My father died long ago, at least that is what my mom says. I suspect that he left us. In any case, it was a long time ago and I barely remember him. I am the oldest out of four kids. My mom raised us and… that\'s it."

"How come I didn\'t see you calling home or going for a visit?"

"My mom didn\'t approve me leaving Seattle area. Since I came here, we are out of touch. But I hope that you can meet with her, so that she knows I am doing fine and not to worry about me."

"Isn\'t she worried now that you are not calling?"

"Occasionally I email my brother, and I send her money every month. She should know I\'m alive and doing well enough to work, otherwise payments would stop. My mom struggled to keep us on the right path, and since I started working I am giving her a portion of my income with hope that she can live a better life now that she is getting older."

Charlie saw that Emma is uncomfortable. He smiled while thinking that even her insecurity is adorable. "I would love to meet your family. Your mother must be an amazing woman to raise a daughter like you."

Emma lowered her gaze. "Yes. She is an amazing woman."

"Are they in Seattle?"

Emma confirmed.

"How about we go next weekend?"

The way Emma looked at Charlie told him that she approves.

It took her few seconds to respond: "OK. I will check with my brother, to make sure they are all home."

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