Ah, Felix. Some of you mentioned him in your reviews, and the thing about Felix is, I love him. Haha, me and Liss are smitten with little Felix, who btw, has only been mentioned a few times in the books, but we still wanted to make him a big character in this story. So yes, Felix will be hanging around.

Disclaimer: Meg Cabot owns all characters you recognise from the books.

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Michael's POV…

Driving for two hours in a rented car to get to Holly's parent's house was not fun. And it's a good thing that they're letting us stay the night because another two hours locked in a car with Holly might make me accidentally (or on purpose) drive the car into a telegraph pole.

But we finally arrived and I was free from her constant chatter and the annoying wail of the music she wanted to listen to on the radio. Is it really too much to ask that we listen to some good quality music on the way? Or that she slept?

The front door to Holly's parents house flew open and a prim, petite woman and a tall, intimidating man stood there to greet us.

"Ah, you're finally here!" the woman said.

"Yeah, sorry," I apologised. "The traffic was more than we expected."

"It always is, dear, it's not a problem. Come in, both of you."

I nervously followed Holly into the house. Actually, it's more like a mansion. Living in a tiny dorm room at Columbia must be hell for Holly after growing up here.

We all sat down on the comfy couches surrounding the coffee table.

"So," the man I assume is Holly's father addressed me. "You must be the Michael we've heard so much about."

"Uh, yes, sir. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Sorry!" Holly cried, as if only just realising she should have introduced us earlier. "Michael, these are my parents, Jack and Amelia. Mom, Dad, this is Michael."

I looked at Holly's mom, Amelia. How coincidental. But I overlooked it for a second and extended my hand to them both.

"We've heard so much about you, Michael. But last we heard it was over between you two." I looked away at the floor and she continued. "But I guess you decided to give it another chance."

"Yes, we have," Holly said excitedly, hooking her arm in mine.

"Oh, my!" I saw the look on Amelia's face and knew she'd seen the ring on her daughter's finger. "Holly, what is that on your hand?"

"Oh," Holly replied, a little calmer than I expected her to be. "Well, this is what we came to talk to you about. We're engaged!"

I smiled and tried to look excited by the news, as if it was the best thing since sliced bread.

"What?" Amelia asked, looking genuinely baffled. "But you haven't been together all that long, I hope you're not rushing into anything."

"Well, that's not the only news…" Holly started, squeezing my arm for support.

I looked at her and smiled, trying to give it to her.

"Oh my God, Jack," Amelia whispered to her husband. "She's pregnant."

"What!?!" Jack cried, standing up.

My encouraging smile dropped immediately because I saw the enraged look on his face. And I'm not afraid to say it scared me.

"Dad, calm down. It's a good thing."

Jack didn't respond. He just turned and stormed off into the kitchen.

Amelia watched him leave, then turned back to us. "Well, congratulations then, I suppose. I'll go talk to your father, honey."

She left us alone and I contemplated making a break for the car, with or without Holly.

She was as panicked as me though. "Michael, he's going to kill me!" she cried.

"Kill you?" I gulped. "He's going to kill me!"

We stayed silent for a minute, my arm supportably around her waist, and then her parent's walked back in.

"If anything happens to me," I whispered to her while they were still out of earshot. "Name the baby after me if it's a boy, and after your mother if it's a girl."

Hopefully Holly will never realise that Mia is short for Amelia.

She nodded and squeezed my hand tighter.

"I'm sorry," Jack started. "It was just a bit of a shock. But as your mother pointed out to me, there is nothing we can do except support you and be happy for you."

Phew.

"Thanks, dad. That really means a lot to us." Holly stood up and hugged him.

"Yeah, thanks. I think we're going to need all the support we can get with this."

"Well, I can already tell you are quite a capable person, Michael," Amelia said. "I'm sure you'd be just fine without us. But nonetheless we will be here for you both. Now, let's sit down to dinner and discuss the wedding, shall we?"

Dinner was served on a huge twelve-seater table so we just sat down one end of it, with Jack at the head.

Back home, we had Maya as a housekeeper. But here, they not only have a housekeeper, but they have three. And they served our dinner on plates that looked about as expensive as I charge for tutoring. Per lesson.

Once the main course was served, roast beef with vegetables, Holly's mom began talking about plans for the wedding.

"Now, the baby won't be due for another six months, but I don't think we ought to rush the wedding. Whether it happens before or after the birth is irrelevant, but personally, I think you should wait until after the birth, because we don't want you looking fat in your photos, Holly. So what do you think of a late Summer wedding?"

Calling Holly fat was not something I expected her mother to say. Couldn't she have said 'pregnant'?

"Yeah, that sounds fine," Holly said and I just nodded along.

I don't particularly mind waiting until after the birth to get married. I don't mind how long we wait, the longer the better in my opinion. And that's not just because I don't want Holly looking 'fat' in the photos.

"Now," Amelia continued. "I'm sure you don't want a city wedding, that's highly impractical for all of your guests. What about a nice garden wedding around here?"

"Oh, well, we were only planning on having a very, very small wedding. Just family and close friends in like, a chapel or something," I told her.

"Nonsense, son," Jack said, and it threw me. Son? Already? Am I supposed to call him dad? "If you're going to get married you may as well do it right. And a big, traditional wedding is right. If you're worried about the cost, don't be. We'll take care about that."

I opened my mouth to say thanks, but no thanks to their kind offer, but Holly anticipated this and gently kicked me underneath the table. She didn't have to say anything; I could tell what she was thinking. She thinks daddy is still going to pay off her credit card for the next fifty years. I can practically see the dollar signs in her eyes.

"That really isn't necessary," I said, ignoring Holly's first kick and getting another.

"Michael, honey, if they want to pay for the wedding, then why should we deprive them of that pleasure?"

I smiled uncomfortably and said we'd be happy for them to pay for a big, traditional wedding.

But how is this going to teach Holly the value of money? She's going to be one of those stay-at-home moms who shop all day and break the credit card limit.

Exactly the kind of wife I want. Not.

Finally the wedding talk finished and it was bedtime.

Despite being engaged and pregnant, Holly and I have separate bedrooms, which is fine with me.

"I'm really looking forward to our wedding now," Holly said to me outside her bedroom door.

"Yeah, me too," I lied.

"Well, good night," she kissed me and walked into her room.

I walked down the hall to my own room, on of the many guestrooms, and without hesitation I hopped into bed, glad for some peace and quiet.

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Stupid Holly.