It was domestic and homey but one of Meredeth's favourite times to spend with Esposito was their morning routine - she in the shower, him shaving at the sink as they boxed around ideas for upcoming plans or even what they might do that night provided he wasn't working overtime. 'So I got a call from my mother and her church's fundraiser lunch is this Sunday, and since it's my day off the roll, she's asked us to come.'

Meredeth's hand froze on the bar of soap, thankful she had the screen of the shower curtain to hide her nerves. 'Oh?'

'Yeah, my parents want to meet you and so does my sister.'

'Your parents?'

Esposito tapped his razor against the side of the sink, not at all phased by the nerves in Meredeth's voice. 'Yeah, we've been together for a little bit now and my parents are, to put it politely, nosy.'

'But...' Meredeth frowned as she rinsed soap off her skin. She knew he came from a Catholic upbringing in Spanish Harlem and she was as far away from that as was possible to get. 'Do they know I'm not...like them?'

'Of course.'

'And they still want to meet me?'

'Why wouldn't they?' Esposito dipped his hands into the warm water in the sink, splashed water on his face before reaching for the towels that smelled fresh and cottony. 'They've seen pictures of you, and my sister grills me for details every time she texts me. Last week, nothing but Lili pestering me, 'When do I get to meet Meredeth? When is coming to Mami and Papa's house?'

Meredeth switched off the water, pulled the curtain back to retrieve her towel. 'You're not blowing smoke?'

'Three things in this world I never joke about - you, my family, and my undying love of chocolate. So if I say that they want to meet you, they really do.'

'Okay then. Should I bring something?'

'Those Nanaimo things you make, those will win over my sister like you wouldn't believe.'

Meredeth fussed with the edge of her scarf; she'd opted for the fuzzy warm concoction Honey-Milk had given her for her birthday to fight the bitterly damp November wind. She held the plate of her homemade baked goods in her right hand as she nervously clutched Esposito's with her left.

'Do you mind?'

'What?'

'I can't feel my hand.'

'Oh sorry.' Meredeth relinquished her hold on him, lifted the tin foil to sniff at her contribution to the bake sale. once they were inside. At least if they tried to run her off it wouldn't be because of her lack of cooking skills. 'I just-'

'I know you just...oh Christ, brace yourself,' he added out the side of his mouth as a squeal echoed in the church's reception room; a tiny curvy bundle of noise bounced up and wrapped her arms tightly around Esposito's neck.

'Hermano, you finally made it! Hold these.' She yanked the plate from Meredeth's hand and thrust it at Esposito. Meredeth had about three seconds to process the woman's arrival before she found herself in a hammerlock of a hug; she let out an audible 'oof' as she felt her air supply shorten. 'Hi,' she manged to get out, 'I'm Meredeth Coleman.'

'Oh I know! I read all the Lady Hawk books, and I follow you on Twitter. God that sounds so stalkery, but anyways, when I found out Javi was dating you, I told him I'd be up his ass bugging him until I got to meet you! Are you going to be in FHM next year? Did you really get a text from him on the Late Late Show?'

'Uh...yes?'

'Oh sorry, I'm Lili George-Esposito. Javier's sister?'

'Oh!' Meredeth felt her spirits lift as she made the connection. 'It's nice to meet you, I've heard many nice things about you.'

'Likewise. Anytime I've talked to him, it's Mere this and Mere that. Drink?' Without waiting for a reply, she looped Meredeth's arm through hers and all but dragged her over to the buffet tables. A petite woman in a muted blue blouse and pants with black and silver curls forming a frame around her face poured coffee from a serving carafe. 'Mami, look who's here! It's Javi's Meredeth!'

The woman looked up, her chestnut brown eyes bright with fascination. She put the carafe down to skirt the table and pull Meredeth into a hug just as bone crushing as Lili's. 'Oh it is so good to finally meet you, my dear! I'm Rosalita, and I see you've already met Lili, and my husband Alejandro is around here somewhere.'

'Last time I saw Papi he was cussing out Duncan Alonso for not paying him back on their Rangers bet last week.'

'Ah well, you'll meet him later. Coffee? It's Yauco Selecto. I got Al to bring it back the last time he visited his family in San Juan.'

'Oh she doesn't drink coffee,' Lili piped up, making Meredeth wonder just how much his family knew about her.

'Make her a cortadito, then, or a con leche, Lili, or there's plenty of sodas and punch with a punch.'

Meredeth was thankful when she felt Esposito finally appear on her other side; she slid her eyes sideways as she caught him trying to smother a grin. Of course he'd known she would get this kind of greeting when they arrived. They were his family after all. 'I brought some Nanaimo bars,' she offered as Esposito brought the plate over to the table and brushed his hand over the small of her back in reassurance.

'Yes, we've heard how you are spoiling my son rotten with homemeade baked goods. It's a bad idea to feed the chocolate monster that lives in his stomach, you'll never be rid of him.'

'Speaking of the things we can never get rid of, be advised soldier,' Lili said, eyeing the plate of treats Meredeth brought with the glint of greed in her eyes, 'recon intel says unfriendlies have been spotted in the hot zone.'

Esposito felt his stomach sink; he was nervous enough introducing Meredeth to his family and now he had to contend with a most unwelcome complication. 'Mami, no, why is she here?'

'Her family is a long-time supporter of the church, and besides I thought you said you were going to stay \friends.'

'That's just a line you tell someone to make a break-up easier to take.'

'Admitting lies in church is bad juju, hermano. Meredeth, these are fantastic,' Lili added as she bit into one of the bars with gusto.

Meredeth felt her head spin like she'd down a shot of one-fifty-one proof rum. 'Who are we talking about?'

'Val Morales. Javi's last ex girlfriend from two years ago who never seemed to understand that a break-up means it's over and is convinced the motivation behind every date he's had since then is to make her jealous.'

'Ah. Yeah I've seen a few of those in my day.'

'Not to worry, dear, I'm sure she won't cause any trouble for you. Anyone can see you're a lovely couple,' Rosalita said in a sympathetic tone. 'Lili, take Meredeth to find your father. I want to talk to Javier.'

'Come on, cunada futura, we'll go find Papi and bribe him with sugar to leave poor Duncan alone.'

Before any of them could move, however, a voice that made Meredeth want to climb the wall sang out.

'Javier!'

Esposito turned and braced himself for the hurricane that was about to land. A tall woman with a mane of glossy black hair and an impossibly beautiful figure strolled over in three inch heels like she was in her bare feet. Her jeans were second-skin tight, and the peach colour of her sweater made her toffee-coloured skin appear warm and smooth as the coffee Rosalita served. At first glance she looked like the well-tailored girl next door.

Until you saw the eyes. However sassy they were painted, the look in them was cold and predatory like a wolf sniffing out prey.

'Val, nice to see you.'

'I heard you might stop by today, with your new girlfriend,' she said with a condescending edge to her voice, 'and thought I'd come over and introduce myself. Where is she?'

'That would be this lovely lady right here.' Eager to show off her new toy, Lili gave Meredeth's arm a supportive squeeze. She'd known Val for a long time and could sense Meredeth would need a cheerleader if Val pulled one of her typical moves.

True to form, Val turned to Meredeth and laughed in her face. 'No she's not. Seriously, Lili, where is she?'

'Seriously, Val.' Esposito pulled Meredeth out of his sister's grip and into his own, wrapped his arm around Meredeth's hip. 'We just celebrated one month together on the fourth.'

Val stared in unabashed disbelief at Esposito before she cocked her head to the side. 'I don't understand. You,' she pointed a lethally manicured finger at Meredeth, 'are with him?'

'Yes, I am.'

'But you're a fat white girl.'

Meredeth felt the words like a punch in the stomach. Her instinct was to slap the taste out of the woman's mouth but before she could pull her thoughts together, she felt Esposito tighten his hold on her hip. Turning her head, she saw his eyes flash hot, her lip curl into a subtle snarl.

'No one speaks to Meredeth that way, not even when they're full blown crazy like you.'

'You should be so lucky to look like Meredeth,' Lili added helpfully, before pointing to Meredeth's breasts. 'Unlike you these didn't come from a plastic surgeon that cost a third of her year's salary. Same with that booty of hers, and her lips, and her cheekbones, and her hair colour too.'

'Not even going to ask how your know that,' Esposito muttered as Val tapped her foot in impatience. 'The point is, Meredeth is my girlfriend and I have no intention of leaving her for anyone, certainly not you so you can-'

'Javier!' Alejandro Esposito's voice boomed as he came up to his son, his six-foot-two, two-hundred-twenty pound frame nudging Valencia out of the way like she was a paper doll. 'Why you didn't say you were here? And this must be Miss Meredeth. Alejandro Ramon Esposito, and you've met my Rosalita and Lili.' He took Meredeth's slim hand in his big bear-like paw, kissed both of her cheeks. 'I hear you're a fantastic baker.'

'Excuse me, Senor Esposito, but-'

'Valencia, go away. I'm talking to my son's girlfriend and you're being annoying,' he told the woman without taking his eyes off of Meredeth, waited until Val had stomped off. 'Ignore her. She's a spoiled selfish child who has good taste and horrible manners. Now tell me about this dog of yours, how does he get a name like Arturo?'

While Meredeth and Esposito chatted with his father, Rosalita served coffee and watched the way her son kept his hand around Meredeth's waist, the way she giggled at something he said. It was sometimes hard to think of her rough and tumble baby boy as a man on the dating scene, but once she'd heard him start to go on and on about this Meredeth woman - his Danish angel, he called her - the radar up the way only a mother's could. When she saw him give her a sweet, innocent kiss on her cheek, she started to wonder if it was too soon to call her dressmaker and begin designing a mother of the groom dress.

'Hey Mami.' Lili sauntered up, her plate full of sweets she knew would make Rosalita roll her eyes. 'So what do you think of her?'

'I think they're very much in love, and they might not have a traditional church wedding but so long as Father Paolo presides over it, they could get married on the moon if it makes them happy.'

'Ten bucks says they get engaged by next Christmas.'

'Fifty says Labor Day.'

Lili shook her head. Her brother hadn't even told Meredeth he loved her yet; there was no way they'd be engaged before December twenty-fifth the following year. 'You're on.'

R&R&Enjoy.