The ringing of the door bell alerted everyone in the house. Aunt Georgia straightened, wearing a panicked look in her eyes. "He's here."

They had invited Elias, Aunt Georgia's new boyfriend, over for dinner at their place. It was all Callie's idea and their one chance at meeting the guy Aunt Georgia always gushed about, before he possibly bolts away because of her band tour.

Callie smirked. "You're a little jumpy right now. Don't worry, no matter what, we'll like him. And he'll like us too."

"Who wouldn't? We're adorable." Ava reassured her. "I'll get the door. I want to be the first person to see how he looks like." It was the one thing Ava did, ever since they moved to Jubilee Grove. She always had a habit of making sure she got the first glimpse of Aunt Georgia's past boyfriends and to catch them off guard. Ava raced to the door and took a peek when she pulled it open. She gave a loud squeak. "Oh my God. He's actually handsome."

Callie and Aunt Georgia shared amused glances at each other and Callie craned her neck, hoping to see the man who still hadn't stepped into the house.

There was an amused tone in the rumble of his velvety masculine voice. "Nice to meet you too, you must be Avalyn."

"It's Ava." Said Ava, in a sing-songy voice. "Come in."

While his musky scent wasn't one Callie could identify, she examined him closely when he entered. He actually had more of a resemblance to Peter, than the Deputy. Hell, if someone told her Peter was his son, she'd believe it. The uncanny similar blue eyes and light reddish hair startled Callie. He also had that boyish good looks Peter had, exuding all over his face despite the bristles of facial hair running across his jaw.

Aunt Georgia had made her way to him and pressed her lips against his, with a quick peck. "You're here."

He smiled at her, briefly giving a not-so-subtle ogle at her body hugging red dress, which well suited the highlights of her hair and made her eyes pop. "Where else will I be?"

"No kissing in the house." Abe reappeared, still with his pair of mittens on. He shifted his gaze uncomfortably away from a smiling Elias. "Dinner's ready."

Aunt Georgia had an arm loosely hung across Elias' shoulder. "Don't be a sourpuss, Abe and say hi to him."

Callie tensed. Aunt Georgia knew her father didn't like being put on the spot and worse, he hated interacting with new people. But then again, this was another reason they invited Elias. Abe needed to get used to seeing him around, without his social anxiety getting in the way.

Abe fiddled with his thumb, darting his eyes around and not directly looking at the red haired man. "Hi. I'm Abe Blanco. It's nice to meet you."

Elias let out a relaxed grin, before answering. "Elias Doherty. The pleasure's all mine." He stretched out his hand for a handshake but Abe stiffened. With a firm frown, Abe fiddled with his hands again. Aunt Georgia quickly gave a shake of her head, which Elias seemed to understand and quickly retracted his hand. "Noted. No handshakes."

Abe shrugged, still not looking Elias in the eye. "I don't do handshakes."

"True, it's totally overrated. What's the point of putting your clean hands on another hand without knowing where it's been? It could have been in their nose." The glint in Elias' blue eyes made Aunt Georgia's sunny smile widen.

Callie joined in. "Or up their butt." It seemed to make everyone break into soft chuckles and eased the uncomfortable tension tying up the place. "I'm Callie and handshakes are fine by me."

Elias gave off a genteel vibe Callie liked and she could see why Aunt Georgia fell for him. "Well, I'm happy I got to meet Georgia's closest family. I, for one, always firmly believed in family. Me and my siblings are almost inseparable. They're like my best friends."

"I'm trying to imagine Peter not being his shy self and just being chirpy, but it doesn't stick." Callie scoffed.

Elias grinned. "Peter's just not used to having people around but when he gets used to the person, he'll be all over them without trying so hard."

"Like me." Abe's toothy grin held years of youth in them. "Come on, let's go eat. The food's getting cold."

★★★
"Did I do well?" Elias caressed his well manicured fingers through her strawberry blonde hair, sensually pouring enough waves of pleasure through her when they tangled themselves on her dated mauve sofa that was placed in the tiny balcony of her one bedroom apartment. There wasn't much in the small place, having only a flickering bulb slightly illuminating the obsidian darkness of the night, her once brightly colored violet sofa that had faded into a dull mauve color, after years of owning it and some roses in a flower pot wilting in a corner.

Georgia's pale set of sage green eyes twinkled. Her eyes danced brightly in the light, despite the dimly lit alcove. "You were amazing. I think Abe likes you. It doesn't happen often and you made him laugh. It actually went well."

"Sorry I forgot about the handshake thing. It skipped my mind and I was so afraid of messing up." His voice came out quietly.

Georgia shrugged it off. "There were so many rules I gave, I'm surprised you remembered a whole lot. It's impressive."

"No short sleeve that shows my arm tattoo. No reference to his late wife. No mention of politics or anything related to the government. No comments about his mismatched socks or his questionable fashion sense. No gloves." Elias listed out, then paused. "Wait, what's his deal with gloves?"

"It makes him paranoid." Georgia retorted. "It's a whole story."

"But he wore a mitten today when he was cooking."

Georgia chuckled. "It's different to him. Like I said, it's a whole story. You'll laugh your eyes out when you hear it."

His fingers trailed from her hair and down her arm affectionately. A chill raced through Georgia, heating up her body. "I'm more curious about how you met his wife. You've never talked about it."

A faraway gaze lit up her face when she explained. "I was nineteen when I first met Maisie. My former roommate dropped out of school in the middle of the school year and bailed on me without paying rent in full. So I told people around that I need a roommate. Then Maisie came along, with her soft spoken words and beautiful looks. It was hard to hate how attractive she was, when she was too busy being so damn lovable and down-to-earth."

"People thought our whole friendship was crazy. She was a full-time grad student aiming for her Masters in business management and five years older than I was. But somehow we clicked and became inseparable. I always stood by her. Even when she met Abe, and people judged her for being with him. Even when her own parents wanted nothing to do with her when they found out Abe was a schizo with only a high school diploma. Even when she married him, just eight months after dating him. Even when her first pregnancy gave her a stroke that affected her for three months. Even when she was diagnosed with a heart defect, almost eight years ago. Most of all, even when she died. I stood by her without regrets. She was my everything."

Elias cupped a side of her cheek softly, pushing back tendrils of her flaming hair. Georgia's head tipped back as she locked her eyes with his. "You're amazing."

"I'm hoping you'd still say that when I leave in two days. Though I won't be surprised to find you cozying up to someone else when I'm gone."

His eyebrows furrowed into a thick wispy line. "I'd be crazy if I did that. You're pretty unforgettable, Georgia and I'm even already tempted to look for you wherever you'd go to, when you leave. But I'm mostly afraid you'd think of me as a stalker, if I did any of that."

"I wouldn't mind seeing you a couple of times, while I'm on tour." Her breath fanned against his, before pressing her lips over his soft lips faintly. The quivering need to deepen the gentle kiss reverberated between them, making Georgia's toes curl and sending a swarm of instant electricity buzzing over her bare flesh by his mere touch.

Elias hummed against her lips. "I like the sound of that, Georgia Hope. You have no idea how happy you just made me feel."

"This is you promising we'd be fine, even after I get back?" Pulling back her gaze to his piercing blue eyes, Georgia threaded carefully.

A flutter of kisses on her fingertips reaffirmed her faith in him. "I promise."

★★★
To celebrate the successful progress of my book, I decided to post an extra chapter (aside from this one), so don't forget to check it out. So yaaay!
Also, What do y'all think about Elias Doherty? Do you think he's good for Aunt Georgia?
I'd really love to hear what everyone has to say.
Xoxo
Jasmine.