Too Close

Chapter Twenty Five

Miles' reaction was delayed as he was faced with his smiling parents and Chase who happened to be the one to remind him that he was human.

"Hey dad." Chase went to hug him. "I miss you."

"I miss you too." Miles looked down at his son who now stood by his elbows, which was crazy since the last time he'd seen Chase in person, he was only reaching up to his waistline. He looked up to see his mom quietly taking pictures of them embracing one another.

Gianna felt like she couldn't move as she looked at Miles and his mini-me in his arms. She thought Brooke may have been exaggerating when she said their looks were identical, but it truly looked like Miles had made the kid all by himself. They shared the same golden beige complexion, wide noses, and large brown eyes. Chase even had a matching pair of diamond studs in his ears.

It wasn't like Gianna would rather act like the child didn't exist, she just would've liked a heads up that she would meet him at this moment. Though, Miles didn't even have that luxury himself.

"Hey Ma, Pops." Miles spoke to his parents as his hand rested on Chase's shoulder. "How did y'all know about this?"

"You weren't answering and none of us have seen you in so long, so Lance told me you would be here for a couple of days, so I thought we should come down. Why didn't you say anything?"

"Because I've been busy, Ma. And Lance, out of all people, knows that." Miles shook his head. Lance could never hold back due to his soft spot for Miles' mom who never failed to offer him some of her cooking. "I'm here for work only, then going back to Seattle. That's why I didn't tell y'all."

"You're always working though, my baby. I think you need to take a vacation."

"Let him be a hard working grown man, my love. That's what he wants." Ahmad had his arm around his wife's waist. Phylicia began to argue that she didn't know where Miles got his workaholic mindset because his father wasn't like that, but Ahmad was on his side, understanding that if his passion was his job, he'd never get tired of working either.

As the family engaged in conversation, Gianna's eyes bounced back and forth between all of them. Miles had his mom's smile, but his dad was the true blueprint of his and Chase's features. It was evident that the Delgado genes knocked out the mother's and dominated every time.

"Who's this?" Phylicia noticed Gianna, who was standing slightly behind Miles and looking down at her French tipped toes that peeked through her wedges.

"Gianna." Her stomach did somersaults once she heard her name and looked up to see the members of the Delgado family staring at her. "My girl."

His mom's eyes widened. "I didn't know you were seeing anybody new."

"I didn't want you to overreact, so please." He made stern eye contact with both of his parents. "Don't."

Gianna looked around them to see if there were any possible liabilities, and thankfully there weren't, but when her eyes scanned the room, she saw Brooke chatting it up with Kensley, Jodie, and some others from the class. She was taken back a bit, but Miles and his family grabbed her attention once again.

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Gianna. I'm Ahmad and this is my wife, Phylicia." His father spoke and his mother waved, making a shy smile grace her face.

"It's nice to meet you guys as well." 

"How about we all go somewhere more intimate for lunch? A restaurant maybe, since I know Miles has nothing to eat at his house." Gianna looked at Miles as Phylicia made the suggestion.

"I have a meeting I can't miss after this, but for sure before we go back to Seattle." He assured his mom before she began to question him some more. Gianna excused herself from the conversation and headed out of the banquet hall and into the main hall of the convention center where they were offering refreshments.