CEO // t.h

Chapter twenty-one - Meeting the family

Warnings: None.

Avery's P.O.V

"Do you think they'll like me?" I ask Tom as I stand in the bathroom getting dressed, feeling nervous about meeting his family for the first time. "Of course they will" Tom says, reassuring me I tie the strap of my dress around my waist and walk out into my bedroom "does this look okay?" I ask standing a couple of steps away from Tom who is sitting on my bed.

(Avery's dress - picture not mine, credit to the owner)

He looks up from his phone once I ask and I see his eyes widen a little "is it too much? Not enough? Should I go and change? I think maybe I should change because-" my rambling is cut off my Tom saying "you look beautiful" he then stands up and walks over towards me gently grabbing my hands "how did I get so lucky?" he asks "I ask myself the same thing" I say giggling.

"Okay, let's go" he says after kissing my cheek, we then head out and start the drive to his parent's house. Our car ride is full of us talking about our families, any funny memories and just anything that comes up in conversation "I just realised you haven't actually met my family in person, I mean we've face-timed my parents and brothers a couple of times but we should go and see them" I say "I'd love to, they're great – your brothers are funny too" he says as he drives with one hand holding the steering wheel and the other resting on my thigh "we should make it a little weekend getaway since the drive is so long" I suggest "road trip" he says imitating the typical young teenagers you see in movies which causes me to laugh.

We then drive into the driveway that leads to a beautiful house, "wow, it's so beautiful" I say admiring the house. "This is where I grew up" he explains "I did want to buy them a new one as a little thank you but we all have such a good connection to the house" he adds "that isn't what I'd call little thank you but I do think that's so sweet of you, such a softie" I say teasing him "cheeky" he says smirking as we both make our way out of the car and to the front door. I hold Tom's hand as he rings the doorbell, "I'm so nervous" I tell Tom "don't worry, they will love you – trust me" he says kissing the side of my head, after a couple of seconds the door opens and I see a lady with blonde hair appear on the other side "Tommy! How's my boy?" she asks as she hugs him "I'm good, how are you?" he asks as he kisses her cheek "I'm great" she says pulling away from him.

"And you must be Avery" she says looking at me, "yes, it's so nice to meet you Mrs. Hiddleston" I say not sure if I should call her by her name or not. "Oh don't be silly! Call me Elizabeth" she says then bringing me into a hug which I return "come inside, dinner is almost done" she says stepping aside to let us in, Tom and I walk inside and see the rest of his family sitting on the couch once we get into the living room "hey everyone, this is Avery – Avery this is my dad Grant and sister Charlotte" Tom says introducing us. "Hi, it's love to meet you both" I say shaking Grant's and Charlotte's hand "it's so good to finally meet you, Tom can't shut up about you" Charlotte says, I turn to Tom and see a small blush appear on his face.

After a couple minutes of talking with Grant and Charlotte, with them kindly sharing embarrassing stories of Tom, Elizabeth tells us the dinner is amazing. "We are having spaghetti tonight, I hope that's okay with you Avery" Elizabeth says "Oh yes, of course – I love food" I say with a small laugh "I like her" Charlotte says, we then all sit around the dinner table with Tom sitting by my side, "so, how did you two meet again?" Grant asks us. "Avery worked at a company that Hiddleston Towers began working with around over a year ago and she was the head of her department which meant we had to work together and have meeting" Tom explains, everyone nodding along "you work in communication design, is that right?" Elizabeth asks "yep I do" I say nodding, we then talk more about everyone's work life and their personal life too and soon enough we have all finished our dinner.

"Thank you for the dinner Elizabeth, it was wonderful" I say complimenting the amazing food she made. "thank you, you can come over any time" she says "I must say, we are so happy for the both of you" Grant says "you two are so wonderful together, I'm glad to see the both of you very happy" Elizabeth adds, "thank you" I say smiling "do you need any help washing up?" I ask "no, you're the guest - it's fine but thank you dear" Elizabeth says "I'm going to take Avery into the garden" Tom says standing up. "Okay dear, don't get too cold out there" Elizabeth says, Tom offers me his hand as he stands next to me which I gladly take, he then leads us out into the garden at the back of the house.

"Wow these flowers are beautiful" I say once we are outside, admiring all the pretty gardening. "My mum loves gardening and plants" he says "she's very good" I say, Tom and I are still holding hands as we walk around the garden "did you enjoy tonight?" he asks after a couple minutes of us silently walking together "I did, your family is so nice" I say looking up at him "they really like you, my mum even told me" he says smiling as we look at each other "I'm so glad" I say. "I remember I'd spend hours out here playing football with my friends or playing games with Charlotte, I was always outside playing" Tom explains "this is where it all began, I wanted to make something out of myself and wanted to be able to give back to my family, so I decided to follow my interests in business and successfully make nothing into something" Tom adds.

"It wouldn't mean anything to me if it couldn't benefit the people I love, which now includes you" he says facing me. "Since I've met you, in just a short time I've learnt so much about myself that I never would've if I didn't meet you, you reminded me what's truly important in life which I somehow lost track of, you made me learn what it's like to fully love someone with no worry or concern and I've grown so much as a person because of you" Tom explains.

"You inspire me in my day to day life, just by your kindness to others, your way of thinking, the way you treat everyone the same no matter what, you inspire me to value myself and I just admire you for everything that you are" He adds. "I quickly realised that I want to spend the rest of my life with you when I would picture my future and couldn't imagine you not being there, or how you became my top priority or when the best part of my day became seeing you".

Tom's P.O.V

As I finish talking I reach into my pocket to pull out the small black box that has been there the whole night. Avery let's out a small gasp as she sees what I'm holding, I then get down on one knee and open the box.

"Avery Johnson, will you marry me?" I ask looking up and into her eyes.

Author's note: Surprise ending hehe, hope you enjoy this chapter! make sure to comment, like and reblog (its much appreciated!)