Her mother sashayed into the foyer, wearing her own apron. Upon spotting John, her eyes widened and a broad smile slid over her face. It actually appeared genuine... “Dear god, you are a large man,” she said. “How tall is he, Victoria?” Katherine touched John’s arm and fluttered her lashes. “He positively dwarfs everyone in the room.”

“I’m only six five ma’am,” John said with a genial grin. He leaned over her extended hand and kissed the back of her fingers. Her mother reddened in the face as she lifted her free hand to her chest. Once he released her, John handed Katherine his bouquet of flowers. “Thank you for inviting me to dinner, Mr. and Mrs. Reese.”

Chris was right: John was good at this. Her mother was a puddle of pleasantries at the mere sight of the young Viking. Victoria openly rolled her eyes at the scene. “Oh my, you’ve brought me gardenias,” her mother crooned as she inhaled the warm scent of the full blossoms. “How on earth did you manage it?”

“I know a guy,” John said.

Victoria was that “guy.”

She’d made certain to drill him full of Katherine Reese facts a week before their arrival. So far, he was doing well enough, but Victoria wanted her mother to release her boyfriend. “Well, let me get these in a vase and they’ll serve as a beautiful centerpiece for tomorrow’s breakfast.” She turned to Victoria and gripped her arms. “Darling, you have such a glow about you! School is going well?”

“Uh...yeah, actually it is,” she said, meeting her mother’s gaze. “The internship that John and I created just got approved for January. And I’m also halfway through tenure portfolio...” she trailed off because she wasn’t used to her mother asking about her work. Victoria didn’t know what else to say.

“Oh, wonderful,” Katherine said, gathering her in her arms. Victoria wrapped her arms around her mother and cast a confused expression at John. “My baby is going to have some job security!”

“John,” Archie said. “Grab yourself a beer from the fridge and join me on the deck. We’ve got a turkey to smoke.”

“What kind of smoker you got, sir?” John asked, moving towards the kitchen. “I hear the Weber Smokey Mountain’s pretty good.”

Archie laughed. “Pretty good, but the Nordic Season is better, let me show you the specs on this baby.”

With her boyfriend tied up with her father’s smoking project, Victoria was left with her mother in the kitchen. She sat at the counter and watched Katherine bustle around. “So what’s for dinner?”

Her mother pulled a large casserole of macaroni and cheese from the oven and fanned an oven-mitt over it. “Oh, honey, I’ve made everything. I didn’t know what your John would like. You didn’t tell us he was white.”