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Natalie stares at Damien and his parents in surprise.
"You want me to go to a pumpkin patch with you? Me?" Natalie's voice is soft and filled with surprise.
"Yeah, it's a family tradition," says Damien softly as his parents hum behind him. "We go for family pictures mainly, but also to check out the little farmer's market happening with them. Here, uh, mom, dad, give us a minute, yeah?"
"We gotta go in ten to get there on time," says Mrs. Novak with a soft smile.
"But, we'll go make coffee while we wait. Does anyone else want some?" asks Mr. Novak as he gets a hand on his wife's back to gently guide her out of the room.
"We both would. Angie knows how Natalie likes hers," replies Damien over his shoulder as Natalie's mind reels.
Pumpkin Patch.
She hasn't been since she was a kid.
Literally.
They went twice, and both times she didn't get a pumpkin. It ended with her in tears.
"Are you okay, Princess?" asks Damien as soon as his parents are gone, his voice soft and filled with worry.
They're getting married in a couple of days, and today is the day she's spending with the Novak's. To get to know Damien more with chaperones because her "family" don't trust her, or Damien, apparently. Though, she's not entirely sure which one of them is trusted the least at this point.
She'd outed her prosthetic arm already, which angered her "parents" far more than it bothered the Novak's. Hell, Damien told her that hands are optional with him, and her stomach fluttered relentlessly with the urge to kiss him.
She still hasn't let herself get that… close.
They've hugged, held hands, and she's fallen asleep on his shoulders more than once.
But kissing?
No matter how strong the urge is to kiss him, she's kept herself in check.
He seems to have no problem with not kissing her.
She doesn't catch his eyes dropping to her lips.
She doesn't see him biting his lip when she licks at her own.
But she does those things when he does them.
"I— I'm fine, I just— I've only been to a pumpkin patch twice, and they're not the fondest memories in the world to me," mutters Natalie quietly as she shakes her head, forcing herself to focus up because she is not going to mess this up. She can't. "But I'm sure this will be great. We shouldn't keep your parents waiting."
"Princess," Damien's voice is soft as his hands cup her cheeks, tugging her eyes to meet his as she tries to avoid them. "If you don't want to go with us this year, you don't have to. Okay? I'm not going to force you, and I won't let them force you either."
"It's not that I don't want to go," explains Natalie as she looks into his big brown eyes, feeling herself starting to get lost, melting against his hands as she lifts one of her own up to rest against his wrist. "I just don't have the best memories of a pumpkin patch, so I'm nervous. But I'm sure it will be fine, and we are getting married soon, Damien. It only makes sense for me to be in your family photos."
"Only if you want to," says Damien seriously as his thumb brushes over her cheeks gently.
"Damien, I'm not going to mess up plans just because I'm nervous," mutters Natalie with a sigh as she shakes her head. "Come on, we're going to be late. Let's get going."
"Okay, Princess, but the minute you want to leave, we can," replies Damien seriously as he looks at her, his hands sliding down to gently rub at her arms before taking her hands.
"I appreciate that, Damien," murmurs Natalie as she smiles at him, unable to help herself as he drops one of her hands while lacing their fingers together with the other. "Now, let's go get our coffee and get going, so we're not any later than we already are."
"You let me know, and we're out," murmurs Damien as he guides her towards the kitchen.
Coffee is in their hands before they even fully step into the room as Mrs. Novak asks, "Are we all going to the pumpkin patch, or would you two rather hang out here and figure out a more comfortable place to do family pictures this year?"
"We're still going to the pumpkin patch, but I appreciate the other option," says Natalie softly as she holds her coffee mug, adjusting the straw as Damien gives her hand a gentle squeeze.
Damien and Natalie ride in a separate car to the pumpkin patch, a comfortable ride that's filled with murmuring between Damien and the driver. Her head rested on his shoulder for the entire ride, their fingers laced together on his thigh, their coffee cooling in the cup-holders in front of them.
"Princess," his voice is soft as he lightly squeezes her hand in his. "We're here, and my parents are climbing out of their car now. Are you ready to get out?"
Natalie sighs gently before she sits up and says, "I'm ready."
She reaches out to open her door as Damien says, "Princess, Luca is gonna get the door, just give him a second. Otherwise, I'm gonna hear him complain about you not liking him again, and then I'll really need a drink."
"Wait, he actually thinks that?" asks Natalie as she sits back again, turning to him with wide eyes.
"Partially because it's his job, yeah. But he also was with a horrible family before we hired him," explains Damien with a shake of his head as Luca comes around to the door. "He's getting better, but he's only been wit us for a year and a half. He knows me, but you are new, even if you're about to be my wife. He knows someone who usually drives Monica, so he hasn't quite figured out the difference between the two of you. He's starting to, but he's not quite there yet."
"I'll keep that in mind," murmurs Natalie in an understanding tone, knowing how Monica treats the staff at the Parsons' home. "Thank you, Luca."
Natalie hates that she has to take her hand back as she climbs out of the car, but it's not long before Damien's hand takes hers back, fingers lacing together firmly, like he thought she might yank her hand away.
"Pictures first, then we can explore the market!" exclaims Mrs. Novak excitedly as she takes her husband's arm.
Damien turns to her, but Natalie's already responding, "Sounds good to us!"
She catches the small grin curving his lips as she ducks her head forward to look at him. Then he's guiding her forward to follow his parents towards what looks to be a giant wooden wagon with a horse that has a scarecrow sitting atop it.
A family of seven are just finishing taking pictures as they reach it, and Natalie smiles gently at the love shining on their faces as they help each other maneuver off the wagon.
"We won't be sitting on the wagon. There's a bench for the four of us to settle on, unless you'd like to sit on the wagon," murmurs Damien as the family heads off, three little girls skipping away, hand-in-hand in front of the older four in the group.
"How will we sit on the bench?" asks Natalie softly as she tips her head to the side, trying to figure out how the four of them will sit comfortably on that small bench.
"Well, that's up to you, actually," the way Damien winces leaves anxiety pouring through Natalie's veins as she fights her own panicked thoughts while waiting for him to continue. "We can comfortably sit three on the bench. Mom will sit on Dad's lap, but she might ask you to sit on mine as well. You don't have to though, you can sit next to me, while she sits on Dad's lap. We could always climb up and sit on the edge of the wagon behind them instead, that is an option."
"It would be uneven if I didn't sit on your lap," mutters Natalie as she glares at the bench while Mr. and Mrs. Novak stare at the phone being held between them, muttering under their breath like their discussing some big secret. "If my family finds out though, they would lose their heads because we're not married yet."
"Would that be a big deal when we're getting married so soon?" asks Damien quietly, brows furrowing together when she turns to look at him in surprise.
She didn't expect him to hear her.
"Um, well, I— It would be to them, but not to me," replies Natalie quietly, wincing at the way his eyes seem to fill with worry and suspicion. "They're a bit more… traditional? They weren't even happy with me coming today until I told them that your parents would be with us."
"Huh," mutters Damien like he's connecting dots that he has no way of even knowing are there.
"Damien, Natalie, let's take our picture!" calls Mrs. Novak with a bright smile as she turns to them while Mr. Novak hands his phone off to Luca.
She hadn't even noticed that he'd followed them in, though she probably should've when Marco followed them too.
Damien and Natalie walk over to the bench, but Damien moves like he's going to step around to the wagon instead. So, she tugs at his arm with her own and nods her head towards the bench. When his brows furrow in confusion, she can't help but giggle before tugging him over to the bench properly.
"Sit down," says Natalie softly as Mrs. Novak approaches them.
"Natalie, are you comfortable sitting on Damien's lap? If not, we can stand behind them for one picture and have them stand behind us for another instead," Mrs. Novak's voice is soft, and the fact that she's giving Natalie options makes her feel more seen than her own family has ever made her feel.
"I don't mind either way, Mrs. Novak," replies Natalie as she turns to look at her.
Sitting in Damien's lap wouldn't be the worst thing, and honestly, she'd probably enjoy it a bit more than he would. But she'll leave that decision up to his parents because it's their family picture.
"Okay, one picture with us sitting on their laps, and one with us standing behind them. Honey, are you ready?" Mrs. Novak claps her hands together decisively, turning around to find Mr. Novak just in time for him to wrap his arm around her waist.
"You know I am, Darling," replies Mr. Novak as he presses a sweet kiss to her cheek.
Even Natalie's parents aren't that lovey-dovey, not even at the parties where it's kind of expected. The rich circles expect to see PDA, but her parents never were the kind, even now, they barely do more than hold hands, if they do that.
Natalie watches as Mr. Novak guides Mrs. Novak closer to the bench before sitting and tugging her across his lap, kissing her gently when she laughs.
"Princess, you ready?" asks Damien softly as he grabs her attention with his voice, a warm hand surprising her as it settles on her hip.
The heat finds itself against her skin because her sweater had shifted as she crossed her arms over her chest.
"Oh, yeah, sorry!" her cheeks burn as she turns her attention to him, yelping as he gently guides her across his thighs, hand resting over her jean covered thigh as he holds her. "I'm— I'm not too heavy, am I?"
"You're perfect, Princess," replies Damien gently as he presses his nose to her shoulder. "Don't ever question it, not even for a second."
Natalie can't help the way she smiles at him as he looks up at her, soft brown eyes sending flutters through her.
"How many more should I take?" calls Luca, snapping Natalie out of her trance.
Her cheeks burn properly now, and she can see a light blush curling across Damien's cheeks too. But she knows this was on her, and he's probably just embarrassed that she would go so far.
"Just one more, where we're all looking at the camera. Smile, everyone!" exclaims Mrs. Novak brightly, amusement coloring her voice sweetly.
Natalie turns to the camera and smiles, closed-lipped, but it's there. She can feel her face burning still, and aches to run away, but she can't until they're done here.
Even then, she doesn't want to disappoint the Novaks like she's disappointed her own family.
"Princess," murmurs Damien as Mrs. Novak tells Luca to snap some more candid shots for them as is because there's no point in standing anymore. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," whispers Natalie as she turns back to him, eyes dropping to her lap. "I'm sorry for getting too close."
"Too close? Princess, if we hadn't been interrupted, I would've kissed you. How were you the one getting too close?" asks Damien quietly, brows furrowing as she lifts her eyes to meet his.
Surprise fills her at his words.
"What do you mean?" asks Natalie quietly, hope fluttering rapidly in her chest like the beat of a hummingbird's wings.
"I mean, Princess, that I really want to kiss you," replies Damien softly, brown eyes sparkling in the sun as he looks at her, his hand lifting to cup her cheek as his other rests on her hip. "If anyone was too close, it would've been me because I know you don't want anything romantic to happen until we're married. Even then, we talked about going slow. So, again, how were you too close?"
"I— you— Did you really—" Natalie stutters, unable to complete a sentence as she looks into those deep eyes. "If you want to do something, then do it, Damien. I'll be your wife soon enough."
"But would you really be okay? If I kissed you?" asks Damien so softly that she barely catches it all.
Her heart is pounding in her throat, and she lifts a hand to cup his cheek as she whispers, "I would be more okay than you know."
Damien's smile makes her breathless, but then he leans up and presses their lips together in a gentle kiss.
She realizes she didn't know what breathless was until he kissed her. Their lips slotting together sweetly, soft and slow, and absolutely perfect, no matter how chaste. She may not know much about kissing, but she knows that if this is how their first kiss feels, the kisses that follow will forever top it.
"Well, well, look at you two lovebirds," says Mrs. Novak with a glee-filled tone.
Natalie jerks back in surprise, her face burning as she looks to see both Mr. and Mrs. Novak smiling a them, knowing and winking when she meets their eyes. She immediately buries her face in Damien's neck as claps start to echo around them.
"You okay there, Princess?" asks Damien with amusement in his voice as his hand rubs over her back.
"Embarrassed," whines Natalie in his neck, though she doesn't regret a single thing.
"But definitely happy because you kissed back," replies Damien as he presses a kiss to the top of her head, chuckling when she gently smacks at his chest.
"Definitely happy, but don't tease me about it," huffs Natalie as she shakes her head and pulls away to look at him. "Are we done with our pictures? I'd like to get some hot chocolate from the vendor near the entrance."
"Yeah, Princess, we're done," replies Damien with a chuckle as he helps her stand, hands steadying her at her waist before he stands as well and turns to his parents. "We're going to get hot chocolate and explore, but we can meet you at the entrance in an hour."
"Sounds great," says Mrs. Novak as she waves at them, taking her phone from Luca.
"See you in an hour," adds Mr. Novak as his wife tugs his attention towards her phone.
"Let's go get you some hot chocolate, Princess," murmurs Damien as he holds out his arm to her, and she takes it with a shy smile. "And maybe I can get another kiss or two as well."
Natalie smacks his shoulder with a huff of air, but she can't deny the wanting that's settling in her chest. If he does kiss her again, she definitely won't reject him.
Now, she really can't wait to marry this man.