My Elf Soulmate
Chapter 22

"Mom we're here." I called out from the entrance. Paxton stood less than a foot away from me as he probably tried to draw out some comfort from me. Even though I wasn't completely facing him, I could tell that he was more rigid now that we were in the house.

"In the dining room sweetheart." My mom responded, just as the sound of utensils meeting glass plates could be heard.

"Are you ready?" I asked Paxton. His eyes instantly snapped down to meet mine. Nerves more than apparent on his face. I honestly was starting to feel bad, maybe I should have waited a bit longer to introduce him to my mom. Maybe it was all too much for me. This was all probably very new to him.

"I'll never be ready for this baby, but I'm as ready as I could ever be." He replied with nothing but honesty ringing from his words as he took in a deep breath and let it out again.

With a nod of understanding an a smile of reassurance I gently tugged on Paxton's hand and led him to the dining room where my mother was finishing up setting the table.

"Mom," I called out to my mom who was straightening out the table mats. "This is Paxton." I introduced and watched as my mother seemed to analyse him before she settled on a smile. Relief settled into my being. She must have approved.

"It's nice to meet you Paxton, I'm Roseanne's mother and you can call me Judy." Mom said reaching out her hand for a handshake which resulted in Paxton having to let go of my hand in order to shake my mother's.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Judy, these are for you." He said handing over the chocolate and flowers and I knew that at that moment Paxton had won over my mother.

"Thank you," She said with a look of appreciation and acceptance. "Please take a seat while I place these in a vase." Mom said as she left the kitchen, her voice ringing with unmasked joy, that I almost couldn't stop myself from giggling.

"She likes you." I whispered to Paxton as I guided him to his seat which was next to mine.

"That's a relief." He said looking relieved as he pulled out the chair for me to sit and then he took his seat as well. Paxton's face looked way more calmer than before. It was honestly such a relief, maybe, just maybe, tonight would end on a great note.

"Alright let's dig in everyone," Mom said as she entered the kitchen with a beaming smile. She quickly settled herself on a chair as we ate in silence for a couple of minutes. The only sound being from the forks and knives as they scratched on the plates and clinked against each other, "So Paxton, tell me about yourself." Mom said as she put another fork full of food into her mouth. Her gaze held curiousity as she looked at Paxton.

I looked at Paxton with an encouraging smile when I saw him tense up. I saw him place his fork down on his plate and then he grasped my hand from underneath the table before he spoke. I gently caressed the back of his hand with my thumb, trying to give him some sort of reassurance and comfort.

"The actually isn't much for me to tell you about Miss Jordans. I work at an inventing company, I sadly have no siblings and I don't really live in this area but I am thinking of getting a house this side so that things will be more convenient for Rosie if she decides that she wants to permanently live with me one day." He responded looking at me with such adoration that my heart couldn't help but to flutter. At times it still felt so surreal to have someone like Paxton next to me. I never thought that at such a young age, I would replace someone who loved me so much, and I loved back just as much. Someone who didn't seem to hesitate about the prospect of a future with me. It made me more happy than I ever thought that it would.

"I see, how did you and Roseanne meet and in which town do you currently live in?" Mom asked digging for information. Oh boy, this was getting tricky and quite quickly.

I lightly squeezed Paxton's hand to reassure him and to show him that I was still there for him. I looked at him and immediately knew that he was in conflict with himself. To tell or not to tell, he was luckily rescued by the oven timer which signaled that whatever my mom was making was finished cooking.

"I'll be back in a second." Mom said as she stood up and bolted to the kitchen giving Paxton and myself some time to recollect our thoughts and to possibly make one big discussion.

"It's all up to you baby, I'm okay with anything that you choose to do." I said as I gently caressed his hand in an attempt to help him to calm down. This was Paxton's life now, it was up to him how much he wanted to reveal about himself. My role in this however was just to give him as much support as he needed.

"I think that I want to tell her," He said as he brought my hand to his lips and gently placed delicate butterfly kisses on my palm. "She has the right to know who her daughter is with, plus I have a feeling that I can trust her to keep my secret, the question is whether you're okay with me telling her that you're dating an elf?" He said as he looked directly into my eyes.

"I'm not embarrassed of you Pax, I love you just the way that you are, I wouldn't trade you for any other human or magical being." I said as I placed my forehead against his while I held his hands to my chest.

"You love me?" He asked, sounding in such disbelief as I froze as I realised that I had just made a big confession, oh well it was meant to come out either way, better sooner than later I guess.

"I know that it's only been a couple of days, barely over a week to be more precise but these couple of days have been amazing. Due to my stubbornness and my confusion about my feelings, I almost lost you and that proved to me just how much I cared about you. The days feel more like months to me because of how much we've been through already so yes Paxton Woods, I love you with my whole heart and I accept you as my soulmate." I said giving a long speech that made Paxton teary. My own heart swelled at the expression on his face. It was so gentle and full of adoration, it made feel a bit shy but also very happy. It was finally out there. He knew where I stood with him and I was more than happy about it.

"I love you even more, sweetheart, more than you could ever imagine and I will continue to love you." He spoke as he brushed his lips against mine for a breathtaking, toe-curling kiss, I kissed him back with just as much passion and love as he was giving me.

"This was definitely the worst time to come back." I heard my Mom say, making us instantly pull apart in a slight jump. Embarrassment coursed through my veins as my eyes moved downwards unable to face the woman that had brought me into this world. This was definitely not something that I wanted my mother to ever replace us doing. I heard Paxton chuckle as I stuffed my head into his chest to try and get away since the ground refused to swallow me. I was probably never going to hear the end of this.

"We're sorry about that Miss Jordans..." Paxton started only to be cut off by my mother.

"Paxton please call me Judy." She said with amusement more than present in her voice and I'm more than sure it was just as present on her face.

"Okay, Judy. I have something that I would like to tell you but I ask that you keep this a secret between the three of us." He said with an amount of seriousness that I don't believe I had ever seen him have before.

"This sounds serious," Mom said as she took a seat. "I'm all hears." She said. Knowing that an important conversation was about to start I pulled away from Paxton's chest but was still unable to face my mom so instead I focused my gaze onto Paxton, who's face looked more serious than I had ever seen, but also held so much surety.

I heard Paxton take in a deep breath before he began. He started by telling her about what he was and then he told her about how he and his group created the fantasy app that teleported me to his world. He continued to tell her about the fact that I was his soulmate.

"I hope that this is not too much for you Miss... I mean Judy, I know that it can be very overwhelming." He said looking at my mom with sympathy and a small smile.

"So is my daughter under some spell or something?" She hesitantly asked looking at me with worry. My eyes grew wide with shock as I replied.

"No, I'm not under a spell Mom I willingly went back to his world when he was sick." I quickly explained and watched as my mom slowly nodded, not looking completely convinced.

"I would never do that to her. I've always wanted her to love me on her own accord. I wanted everything to be genuine. I wanted her to love me because she loves me not because a potion or something was forcing her to." Paxton explained with such tenderness and authenticity that I saw my mom's expression soften.

"I'm happy to hear that Paxton, as a mother I want the best for my daughter, and right now you seem like it if I am to go by the way that she looks and talks about you. However, if you break her heart I will make means to come to your world and dispose of you even though she might not be happy with me for it. As her mother, I also have the responsibility to protect my daughter." Mom said with complete seriousness.

"Mooom." I whined.

"What? No matter what, and no matter how old you get you'll always be my baby and I'll always be there to protect. Even if you decide to go to some other world, I will make means to be there if you ever need me." My mom said looking at me with a serious and loving face. One that showed the love of a mother for her daughter.

"I would never dream of it, Judy." He said as he looked at me with his warm, captivating eyes that I had fallen in love with. His eyes held a silent promise that rang clear enough for both my mom and me to catch.

"Alright then, now that everything has been discussed it's time for dessert." Mom said as she clapped her hands and made her way to the kitchen to fetch the dessert.