Outside the house, Alina stood before Aiden’s grandmother, who greeted her with a warm smile.

“You can call me Grandma Linda,” she said kindly, and Alina returned the smile.

“I’m very curious about you and how you met my grandson,” Grandma Linda continued. “But we’ll talk more about that next time. For now, I just hope your relationship leads to marriage. I’d love to see Aiden start a family, hopefully even hold his children in my arms before I pass on.”

Alina ...