at. But Will’s parents liked being away from the hustle and bustle. In contrast to Will, they were quiet, comfortable people. I sometimes joked, wondering how they’d made someone like Will, whose decision to buy his first house had been riddled with angst and multiple attempts to back out of the deal. He’d hardly lived at the place anyway, choosing to spend a year living in a converted school bus instead.
I pulled up to the great house as we called it, recognizing Vince’s car and Seth’s rental by the garage. The plan had been for us all to come over in the early morning, but after Seth’s text letting me know Vince was hungover as fuck, I hadn’t been in a rush myself to get out to the house. Knowing that, at the very least, Seth and Vince were already here put me at ease. They’d be a welcome buffer.
The thought sent guilt through me. I loved Will’s parents. They were always kind, good people. Which was what made this whole thing so hard. I had done a pretty good job avoiding my feelings, but not breaking down around Will’s parents would be a herculean effort.
After parking the car, I paused before removing my seatbelt. Blame it on the lack of sleep, the alcohol, or the dozens of thoughts taking up all the valuable real estate in my brain—but I hadn’t thought about how to explain Tori to everyone. Vince had met her briefly the night before, but it was anyone’s guess if he’d remember her. Was she my girlfriend? My friend?
Tori exited the car and stretched. She’d changed into skinny jeans and a long black tee that fit her well. Her hair had curls from the day before in it and she shook them as she shoved her sunglasses atop her head. In the sunlight, she glowed.
When she caught me staring, she gave me an apprehensive smile. It was the first time since leaving the city that I’d sensed any discomfort from her. I couldn’t say that, if I’d been her shoes, I’d be nearly as calm as she appeared to be. I had to give her credit for not seeming concerned with the situation that lay before us.
“You ready?” she asked me as she came around the car and slipped her hand into mine. Like I said, things with Tori were easy. So easy that I didn’t question what we were. I didn’t think too hard about this. Tori had come along, as a friend, to support me. It didn’t matter that we’d only really gotten to know one another the night before. Around her, things felt comfortable. I only wished it was as comfortable as it was with my friends.
We walked up the steps and hadn’t even made it to the door before it swung open, revealing Seth.
“You made it,” he said, taking my hand and clapping me on the back. He looked at me and then Tori, raising an eyebrow in question.
“This is Tori,” I said, not letting go of her hand.
She gave him a wide, sunny smile and shook his hand.
“Tori,” Seth said, shaking her hand and staring intently at her. “Are you …” He couldn’t finish his question because Will’s mom, Deb, came through the threshold and wrapped her arms around me.
Whatever I’d expected, it hadn’t been for her to greet me so warmly. Which showed me how little credit I’d given them. Tori loosened her hand, giving me use of both arms to wrap around Deb. She smelled like apple pie and vanilla and home.
I felt the tremble in her body as she held me and I squeezed her tighter, registering that Seth was introducing Tori to his fiancée while I embraced Will’s mom.
Deb patted her under eyes as she pulled away and gave me a watery smile. “Oh, it’s so good to see you, Liam.” She placed her hands on either side of my face and stared into my eyes. “Missed you.”
I squeezed her wrists. “Missed you too, Deb.”
Deb turned and cocked her head toward the back of the house. “Bob is messing with the grill, trying to get Chad to help him figure it out.”
“Chad?” I asked with a laugh. “Good luck with that. I’ll go on back and help.”
Tori returned to my side and I introduced her to Deb.
“Oh, aren’t you pretty,” Deb said, giving her a hug. As she pulled away, she cupped Tori’s elbows to stare into her face. “Very pretty. Isn’t she, Liam?”