new.”
“Yes, and I didn’t want you to drive down alone.”
“Right. Yes.”
“We’ll do whatever makes you comfortable,” he assured me. “It’s not like we’re planning to make out in front of your parents.”
I laughed as if the very idea was ridiculous and stepped back. “You’re right. It’s just nerves. It’ll be fine.”
He frowned and opened his mouth to say something else, but whatever he was about to say was lost to the front door opening. My mom stood on the porch in mom jeans that she’d probably had since the ’80s and an Atlanta zoo T-shirt she had gotten on a trip for one of Chester’s chess tournaments. I didn’t think my mom had purchased much clothing since then either.
“Hey, kiddos,” she said with a wide smile. “What do we have here?”
“Hey, Mom.” I strode across the yard, and she pulled me into a hug. “This is Julian.”
“Ma’am,” Julian said, holding his hand out.
“Oh, we’re huggers here, dear.” She squeezed Julian tightly. “I’m Connie.”
“Pleasure to meet you. I’m Julian Wright.”
“Wright,” my mom said with an eyebrow raise in my direction. No one was immune to the name.
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Well, all of these ma’ams. Aren’t you precious? Come on inside. Jennifer, you didn’t tell me you were bringing a boy.”
I laughed awkwardly and followed her inside. “Last-minute decision.”
Julian hefted the luggage into the living room. “I didn’t want her to drive all the way to Austin alone.”
“That’s sweet of you.”
Julian’s eyes swept to me. Something passed between us, like a light flickering on. There wasn’t just friendship in that glance. He’d turned something on, and now, I had the full weight of Julian Wright’s gaze. A tenderness in those deep, dark eyes.
“I care about Jen’s well-being,” he said softly.
I cleared my throat and quickly looked away. I wanted that look to be real. How had he faked it so easily?
“Well, I wish you’d told me you were bringing a…date,” she said the word cautiously.
“Boyfriend,” Julian said with ease, slipping his arm around my shoulders.
“A boyfriend.” My mom’s eyes widened. She was going to have this out with me later. I could feel it. “It’s certainly been long enough since I’ve heard that word associated with my daughter.”
I tensed. Seriously? She had gone there.
My smile fractured, and Julian squeezed my shoulder.
“I’m so glad to finally meet you,” Julian said smoothly.
“Finally? How long have you been dating?”
Julian looked down at me. “Gah, how long has it been?”
I squirmed. “Feels like it started yesterday.”
He laughed. “Doesn’t it?”
“Ah, young love,” my mom said with an almost-mocking tone.
“Which room is mine?” I asked, shuffling out of Julian’s grip. God, he was a little too good at this.
“Of course. You two will be right back here.”
You two.
My head spun at that notion. Right. We were dating. We’d be sharing a room. My parents were annoying in a whole host of other topics, but they weren’t prudish. I hadn’t considered that when we agreed for Julian to accompany me. It was only a two-bedroom house. My parents would be in one room. Julian and I would share the other one. But maybe it’d have two queens or bunks or something. BNBs sometimes did that to try to accommodate more people.
But then Julian pushed open the door that led to our room, and I froze.
There was only one bed.
And not just that…it was one double bed.
What were we going to do?
9
Julian
“We have dinner plans in an hour. I’ll leave you two to unpack and get dressed. Let me know if you need anything,” Connie said. Her eyebrows rose as she looked at her daughter. “Jennifer, we should talk later.”
“Okay,” she said softly.
Connie pulled the door closed behind her, leaving me and Jen all alone in a room with only one small bed. A double bed. I hadn’t slept on a double bed since I was a kid. Definitely not with another person in it. I hadn’t considered this option about our subterfuge. I actually hadn’t known we were even staying in a house until we pulled up. I’d figured a hotel with multiple beds. That was what I got for assuming.
As much as I wanted to get in that bed with Jennifer, that wasn’t what she wanted.
“I’ll take the couch,” I told her immediately.
“Oh,” she whispered. “No. I don’t know. I wouldn’t know how to explain that.”
“I’ll say that I wasn’t comfortable.”
She eyed me skeptically. “You’re a Wright.”
“What does that mean?”
“Your family reputation precedes you.” Jennifer shrugged when I moved to object. “Sutton had a shotgun wedding. My parents have never