by Holly Renee
“My mom’s seen you before, Brooke.” He looked over at me then back at the road. “We met when I moved in next door to you. We need to keep things as close to the truth as possible.”
“And then from there?” I looked over at him skeptically. His nonplan was not a plan at all, but this was his rodeo. I was just here for the show.
“We’ll play it by ear.”
And a show it was going to be.
“And what about your friends? Are we going to see any of them while we’re here? What are you going to tell them?”
He scratched at the slight scruff on his face. “We will. We’ll see Jase and Sophie and Ryan and probably a few others from my high school days.” I could tell he was thinking long and hard as he slipped his bottom lip between his teeth. He looked so incredibly sexy when he did that, but I had no room for those thoughts anymore. “We should probably just stick with our lie across the board. I don’t want to slip up and something happen in front of my parents.”
“Okay.” I nodded my head. Not only would I be putting on a show for his parents but the whole damn town.
“You can tell Sophie the truth if you want to though. Just tell her to keep it between y’all.”
I smiled because he knew Sophie was my girl even if I rarely got to see her. Sophie was Tucker’s little sister and the girlfriend to one of his best friends, Jase Hale. Jase was a walking sexual fantasy.
He knew it. She knew it. We all knew it.
And then there was Ryan.
“So let’s get these rules straight before we get there.” I started ticking them off on my fingers. “No tongue kissing. No sleeping in the same bed. This goes without saying, but no sex.”
“Well, this is going to be a fun trip.” He chuckled, but I knew we were both on the same page. Those things weren’t on the table before, and they definitely weren’t on the table now.
“I talked to the owner of the Marshall building, by the way.”
“Oh yeah.” I don’t know why this surprised me so much, but there was something about this entire thing that seemed too good to be true.
The thing I had been wanting for as long as I could remember, the thing no one else besides Kennedy believed I was capable of, was being dangled right in front of my face. And all I had to do was pretend to be his girlfriend for a week?
I’d believe it when I had some sort of contract in my hand. Or you know, the keys to the building.
But if it did happen, and that was a huge if, then Liam was going to be my business partner. I didn’t know how involved or how silent of a partner he planned to be, but I knew with one hundred percent certainty that little fact put Liam one more notch up on the don’t fucking go there meter.
And he was already pretty high.
“Yeah. I made him an offer just below asking price over the phone, but told him that I’d send the offer in writing when I got to Tennessee.”
He already submitted an offer?
I turned in my seat so I was fully facing him. “And what did he say?”
“He said he’d think it over. He seems like a nice old man, but I’m sure he’s going to play hardball. Hell, I wouldn’t sell it below asking price.”
“Then why did you offer below asking? What was the asking anyway?” Because I had no idea if I’d be able to contribute half. I think I’d be close, but once I did that, I’d be completely wiped out. Add water to your shampoo bottle until every trace of soap was gone wiped out.
“Just to give us a little wiggle room for negotiations. I don’t want him jumping way above asking if he gets any other offers.”
That made sense. Clearly, I had never bought any piece of real estate. “And the price?”
I held my breath as I waited for his answer.
He swallowed, and I knew he didn’t want to tell me. Which meant it’s probably way more than I could afford.
“I’ll worry about the building and you worry about everything else.”
Wait. What?
“I can’t let you just buy the damn building without me contributing. Then it wouldn’t be ours. It would be yours.” And there was no way in hell I was going to let that happen.
“No. It wouldn’t. It would be in both of our names, fifty-fifty.”
“What’s in this for you, Liam?” Why the hell would you buy your neighbor who you tongue fucked against the wall of a building like some sort of knight in shining armor and not have any expectations?
“I’m a businessman, Brooke, and I think you’re smart. I’m not buying you a building to be some sort of hero. This will be a fifty-fifty partnership, and I think we can make a lot of money.”
“You think I’m smart?” Somehow that was the only thing I seemed to hear.
“Of course, I think you’re smart.” He looked over at me and seemed to study me. Too long while he was driving and definitely too long for my comfort. “I wouldn’t offer to go into business with you if I didn’t think you were smart enough to make it successful.”
Well damn. I wasn’t foolish enough to not realize how much those words coming from him affected me. “What about Tucker? Is he going to be in on this too?”
I didn’t know if I wanted that or not. Of course, I knew that Liam and Tucker were business partners and best friends, but there was something about the thought that all of this could have been charity from Tucker simply because I’m his wife’s best friend that completely turned me off.
“No. It’s just me and you.” He ran his fingers through his hair as if that small, simple statement made him uncomfortable. “Are you okay with that?”
“Yeah.” I nodded my head as I studied his profile. “I’m okay with that.” This was a bad idea. I knew it deep down the moment he offered it, but the way I was currently staring at the curve of his bottom lip seemed to reiterate the fact.
Because suddenly I was more worried about remembering the feel of his lips on mine than what it would feel like to have those keys in my hands.
Six
Meeting the Parents
Liam
Brooke was fast asleep when we pulled up to my parent’s house. It was getting dark, and we had been on the road for several hours.
I spent most of the time trying to figure out what the hell I was doing. Brooke spent it with a tiny bit of drool running down her face.
I stared at my childhood home and took a deep breath. Coming home should have been easy. Hell, it was always easy, but I had to go and complicate the hell out of it with my big mouth and my even bigger stupidity.
Brooke started moving next to me, and she blinked her eyes open before looking around with a sweet, lost look on her face. “Are we here?”
“We are.” I pulled the keys out of the ignition and tucked them into my pocket.
Brooke stared out the windshield of the car at my home, and I tried to imagine how she was seeing it. The only time she had ever been to Tennessee, she had been to Tucker’s parents’ house.
And Tucker’s house was at least two times the size of my mom and dad’s. I didn’t come from money. My parents worked their asses off every day to give me the things I wanted and needed, and I didn’t really realize until I got older how much of a toll that must have taken on them.
I never appreciated anything the way that I should have.
But my parents never really acknowledged the fact either. I always thought we had just as much as everyone else, even when we didn’t
I wasn’t embarrassed by the fact, but I just wanted to know what was running through her head.
“You could have stopped at a rest stop.” She pulled the mirror down and started fixing her hair. “Your mom’s going to think, ‘Oh great. Liam brought a hobo home that he found on the side of the road’.”
I chuckled. “You do not look like a hobo.”
She pulled a small bag out from the much larger one by her feet and started pulling out all sorts of products. She wiped under her eyes where mascara had run then started dabbing some crap in its place.
“You don’t need all that. You look beautiful.” I wasn’t just saying that either. She did look beautiful. She always did.
“I appreciate the sentiment, Liam, but I am not walking into that house to meet your parents for the first time looking like this.” She started rubbing gloss on her lips.
If I didn’t know any better, I’d say she was at least half as nervous as I was.
“I’m going to start getting the bags out of the trunk.” It might take me all night too. That girl could pack.
I pulled our bags from the car and waited as she climbed out of the passenger seat and straightened out her clothes. She was dressed comfortably for the long drive, and I could tell that it bothered her. I rarely ever saw Brooke not dressed to the nines.
“This way.” I nodded toward the front door and grabbed all our bags.
“I can get one of those.” She started to reach for one of her bags, but I moved it farther away from her. “So my mom can have my balls first thing? No, thank you.” It didn’t matter if my mom was here or not. That girl was crazy if she thought I’d let her carry her bags.
She walked behind me, close enough that I could still smell the scent of her perfume, and I hesitated at the front door before pushing it open. “You ready for this?”
“As ready as I’m ever going to be.” She shrugged, and I grinned as I stepped through the door.
“Mom?” I set our bags against the wall. “Dad? Where are y’all at?”
My mom came around the corner with a dishrag in her hand and a giant smile on her face. “Jim,” she yelled my dad’s name. “You owe me money.” Then she walked right past me, her only son who she hadn’t seen in months, and wrapped Brooke in her arms.
“Liam’s dad and I had a little bet about whether or not you were real.” She grinned at Brooke and held her at arm’s length so she could get a good look at her. “I mean of course you’re real, but that you’re really dating our son.”
Brooke laughed, almost nervously, and I worried that we’d blow it before we even got started.
“It took a lot of convincing on his part.” Brooke laughed as my mother smiled.
“Well, come on in.” My mom backed out of her way and motioned toward the kitchen. The heart of this house.
As she passed me, she patted my cheek and winked at me, actually winked at me, but I couldn’t lie and say it didn’t feel good to see her so happy. Even if her happiness was due to my lies.
“Your home is beautiful.” Brooke turned in a circle to take in the kitchen and my mom beamed at her compliment.
“Thank you.” She walked up to the stove and stirred something that smelled absolutely delicious. “There’s about thirty years of work and constant changes. Bless my poor husband.”
Right on cue, my dad walked into the room behind me and clapped me on the back. “It’s the reason I can never find anything around here. She’s always rearranging.”
My mom rolled her eyes but still smiled at him with a smile I had seen my entire life. She smiled at him that way every single time she saw him. Even if she was angry, he’d always end up making her smile. “He’s just getting old and senile and blaming it on me.”
“Son.” My dad looked to me for support. He was right, of course, but there was no way in hell I was saying that to her.
“I’m not getting in the middle of this.” I crossed my arms and watched Brooke as she watched my family.
“You must be Brooke.” My dad made his way across the kitchen and placed a kiss to the top of my mom’s head before he pulled Brooke into a hug.
Brooke grinned at me over his shoulder, and I couldn’t help smiling back at her with my over-loving parents. “It’s nice to meet you, sir.”
“Lord, don’t call me sir. I’m Jim.” He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and turned them both to face me. “Now tell me how my knucklehead of a son over there managed to convince you to date him.”
“You two do know that I’m standing right here, right?”
“We know.” My dad chuckled before letting Brooke go and grabbing a couple beers out of the fridge. “Brooke?”
“No. I’m good. Thank you.”
He tossed one of the beers in my direction without asking.
“Mrs. Gentry, is there anything I can help you with?”
My mom was still stirring something on the stove as she looked up at Brooke. “Oh, no. You just had a long drive. You must be tired. Go relax.” She waved her off as she always did. That woman rarely let anyone help her do anything.
“I’m okay.” Brooke walked to the sink and started washing her hands. “Just tell me what to do.”
My dad raised his eyebrows at me, but I ignored him. I was too busy watching her.
“Well, have you ever made biscuits before?” My mom wiped her hands on her dishtowel before grabbing the flour.
“Not even once.” Brooke chuckled but saddled up next to my mom. “But I can learn.”
My dad nodded his head toward the door and slipped out before I could say anything.
I watched Brooke and my mom laugh as Brooke sprinkled flour out on the counter and my mom talked about family secrets to making the best biscuits. I absolutely fucking hated it. And not because they seemed to be getting along or that my mom seemed to really like her, but there was some part of me that liked seeing her there.
I walked up behind her and her back straightened as my skin touched hers, but my mom was too busy scooping out more flour to notice. “I’m going to go talk with my dad a bit. You good?”
“She’s fine,” my mom answered for her as she continued to work.
Brooke nodded her head with a smile on her face. A smile that dropped the moment I pressed my lips against her bare shoulder.
She looked over at me just as I heard the slight uptick of her breath, and there was something about the way she was looking at me through her lashes that suddenly make me want to bend her over the counter without any thought of repercussions.
We hadn’t even been here for ten damn minutes, and already she was fucking with my head.
I couldn’t help staring at her as I backed out of the kitchen. My mom was talking to her in a soft voice that I couldn’t hear, and Brooke was laughing without a second thought of my lips touching her skin.
I needed to get my shit together.
“So, how are things?” My dad leaned back in his old leather chair and stared over at me where I still stood watching Brooke.
I made my way over to the couch and sat down even though the urge to stay right there with her was overpowering. Brooke wasn’t going to slip up and say something to my mom. She was smarter than I gave her credit for.
“Everything’s good. Both the restaurant and the bar have been busy every night. I have no complaints.”
“That’s good to hear. You aren’t working yourself into the ground, are you?” My dad had been a hard worker all of his life, but one of the things he had instilled in me a long time ago was that all that work wasn’t worth a thing if you didn’t leave time to live.
“Not too much.” I leaned back into the cushion and relaxed. This place, the feel of it, the smell of it, nothing had ever felt quite like home since leaving here, and there was something about being back here that took a weight off my shoulders. “We’ve got a pretty damn good team right now.”
“Good.” My dad nodded his head. “What’s next? You all going to take it easy for a while or you already have something else up your sleeve?”
I couldn’t tell him about the business proposition I made Brooke. Not only would he either think the business idea or our relationship was a sham, he would lay into me about how dumb of a decision it was.
He would try to talk some sense into me, and I didn’t have time for that right now.
“We’re working on perfecting what we have for right now.”
I never lied to my dad, and I hated that I was doing it now.
“What about that girl in there?” He nodded toward the kitchen.
“What abo
ut her?” My heart rate kicked up.
“Is it serious?” He arched an eyebrow at me.
“It’s as serious as I get, I guess.” My dad knew I wasn’t ready to settle down regardless of how badly my mom wanted it. Me and him had talked about it a dozen times.
I told him I would settle down when I was ready, and he told me that being ready had nothing to do with it. According to him, it would knock me off my ass when it was time, and if it didn’t? It wasn’t time.
“That’s a bullshit answer and you know it.” He crossed his arms, and even though he was trying to have a stern heart to heart with me, I couldn’t help laughing at him. My dad didn’t have an ounce of hard-ass in his body.
Not a single trace.
“I haven’t been knocked on my ass yet if that’s what you’re asking.”
He nodded his head in understanding. My mom was passionate, full of life, and sometimes overbearing, but my dad was the rational one. They balanced each other out perfectly.
“I have a feeling about that one in there.”
“You’ve met her once and you already have a feeling about her?” My dad was so full of shit.
“Exactly.” He stretched back in his recliner like he didn’t have a worry in the world. “Sometimes you just know.”
“You’re crazy.” I shook my head. And here I thought he was the level-headed one.
“Think what you want, but I’ll be telling you I told you so.”
“You’re getting worse than Mom in your old age. I think she was right. You are going senile.”
He clicked on the TV and whatever football game that was currently playing blasted through the speakers.
“We’ll see.”
By the time my mom and Brooke finally made their way into the living room, Brooke was covered in flour and a giant smile.
“I made biscuits.” She shrugged her shoulders, and I swear if I was some lovesick puppy I would have thought it was the cutest fucking thing I’d ever seen. But I wasn’t, I was just pretending to be.
“I see that.” I stood from the couch and made my way over to where she stood. “Did you actually put any flour in the biscuits or are you wearing it all?”