by K. A. Linde
I changed into fitted khakis with a thick brown belt, a bright blue button-up, rolled to my elbows, and a fresh pair of white tennis shoes. Jennifer’s eyes rounded slightly as they trailed down my body. I smiled confidently. At least she wasn’t completely immune to me.
“I like your dress.”
She flushed and rubbed her hands down the front of the yellow floral number. She’d paired it with a dusty-blue cardigan and brown sandals. I decided that I liked her blush.
“Oh, uh…thanks. I like your outfit too. You’re dressed up.”
I arched an eyebrow. “Too dressed up?”
“No. It’s very you.”
True. I’d always been into fashion. When I was growing up, other guys wore baggy cargo pants and oversize T-shirts. I never felt like myself in that kind of outfit. I wanted sharp lines, tailored cuts, and bright colors. I’d been made fun of for it in middle school. Jordan had stopped that with his fists. He used to take all of his anger issues out by fighting. I was so glad that he had Annie now to quell that response.
“What?” Jennifer asked.
That was when I realized that I had been staring at her. At the shine in her light brown bob, the strands brushing against her collarbone. It was the longest I’d ever seen it. She had on almost no discernible makeup, except some pink gloss on her lips that made me consider licking it off, and kohl lining her eyes. The eyeliner made her eyes almost impossibly large. The hazel turned a soft green in the slanted light coming in from the shutters, revealing the gold flecks that surrounded her pupils. Her pale skin was lightly freckled across the bridge of her nose. I couldn’t stop staring. Not when I had an uninterrupted view.
“You look beautiful,” I admitted.
She drew her bottom lip into her mouth. “There’s no one here for you to impress right now.”
“Yes, there is.”
Her cheeks heated. “You’re such a flirt.”
A deflection if I’d ever heard one. I was a flirt, but it hadn’t even crossed my mind. I couldn’t stop looking at her. But I had to.
I laughed and held my arm out. “You’re right. Shall we?”
She took a deep breath. “Yes. Let’s do it.”
We exited the bedroom to find that her mom had changed into some rust-colored dress. Her light-brown hair matched her daughter’s but appeared to have recently been permed. And then her dad walked into the room. A slight man with glasses and a flannel tucked into denim.
“Ah, you must be the boyfriend,” he said, pushing his glasses up his nose. He held his hand out. “Dan.”
“Julian.” We shook. “It’s a pleasure, sir.”
“This is the part where I say you have to take care of my daughter,” he said with a laugh.
“Dad,” Jennifer said.
He winked at her. “I know that you can take care of yourself, sweetie.”
“Barely,” her mom said under her breath.
“Connie,” he said softly. “Let’s have a good night.”
“Of course, dear. Are you all ready to go see Chester?” She nearly bounced at the name of her son.
Jennifer practically deflated.
What was I missing? Jennifer had said that graduation was going to suck and that she didn’t want to subject me to it. She’d said that her mom was tough on her. But it was one thing to be tough because of her job or boyfriend status and another thing to have a clear preference for Chester over Jennifer. I’d met Connie less than an hour ago, and I could already see that. No wonder Jennifer hadn’t wanted to come if she was always being compared to her brother by a parent with an obvious preference.
“Yes. Let’s go ahead.” Dan put his arm around Jennifer and kissed her cheek. “We’re really glad to have you here, honey.”
“Thanks, Dad,” she said softly.
“Tell me all about your latest project. You mentioned a portrait session?”
Jennifer brightened at the question. “Yes. I started a series of close-up artistic shots and just got a musician to sign on for the project, too. I think it’ll be the centerpiece. We’re going to do the shoot when I get home.”
“What does that pay?” her mom asked as we walked to their car.
Jennifer shrunk in on herself at the question. Some things weren’t all about money. Some things were art.
Then her dad looked up and whistled. “What is that?”
“You like cars, sir?” I asked as he ogled my brand-new Jag.
“Like cars? Sure. That car is altogether different. This your ride, son?”
“It is. Would you like to give it a whirl?” I produced the keys.
“Maybe later. It’s a two-seater.”
“You and Jen can take it. I’ll follow with Connie,” I said immediately.
Jen’s head whipped to me at the comment. I’d put money on it that she’d been dreading the idea of riding in the car with her mom, especially alone, and I’d found an easy solution.
“Dan, really,” Connie complained.
“Why not?” He took the keys from me. “Get the top down, kiddo.”
Jennifer laughed and dashed off after her dad.
“I can drive if you’d prefer, Connie.” I shot her a sweet smile.
She touched her chest and laughed. “No, that won’t be necessary.”
I covered a laugh. I’d done that on purpose to save Jennifer’s sanity, but she didn’t need to know that. I’d also won over her dad in one fell swoop. One down. One to go.
10
Julian
Well, this was more like it.
Connie pulled up in front of a mansion with a circular driveway. She’d filled me in on the fact that we were going to Chester’s girlfriend, Margaret’s, parents’ house. Apparently, her parents were rich. This house in Austin had to cost a fortune, almost like it would in Vancouver.
“Margaret’s father works for the state,” she explained. “Her mother is a surgeon.”
“Interesting,” I said as I got out of the car.
Jennifer’s hair was wild from the convertible top down being down during the drive with the with her dad. Her smile was just as wide and wild. I wanted to see that look on her face all the time. It was so infrequent that she let loose.
“We might have to drive all the way back like that,” she said on a laugh.
Dan tossed the keys back to me. “I approve. Smooth ride.”
I slipped them back into my pocket. “Glad you think so.”
“Let’s not keep them waiting,” Connie said.
Jennifer sidled up to me and slid her hand onto my arm. I jolted slightly at the surprised contact. Jen rarely initiated anything.
“Thank you.”
“For what?”
“You know what,” she said with that same genuine smile.
“Of course. You look so happy.”
“My dad loves cars.”
“Well, aren’t you glad we brought Milli then?” I asked as I guided her to the front door, trailing behind her parents.
She grinned. “I admit that it was the correct choice.”
The door opened, and a slender woman with a light-brown complexion answered. She wore a white eyelet sundress and wedges. Her black hair was in natural coils, framing the contours of her face. Her eyes were nearly as black as night with gold dusted on her lids, and her lips were painted a soft pink.
She smiled wide and welcoming. “Hey, y’all. Come on in.”
“Margaret, it’s so good to see you,” Connie said, pulling her into a hug.
“You too.” Then she turned to Jennifer. “Jen! It’s been too long.”
Jennifer hugged her back. “Hi, Mags.”
“And who is this?” Margaret asked.
“Margaret, this is Julian Wright.” She paused before adding, “My boyfriend.”
Margaret arched an eyebrow. “Well, hello there. I see Jen’s picked a good one.” She held her hand out, and I shook it. “I’m Margaret.”
“It’s a pleasure.”
“Have you met Chester yet
?”
“Not yet. This is all new for me,” I told her.
“Well, come on in. My parents are finishing dinner, and we can eat soon.”
I followed her into the mansion with an assessing eye. They’d had an interior designer. I could tell by the careful placement around the house. My dad had hired a designer for our place in Vancouver. As much as I’d loved the house, it had never felt like home. As if someone else had inhabited it for years and we were just its current occupants. I felt more at home at my place in Lubbock or my mom’s cozy ’70s-era home than I ever had in that cold house. This house had the same cold feel.
“Mom, Dad, you made it,” Chester said, appearing in the living room and hugging his parents.
He…wasn’t what I’d expected. I didn’t know what stereotype had let me picture him as a frumpy nerd, but he wasn’t. He wore a light-gray suit that had been taken in to accommodate his narrow waist and broad shoulders. His dark brown hair was brushed backward and long, coming down just under his ears. He wore black-framed glasses that were more style than I would have guessed.
“Jen,” Chester said when he caught sight of his sister.
“Hey, Chess.”
His brow furrowed. “You know I don’t like that nickname.”
Her lips quirked up as if she had in fact known he didn’t like the nickname. Which was all the more reason for her to use it.
She stepped back and gestured to me. “This is my boyfriend, Julian Wright.”
Chester held his hand out as he looked me over. “You’re the Wright cousin, yeah? From Vancouver?”
I blinked in surprise after our handshake. “I am. Wasn’t aware that news had traveled.”
“Jennifer said she was working at Wright Vineyard, so I looked it up. You’re a co-owner and technically her boss.”
Everyone looked between us awkwardly, as if Chester had just dropped a bomb. Jennifer shifted uncomfortably, opening and closing her mouth in response. But she also didn’t seem surprised that Chester had gone to all of this trouble.
“Technically,” I said with a shrug. “She works for the winery, but it’s a contractor situation, and she reports to my cousin Hollin.”
“Hmm…”
“Chess,” Jennifer grumbled, “let it go.”
“Just trying to figure out how this happened.”
“Are you interrogating them?” Margaret asked with narrowed eyes.
The look that passed between them was not the love and devotion of people who had been dating for a few years, like Jennifer had told me. Margaret had daggers in her eyes, and Chester’s face was full of disdain. What was happening between them? Whatever it was, no one else seemed to notice.
“Of course not,” Chester said. “I like to get the feel of people.”
“Well, cut it out.”
Chester laughed and took a step toward Margaret. He reached for her hand, but she jerked hers back.
“Chester,” his mom said, “why don’t you tell us about the new job that you have?”
It was clear that she already knew all about it, but she wanted to show off her firstborn and favorite.
Chester watched Margaret walk into the kitchen toward her parents for a second longer and then turned back to us. “I’ll be moving back to Lubbock next week to work as the head researcher in a biochemistry lab.”
“Our boy is going to change medicine,” Connie said with a wide smile.
“I still can’t believe you went to all the trouble of getting a PhD and aren’t staying to be a professor,” Jennifer said.
Chester’s head snapped to her, and she shrank back. It had seemed an innocuous enough statement. I really didn’t understand the family dynamics. My own family was a hot mess, but Jennifer hadn’t mentioned that Chester was a loose cannon. Or at the very least, not used to being challenged.
“I was recruited for several academic positions, but they all felt too…mundane for me. I want to work hands-on and see my research implemented in my lifetime,” he said loftily.
Margaret’s parents appeared then. Her father was even taller than I was with a deep brown skin tone and the look of a retired professor—thick-rimmed glasses, tweed jacket, bow tie, and all. Her mother was also tall. Apparently, the entire family was. Her peachy skin was mostly hidden by a long black dress with gauzy sleeves.
“Dinner is served,” she said.
We all moved to the long dining room table and served up the delicacies that they’d concocted for us. The exchange was as tense as it had been in the living room. Something was going on with Chester and Margaret, but at least it took the focus off of me and Jennifer.
Except Jen was quiet…too quiet all through dinner. It was as if she were invisible and could blend right into the background. With Chester’s booming personality, Margaret spitting back at everything he said, and both sets of parents talking up their kids, I could see how alone Jennifer must feel. No wonder she hadn’t wanted to come.
By the time we finished dinner and Margaret’s parents were offering drinks, I barely stifled a yawn.
“Thank you, but I have to decline,” I said. “I think Jen and I need to get back. We drove into Austin today, and I’m wiped.”
“Oh, of course,” Connie said sympathetically.
Jennifer’s head jumped at my suggestion. Her eyes assessed me in confusion. Like she couldn’t figure out why I was bowing out of the rest of the evening.
I shook hands with the rest of the family and hugged Connie one more time. Then I ushered Jennifer out of that house as fast as humanly possible.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“Getting you out of there.”
“What? But…what?”
We stopped in front of Milli.
“Did you want to stay for drinks? Sit around and hear about how amazing Chester is? Watch Margaret and Chester barely keep from boiling over at each other?”
“No,” she whispered. “But…how did you know that?”
“I have eyes. Anyone with eyes could see that you were disappearing in that room.”
Her eyes widened, and then she flushed. “Yeah. Okay. Disappearing.”
I grasped her hand before she could push away. “Hey.”
She drew back and headed toward the passenger side. “Let’s just go.”
But I followed her. “Did I say something wrong?”
She shook her head. “No.”
“Jen…”
She looked up at me, and I saw for the first time that she was hurt. Hurt by what I’d said?
“You didn’t disappear to me,” I said softly.
She took a step backward in surprise. “What?”
“You were fading into the background but not to me. You needed a breath of fresh air. That’s why I suggested it. Not because I think that you’re walking in your brother’s shadow.”
Her eyes were round and lined with gold from the light of the moon. “It’s all that obvious, isn’t it?”
“I’ve had a lot of experience observing people.”
“I was afraid of this,” she whispered and looked away.
“Of what?”
“That you’d see me differently once you met everyone.”
I barked a laugh. “Differently? If anything, I see everyone else differently. How can they not appreciate what’s right in front of them?”
My words held a double meaning. How had I not appreciated her there all this time? Our constant friendship. Her easy demeanor. The friendship that had blossomed so effortlessly over the last few years. That now, we were standing here, and all I wanted to do was kiss her.
She bit her bottom lip and looked down. “We should…we should just go back.”
Right. This was Jennifer. She was all of those things to me, but we weren’t in a place where I could kiss her. I didn’t want her to push me away.
I straightened, swallowing down the urge to kiss her, and headed to the other side of the car. We drove back to the house in silence. Just the gentle purr of Milli guiding th
e way. The house was dark when we arrived, and Jen flipped on the lights as she headed back for the bedroom. By the time she got there, she was yawning for real.
“Maybe I’m more tired than I thought,” she said.
“Traveling is draining.”
So was pretending to be something that she wasn’t and hiding her entire personality because of her parents’ expectations and suffocating under her brother’s supposed brilliance. Things I couldn’t say. She’d been uncomfortable enough when I mentioned that she was invisible. Obviously, she’d been dealing with all of this a lot longer than the handful of hours I’d been present. This wasn’t new to her. But that didn’t mean I had to like it.
Jennifer grabbed her clothes and headed into the bathroom. She returned, wearing adorable glasses, a short-sleeved, mint-green, silk, button-up sleeping outfit. Her hair was piled into a messy bun on the top of her head with the shortest strands loose at the nape of her neck.
I snatched up my own sleeping clothes before my dick could respond to seeing her long, curvy legs and the shape of her in silk…with no bra.
Normally, I slept naked. Or at the most, in a pair of boxers. But I couldn’t do that here, of course. So, I’d packed some sleep shorts and an old traveling soccer team shirt. Jennifer was already in bed when I got back. The lamp on the side table light was on, and she had a historical romance set next to it.
“Any idea where I should look for the extra pillows and blankets?” I asked her.
She cleared her throat, as if she were about to prepare a speech. “I actually thought…there is room.” She gestured next to her. “I mean, I don’t move around a lot in my sleep. I’ll stay on my side.”
“You want me to sleep with you?”
Her cheeks turned a hint of pink that made me want to keep saying things to get that expression. She was usually so embarrassed when I flirted with her, but she never took me seriously. But now, we were about to sleep in the same bed. There was no way to not take this seriously.
“Sleep…next to me,” she chirped.
“All right.”
I closed the door behind me, flicking the lights off, and carefully slid into the bed next to her. The only illumination in the room came from her side table. The bed was not big. My feet hung a little over the edge, but it was infinitely better than sleeping on the floor. The worst part was how close together we were. Or maybe it was the best part? The most torturous part?