“I know, darling. But we also welcome our guests with open arms, and I can’t have Becca staying at some anonymous hotel. So I’ll be asking her to stay with me. You’re welcome to stay if you want to.”
“I’ll stay.” He sighed. Maybe it was better this way. If they weren’t at a hotel, he wouldn’t be staring at her door wondering whether she was asleep. What she wore to bed. Whether he was a goddamned moron for thinking about knocking on the door just to confirm if she was as beautiful as he remembered.
“Perfect. And you can use the dining room for your meeting with Nina and Lawrence on Sunday. I’ll arrange for brunch to be served.”
“You have it all figured out.” He swallowed down his amusement. Eliana Scott-Carter never did anything halfway.
“Oh, I wish that were true. I can’t figure you out at all, I never have.”
“It hasn’t stopped you from trying.”
“Becca’s a lovely girl,” she said wistfully.
“Mom.” His voice was a warning.
“I just wish…” She sighed. “You’d be a little more open. Lighter. I only want to see you happy.”
“I’ll be happy when Lawrence and Nina have agreed to the single malt.” But that wasn’t what was nagging at his mind right now. It was Becca, wearing a ball gown, walking into his family home on his arm. The thought made him squeeze his eyes shut.
It was a sham. A charade he’d put on to get what he wanted from Lawrence. That was all, nothing more.
And if he and Becca kissed in public and neither of them felt anything? It was game over. His life could continue as normal and he could stop feeling so damn messed up.
It was win-win. Bring it on. After this weekend, everything would be going his way.
Gray: Becca, are you free to babysit the twins on Saturday? I want to take Maddie out for our anniversary.
Logan: Dammit, I was about to ask if she was free. Didn’t Becca babysit for you guys last month? We need to start a rota or something.
Tanner: Guys, relax. Becca’s going to be too busy making cakes for me because I’m her favorite brother. Right, B? xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Cam: What kind of anniversary are you celebrating, Gray? You two aren’t married yet.
Logan: The kind that involve two people, one bed, and a lot of smiles after, I imagine. If anything’s worth celebrating it’s that, right?
Gray: Actually, it’s the first day we met. That’s what we’re celebrating, numbnuts.
Tanner: You met her when she was like twelve or something. You still celebrate that?
Gray: Okay, the second time. Or whatever. Can you guys stop now? Just because I got in with my babysitting request first doesn’t mean you all need to get pissy. Next time I’ll message Becca directly.
Tanner: Nope. No fair. No off-group chat talks. How else am I going to know what’s going on in Hartson’s Creek?
Logan: I have an off-group chat with Becca.
Cam: Me too.
Gray: Yep. That’s where we all share our deepest darkest secrets about you, Tanner.
Logan: Like the time Cam jumped out at Tanner wearing a Santa beard on Christmas morning and he peed his new pjs?
Tanner: Okay, first of all, I didn’t pee my pjs. I spilled milk down myself. And second of all, do you guys really have off-group chats with Becca? I feel wounded. Or cheated on. Or something. WE NEED TO TALK!
Becca sighed
as she read the messages. No wonder her phone had been beeping non stop while she worked in the still room that morning. It had been like carrying a little tweety bird in her pocket. Putting her finger to the screen, she scrolled down, shaking her head as the banter continued.
Logan: Hey, is Becca all right? She hasn’t replied.