“I’m already on my way.”
I look at my phone, realizing the call is already disconnected. Laurie turns back to look at me. “Who was that?”
“It’s Landon.” I frown. “He wants to come here.”
Her brows go up. Then she smiles, no doubt thinking about my mom’s reaction. “Good luck,” she mouths at me, before turning back to the game.
“Who’s Landon?” Dylan says without turning around.
“Rachel’s booty call,” Laurie replies.
“Nooo.” He shudders exaggeratedly, “I didn’t need to know that.”
I pull myself off the bed and go back to the kitchen to find my mom. Lunch is starting to look good. “Well done, Uncle Taylor,” I tell my uncle before sidling up to my mom.
“Mom,” I start, dreading her reaction. “That guy Laurie told you about… he’s coming over.”
Aunt Jacie turns to me, “Your new boyfriend?”
&nbs
p; “He’s not my boyfriend,” I protest loudly, eliciting puzzled looks from both my dad and uncle.
“Laurie said he was.”
My mom gives me that ‘didn’t I tell you’ look, and I decide right then that I’m going to kill Laurie, or at least hide her favorite pair of shoes. “Well, he’s not my boyfriend, and he’s on his way, so please don’t refer to him as my boyfriend.”
“The lady doth protest too much,” my dad teases.
“Is he driving all the way from the city?” Uncle Taylor adds, “If so you may be wrong about the boyfriend part.”
“I think I’ll just go back home,” I exclaim. “I don’t trust you guys not to embarrass me when he gets here.”
Aunt Jacie grins. “If you care about that, then you like him more than you’re letting on.”
“Exactly,” my mom says, smoothing my hair. She pulls off the clip holding it in place before I can wiggle away. “That’s more like it,” she says, fluffing it out.
“This is where I disappear,” I announce theatrically, making for the door. “Tell Laurie and Dylan that I love them, and if they never see me again, they have you all to blame.” I leave the kitchen to the sound of their teasing laughter, reminding me of when I was a child. Smiling despite myself, I go to the living room and pick up a magazine to thumb through while I wait for Landon to arrive.
He does, about half an hour later. I’m thinking about him when the doorbell rings, and I know he’s the one even before I hurry into the hall to let him in.
He looks beautiful as always, sexy in a black leather jacket over a long-sleeved gray t-shirt. His hair is carefree and windblown, his blue eyes gleaming and focused on me. My heart tightens at the impact of looking at him alone. I’ve missed him, no argument.
“Your security guys obviously know what they’re doing,” I say lightly. “Did they unearth a copy of my birth certificate too?”
He grins, making me catch my breath. “I only hire people who know what they’re doing,” he says, pulling me into his arms and dropping a light kiss on my lips. He releases me just as my father walks into the hall.
“Good afternoon, Mr. Foster,” Landon says confidently. “I’m Landon Court.”
“Good afternoon.” My father comes towards us, giving Landon a measuring look, “Don’t just stand there. Come in.”
Landon steps past me and shakes the hand my dad holds out to him. I follow them inside the living room, where my mom and Aunt Jacie are waiting to pounce on him. I’m too embarrassed to listen to the questions they’re throwing at him, and after I hear, ‘so where did you two meet?’ I escape to the kitchen to join Uncle Taylor.
The table is already set. So I help to bring out the food, occasionally catching Landon’s eye from the living room as he charms my mom and aunt, making them giggle like teenagers. Even my dad seems impressed.
“I can’t imagine why you were so adamant about him not being your boyfriend,” Uncle Taylor comments when he sees Landon. “With a guy who looks like that, most girls would rather say the opposite.”
“I’m not most girls,” I reply, “and what’s the point of saying it if it’s not true?”