I should have probably warned everyone, but it was too late now. If I wrote to my parents to give them a heads-up, they’d immediately call and question me about what was going on. And my brothers were better off without a heads-up anyway.
I checked the contents of my fridge. It was fully stocked. I had everything I needed for breakfast, but I knew it made Mom happy to contribute.
Griffin: Sure, bring whatever you want.
While I took food out of the fridge, I heard steps coming down the staircase, and then Phoebe walked in shyly with a towel wrapped around her.
“Um, my clothes are here,” she said, pointing to the guest bedroom.
“Sure. I forgot, or I would have brought them upstairs.”
She went into the bedroom. I was fighting all my instincts not to go after her. She was irresistible to me, even wrapped in a towel.
She came out a few seconds later, sighing.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“I was going to just turn my panties inside out, but they’re ripped.”
I grinned, remembering last night. “That’s all my fault, sorry. But I can’t wait to be alone with you for the rest of the day. Unless you have plans?”
“Not at all.” She fidgeted, pulling at the bottom hem of her dress. “Thank God it’s long enough. I’ll make sure to sit cross-legged.”
The thought of her going commando was not helping my self-control.
She looked at everything I’d laid out on the dining table. “How many people are coming?”
“My parents, that’s two. Then all of my brothers, which is another five. And then Hannah and Riley, too, plus Jeremy. So ten.”
She jerked her head back, laughing nervously. “I’m meeting your entire family, and I’ve got no panties on!” She covered her face with her hands. “All right. I need coffee before they arrive.”
“If you’re hungry, help yourself to whatever you want.”
“I’m not much of a breakfast person,” she admitted. “I just run on coffee in the morning, and then sometime around eleven, I usually have a hunger attack.”
I made coffee for both of us, and we drank it at the breakfast table.
Phoebe was completely silent at first, but after a few sips, she asked, “How is your family going to react when they see me?”
“Not sure. Last they knew, we were faking being a couple.”
Her eyebrows shot up her forehead. “Holy shit! They knew about that?”
“Yes, and Mom handed me my ass.”
“Wait, what are we now? We’re not in a relationship because neither of us is real?—”
“Phoebe, do we have to discuss this now? We’re together, got it? Who cares what we call it?”
She laughed. “You’re right. Just enjoy each other. We’re having fun, only your family doesn’t need to know that.”
That’s the truth.
“Exactly. Otherwise, my mom might beat me up all over again.”
“I can’t imagine anyone doing that.”
“No one usually does except Mom. I let her get away with a lot.” I grinned and noticed Phoebe looking at me with warmth in her eyes.
