“Man it’s laaaate,” she says, not looking at her phone or any clock, just widening her eyes at the morning light spilling into the bedroom. “This house has such good vibes.”
It’s the first time I’ve heard anyone say Lilyvale has “good vibes.” Wanting to ask her what she means, I turn around to see her bending over to fluff the pillow over the freshly made bed. She frowns as she picks up her coffee mug, taking a long sip. Her dark hair falls over her naked shoulders, leading my gaze where it shouldn’t stray, to the curve of her generous breasts testing the resistance of the too-thin fabric of her sleepwear. “Ohmygod. You know, I would have done it just for that,” she says, her voice deep and sultry.
I turn back to look out the window. “Done what?” The hell is she even talking about?
“This whole getting married thing. Coffee in bed is enough to make it worthwhile. Are you going to do that every morning?” She chuckles. “For the sake of keeping appearances and stuff.”
My breath fogs the window. I need to get out of here.
“Don’t turn around!” she whisper-shrieks. “I’m getting dressed.”
Holy hell.Note to self: from now on, no morning chat with my fake wife. I’m setting the coffee on her nightstand and rushing out while I still can.
The door to the bathroom creaks. “I’ll meet you downstairs in a minute,” she says, the door clicking shut behind her.
I guess that means it’s safe to turn around. I do stay stuck in place for a beat, looking toward my bed that has to be still full of her warmth and smell, then to the bathroom where she disappeared.
Get a grip.
I get to the kitchen and find my siblings in various states of undress, hair sticking out, rumpled pajamas, Beck eating straight from a box of Froot Loops and Lane slurping Diet Coke.
“Morning!” I say, glancing at them for any sign of… something.
“Mornin’,” Lane mumbles.
“Hey, guys!” Willow singsongs as she waltzes into the kitchen.
“Um… hi?” Beck says. He runs a hand in his hair and straightens his posture. “I didn’t know Lane was having a sleepover. You could have told us,” he adds, turning to Lane.
Lane is coughing into her drink and laughing at the same time.
“What’s so funny?” Beck says, looking between me and Lane, then settling his gaze on Willow. “Good morning, Willow,” he says with his most charming smile as he stands. “How do you like your coffee?”
“She likes her coffee the way her husband brought it to her this morning,” I answer.
His jaw falls open. “You gotmarried?” he asks Willow. “To who? Is he here?” He genuinely looks around.
I can’t help but roll my eyes while Lane laughs harder and Willow joins in the giggling.
“She married Noah, you dumbass. Might wanna read your text messages,” Lane finally says.
“Oh, so you read them?” I ask her.
She shrugs. “Duh.”
“Why didn’t you answer?”
“I didn’t find anything nice to say,” she answers.
I feel Willow tense next to me and automatically get closer to her.
“I mean, you guys go to Vegas and see Phish at the Sphere and you don’t think to ask if we wanted to go?”
“You saw Phish at the Sphere?!” Beck exclaims, clearly offended.
Lane waves her phone at him. “Dude.”
“I can’t believe this shit!”
