Obviously not.
“No worries,” I say. “Gray and I were just watching TV.”
Petra thrusts the white bakery box in her hands at me, and I take it from her. I’m a hundred percent sure it contains a cake.
“TV. Right,” my sister says knowingly. “Looks like Inga owes me twenty dollars. She didn’t think you two were really together.”
My lips thin. Gray was right about Inga’s suspicion.
“Happy early birthday!” my mother says, breaking the tension before I can respond to Petra. “Inga couldn’t get away from work, but we wanted to come down to celebrate with you.”
“It’s your birthday?” Gray says. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“It’s tomorrow,” I say, stepping aside to let her and my parents in. Luckily, the situation in my pants eased when I realized they were here.
I lead the way back into the kitchen and living room as everyone follows. I hadn’t bothered to turn off the TV when I scooped Gray off the couch, so it’s still on. Hopefully that will deflect suspicion about what me and Gray were really up to.
“Do you have candles?” my mother asks as she sets her purse and another bag on the counter. “It’s the one thing we forgot.”
She and Petra both start opening kitchen drawers while my father sits down at the kitchen table.
“I don’t need candles,” I say as I give in to the inevitable and take out dishes and forks.
“Of course you do,” my mother says as she opens the cabinet where I keep my canned goods.
“Found them!” Petra says as she pulls a small box from the back of the junk drawer. She shakes the box. “Well, I found one.”
She opens the box and dumps one lonely candle into her palm. I’mactually surprised I have that one. When I moved up here from Florida, I dumped everything from my junk drawer into a box. The candle must have been left over from the last time my parents came for my birthday.
Petra takes the cake out of the bakery box, sticks the candle in it, and lights the wick. They all sing happy birthday to me, and I quickly blow the candle out before they can perform an encore.
“How have you been, Gray?” Petra asks as she pulls a knife from my knife block and cuts the cake. “How’s my brother been treating you?”
Gray looks at me, and I feel like we’re both thinking about how I threw her over my shoulder a few minutes ago. Or perhaps we’re thinking about what I planned to do to her when I got her into the bedroom.
I raise a sly brow at her that seems to ask, ‘Well?’
She gives me back a ‘Don’t tempt me to tell them’ look.
“He’s great,” she says, smiling at Petra. “I’ve almost got him trained.”
I snort. She’ll pay for that remark when I get her strapped to my bed.
“Eat your cake,” Petra says to me. She pushes a plate of cake thick with buttercream frosting toward me. “The ladies are talking.”
I snort again but dive into the cake. That’s a comment I’d expect Inga to make. She’s starting to rub off on our little sister.
“Has Ash met your parents yet?” my mother asks Gray.
Gray seems to go a little pale at the question.
“I met her father,” I say before she can answer. “He came to vet me, as any good father would.” I add that last part for Gray’s benefit, to assure her I don’t blame her for her father coming to see me.
“And her mother?” my mom presses.
“We haven’t had a chance to get together yet, but I’m sure we will when Gray can arrange it. We’re both a little busy right now.”
Gray’s been dragging her feet about letting me meet her mother, but I won’t push her. I know it’s more about her relationship with her mother than anything having to do with me, so I can be patient.
