The creaking of the front door made us scramble upright into a less compromising position. Caleb walked in with a wicker basket, pausing when he saw us.
“Oh, hey!” he said. “What are you two…”
He trailed off, and in the silence that followed, I knew Caleb was putting two and two together. He casually strode towards us, indicating that he was going to collect some peaches.
“Am I, uh, interrupting something?” he asked with mild amusement.
“No.”
“Yes.”
Maxwell and I spoke at the same time, and to my surprise, he was the one sayingyes.I glanced at him, startled.
“Oh! I see,” Caleb said. “Well. I’m sorry, then. I didn’t know the greenhouse wasoccupied.”
“We weren’t doing anything like that!” I protested.
But Caleb was still grinning. “How long has this been going on?”
Maxwell somehow managed to be calmer about this than I was. “It just started, I guess?” he offered. “Like, within the last few minutes.”
Caleb’s eyes widened and he choked in shock. “You mean you were f--”
“No!” I cut him off. “Notthat.We were just kissing.” I covered one side of my mouth and mouthed ‘virgin’to Caleb. He nodded in understanding and didn’t press the issue, even though I knew he was just teasing.
“So, I’m guessing Adriel doesn’t know about this,” Caleb commented.
“No. And maybe it’s best he doesn’t know right away.”
Caleb seemed surprised. “Why? If you two are an item now, wouldn’t it be easier just to tell him?”
I frowned, thinking about my brother’s reaction. “If I know Adriel, he’d probably think this is some kind of trick. That Maxwell and I are only pretending to be together to prove to him that he’s wrong.”
Realization dawned on Caleb’s face. “Wait, so… You guys are serious about this relationship, aren’t you?”
Maxwell nodded and stood closer to me while I put my arm around him.
“Pretty much,” I confirmed.
Caleb hummed in thought, bunching up his brows. He picked a few peaches off the tree as he thought. “You’re probably right about Adriel. He’s been acting a bit distant since Pierce allowed you to stay, Maxwell. I don’t know if he believes the stuff about Lark’s illness and all, but if he doesn’t, he’s not saying anything about it.” He shot us a sympathetic glance. “It might be best if you lay low after all.”
Maxwell sighed. “All this lying and sneaking around is starting to wear me out.”
“I’m sorry, Max,” I murmured.
He was right. With all the people involved, this lie was getting more complicated by the minute. I needed to do something about it. I had to start unravelling the knotted threads somehow.
The only problem was working up the courage to do it.
