“And the reason folks haven’t seen us around together is because I’ve been on tour with the band. So, it’s not completely impossible for us to have been dating.”
“Exactly.” It’s one of the reasons he’s the perfect person to be my fake boyfriend for this trip. He’s only around when the band is. And it’s not like I come to this bar that much outside of girl’s night.
“Now that we have that detail out of the way. How much shit is your family going to give you…and me?”
“It depends on their mood. I haven’t told them I’m bringing a plus one yet.”
“Oh.” He cocks his head to the side. “So, they’re going to hate me right off the bat.”
“Not at all. I’ll tell them tomorrow.” I take a sip of my now melting margarita. “How much touching are we okay with?”
He’s once again choking on his drink. I give him a few moments to regain his composure.
“You’ve gotta stop surprising me like that.”
“It’s not like it’s an invalid question.” I shrug as if it’s no big deal. But it is. He’s the only guy who I’ve ever been interested in and we’ve never even kissed.
“Definitely hand holding.” He studies his empty glass as if it holds all the answers. “I’m assuming we’ll need to kiss on occasion.”
“Most likely. And we’ll probably be sharing a room. My parents aren’t old fashioned in their way of thinking.”
Tristan’s eyes widen. I guess he didn’t think about that particular detail. And there isn’t time to find a place bigger with more rooms. They always rent a house wherever we go so we can havequalitybonding time.
“As long as there are extra blankets, I can sleep on the floor.”
“Don’t be ridiculous.” I wave away his concern. “At some point before we leave, we’ll have to practice kissing,though. It needs to be believable. If not, my siblings will know.”
“That’s actually kind of creepy.”
“You don’t have any siblings, do you?”
“A brother, but we didn’t really grow up together since he’s so much older.”
That makes sense. “So, you didn’t get the siblings all up in your business action I did.”
“Nope.” He shakes his head. “But…were you in their business as well?”
“I plead the fifth.” Yes, yes, I was. Nothing happened in that house without me knowing about it. Though that changed some when I moved out and the younger siblings were still in school.
“Is there any other pertinent information I need to know?”
I’m glad he doesn’t make me elaborate. He must know good and well that I was nosey.
“Not really. My great-grandparents started the winery and passed it down. I actually think I’m the first one that hasn’t wanted anything to do with it. No disrespect to my family, but it’s not something I’ve ever wanted to do.”
“Okay, cool.” His whole body sags in relief. “I mean I’m pretty good at memorizing things quickly from when I was in theatre, but it’s good I don’t have to. But it’d be helpful if you sent me pictures of everyone and their names so I get that right at least.”
“I can do that.”
The shift in conversation feels like our evening ofdrinks is winding down. He proves my point when he slides out of his chair. “I probably need to get back to the house so I can let Dale know the dates and see what he has on the agenda for me tomorrow.”
“Okay.” I turn to carefully get out of my chair, but his hand appears in front of me to help. “Thanks.”
My voice is barely above a whisper. He must hear it, though. He nods his head with a half-smile.
“Any time.”
“I need to close out my tab.”
