“Hi, Mom,” Silas replies, his tone flat, mechanical. “This is Lauren,” he says, gesturing toward me. “My friend.”
Friend?I shoot daggers at him. He was supposed to say ‘secretary’—that I was just here to work overtime.Friendsounds suspiciously informal.
Mary looks me over, her eyes sweeping from my head to my shoes, her smile stretched across unnaturally full lips. “Lauren, it's a pleasure,” she says, extending a manicured hand. It’s clear she has no memory of me from school or from Silas’s past.
“Likewise, Mrs. Walker. Thank you for having me.”
“Come on in. Your siblings aren’t here yet, but I’m sure they’ll arrive soon.” She waves us inside.
The house is even more immaculate than I imagined. White, gold, and blue accents everywhere, highlighting its luxury. Mistletoe and Christmas lights twinkle in every corner. I stand in the foyer, mouth almost dropping at the opulence. If I could let myself drool, I probably would.
Silas touches the small of my back, urging me to keep moving, and we follow his mother inside.
“What about Dad?” Silas asks, his hand still on me, guiding me along.
“Santino Moran invited him to his golf course,” she says, her voice tinged with a slight bitterness. “He promised to be back by noon.” Shethrows in a thin smile. “But let’s not dwell on that. Come, I’ll show you to your room. You must be tired from the trip.”
Your room?Singular?
I glance at Silas, panic creeping up my spine. He ignores my distress, so I grab his shirt and tug on it lightly. “We are not sleeping in the same room,” I whisper through clenched teeth.
Silas shrugs, the picture of nonchalance. “It’s not like we haven’t before,” he murmurs into my ear, sending a jolt through me.
I barely suppress a shiver as Mary opens the door to a gorgeous room with blindingly white walls and light oak flooring. The windows face the sea, the soothing sound of waves filtering in from the balcony. It’s beautiful. Too beautiful. This house is making me feel like a peasant in the middle of a royal palace.
Silas walks past me and whispers, “Wipe the drool.” His smirk makes my cheeks flush, pulling me back to the present moment as Mary waits in the doorway.
“You have a beautiful house, Mrs. Walker,” I say, honestly floored by the elegance of it all.
“Thank you, dear. It was a gift from Thomas for the children many years ago. Now we use it to spend the holidays together since my children are scattered all over the country.”
Emma is going to hate me when she finds out where I am.
Silas stands in the doorway, starting to close the door with his mother still there. “See you at noon?”
“Yes, yes. Lunch will be ready by one. Be ready,” she says, unfazed, as she turns and walks away, leaving us alone.
I immediately whirl on him. “How can you dismiss her like that?”
“She’s a busybody. Trust me. Besides, you don’t know her like I do. This whole room thing was a test,” he says, “It’s better to keep her at bay than let her worm her way into your life.”
I blink, realizing just how different Silas’s relationship with his mother is from my own. His mom isn’t the shoulder to cry on or the source of comforting advice. She’s almost a stranger in his life.
“Hey, don’t look at me like that,” Silas says, his tone accusatory. “My mother’s spent more time in Cancun than at home with us. Shedoesn’t have my respect, and by now, no one expects anything from her.”
“Fine! I wasn’t going to say anything!” I snap, throwing my hands up in surrender.
He raises an eyebrow, studying me like I’m hiding something. “We know each other too well, Lauren. I can tell when you’re silently judging someone.”
I roll my eyes, trying to brush it off. “If we sleep in the same room, they’re going to think that?—”
“Why do you care what my parents think?” he interrupts.
“Have you forgotten I work with your brothers? And that your dad saw me on camera the other day?” I point out, hoping it’ll make him reconsider this whole situation.
That finally makes him stop and think, though not in the way I hoped. “Well, the more unclear everything is, the better—more questions in their minds that aren’t related to me or my performance at the company.” He grins, thoroughly amused by my frustration, while I feel the overwhelming urge to strangle him.
I’m already regretting coming here. I should’ve stayed in my freezing apartment with the broken heater. Dealing with the cold and loneliness would have been easier than managing Silas and his unexpected attitude toward …us.
