When Josie sees me, she does a double take.
“What happened to you?” She leans in as if checking for a fever. Am I that bad? But she surprises me, adding, “You look tanned, healthy, and happy. Did you get out of the house this weekend?”
I deflect, rolling my eyes. “You’ve really nailed down how to give a compliment, Jo.”
“Your sister means you’re glowing,” Dorian clarifies, closing the door behind him and taking off his standard disguise—a Dodgers cap and mirrored aviators that won’t fool anyone in the neighborhood but will hopefully keep the paparazzi at bay. He ruffles his hair, looking magazine cover-ready even in a wrinkled T-shirt and sneakers that have seen better days.
Penny lets me go and launches into a narration of her adventures at Dorian’s house over the weekend, barely stopping to breathe between sentences. How amazing their pool is, how Dorian is teaching her to play the guitar, and how his personal chef made her the best pizza for dinner tonight.
Josie sighs, pressing a hand to her chest. “My boyfriend stole my role of favorite aunt. It’s fine. I’m not bitter or anything.”
Penny throws her arms around Josie’s waist. “You’re both my favorites! Mom, Auntie JoJo showed me the new fairy tale she’s working on, and it’s amazing. The princess has a dragon best friend who helps her save the kingdom!”
We are in the middle of this overexcited reunion when a knock sounds at the door.
My heart leaps into my throat.
Oh, crap.
That must be Josh for the bandage change. When I reminded him to come over, I didn’t realize it’d mean he’d meet my entire family.
I don’t know if I’m ready for the life as an individual that I’ve lived over the weekend to clash with my single mother reality. How do I explain Josh to Penny? To Josie? What if they can tell just by looking at me that I spent the afternoon stalking his ex-girlfriend online?
My sister is closest to the door and gets it before I can get my act together.
“Hello. New face?” she asks, her tone lifting at the end the way it does when she’s being nosy.
“Hi, I’m Josh, the new neighbor?” comes his deep but hesitant voice from the landing.
“Hi, Josh,the new neighbor,” Josie echoes with so much emphasis I want to throttle her. “I’m Josie, Lily’s sister. How can we help?”
“I… uh… hi. Lily offered to change my bandage,” he says, sounding even more uncertain.
I still don’t have a visual on Josh, but I’m mortified for him. Josie is sizing him up and not being subtle about it. He must feel the same because he adds, “Err… in exchange for free plumbing.”
Poor guy, he’s making it worse. I’d drop my head in my hands if it wouldn’t attract more attention.
“Ooooh, free plumbing,” Josie responds, sounding even more like an asshole. “Did you do a lot of that this weekend?”
“Err, no?” Josh replies, audibly embarrassed. “Just the one incident?”
“Well, come on in,” Josie says cheerfully.
Josh steps into the house, unaware of the pheromone explosion he’s causing in me. He’s changed into a soft-looking T-shirt and washed-out jeans, the human version of comfort food for someone starving—me.
He stops short at finding Rian Phoenix in front of him. Dorian, acting nonchalant and teasing like Josie, greets him with a casual, “Hey, neighbor.”
Everyone holds their breath as we wait to see how Josh will react to coming face to face with a celebrity.
Josh keeps a perfect straight face and says, “Hi, man.” Then, still deadpan, he squints his eyes and adds, “Have I seen you somewhere? You look familiar.”
Dorian matches Josh’s poker face. “Nah, I just have one of those faces.”
“That must be it,” Josh replies.
The two men smile at each other with shit-eating grins, and a wave of relief washes over me. I’d braced myself for the usual reactions people have when meeting Dorian—stammering, asking for selfies, becoming overly familiar. But Josh is treating him like any other person, and I can tell from the way Dorian’s shoulders relax that he appreciates it.
Penny inserts herself into the conversation, never one to be ignored for long. She steps up to Josh, hands on her hips, giving him a critical once-over.
