Cassie told us we have to make this thing believable. Spending the holidays? I don’t think it gets more real than that.
Still. It does nothing to calm the nerves coursing through me.
“Will they like me though?” I ask again, staring up at the front of a brick, two-story house. Black shutters line the house. Two chairs sit in the corner of the porch. Everything about this place looks homey. Somewhere Piper would’ve grown up.
“Of course they will.”
Her words do nothing to reassure me. Nothing aboutmy appearance gives people the warm fuzzies. Too many tattoos. Too much of a scowl. Dark eyes and a darker look to match.
“Cash. You are way overthinking this. Just act like you would when you’ve met your past girlfriends’ parents.”
“And how would that be?” I ask.
Piper gives me a quizzical stare. I try not to squirm under her intense gaze. I never knew a pair of blue eyes could be so intense.
“Have you never met a girlfriend’s parents before?”
“Why is that so unbelievable?” I snap back. Too quickly.
A smile lights up Piper’s face. She is enjoying this far too much for my liking. “Cash. I promise, just act like you do when you’re around me.”
So pretend not to think about her naked? Doesn’t seem like sound advice, but something I can work with.
“I just hope your dad likes me.”
Piper squeezes my arm one last time before opening the door. “It’s not my dad you have to worry about.”
Oh shit.
And here I was thinking that her dad would be the hardest person to win over.
I follow Piper inside, doing my best not to stare at her ass. The last thing I need is to have one of her parents see me checking her out.
The house feels smaller on the inside than I expected. An office sits off to the left with a smaller sitting room on the right.
“C’mon.” Piper grabs my hand and doesn’t let me linger in the entryway. She grabs Puck’s leash from me as I kick off my shoes. The hallway is lined with pictures of their family. Of Noah playing hockey. Her dad playingfootball. What looks like family trips to the mountains. School pictures. Everyday things that make up a family.
Something I never had growing up.
The hallway opens up to a cozy living room, fire blazing in the fireplace with the Christmas tree decorated with haphazardly made ornaments, likely from when Piper and Noah were little. An oversized sofa and love seat dissect the room that flows into the kitchen beyond it. It’s not anything that’s overly modern.
It’s well-loved. A sweet aroma fills the room from a candle flickering on the table.
It’s then my eyes sweep over the couple sitting at the barstools at the counter. Noah is sitting next to them.
Here goes nothing.
“Mom. Dad.” Piper drags me forward a few more feet. “This is Cash. My boyfriend.”
“Still weird to hear that,” Noah cuts in.
“Noah!” Piper seethes.
A woman with light blonde, bobbed hair rounds the counter and holds out her hand for me to shake. Piper is the spitting image of her. It’s where Piper gets her beauty.
“Cash. It is so wonderful to meet you. I’m Tenley, Piper’s mom. And this is her dad, Jackson.”
“It’s nice to meet you.” I hand over the bouquet. “These are for you.”
