“Oh, well, I mean …” I lick my lips nervously.
“Where did he stay?” My dad frowns. “I hope not with you and Juniper.”
“I, um, well, you know … he, um …” I don’t know how to answer any of these questions, and I suddenly realize how hard it is going to be to sell this relationship. I have two options at this moment. I can pretend this was all a joke and just end the ruse now. Or I can go all in and make sure that everyone believes me.
“And what note are you talking about?” Grandma asks as she grabs her cup of tea and sips. “You got a note from Rex?”
“Kinda. It was a little rude.” I shrug, but that feeling of hurt and discomfort fills me as I think about his dig. I do not want to go to all those wedding festivities alone. I am not going to tell my family that this was a joke.
“But I, um, need to call Luke right now,” I say quickly, feeling overwhelmed. “I will?—”
“Call him in front of us,” Rafe demands. “Let us congratulate him as well.”
“I, uh …”
“Yes, do it, Mia.” My mother sounds miffed, and I know I need to appease her for keeping the secret.
I grab my phone and dial his number, praying to God that he won’t answer. The last thing I need is Luke revealing the truth to my family before he even gets to town. As the phone rings, I hold my breath.
Do not answer, Luke. Please do not answer.
chapter five
Luke
“Hey there, girlfriend. What are you—” I stop as I notice the petrified look on Mia’s face.
For a few seconds, my heart stops because I’m scared she’s in danger, but then I notice her background, and the expectant faces behind her. Shit! From the look on her face and the shocked expressions on those of her family, I deduct that Mia has told them we are together. This is not something we planned to do right away, but I know Mia. Once she gets an idea into her head, she runs with it.
I am taken aback by the faces that I see on the screen, even though I recognize everyone who is staring at me. Mia’s practically gawking, and her eyes are bulging so much that she reminds me of an owl. I can see the fear in her eyes, and it takes everything in me not to burst out laughing. Mia is the last person to be speechless, and yet at this moment, I know she has absolutely no clue what to say.
“Hey, everyone. I am guessing, the cat is out of the bag?” I grin and think fast. How do I convince these folks, who have known me since before I could walk, that I am telling the truth?
“So, it’s true?” Shock is in Rafe’s voice as he gazes at me.
Mia’s older brother has always been friendly to me, if not particularly warm. He’s around the same age as my brother, Rex, but they were not in the same friend groups. Rex was popular, a jock, and always going on dates. Rafe was intellectual and thoughtful, and from what I know, he didn’t have many girlfriends—which was surprising because, for all intents and purposes, he was probably the better-looking of the two. Something that annoyed the shit out of Mia,growing up, as almost all her girlfriends wanted to know about Rafe. All but Juniper.
“Well, I’m not really sure what Mia has told you,” I say, keeping a cheerful expression on my face and trying to read their expressions for some sign of how to play this. None of them are giving me anything. “But if she’s told you that we’re desperately in love, then yes.”
“See? I told you it was true.” Mia blushes a bright red, and I want to tease her and say that Rudolph’s nose is jealous of her cheeks, but I don’t dare. She glances back at Rafe, who still looks quite disbelieving.
“So, tell me, when exactly did this happen? And how come no one has seen you in town, Luke? I know for a fact that you haven’t gone anywhere, Mia.”
He’s firing questions like he’s an attorney and not a vet, and I know for a fact that both Mia and I are panicking inside. He raises his eyebrows and looks at her with skepticism. Rafe does not believe us.
I watch as she puts her hands on her hips and glares at him.
“How would you know that for a fact? Are you spying on me, big brother?”
“No, but Coconut Beach is a small town, and everyone knows everyone. I see you several times a week.”
“But you don’t see me every single day, just like I don’t see you every single day. So, if you left town, you wouldn’t actually know.”
She glares back at him, and I realize that no one else in the family is saying anything. I notice that Mia’s nana, Lucille, is looking particularly entertained, and I know that this entire conversation will be regaled to the busy Bees within the next two hours.
“I would know because we meet up with the family almost every weekend.”
“Rafe, stop being jealous,” she says. “Just because I have someone and you have no one.” She holds her head up high. “It’s not my fault you don’t have a date for the wedding.”
