I slipped out of bed, careful not to wake him, tiptoed to the door, and gently pulled it open. I stepped into the hallway and faced Leo’s door as I pulled it shut softly. I turned around and startled at the presence of Leo’s dad stepping out of the bathroom across the hall.
His smirk was so close to the one his son often wore that it was immediately disarming. He didn’t look shocked, just amused. “Good morning, Sophia,” he said.
“Good morning, Adrian,” I said, pulling at the hem of the jersey to cover as much of my legs as possible.
Adrian pointed at the guest room, and I followed his gaze to see that the door was wide open, revealing the bed perfectly made and untouched.
“If you’re going to sneak into Leo’s room again tonight you should probably shut your door so it isn’t obviously empty in the morning,” he said. “I’m assuming by the way you’re sneaking out of his room right now, that you were hoping to keep it a secret.”
The heat in my cheeks was instant and intense. I was on the verge of sweating when I managed a reply. “I’m so sorry. I swear, we just slept.”
Adrian raised a hand to stop what was sure to be a panic-induced outburst if I continued. “I don’t need an explanation. You’re both adults.”
“Thank you,” I said, making a beeline for the guest room.
“Sophia?” His voice pulled my attention back to the hallway as I was about to shut the door.
“Yeah?” I asked, looking back at him.
Adrian searched my face for a second before speaking. “My wife rarely wakes up before seven and I think Leo is going to be disappointed you aren’t there when he wakes up, so tomorrow, there’s no need to sneak out quite this early.”
I smiled. “Thank you. I, um, I really care about your son, Adrian.” I gestured to the jersey. “I’m guessing this makes me look like some puck bunny, but I’m not like any of those girls he’s probably brought around before.”
Adrian chuckled softly. “We’venevermet a girl where Leo is concerned, so I’m positive you’re a lot more than that. Can I make you a coffee?”
I nodded. “I’m addicted to the iced vanilla lattes at Ackerson’s. The one Leo made me yesterday tasted just like it.”
“I’ll get one ready for you,” Adrian said before walking away.
I shut the door behind me and grabbed some clothes out of my suitcase before sprinting across the hall for a shower.
By the time I was showered and dressed in a pair of black leggings with a long, red-and-black plaid sweater and a pair of white boots, Adrian was sitting at the kitchen counter with a coffee, scrolling on his phone. An iced latte sat on the counter next to him.
“Thanks, again,” I said, climbing onto the barstool and grabbing the coffee. I sighed; it was perfect. “Do you make the ones at the restaurant?”
“Sometimes,” he said, looking up from his phone. “I work a shift there once in a while. Sutton likes to sit on a barstool and flirt with me when I do. Reminds her of how we fell in love.”
I chuckled. “Your family is so nice. Most of my friends from high school and college have never been able to understand how close I am with my family. But Leo just gets it. It’s really cool to see that he also has parents who are truly in love and a family where he gets to be himself, free of judgement.”
“His mother and I both wanted to raise him very differently than how we were raised,” Adrian said.
A door opened and we looked down the hall to where Sutton appeared, walking toward us. “Good morning,” she said, smiling at me. “How did you sleep, Sophia? We rarely have anyone in that room. I hope it was comfortable.”
Adrian pressed his lips together, suppressing a smirk and glanced at me out of the side of his eye.
“Mhm,” I mumbled, raising my latte up to hide behind the glass before I turned red as a tomato again.
“Morning, Princess.” Adrian stood up to kiss his wife.
He made her a latte while she sat down in the seat next to me, talking about their typical Christmas Day and complimenting my outfit. “I didn’t have much time when I found out you were coming, but I did order some things for you that were dropped off last night. I hope I got your style right.”
Adrian chuckled. “You always do,” he said as he set a hot latte in front of her. “She also ordered eggnog and eggnog-flavored syrup in case you were serious about that latte. Though I’m with Leo—it sounds pretty gross.”
I could have cried again at the effort they were going through to make me feel welcome on such short notice. “You didn’t have to do all that, but I really appreciate it,” I said, just as the door to Leo’s room opened and he came out wearing a pair of gray sweatpants sitting low on his hips and nothing else. I forced my eyes to stay on his face so his parents couldn’t see the lust on mine.
“Morning, Hawaii.” He stopped and grabbed my shoulder, pulling me against him in a side hug as he kissed the top of my head. I blushed again. We hadn’t discussed what we were telling his parents now, but this seemed way past ourfriendsexplanation.
I slowly looked between the two of them who both stood watching us with eyebrows raised as Leo appeared not to notice and made his way to the coffee, pouring a cup from the pot.
