Me: It’s just Reed.
Ellie: As in Jake’s hot brother that’s living with you?
Me: Haha you’ve never even met him.
Ellie: That’s about to change! When do you need it? We need to come and take the boats out of the water for the season anyway.
Me: Tomorrow. Sorry, probably too short notice for you to meet him.
Ellie: Don’t be ridiculous! I am meeting that man. We can be there by the evening!
Me: Maybe I wanted to be alone with him.
Ellie: Oh my God! You’re so bad!
Ellie: Tough luck! You can have your sexy time after dinner!
I laugh and turn to Reed. He’s looking at me with a funny look on his face. “What?” I ask.
He laughs. “What exactly is going on right now?”
I realize he has no idea what I’m talking about or who I’m talking to. “Can you get off work Monday?” I ask.
“Do I want to say yes?” he asks.
“Yes.” I don’t hesitate.
“Okay,” he responds.
I quickly text Ellie back.
Me: Sounds good. Can’t wait to see you. Miss you.
Ellie: Miss you too. Key is still in the box. Code 4839.
Me: Thanks!
I tell Reed all about the cottage the rest of the way home. We pull into the driveway, and my parents’ car is already sitting there. I sigh as he parks the truck. “I can already tell my mom is going to be annoyed that she had to wait.”
He smirks at me. “Shouldn’t have made me stop for those milkshakes.”
I huff out a breath. “Hey, we were only in the drive-through for like ten minutes! I told you to drive faster!”
He chuckles as he steps out of the truck. “Well, usually you’re always yelling at me to slow down.”
I roll my eyes as I hop out the other side. “Yeah! You never listen to me then either!”
He laughs, but I was right about my mom. She’s in a mood since she had to wait. She gives me a scowl. “Already starting the bickering with Reed? He hasn’t been here that long, Wren.”
Reed knows I don’t get along with my mom, and he’s heard stories about my parents, but he’s never really actually dealt with her much. It’s not like there were many occasions where my brother-in-law and mom would see each other, especially since Jake and I didn’t have any kids.
He seems to overcompensate a little in my defence. I don’t know if it’s to show my mom that he won’t tolerate her behavior or if he’s just not thinking clearly since we’ve blurred the lines a little more in our relationship.
He wraps his arm around my shoulder and gives it a squeeze. “Nah, we aren’t fighting. That’s just how Wren tells me she loves me,” he grins at her.
I’m not sure if Reed catches her off guard or not. Usually no one says anything to her. It seems she doesn’t really care. “She must tell you she loves you a lot,” she says.
Reed laughs to make it seem like she’s joking. “What can I say? I need to be reassured a lot.”
She rolls her eyes as she starts walking toward the house along with my dad. I look up at Reed and smile. “Thank you,” I whisper to him.
He gives my shoulder another squeeze and leans down and kisses the side of my head. My breath catches for a moment as this moment becomes too real. It’s too much, and I feel myself panicking. I step away from him and give him a surprised face. “Reed, too much.”
I meant to say he was being too affectionate in front of other people, but the look on his face tells me that he knows I meant exactly what I said. And fuck, that look sucks. I try to reach for him, but he turns and starts walking toward the house before I get the chance to explain myself.
I try to get my parents settled as soon as possible so I can go to my room and not have to talk to them for the rest of the night. I finally shut the door and let out a sigh of relief. Reed gives me a smile from the sleeper sofa. “So how does this thing pull out?”
I raise an eyebrow. “Is that where you want to sleep?”
He gives a shy, mischievous smile. “I don’t know, Wren. I don’t know what the protocol for this is exactly.”
I wet my lip with my tongue. “What do you want the protocol to be?”
“What I want is irrelevant here,” he sighs.
I cross my arms over my chest and lean back against the door. “Why’s that?”
He pushes off the sofa and walks closer to me. “Because you’re still Jake’s wife.”
“And if I wasn’t?” I whisper because he stepped even closer.