The front door opens, and a short, thin woman with dark hair the same color as Grace’s comes running out with open arms.

Grace gets out of the car and the woman—who I’m assuming is her mom—basically tackle hugs her. I get out of the car, trying not to laugh at the two of them.

“I missed you so much,” her mom says, swaying back and forth as she hugs Grace.

“Missed you too.” Grace’s voice is muffled against her mom’s shirt. They pull apart and Grace waves her hand toward me standing by the car. “This is Bennett.” I expect her mom to shake my hand, or stand and glare at me, but instead she comes barreling toward me and hugs me just as tight. Grace laughs. “And this is my mom, Olivia.”

Olivia releases me and looks me over. “You did good,” she tells Grace with a wink.

Grace’s cheeks flame and she hisses, “Mom.”

Something tells me the next three weeks are going to be fun.

Lots of fun.

Grace’s dad and older brother Dean are working, and her little brother is still in school, so for the next few hours, it’ll only be us. I’m okay with that. I’m not worried about her dad and brothers but I do want them to like me, but my gut says that’s doubtful. After all, Grace is the only girl, so of course they’re going to be protective. I doubt I can charm them, either—plus, I’m sure after the magazine debacles they’ve googled me and that definitely wouldn’t gain me any points with them. I’m just going to have to bide my time and see how things go.

Olivia shows me to one of the guestrooms—all the way down the hall from Grace’s room, might I add—and then I go back out to the car to carry our bags in while Grace and her mom catch up.

I still don’t understand why Grace packed so much stuff, but I guess girls need a lot of shit.

I bring her bags into her room. It’s just as girly as I expected and the color scheme matches what she has in her dorm with lots of white, gold, and blue. The floors are a shining hardwood and she has a fuzzy white monstrosity covering them. Grace and her damn rugs … and pillows. So many fucking pillows. Not only are they all over the bed but there’s even a pile of them on the floor to create a makeshift seating area. A chandelier hangs from the center of the ceiling and illuminates the room. It’s prissy, that’s for sure. And big. Grace might’ve classified this house as normal but it’s still huge. I grew up in a small house that could fit inside this one three times.

I head back out to my car and grab my own bag. Before I can escape into the guestroom, Grace’s mom calls out, “Bennett, come join us in the kitchen.”

I sigh. I figured I’d get a chance to chill on my own for a while.

I drop my bag on the bed and turn around to go downstairs. All along the upstairs hallway are pictures of the entire family in various stages of life. My mom has a similar wall at home.

I meander through the house and into the kitchen. Grace and her mom sit at the kitchen table with a plate of cookies. It’s a magazine worthy picture. Especially the way Grace glows with happiness when speaking to her mom. When she hears me, however, she grows flushed and her hands shake nervously. My gut nosedives with fear that she regrets last night. I was scared of this—terrified that she’d regret losing her virginity to me. Now that we’re here, I don’t know when I’ll get the chance to ask her about it and I’m not very good at reading people.

“Have a seat, Bennett,” her mom says, pointing to the chair beside Grace. “The cookies are fresh out of the oven. Double chocolate chip, they’re Grace’s favorite,” she explains.

I pull out the chair and take a seat. I don’t really want a cookie but I take one anyway since it would be rude not to. I take a bite and it’s actually pretty damn good. Olivia smiles at me, pleased.

“So,” she starts, “you play hockey?”

I nod. “I’ve been benched so far this season, but yeah.”

She smiles and glances at Grace. “Grace said you’re training with the coach at the university.”

I nod again and finish the cookie, wiping the crumbs on my jeans. “Yeah, that’s right.”

“How’d you guys meet then?” she asks. “Grace,” she says in a jokingly disgusted tone, “won’t tell me and I’m curious.”

I shrug. “Bumped into each other on campus. Things kinda just happened from there.”

You know, the usual, I sweet-talked your daughter into pretending to be my girlfriend and then took her virginity.

Olivia frowns. “Oh, okay.”

Grace laughs. “Were you expecting something more climactic?”

Her mom purses her lips. “Well, yeah.”

Grace shakes her head, fighting a smile. “Sorry to disappoint you.”

Olivia turns to me. “So, are you from the Boston area?”

Tags: Micalea Smeltzer Us Romance
Source: readsnovelonline.net