“Yeah, no, we’re not going to tell my mother that.” She chewed on her thumbnail. “I guess we’ll just say …”
“We’re figuring things out.”
“I wish it were that simple.”
“We could just tell her we’re dating and plan on getting married.”
“Lie to my mom?”
“It’s a good lie.”
“She’ll know it’s a lie. She knows me.”
“Well, we have to tell her something, right?”
She was studying me again.
“What?” I asked, suddenly feeling exposed by her observing.
“My mom would never believe it.”
“Believe what?”
“That you and I are together.”
I frowned and shot her a look. “Why?”
“She knows my type, and she knows you are not it.”
“I’m not your type? Me? Since when is smart, charming, sexy, and a badass in the courtroom not someone’s type?”
“Wow. You just heard yourself, right?”
“I speak the truth. Now, how am I not your type?”
“It’s not an insult. We’re just …” She searched for the right word. “Different.”
“We’re not that different, Meela.”
She stared out the windshield. “Let’s just play it by ear. We can figure out the details when the time comes.”
“You know best.”
We made small talk the rest of the ride there. Meela filled me in on information she thought I needed to know before we met her family. I was seeing a different side to Meela than the hard-ass in the courtroom or the woman who spent the last year despising my existence, and I liked it.
When we got closer, she gave me directions until we were pulling into the driveway of her home. I turned the car off, and we both sat in silence until I finally asked.
“Ready?”
Twenty Four
Meela
“No. I’m not ready at all.”
Standing next to the front of Reed’s car, my childhood home seemed to tower over me with all the intimidation of Mount Everest, making me feel two feet tall. The more I stood here, the more I seemed to shrink, my nerve right along with it.
It was a mistake coming up here. I should have just called them.
Turning around, I was about to tell Reed we were getting the hell out of here, and the sooner the better, but I didn’t get very far. Reed had come around to stand right behind me, and I stood face to chest with him. Whether I looked up or my gaze remained on his chest, breathing was a chore.
“Take a deep breath, Meela.”
“No amount of deep breaths is going to make it easier for me to walk through that front door. This was a mistake. Please take me home, Reed.”
We didn’t touch. Reed made sure to keep at least two inches of an invisible divider between us, and I couldn’t tell how I felt about that. With everything that had happened between us, he confused me in so many ways.
“Look at me.”
My eyes drifted up his chest, moving over each curve and line of the muscled wall. Up his throat, chin, and finally lips … my eyes wanted to linger there. The memories there left the parts of my body that had been touched by them tingle until I couldn’t stop the shiver that exploded from the inside out. When I finally reached his eyes, they were dark, and they burned through flesh and bone until I felt like I was crumbling into a pile of ash. One good blow of that South Carolina wind and I would be gone.
“One deep breath and if you still want to go, we’ll get back into the car and go … home.”
My eyes went wide at the word home. I hadn’t even realized I’d just asked Reed to take me home. It had been more like a beg now that I replayed the words back in my head.
“Meela?” His tone sounded like the same one you’d used on an abused animal, slowly trying to coax it into trusting you. “Say something so I know you’re okay.”
Breaking the invisible barrier between us, Reed lifted his hand and touched the curve of bone and flesh along my jaw, following a path to my chin and applying enough pressure to tilt it toward his.
I know he was looking for some sign I was still functioning, but I wasn’t really sure I was. And then he was cupping my face in both hands, and I could feel his fingers moving against my scalp. My eyelids, suddenly too heavy to keep open, fluttered close, and I let the breath I’d been holding escape.
Time seemed to stand still as I waited for what I knew was coming, yet why I was allowing it to happen, I had no idea. It wasn’t smart. In fact, it was the worst thing I could let happen at this moment, but that didn’t seem to motivate me to push Reed away.
He was close. I could feel the heat of his presence as I waited for the touch of his lips against mine.
“Meme?”
My sister’s voice broke through the haze that had wrapped around Reed and me. I opened my eyes, instantly grounded by the intensity in Reed’s eyes. I licked my lips, and I could almost taste Reed there. His fingers slid free, and he took a step back, taking the thick fog with him.
I turned toward my sister and avoided the million questions lighting up her blue eyes.
“Mom’s watching from the window,” she warned me, and I avoided that direction completely. “I figured I’d come out and warn you she’s been watching since you pulled up.”
Say something, Meela. You can’t spend the next twenty-four hours as a mute.
“Thanks for the warning, sis.” I smiled and walked toward her. She dropped to the next step as I reached the bottom of the porch and threw her arms around my neck. “Holy shit, Meela,” she whispered into my ear. “What the hell is going on?”
“Hell no longer exists. It’s frozen over.” I pull free from Kaylee and lift my arm in Reed’s direction. “Reed, this is my sister, Kaylee. Kaylee, Reed.”
“We met the night of the club. Mr. Tall, Dark, and”—Kaylee’s mischievous eyes cut to me—“Handsome.”
Reed moved toward us, curving his lips with a smile that dirty thoughts were made of. He held out his hand to Kaylee, who resembled a cartoon character with her tongue hanging out the side of her mouth and red hearts where her eyes were.
“It’s nice to officially meet you, Kaylee. We saw each other briefly at LUST.”
“Yes, and apparently a lot has happened since then for Meme to be bringing you home.”
“Why don’t we go inside?” I interjected, not really wanting to have this conversation outside.
“Then I won’t get any of my questions answered,” she whined.
“Go,” I ordered.
Kaylee was the first to walk inside with me and Reed right behind her. My mother, who was not fooling me and had probably jumped to her favorite chair as she watched us climb the steps to the porch, greeted us with a look of surprise.
“Meela,” she beamed and pushed herself out of her chair. “What a surprise! Why didn’t you tell me you were coming home?”
She reached me by the end of her question and pulled me into a hug. I felt like she could have definitely been an actress in another lifetime with her act right now.
“Hi, Mom. I’m sorry. It was sort of last minute.”
She pulled back, and not being able to contain her curiosity any longer, as the amount of control she’d already displayed was award winning, her curious eyes landed on Reed. I was pretty sure with the combination of nerves and pregnancy hormones, the odds of me throwing up on my mother’s living room floor were definitely in my favor.
I realized as soon as that happened, my mom would know why I’d suddenly showed up on her doorstep with a man she’d never heard of and that look of guilt on my face that she could spot from a mile away.
“Meela, don’t be rude. Introduce me to your gentleman friend.”
“Mom, this is Reed. Reed, my mother, Julie.”
Reed stepped around me and extended his hand toward my mother.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, ma’am. Meela has told me a lot about you.”
“Re
ed?” My mother repeated his name while throwing an accusing glance my way. I knew she was remembering our last phone call, and I could kick myself for my big-ass mouth. Damn woman couldn’t remember the names of the women in her book club to save her life, but Reed’s name didn’t seem to be lost on her.
“Yes, ma’am,” Reed said and cast a sidelong glance my way.
“Well, it’s very nice to meet you, too. Unfortunately, Meela has been keeping your existence all to herself.”
Fuck my life, I thought. Reed’s hand pressed against my lower back, and I tried to smile as I realized all eyes were on us. Kaylee, my sister in crime, the one I was supposed to count on in my time of need, watched me with an amused smirk on her face.
Thanks for nothing, sis. I glared at her.
“Thanks, Mom.”
She smiled at me as if to say you’re welcome, daughter.
“Please, sit,” she said, realizing we were still standing in the doorway. “If Meela had told me y’all were coming, I would have made lunch.”
“It was a spur-of-the-moment trip,” Reed said before I could answer, and I was relieved to have a moment to figure out how I was going to lead up to the reason we were really here.
“So are you a lawyer too, Reed? Do you work at JJ&A, too?”
“Yes, I’m a lawyer, but I don’t work with Meela. We actually often find ourselves working on opposite sides.”
“Opposite sides? That’s interesting.” I knew my mom was putting the pieces together.
“It’s hot,” Kaylee whispered.
“Kaylee,” our mom warned, and I glared at Kaylee. Reed was the only one who thought it was funny. “Are you sure I can’t get you guys something to eat?”
“We’re fine, Mom. We just wanted to come up and visit for a few hours.”
“Why don’t you stay for dinner?” Excitement lit up her question.
“We really can’t, Mom. We were hoping to get back to Charleston before dark. Reed has an early morning, right?” I looked at him and smiled.
“Actually, it’s nothing that can’t be rescheduled.”
“Perfect!” my mom said. “It’s settled.”
Apparently so, I thought.
It would be a long night.
L U S T
An hour later, we were all seated at the dining room table. My mom had practically prepared a feast as what could easily be described as a buffet instead of just dinner covered the table. She had really outdone herself tonight, but I knew it made her happy to have the three of us together
“So Meela, you haven’t said how long you’ve been seeing each other,” my mom awkwardly threw out while placing a bowl of mashed potatoes down on the table and took her seat.
“Mom! Meme hasn’t actually said they’re dating,” Kaylee interjected.
“No, but I think it’s fair to say they’re more than just friends. Right, Meela?”
“Oh, you’re done acting like Reed and I aren’t in the room? Good because that wasn’t awkward at all.” I drilled my mom with side eyes.
“Well, you’ve been here all afternoon and haven’t brought it up once. Someone had to.”
“Reed and I are …” I took and bite, chewing as slowly as I possibly could to come up with a response.
“We’re figuring things out,” Reed said, saving me from myself. I wasn’t used to having a partner when it came to Kaylee and my mom’s probing questions.
As much as I appreciated the help, I knew the questions were only going to keep coming until my mom felt like she had the full story, including an explanation of the mysterious call we had a few weeks ago.
The time had come to tell her I was pregnant and the man I’d spent the past year despising, who I was also living with and not planning on marrying, was the father. Sure, why wouldn’t she be thrilled about the news?
I took a deep breath.
I could do this. Probably a little more tactfully than I thought it, but I could do it. I was an adult, and I could take the wrath of my mother when I delivered the news.
“Reed and I are engaged.”
Reed coughed, choking on a mouthful of chicken.
Kaylee dropped her fork, and the sound was deafening.
My mom stared, frozen in disbelief, or shock, or possible a stroke.
“Someone pass the potatoes, please.”
That was not exactly what I meant to say, but the words “I’m pregnant, you’re going to be a grandmother!” felt like the weight of a million bricks on my tongue, and there was no way I was going to get the words out.
“You’re engaged? I don’t understand. You’re engaged?” my mom repeated, stuttering her words. I was definitely leaning more toward the possibility of a stroke.
Perfect.
That was exactly what I was hoping her response would be. I knew now that I had made the right choice by not leading with the whole baby growing inside me.
“Yes, and we’re moving in together. Well, we moved in together,” I corrected, thinking I should probably keep my lies to a minimum.
I was nervously twisting the end of my fork between my fingers when I felt the weight of Reed’s hand as he covered mine, pressing the tips of his fingers into my palm. I eyed our entwined hands, not having the courage to look him in the eye after I just committed him to an engagement with yours truly.
When I looked back at my mom, realizing she hadn’t said anything for a full two minutes, she was also staring at our hands. When her eyes lifted, they found mine, and I held my breath until I felt like the room was spinning and the risk of passing out seemed like a good choice.
“You’re living together? Since when?” she asked, and I could hear it in her voice that she was hurt I hadn’t told her sooner.
“Last week. I wanted to tell you in person, and Reed wanted to meet you.”
“Oh my god, this is so exciting.” It was Kaylee’s voice that broke the silence with enthusiasm. I’d almost forgotten she was sitting there since she hadn’t said a word or made a sound after dropping her fork.
She got up from her chair, moving around our mother where she placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed. She pulled me from chair and hugged me tight.
“I want every freaking detail,” she whispered into my hair. “Isn’t this exciting, Mom? And see, you thought she was never going to get married.”
My mom looked at Kaylee horrified. “Kaylee Davis, I’ve never thought such a thing.”
Kaylee laughed. “Oh right, that was just me!” I pushed Kaylee’s shoulder. Hard.
My mom folded her napkin and got up. A genuine smile replaced her shock, and she held out her arms to me. “Of course, it’s exciting.”
I slipped easily into the comfort of her embrace and didn’t mind in the least when she squeezed a little too tight. When she finally released her grip, I breathed in deep, allowing my lungs to expand once again. She cupped my cheeks in her hands and beamed, letting her excitement grow.
“Very exciting,” she said and then turned her affection toward Reed, who sat watching us like we were crazy, which wasn’t far off, considering.
“Reed, you’re family now,” my mom said, holding her arms out toward him. “We hug in this family.”
He laughed and pushed his chair back to stand up so he could allow my mom to pull him in.
“Well, this dinner has been quite eventful for sure,” my mom said after we had all taken our seats again. “Have you guys decided on a date?”
“Oh, Meme, you have to let me help plan with you and Carrie.”
Shit. I made a mental note to text Carrie as soon as I got the chance.
“Of course, but we hadn’t actually decided anything yet. It just happened.”
Literally, it just happened in the past ten minutes, but of course, I couldn’t say that.
“Reed, have you told your parents yet?”
“No, ma’am,” Reed replied, and there was that same slight but noticeable edge as when I had brought up his parents the other night. “I plan to tell them soon
, though.”
My mom shot me a look that said she noticed the edge too. “Good. I’m sure they’ll be thrilled.”
Reed smiled tightly and nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”
Reed seemed to spend the rest of dinner somewhere else entirely as my mom and Kaylee took turns throwing out suggestions for my fake wedding. I glanced at him whenever Kaylee and my mom would forget I was there, but he seemed to have completely checked out as he moved the food around on his plate.
I wanted to know what the hell was going on with Reed and why he went automaton any time someone brought his parents up, but I couldn’t exactly haul him off to the bathroom or the other room without comments from Kaylee about what we had been doing when we got back. The last thing I wanted was for my mom to be thinking about me and Reed having sex.
“I hate to break up all the fun you two are having here, but Reed and I really should get back to Charleston before it gets too late.”
That was a lie. I didn’t hate it one bit. The more they talked, the guiltier I felt over my lie and what it would do to them when they found out the truth.
“What? No. We’ve hardly gotten a chance to get to know Reed.”
“Yeah, Meme, stay the night, please.”
They were out of their freaking minds if they thought I would agree to that. There was no way Reed and I were staying the night as a newly fake engaged couple in my childhood home.
I didn’t even want to begin to think of how I’d explain Reed needing to sleep on the couch. There was no way in hell we could share a room, much less a bed after our almost kiss this afternoon. It was bad enough that I’d almost let it happen; I wasn’t about to make matters worse. We had rules. I couldn’t let Reed’s green eyes and pulse-throbbing smile blur the already thin line.
“That actually doesn’t sound like a bad idea, Meela,” I heard Reed saying before I could shut that shit down.
My eyes cut to his, and I narrowed them. “Are you sure?” I asked tightly, letting it be known that he was, in fact, not sure.
“I’m positive,” he said with a sickly sweet smile.
Bastard!
I turned my back on Reed and smiled super big for my audience. “I guess we’re staying.”
Lust Page 19
