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“Whoa. Hold up. She didn’t tell me that.”
“My parents just decided to join since the Crawfords are coming. I don’t think Jan knows I took a temporary position at the hospital and have been living here the past four months.”
I slowly nod. “Okay. No need to panic.” I’m completely about to go into full-blown panic mode.
“I’m not panicking.” I was talking to myself, but good to know he is cool as a cucumber. Cucumber! Cruise! Cruz! Oh, this is bad. Bad, bad, bad.
“I’m just going to grab my bag and get out of here before everyone shows up.”
He steps in front of me. “You don’t have to leave. By the way, how are you feeling?”
Kill me now. “I’m fine. Fine.” Fuckity fuck fuck, I am so not fucking fine. “I’m just going to go…” The loudest car door slam in the history of the world shatters my composure. They’re here. There’s no way they’re here now. I swallow a lump the size of Texas and ask, “What time is it?”
“It’s eight…maybe nine now…”
I hear the buttons on the keyless entry and then the sound of it unlocking. I try to run but my feet trip over each other. Before I fall on my face, Cruz grabs my shoulders. The towel starts to slide as I scramble to hold it together, along with my mental state. The door bursts open, allowing an older couple to walk through. Cruz and I quickly stumble back from each other, most likely looking guilty because this isn’t a compromising and misleading position. A very straightlaced-looking woman in a dress suit steps forward, and oh dear, she’s clutching her pearls. I’ve never seen anyone do this in real life, and I have to admit, it makes me want to giggle. I press my lips together, struggling to hold back a laugh. Is this woman for real?
“Christopher, who is this?”
“Christopher?” I whisper to myself. Cruz must’ve heard me because he answers.
“Christopher is my full name. More like formal name. Nobody except my mother calls me that.” Mother? Oh jeez. This is one of those stifling families. Not at all who I would expect to be best friends with Jan’s mother, Sophia.
“And what’s her name?” By the tone in her uptight, highfalutin voice, it’s obvious that she instantly despises me and doesn’t want me there with her son.
Christopher replies with a nervous smile. “Mother. This is Journi. She’s a mutual friend of mine and Jan’s. Oh, and she likes cucumbers…a lot!”
This guy’s a doctor? A doctor who just had his fingers up my twat and performed a magic trick by removing a cucumber out of there. I step back from Cruz, whom I hadn’t realized I’d gravitated back toward and exactly how close until just now. “Pleasure meeting you all. But if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go get dressed.”
“Please do.” Her penetrated glower and pinched lips, combined with her mock pleasantry, strikes a nerve.
In fact, it hits my petty button. I roll my neck and then turn to Christopher. I step back into his personal space and gently place a kiss on his lips. I pull back just enough to say loudly for Mommy Dearest to hear, “Thanks for helping me earlier. I really needed that. You have no idea how long it’s been.”
Before I can walk away, he surprises me by pressing his mouth back to mine. His tongue sweeps between my lips, seeking permission. I give him what he wants by parting them, and am rewarded with his tongue massaging mine. The taste of mint, and the sensual way his tongue dances with mine, is leaving me breathless. My fingers grip onto his shirt and my toes curl. I feel butterflies and am suddenly lightheaded. This is the kind of kiss I only thought happened in fairy tales, yet here I am while I’m wearing a towel and he’s in scrubs. A throat clears and we both part. His eyes seem as surprised as mine by how delicious that kiss was. His mother’s audible huff has my inner bitch smirking. I trot past his mother, and most likely his father, with a girly giggle that I would normally never do. As I hurry to the bedroom, it dawns on me that I don’t know which room is theirs. Doesn’t matter, I’m leaving before this day can possibly get any worse.
Chapter 4
Cruz
All I wanted to do was to come home and go to bed. Instead, there was another person in the house. Then the other person is the very patient I hadn’t stopped thinking about. As if her body rolling around all over mine in a towel wasn’t the hottest thing, she upped the ante by kissing me in front of my stunned mother. Watching her prance away in a towel to go get dressed and not chasing after her is taking every ounce of my self-control.
This is beyond bizarre, even for me, and I work in the emergency room. Before I give my mother the explanation she is desperately waiting for, the door opens again. In walks the Crawford family, along with Jan and her husband Ben. Sophia and my mother, who is also named Sophia, kiss on the cheek and hug. Ben walks over and shakes my hand. Jan’s head spins around and she asks, “Where’s Journi?”
“Yes, Journi. Who likes…cucumbers?” My mother is not amused at all. She leans toward me and hisses, “We’re going to discuss this more in private.”
Jan’s sister walks through the door, and there it is. No wonder my mother is so upset. She and Sophia have wanted to unite our families for years. I view Jan as too much of a sister, and she agreed. Their little plan to have us together every summer backfired. I see her as family. No way could I ever view her in a romantic way. I’m beyond thrilled she’s found someone who treats her like the gem she is.
Plan B is obviously to try and match me with Larissa, the younger sister. My younger brother, Joshua, is no longer an option since he’s attracted to men. That leaves me and Larissa as their last hope—their only hope. But I will not be guilted into marrying for the sake of us joining families. What century do they think we’re living in? And we most certainly aren’t royal bloodlines, so what gives?
Larissa comes to stand next to us. She offers a flirty smile, but the connection isn’t there. I’d never spent much time with Larissa, maybe because we never did connect. By the vibes she’s giving, she’s willing to try our mothers’ plan.
“Journi is here?”
I instantly don’t like Larissa’s tone. What does she have against the woman? Larissa crosses her arms and rolls her eyes. “You invited her to our family vacation? Really? She’s not family.”
“Yes, she is! She’s been having a hard time. I didn’t know Mom also invited the Bryces.”
“Of course, she did.” Larissa cuts her eyes toward me and then stares wide-eyed at Jan. I guess that Jan including her friend is messing up the plan. Which sounds like my kind of plan. I hold up a finger and excuse myself.
