“Jake Abernathy, sir.” He took her dad’s hand in a confident shake.
“I’m afraid our Livvy hasn’t told us much about you, but we’re very glad you could make it.” Anna wrapped him in a hug.
“Well, it’s very new, Mrs. Lundholm.”
“Oh, none of that, now. Call me Anna.”
“And I’m Sven,” her father added.
“I’ll try.” He was blushing. “I’ll get our bags, babe.”
“Right. Thanks,honey.” Olivia tried to swallow her nerves as she followed her parents inside the house. But she stopped on the porch to hug her brother.
“Matty! How’s your classes going?” She reached up and ruffled her much taller brother’s blonde hair.
“Ack! They’re fine, Sis. Who’s this guy?”
“Oh, this is Jake. My, um, boyfriend.” She pasted a smile on her face that hopefully didn’t look as fake as she felt.
“A boyfriend you’ve never mentioned before?” He crossed his arms across his chest and raised an eyebrow.
“It’s new. I hadn’t had the chance to tell anyone until I was talking to Mom about the reunion.”
“Uh-huh.” Matt uncrossed his arms when Jake bounded up the stairs, one bag slung over each shoulder.
Jake held out his hand to shake Matt’s. “Nice to meet you. You must be Matt.”
“Yep.” Matt’s gaze was flitting between them through narrowed eyes. She better get them into the house before he started interrogating.
“Come on, Jake, I’ll show you where we can stash these.” She led the way up the dark wood stairs to her old bedroom. Her parents hadn’t changed anything since she’d left. The hall was still covered in the old striped wallpaper Mom claimed she hated but never got around to taking down. The bathroom on the right still had the old fixtures. The house was big and fancy, but it was obvious they’d lived there a long time.
“Are your parents okay with me sleeping up here?” Jake asked her quietly.
“I didn’t ask. Just stash the bags here for now and we’ll figure it out later.” She’d tried to sneak a boy into her room exactly once, and it hadn’t ended well. Even though Joey was out of the closet, and needed comforting after his boyfriend dumped him, her parents had freaked. Granted, she was sixteen at the time, but even as an adult she didn’t expect them to have changed their stance.
“Nice posters.” He dropped their bags onto the floor and turned in a circle. Posters from various anime shows and boy bands covered the walls, and some was vintageSailor Moonparaphernalia now. Nothing had changed in this room since she left for college. Perhaps it was time to suggest her parents redecorate it. Maybe then they’d treat her like an adult.
“Thanks. Shall we go downstairs for the interrogation?”
“Your parents don’t use waterboarding, do they?”
“Depends on how long it takes you to talk.”
“Oh, I’ll sing like a canary, then.”
Olivia snorted a laugh. “Just don’t give away all oursecrets.” She winked as they rounded the corner and descended the staircase.
“Don’t worry.” He winked back and squeezed her shoulder. His warm touch relaxed her, and Olivia mourned its absence when he let go.
She led him around to the kitchen where her parents were sitting around with drinks in their hands. “Iced tea, dears?” Her mom asked them, holding up a pitcher.
“Yes, please.”
Jake nodded beside her and her mother poured two more glasses. “How did you two meet, Liv?”
“We both work for the network.” Olivia took a lemon wedge from the bowl on the table and squeezed it into her glass.
“Is that allowed?” Her mom’s eyebrows rose.
