Page 3

3

Taylor

F lip over.

Good God. Here we are, sitting in the back seat of an Uber, on the way to his parents’ place in Sacramento, and those two words are still banging around in my head.

Don’t think about banging.

But I am. I am thinking about banging, and my body is warming in all the wrong places, or rather, all the right places. God, what was I thinking? I’m not going to make it through this weekend alive.

“Almost there,” Elias confirms, pulling my thoughts back and I turn to him and plaster on my best smile, all while my brain is picturing him saying those words to me in the bedroom. Honestly, I’m not at all experienced. It’s embarrassing, really. What guy would touch me with my looming brother ready to pounce? I’ve hit ‘bases’ before—although that asshole from my senior year was quick to point out I sucked at oral sex—but I’ve never gone all the way. Sure, I might act like I do, like I have tons of sexual knowledge, but when it comes right down to it, what do I really know about ‘flipping over’? Only what I’ve read in the romance novels tucked into my nightstand.

I’ve wanted to join the WAGs book club, but with my studies and plays I can’t read fast enough. That doesn’t mean I don’t read romance novels at my leisure though, or that I don’t want to try out all the things on the pages.

“I’m okay,” I croak out.

He zeroes in on me, and for a second, I think he can read my dirty thoughts until he asks, “Nervous?”

I give an easy shrug of my shoulder. “No, not really. But at least Taylor Turner, aspiring Hollywood actress, has a better chance than Taylor Coolidge, right?”

He shakes his head. “This is crazy.”

Okay, so he’s not disagreeing with me. I don’t know why that hits like a punch to the gut. I’m here to play a role. I am not his real girlfriend. It’s insane that I have to keep reminding myself of that. “Yeah, it is crazy.” I blow out a breath. “Yet, here we are.”

He arches a brow. “Can we blame it on Roman?”

“We’d be crazy if we didn’t.”

He laughs. “I thought we already established that we were crazy.”

“We established that this situation is crazy. You and me…” I wave my hand back and forth. “We’re putting the comedy in romantic comedy, and we’re totally…certifiable.”

He chuckles, but it dies quickly. “Maybe a big gathering with acquaintances would have been easier. But when I told Mom you were coming, she opted for a quiet family dinner instead.”

“Acquaintances…” I arch a brow. “Many who are suitable for marriage, yes?”

“Something like that.” He groans. “Is it too late to turn back?” he asks, as the driver flicks on his signal and pulls off the main road. I glance around, admire the gorgeous flowers and trees, and manicured grass edging the long driveway as we close in on the big house.

“I don’t think so.” As I admire the Governor’s mansion, I take a deep breath to bolster my confidence. “We’ve got this, Elias.” I point back and forth between us again. “We can do it, and it’ll buy you time until you find the right girl.”

“Yeah,” he murmurs under his breath. What I felt earlier in the airplane lavatory made me momentarily believe I could be that girl—for a little while, anyway. Like I said before, I’m still young and have a lot of living to do before settling down. But the two of us together, intimately, that’s silly. The man was erect because I was bent over a sink, my ass in the air. I’m not saying my ass is to die for or anything, but I think it’s all right and any man in his prime—especially one not getting it on a regular basis—would react to that, right?

The driver stops, kills the ignition and makes eye contact with Elias before he exits the car. Elias nods and glances at the house and it’s in moments like this, when I see the vulnerability in his eyes, it gets me…right in the center of my chest. This man doesn’t like to deceive anyone, and that’s admirable. It might be easy for me to say tell your parents to back the heck off . But who am I to say that? Since Mom died, my main ‘parent’ was my brother, and I’d never do anything to hurt him.

Then maybe you should stop fantasizing about his best friend, Taylor.

Hey…as long as I don’t do anything about it.

Okay, now I’m arguing with my inner voice. Maybe I really am certifiable.

“Ready?” Elias asks.

Exuding more confidence than I feel, I lift my chin and nod. “I was born ready.”

That brings a smile to his face as we climb from the car. He helps the driver get our bags from the back, and I wipe my brow as the late day sun shines down on me.

“It’s warm.”

“We’re not in Boston anymore.”

“No, we’re not.” Back home it’s getting cold, but here the temperatures are still in the double digits.

“We can take a swim later if you like.”

“There’s a pool?” I ask. Maybe this trip won’t be so bad. I’d been trying to convince my brother to put in a pool but it hasn’t happened yet. The new house Elias is buying has a big one—um, yeah, I mean pool—and next summer, I plan to sneak in whenever I can.

“Out back. We can jump in later.”

“Nice. Oh wait, I didn’t think to bring a suit.”

“I’m sure we can find you something.”

As we walk toward the big house, the front door swings open, and the sight before me brings an unexpected tightness to my chest. An elderly lady stands there, her eyes lighting up as her gaze lands on Elias. A radiant smile spreads across her gracefully aged face. I glance at Elias, and his smile mirrors hers—wide, unrestrained, and full of love.

“Grandma,” he calls, his voice carrying a boyish joy I’ve never heard before. He opens his arms wide as we reach the stoop, pulling her into a hug that fills me with a deep longing. She laughs in delight when he picks her up and spins her around. The sound is so pure, so full of life, that I can’t stop the lump forming in my throat. I miss my own grandmother terribly, the ache of her absence hitting me again, fresh and sharp.

When he sets her down, she beams at him, her love practically glowing in the air arcing between them. Elias steps back, his teasing grin lighting up his face as he surveys her.

“Grandma, are you getting taller?” he jokes, his tone brimming with affection.

She swats at him playfully, her laughter rippling out like a melody. Then, with a mock-seriousness, she narrows her eyes at him. “Are you getting taller?” she counters, her voice tinged with the same mischief he carries.

He chuckles. “No, Grandma. I stopped growing in my teens. But I wouldn’t feel like I was home if you didn’t ask.”

I chuckle, remembering how my grandma used to ask Kalen that whenever he came home from college.

Cloudy blue eyes shift to me, and I brace myself under their kind but penetrating gaze. Elias had warned me about meeting his parents, but he’d failed to mention his grandmother lived with them, or how close he was to her. The warmth in her expression surprises me, easing the tension in my shoulders.

“And who do we have here?” she asks, her voice soft and welcoming.

“Grandma, this is my girlfriend, Taylor Turner. Taylor, this is Gladys—my grandma. But most people mistake her for my sister.”

She gives him a light smack on the arm. “This one,” she teases, rolling her eyes fondly. “Always the sweet talker.” She winks at me. “You’d be wise to be careful with him.”

I grin, knowing Elias would never do anything to hurt me.

Elias laughs, but it fades quickly. “Wait, didn’t Mom and Dad tell you I was bringing Taylor home for the weekend?”

“They did,” she replies, her lips twitching with a sly smile that gives me pause. She’s elderly, but I sense she’s wise and crafty, and not much gets by her. Her glance goes from me to Elias and then back to me. Everything in the way she’s studying us with watchful eyes worries me. Could she be on to us?

“Good,” Elias responds.

“But I had to see for myself.” The fine lines around her eyes tighten as she steps closer, extending her arms toward me. I hesitate for just a moment, then realize she’s beckoning me in for a hug. When I step into her embrace, her frail but steady frame presses against me, and an overwhelming wave of emotion nearly throws me off balance. The warmth of her hug takes me back to Darien, Connecticut, to my own grandmother’s arms, to a love I haven’t felt in far too long.

“Grandma,” Elias warns lovingly.

“What?” Gladys pulls back, her smile tender as she looks me over. “You can’t blame me for needing to see her to believe it.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Gladys.”

She leans into me, her words conspiratorial. “He doesn’t bring women home, you know.” She holds up a finger. “Unless we’re counting that time he snuck Suzanne into his room.”

“Oh my God, no..” Elias runs agitated fingers through his hair. “Can we not?”

“Don’t worry.” The glint in her eyes brings worry to Elias. “I’m not going to tell all your secrets.”

“How about you don’t tell any of them.”

I laugh. “Oh, I really want to hear his secrets.”

Gladys leans into me again, and whispers. “Oh, you will, love. You will.” Inching back, she has that knowing look in her eyes again as she adds, “You must be very special to him.”

Elias clears his throat, and I can almost feel the weight of his guilt at our charade. “She is special, Grandma,” he says softly.

“Good,” she replies, squeezing my hand. “Then you, Taylor, can call me Grandma.”

The words hit me like a gentle wave, yet they stir a deep ache inside me. Without thinking, my hand moves to my chest as if to steady the tightening there.

“Something wrong?” she asks, concern in her eyes as they move over my face.

I swallow hard, pushing past the lump in my throat. “I haven’t called anyone ‘Grandma’ in a long time,” I admit, my voice barely a whisper.

Her face softens, her hand still holding mine. “Oh, darling, if you’d rather not?—”

“No,” I interrupt, clutching her hand. “I do. I’d really like that.”

She beams, her smile crinkling the corners of her eyes. “It’s settled then,” she says, her tone light and cheerful. Then, turning to Elias, she puts on a mock-stern expression. “Now stop standing there like a pretty-boy statue, Elias. Bring the bags inside!”

Elias raises an eyebrow, his lips twitching with barely contained amusement. “Pretty-boy statue? Really, Grandma?”

She narrows her eyes, crossing her arms as if daring him to argue. “You heard me. All tall and handsome, just standing there looking ornamental. The bags aren’t going to walk in themselves, you know.”

I can’t help the laugh that escapes me as Elias groans, dragging a hand down his face. “You’ve been waiting all day to roast me, haven’t you?”

“Not all day,” she responds sweetly, patting his cheek. “Just since I saw you.”

“Unbelievable,” he mutters, grabbing the bags.

As he heads inside, she winks at me. “Keeps him humble.”

I laugh, her playful scolding releasing some of my tension. It’s impossible not to see how much she adores him, and it warms me to witness it. For the first time in a long time, I feel like I’m part of something deeply familiar—a family of more than two. Something I had as a child before Mom died, and something my brother and I had at our grandmother’s house.

As we step inside, the warm, inviting scent of cinnamon fills the air, wrapping around me like a cozy blanket. Elias glances around, his voice echoing lightly in the high-ceilinged foyer. “Are Mom and Dad home?”

“Not yet,” Grandma replies, hooking her arm through mine with the confidence of someone who runs the whole operation. “You must be tired after that long trip. Come on, I’ll show you to your room. Elias, don’t dawdle—follow along now.”

I glance back at Elias, catching the grin tugging at his lips as he shakes his head, clearly use to Grandma’s no-nonsense charm. He shrugs, and trails behind us like a dutiful soldier.

We climb the long, winding staircase, the polished wood creaking slightly under our steps. My eyes wander to the walls, lined with pictures that seem to tell the story of Elias’s life.

There he is as a baby, wide-eyed and drooling. A few steps up, there’s a gap-toothed grin that could’ve belonged to a mischievous chipmunk. Farther along, there’s a dramatic school portrait with hair sticking up like he’d wrestled with a cowlick and lost.

I can’t help but smile. “Wow, Elias, you’ve always been the star of the show around here.”

“Hard to argue with evidence,” he admits with a smirk, glancing at the photos.

I love how much his family adores him, though the flip side—the meddling—is a little less charming. Still, there’s no denying the warmth in this house, and I can see how much he’s loved.

We make our way down the hall, and Grandma stops at a door, sweeping one arm wide. “Here we are, Taylor.”

Elias steps forward, his brow furrowed. “Uh, Grandma... are we putting Taylor in myroom?”

“Of course,” she says matter-of-factly, her hands on her hips like it’s the most obvious thing in the world. “She’s your girlfriend. Where else would she sleep?”

My jaw drops. Oh my God, this cannot be happening.

“Uh… maybe the guest room?” Elias supplies, his voice pitched higher, as though hoping she’s momentarily forgotten there’s an entire house to work with.

Grandma narrows her eyes at him like he just suggested she do the laundry by hand. “What kind of relationship do you two have if you can’t even share a room?”

Elias’s face turns red. “We—uh, I mean—we haven’t really?—”

I raise my hands quickly, desperate to regain control. “Grandma, I can sleep anywhere. If the rooms are all occupied, the sofa is fine.”

“Nonsense,” Grandma cuts me off, waving her hand as if swatting at an imaginary fly. “You’re sleeping in his room. You’re adults. Besides…” She grins, mischief sparkling in her eyes. “I want great grandchildren before I’m too old to babysit.”

“Grandma!” Elias practically chokes on his own voice, while I stare at her, half-horrified, half-ready to dissolve into nervous laughter.

“Oh, relax.” She pats his cheek with a devilish smile. “It’s not like I don’t know how these things work.”

I exchange a wide-eyed look with Elias, who mutters under his breath, “This is worse than the time she told me to buy condoms during our fourth of July celebrations.”

Grandma pushes the door open wider and turns to me. “Make yourself at home, dear. And don’t worry—I trust you two will behave…” She winks at me. “…or at least be quiet. ”

Dear ground, please open up and swallow me whole.