Page 11 of The Family Guest

“Papa, however, said I could get a new LA wardrobe and bought me a suitcase to fill with all my new clothes.”

I guess that’s why it looked brand new. Not seeing the point in being combative, I told her we should head downstairs. “Will’s probably already down there. I don’t want to be late for school.”

And then I got my third shock. Not poor Bear, who was already in the backyard, whining and scratching at the French doors. Mingling with my parents and my brother in the kitchen was one other person…

My boyfriend, Lance.

I stopped dead in my tracks. Our eyes locked.

“Hey!” he called out.

“Hey!” I parroted, studying him.

I hadn’t seen him all summer. He’d gone on some anthropological dig in the Galápagos Islands and had gotten back yesterday. He looked different. Taller. Tanner. More filled out. His sandy hair blonder and longer. He looked beautiful—all man—and at the sight of him, I felt my body heat and my heartbeat quicken. Unable to take my eyes off him, I wanted to kiss him so badly my jaw ached. I, however, never engaged in public displays of affection. Especially in front of my parents.

We’d texted each other, and while he’d posted photos and videos on Instagram, most of them were of the exotic locations he’d excavated and the wildlife he’d encountered. My phone was filled with images of him being the socially conscious explorer. He’d read that colleges looked at applicants’ social media and felt that posting pics showing his commitment to the environment and global warming would help him get into Brown early decision. Another reason I had my heart set on RISD was that it was also in Providence, Rhode Island, a five-minute walk away.

Tongue-tied and tingling all over, I looked at him longingly. I wanted him to say, “you look great” or “I missed you,” but his eyes were no longer focused on me. They were on Tanya.

“Hey, who’s your new friend?”

In my enraptured stupor, I’d totally forgotten about her. Now, I wished I could make the miniskirted beauty evaporate like water.

“Oh, Lance,” chirped my mom, sparing me from introducing her, “this is Tanya Blackstone. Our exchange student. She’ll be a guest at our house all year…well, at least until school ends.”

“Hi,” he said, with a sheepish grin. There was a glimmer in his amber eyes that wasn’t there before. “Paige mentioned you to me.”

Yeah. Like how pissed I was with my mother for inviting her to stay with us.

Tanya smiled. It was the same coy smile I’d seen last night at dinner. “Hi. Are you Paige’s boyfriend?”

Lance blushed. “Kinda.”

What!? He was my boyfriend. Okay, so maybe I hadn’t slept with him yet, but kids at school knew we were a thing. I fiddled with the necklace he’d given me before his trip. The small, dangling gold heart felt cold between my fingers.

His eyes stayed riveted on her. “Are you British?”

Her gap-toothed smile widened. “Yes, I am.”

“Cool. Welcome to LA. Have you seen much?”

She shook her head. “No. I just got here yesterday.”

“Then, I’ll have to show you around.”

Um…over my dead body!

“Great! I’d love that.” She flung back her head and raked her hand through her lustrous hair. She looked as if she was about to audition for a L’Oréal commercial. Or audition for him.

Before this conversation went any further, or I seized the kitchen shears and lopped off her locks, I cut it short. No pun intended.

“We should go. We’re going to be late.” I grabbed a granola bar off the island counter. Tanya followed suit.

“What about lunch?” asked my mom.

“We’ll get something off the food truck.” I unwrapped the bar and, after taking a bite, offered to pull out my car.

Actually, it was my sister’s car. A high-end Jeep Cherokee she’d barely had the chance to use, and to be honest, I was glad it was now mine. I kept it in the detached three-car garage, always immaculate. I wasn’t looking forward to having Tanya contaminate it.