“Your parents came?” I whispered to Arthur as I released him.
“Not part of the plan.” He shrugged like this wasn’t a huge fucking problem. “It was a surprise to me too. Mom texted earlier, but I was hoping they’d miss...the excitement. Oops.”
“Yeah, oops. You could have said something.”
Arthur blinked. “Exactly when?”
He had a good point, so all I could do was sigh.
“What is this?” Arthur’s mother, Jane, didn’t seem angry, more perplexed with a furrowed forehead. Me too, Jane. Me too. This was fast becoming a clusterfuck. I really didn’t want to confess to the petty jealousy that had led to me agreeing to Calder’s crazy plan, but maybe—
“Damn. Way to go, Fox.”
Oh fucking hell. Kill me now. Seriously, a lightning strike would have been welcome because Steve and Fernsby were right there. And yeah, that was the whole point, for them to see the kiss I was still reeling from, but now I was trapped.
“Hey, Mom.” Arthur didn’t even spare a glance for Fernsby or Steve, doing an impressive job of actively ignoring them.
“You and... Derrick?” Jane continued to tilt her head like we were a mystery to figure out.
“Yup.” Arthur answered before I could. “Surprise. I didn’t tell you—”
“No surprise there. You don’t tell me much these days.” Jane’s mouth twisted. As always, her husband was more of a silent presence, but he too looked befuddled and also distinctly uncomfortable. “But how long has this been a thing?”
Arthur gave an easy shrug. “A while. We didn’t say anything because Derrick was still on the rebound from his total snake of an ex. But, I wasn’t going to miss the chance to welcome him home.”
Oh, he was good. Exactly enough vague truth there to be convincing, and he managed a dig at Steve to boot.
“Calder? Did you know about this?” Jane asked as he strode over, trio of friends trailing behind him. “Derrick and Arthur?”
“Oh yeah.” He was as good a liar as Arthur. “Isn’t it great?”
“Uh-huh.” Jane’s eyes were too wide and her mouth too tight. “Great. We made reservations at your favorite place for an early dinner. Arthur, you and Derrick will come.”
Bad idea. I glanced at Calder, hoping he’d give me an out of some kind, but he just grinned, enjoying this way too much. Deceiving Steve was one thing, but the Eulers were good people. They didn’t need to get unwittingly roped into my fake homecoming plot.
“I’m not sure I’m hungry,” I hedged.
“Liar.” Calder chuckled and bumped my shoulder. “We all know you can’t wait to get alone, but you can do dinner.”
His father went distinctly pink at the mention of Arthur and I being alone, and my sputtering noise wasn’t much better.
“We’ll be there.” Arthur linked arms with me as if I might be about to flee into the crowd. Which, honestly, might be the better option than dinner with the Eulers, but I still nodded. He stretched like he was going to kiss my cheek, but instead whispered in my ear, “Trust me.”
The absolute worst thing was that I might not have a choice.
Don’t miss Sailor Proof by Annabeth Albert, available now wherever books are sold.