Chapter Four
Holy freaking hell, what have I just walked into? Daniel thought as he stared, unable to pull his eyes away from the wall. This was like an episode of The Twilight Zone and Daniel had been dumped in some alternate universe. “Mama’s Ten Commandments.” Jesus Christ. His mind skipped a beat and Daniel found himself completely mesmerized and horrified by the sight in front of him.
“Daniella,” Grace said gently as she moved through the kitchen. “Coffee or tea?” Slowly the world came back into focus and he remembered why he was here and what he was supposed to be doing, and it wasn’t being shocked out of his gourd. Get it together. It’s just for a few days.
“I’m sorry.” James whispered from behind him, then moved past him to pull out a chair at the table. She couldn’t be serious.
“Daniella,” Grace prompted again, and he shook his head slightly to bring himself back from la-la land. “Coffee or tea? Juice?”
“Tea would be lovely,” Daniel managed and turned as James sat down, cocking his eyebrows. The sampler had obviously been done some time ago; the fabric behind the stitches had yellowed with age. James’s mother very clearly had expectations, and she wasn’t at all shy about them. There they were for the entire world to see.
Daniel accepted the cup of tea and tried not to stare, but it was difficult as his mind processed the visual. Some made perfect sense, in a way: “Thou shall work hard, Thou shall call thy mother, Thou shall not fight with thy brothers and sisters, Thou shall finish school...and college.” The college part was in a slightly different color, so it had probably been added later. A couple actually had him smirking, but he managed to aim it in James’s direction, especially “Thou shall keep it under lock and key until marriage,” and “Thou shall go to church.” Daniel sipped the Earl Grey, giving the sampler a final review. “Thou shall not lie to thy mother and father...” Well, that one was already out the window. “Thou shall not embarrass the family.” Okay, they were well on their way down the road to hell there. The last ones bordered on frightening. “Thou shall get married, Thou shall give thy parents grandchildren.” He turned away to stop looking at the thing, his gaze settling on James.
“Sorry,” James mouthed once more, and Daniel shrugged. He was here, and he had to make the best of it.
Daniel finished his tea and thanked Grace, who whisked the cup away. “Maybe we should bring in our luggage and get settled?” he prompted, figuring if he and James had something to do, then they could avoid round two of Grace’s upcoming interrogation, at least for now.
“James, I have you in your old room, of course, and I figured Daniella could share with Margot.” She wiped the table of nonexistent spills as a groan went up from the living room. Daniel expected that this development had been discussed with James’s younger sister and was not popular on that front either. Daniel glanced at James, who had paled considerably as he stared alternately at his mother and then at him.
“Please excuse me a minute,” Daniel said. “James, could you tell me where the bathroom is?” His throat constricted slightly as panic welled up inside.
“Of course,” James said, practically jumping to his feet and motioning Daniel to go first. “It’s just down the hall here to the left.” Thankfully James took the hint and followed him.
“Could you be a sweetie and bring my makeup case in from the car for me?” He was trying to think quickly because this was going downhill fast.
“Be right back.” James hurried away, filled with tension. Daniel entered the bathroom and left the door cracked, running some cool water and dampening a cloth to cool the back of his neck, trying to calm his racing heart and hopefully clear his head so he could think.
“Honey,” James said from outside and then stepped in, closing the door.
“What are we going to do? I can’t share a room with your sister. Yes, I can be convincing as Daniella, but I can’t stay in makeup constantly for six days, and I have to sleep, and...” He took a deep breath.
“I know. Let me think a minute.” James put both hands on the worn Formica countertop, staring into the huge mirror. Daniel opened the case, using the opportunity to check his makeup.
“I...” James sighed, and Daniel hated that his family made him feel this way.
“Somehow it will be all right,” Daniel soothed, even as he tried to figure out how the hell it could be possible. His skin would look like he was allergic to everything after a while.
“We’ll go to a hotel. That’s the only solution. It will put some distance between us and my family and give us some privacy. Mom will probably be upset and get worked up, but there’s nothing we can do about it.” Daniel liked the determination in James’s intense eyes and shifted closer, running a hand up and down James’s strong back and up to his shoulders, which rippled under his shirt. Wow, he wanted to feel closer and see if the rest of him was as hard and hot.
Daniel pulled his hand away. This was a job—a working arrangement, nothing more—and he needed to keep his thoughts and wandering hands where they were supposed to be.
“We’d better get back out there or your mother is going to check to see if we aren’t breaking her ‘lock and key’ commandment.” Daniel couldn’t resist, and James groaned, a deep, resonant sound that rumbled off the light blue tiled walls.
Daniel closed his makeup case and opened the door, stepping out and following James down the hall and back to the kitchen.
James cleared his throat and seemed to get ready for battle. “Mom, Daniella and I have been seeing each other for a little while now. Do you really think that we—” His voice trailed off as Grace turned around. Daniel expected her eyes to shoot fire and smoke to come from her ears at any second.