Page 16 of Real Tree / Fake Boyfriend

“Your sister and Walter will be in her room, and you and Julien can stay in your room,” his mother explained. “I don’t see what the big deal is. I thought you would be happy if you could share a room. I know Hailey was glad. It’s not as though you can get pregnant, anyway,” she added earnestly.

“Eww, gross, Mom!” Tyler exclaimed, his hands running through his hair frantically. “Don’t say things like that.”

Gross? Julien frowned. Did Tyler think he would be gross to share a bed with? “It’s fine, Baby.” Sure, Julien wasn’t thrilled about sharing space with another person. He had roommates before, but they had all shared separate rooms, and even that was a bit much for him. This was only for a few days. Julien was sure it wouldn’t be thatbig of a deal.

“I just mean, I am sure you know how to behave yourself,” Mrs. Ashford said, and the sharp look she gave Julien was so motherly that he didn’t know what to do for a second.

“Fine, sure. I’ll take him upstairs tomyroom then.” He lifted up his giant suitcases and hoisted them up the stairs awkwardly.

“It was nice to meet you,” Julien said to Mrs. Ashford and followed with his suitcases. They left the one with all the gifts near the stairs.

The staircase’s landing looked over into the great room and led to a wide hallway. Tyler opened the door to the first room and led them inside. The bedroom was spacious, with a big bed up against the wall and a bench at the end. Like the other rooms in the house, it had those wide planks of polished vanilla wood and big windows to let in light. The view of the grounds was gorgeous, and Julien stopped to stare out the window for a moment.

“My mom and dad redid it a bit once I left. That’s why it looks bare bones,” Tyler said. “But we have our own bathroom, so you don’t haveto fight Hailey for the shower.”

“What are your sisters like?” Julien tore his attention from the window to look back at Tyler, who was on the floor with his suitcase and rifling through his clothes.

They hadn’t talked much about Tyler’s family, and Julien could kick himself for not asking more questions. He was going in blind.

“Ugh, normal, I guess? Hailey is my twin, and Cece is a few years older than we are,” Tyler said, offering nothing useful to Julien. “Look, I’m sorry about sharing a room. I didn’t know. She’s always been weird about having couples share a room until marriage. I don’t know why she’s suddenly changed her mind.”

Julien shrugged. “It’s not a big deal. I think we can handle it. I don’t bite. Much.” When Tyler didn’t take the flirtatious bait, he asked, “So, uh, where is Corsica?”

Tyler laughed in shock but told him Corsica was an island off France. He also helped Julien choose a casual outfit and let him use the bathroom first to wash up and change. When he returned to the room, Tyler had changed into a Christmas-y sweater and jeans and put his contacts in.

Julien thought the glasses would have made the outfit, but he didn’t say.

“What?” Tyler asked, and Julien realized he had just been staring.

Julien scowled and shook his head. “Nothing.”

The sounds of the door opening and people chattering came from downstairs, and Tyler breathed.

“Well, time to put on a show, Baby.” He frowned. “No. Never mind. I’m not sure I can call you ‘Baby’.”

“Whatever you say,Baby.” Julien didn’t know why it made a difference. He thought it sounded fine.

Tyler flushed a little and grumbled, “I don’t know why it sounds so good coming from you.”

Julien shrugged and followed him out. It was, indeed, time to put on a show.

Chapter 8

Julien

Hailey Ashford looked exactly like Tyler. She was shorter by several inches but slender, with thick, dark hair and those same bright blue eyes. However, she seemed completely different than Tyler, somehow. More at ease, more comfortable.

Even as she and Tyler hugged, she screamed that they had both chosen to wear a green sweater and declared itTwintuition.

Julien thought it was the stupidest thing he had ever heard, but it was also sweet.

Hailey wiggled around the room as if the excitement of seeing her brother was too much to handle. Meanwhile, Tyler seemed calculated and careful in his moves, as if he didn’t want to make one false step.

That’s because he is, Julian thought to himself. Because they were putting on a charade in front of his family, Tyler wasn’t afraid he would make a false step. He was scaredJulienwould.

Hailey’s fiancé, Walter, approached Julien while Hailey still wiggled around her brother and spoke so swiftly that Julien couldn’t keep up.

“Hi, I’m Walter. It’s nice to meet you, Julien,” Walter shook his hand with a smile. His khaki pants and beige shirt didn’t do the guy any favors, but Julien had just learned about fashion that week, so who was he to judge?

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