Page 10 of Boyfriend Material
Livie could almost see the wheels turning in her mom’s head, trying to unravel any subterfuge.
Her dad yawned and squeezed her mom’s shoulder after shaking Theo’s hand. “I’m heading to bed. We can talk at breakfast. It’s nice to meet you, Theo.”
“Same here, Mr. Anderson. See you in the morning.”
Her dad nodded and headed up the stairs. The huge center hall colonial had three levels, if you counted the basement, and five bedrooms. Livie had shared her love of sliding down that banister as a child. It was the home she’d grown up in and still looked the same. With so much room, she’d told Theo her momwould put him in one of the guest rooms. So, color her surprised when she guessed wrong.
“Livie, Melissa put clean sheets on your bed this morning. It’s all ready for you.”
“What about Theo?” Livie asked
“He’ll stay with you,” her mom said, stopping to turn around to make sure they followed her. “Oh, and turn off that light, would you?”
Livie and Theo exchanged glances, and he shrugged. This was going to complicate things.
“Sure. Really?”
“Livie, you’re almost twenty-eight. I’m sure you sleep with Theo all the time. We’re all adults here.”
“It’s a twin bed. Have you looked at Theo?”
“Nothing wrong with a little cuddling. Right, Theo?” her mom asked.
Theo chuckled from behind Livie. This was a disaster. How was she supposed to share a bed with her fake boyfriend? Her extremely sexy, drool-worthy, not-real boyfriend.
“If you’re okay with it, I definitely won’t object. C’mon, baby, it’s late and you’re exhausted. You need some sleep.” Theo’s hand rested at the base of Livie’s spine, and she leaned against him without thinking.
“Fine. Good night, Mom. See you in the morning.”
Her mom saw everything, from the way Theo touched her, to his words. After a forced smile, she said, “Night, Olivia, Theo. See you at eight for breakfast.”
“Yup.” Livie rolled her eyes as her mom walked down the hall. Then she turned and looked up at Theo. “I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t be. It’ll be fine.”
“You haven’t seen my room yet. Just wait.” Livie grinned. Sure, he thought it was fine now. Wait until he stepped inside.It looked like someone had thrown Pepto Bismol on the walls. They’d decorated it when she was ten and it was still the same.
Livie led Theo in the opposite direction. Thankfully, her parents would be on the other side of the house. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” she said. Then she opened the door and reached inside to flip the light switch.
She winced as the bright pink color slapped her in the face. At the low whistle, she turned to see Theo’s expression.
“Wow.”
“Yeah,” Livie muttered as they stepped further into the room.
Theo grinned as he stepped inside and closed the door. “I think it’s um, very…” His hesitation made her giggle.
“Can’t come up with the right word, can you? Shocking? Nauseating? Revolting? Offensive? I could go on. Any of them would work. Maybe that’s why she put you in here instead of in the guest room—it’s an erection killer.”
Theo snorted. “Oh baby, it’ll take more than bubblegum walls to do that.”
Livie’s breath caught in her throat at his words. Did he mean what he was implying? He couldn’t have. This was all make believe, right?
“You can use the closet. There’s plenty of room. The bathroom is across the hall. Sorry no ensuite. My brother and sister will be here for breakfast, so be careful to be covered up in the morning. No walking around in your underwear. Uh, you wear it, right?” Livie’s cheeks heated for the fifty millionth time since he’d sat next to her on the plane.
“Yes, I do. Boxer briefs. In fact, you’ll be seeing them soon since I didn’t pack pajamas. I didn’t have to worry about that at my parent’s house.”
“No T-shirts, sweats, or gym shorts?” At his negative nod, Livie closed her eyes. Just thinking about him in tight boxer briefs, displaying all his assets, made her insides flutter. Holycrow, she was in trouble. "Oh my god, this just keeps getting worse. Look at that bed. We’ll practically have to sleep on top of each other. That won’t work. I’ll take the floor. Sleeping with me goes above and beyond your job description.”
