Page 66 of Golden

“My pleasure, sir,” Wes says. “It’s a great cause.”

Mom brings over the last of the food and Jacey hops onto the seat between me and Wes. Conversation flows easily, with Wes charming my parents and Jacey hanging on his every word. The sight of him smiling and getting on with my family has a warmth settling in my stomach, but I try and shake the feeling away. It’s not like this will ever be happening again.

“I hope you’re planning on sticking around,” Mom says.

My head whips up, looking between her and Wes’ puzzled face. “What do you mean?”

“The trucks,” she says, as though it’s obvious.

I suck in a breath. “Ah. Yeah.”

“Someone want to fill me in?” Wes asks. “What trucks?”

Jacey reaches over and presses her hand over my mouth. “Don’t tell him! Make it a surprise!”

What the hell is it with my family and surprises today? I pry her fingers from my mouth and shoot her a warning look before turning to Wes. “What my weird-ass family is trying to ask, is whether you’ll stick around for dinner. There’s a thing happening that people are very excited about.”

Jacey grins at me and I shove her playfully.

“Well, I can’t say I’m not intrigued.” Wes glances at us. “I don’t want to overstay my welcome.”

Mom laughs. “Don’t be ridiculous. You have to stay. We insist.”

As much as I try to make my smile apologetic, I’m sure he can see the truth behind it. I’m thrilled.

“Right, boys,” Dad says, rubbing his stomach despite the fact it’s as flat as mine. “Let’s get this cleared up.”

I swear, washing up has never taken so long. We stack the dishwasher, then Dad washes the pans, Wes dries, and I put them away. It’s an efficient system, slowed a little by the fact my dad insists on grilling Wes about the swim team. It turns out one of Dad’s best friends was captain back when he was at Franklin West.

Finally, when the last pan is in its place, Dad squeezes my shoulder before heading for the door. “I’ve got some work to do, but I’ll see you both tonight.”

The second Dad disappears, I’m painfully aware that we’re alone. Of course, there’s the chance Jacey will appear from behind a corner at any moment.

“Your family is really nice,” Wes says, leaning against the island. “I can see why you come home so often.”

I smile. “Yeah. They’re total goofballs, but I love them.”

“Jacey’s great.”

“Yeah. She is.” I shake my head. “I had no idea she’d gone all stalker on you.”

Wes grins. “It’s fine.”

“Yeah, well. Thank you for coming.” It’s so hard not to step closer. I shove my hands in my pockets to stop myself from reaching for him.

Wes glances at the empty doorway before looking back at me. “I’d have come a lot sooner if you’d told me how hot your dad was.”

My mouth drops open, before I wrinkle my nose in disgust. “Seriously? Fucking hell.”

Wes laughs. “Well, you had to get it from somewhere, right?”

“Right,” I grunt. “Come on. Let me show you around.”

We’ve lived in this house my entire life. It’s quite old for the area, built in the nineteen twenties. I don’t bother showing Wes everywhere, pointing out the sitting room we use as a cinema room, and the guest rooms which look out onto the pool. Because it has a bedroom, bathroom, and small den, we call it the pool house, even though it’s connected to the main house.

“Nice,” Wes says, peering out the windows at the covered pool. “My house doesn’t have one.”

I laugh. “Which is kind of funny considering you’re a swimmer.”

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