Real Kind of Love Page 6

  She laughed. “God, no. I always wanted to try acting, but my stage fright is terrible. I have a civil engineering degree, but it turned out that required a lot more social interaction and a lot less math than I was prepared for, so I started looking into other ways to make money. Reading’s always been my escape, and I’ve been told my voice is distinctive, so I thought why not? I built a little studio in my basement and sent out a few auditions. One of the self-published series I worked on exploded in popularity after the second book came out, but the author was really cool and wanted to stick with me for the next books, so that’s how I was able to afford to quit my day job and do this for a living.”

  “What series?”

  “Red Zephyr.”

  “Jesus, you weren’t kidding.” He didn’t know a single person who wasn’t obsessed with Red Zephyr. Julia had already started organizing a viewing party for when the TV spinoff aired again in the fall.

  “I’m also the voice behind Elven Quest, Galactic Odyssey and Demonic Space Cats from Planet Nine.”

  “You do all of that out of your basement?”

  She nodded, biting her lip like she was embarrassed.

  “So, does Marcus Red Bear—”

  “Don’t even think about asking me that.”

  He chuckled, relieved to be thinking about guts and gore instead of sex. “Alright, but at least answer this. Why’d you ever apply to work at the Holy Grale?”

  She toyed with the seatbelt strap at her chest, like the question made it hard for her to breathe. “Swear to god you won’t make fun of me if I tell the truth?”

  Yeah, now his curiosity was definitely piqued. “I promise.”

  “I didn’t.”

  “What?”

  “I didn’t apply for a job. I’d always been fascinated by that huge abandoned church and after watching you guys renovate the place, I wanted to check it out when you finally opened. But when I walked in, you came right up to me and told me I could start right away.”

  Shit. He remembered that moment clearly. She’d come in alone and looked like a frightened deer when he spoke to her, just nodding her head and not saying anything. He’d been so desperate for staff, he handed her the paperwork and an apron that minute, not even bothering to check for references. “Why didn’t you say something?”

  “You made me nervous,” she whispered.

  “Do I still?”

  She gave him a sweet smile. “After three years, I’m getting used to you.”

  “So why’d you come back after I fired you?”

  “It helps my work if I get out of the house once in a while, and no one bugs me there. Plus, the beer’s great and it’s a good place to listen in on how other people talk without having to have an actual conversation.”

  “So you come to my bar to spy on people? That’s a little creepy.”

  He was just teasing, but she winced anyway. “Um, can we stop talking about me now?”

  “Yeah, sure.”

  She expelled a long breath. “Why’d you open a brewery?”

  The question surprised him. He’d expected her to clam up completely, not keep the conversation going with a quick redirect. “I’ve always wanted to own my own business but I hated the idea of just sitting behind a desk all day. I wanted something where I could get my hands dirty. Eli was working on a Masters in Chemistry and had just taken a course in brewing and fermentation when we decided this was what we needed to do. We bought the old church dirt cheap and did a lot of the renovations ourselves.” He was damn proud of what they’d accomplished together. Other than Julia, no one in either of their families thought the business would be a success, but they’d been proving them wrong every day since.

  He cast a quick glance her way before taking the exit to the smaller, undivided highway. She looked more relaxed now that the attention was off her, but there was no hiding the yawn that escaped her lips.

  “It’s okay if you want to catch some sleep for the rest of the drive.”

  “You don’t mind?”

  “Not at all.”

  “Thank you. For everything. You’re a good guy, Jake.”

  He didn’t bother to correct her as she closed her eyes and drifted off.

  6

  “Hey, wake up. We’re here.”

  Clem’s eyelids protested as she forced them open, like they wanted to keep her ensconced inside the sexy dream that was nowhere near finished. The large hand on her thigh hadn’t moved nearly far up enough to—

  “Clem, wake up.”

  Jake’s voice jolted her awake for real this time. His eyes were hidden by the opaque lenses of his aviators, but she could see the corner of his mouth quirked upward in a sly smile. Oh god, had she been mumbling in her sleep?

  She couldn’t remember the last time she’d actually drifted off next to someone so easily. Usually, the awareness of another person’s body next to hers sent her mind into a tailspin of random, insomnia-inducing thoughts. Even though the tiny cabin she’d rented had a separate bedroom and couch in the main living room, she’d been nervous about having someone else in the small space with her, but maybe she didn’t have to worry after all. There was something about Jake that made her feel relaxed. Safe. Something she probably shouldn’t think too deeply about considering this was a fake relationship.

  She rubbed her eyes and glanced at the GPS tracker on her phone. They were due to arrive any second now. “I think it’s just up here on the left,” she said as they approached a clearing in the hundreds of evergreens dotting the road.

  He pulled the Forrester into the lot where a small log cabin sat near the edge of a large, breathtakingly beautiful, secluded lake. Clem got out of the vehicle to stretch her legs after the long ride and breathed in the warm, fresh air.

  It was perfect.

  Jake came up behind her. “What the heck is that?’

  She looked in the direction he was pointing and sighed. Maybe it wasn’t so perfect after all. “That is my parents’ idea of a warm welcome.” Specifically, a giant, hot pink banner strung across the back awning of the neighboring cabin with the words “Cox Family Vacation” in big bold letters, and “Welcome Jake” right beneath. There was a healthy distance between the two lots, but only a sparse smattering of evergreens providing a natural barrier between them.

  “I guess we should say hello,” he said with a surprising amount of enthusiasm. Then again, any amount of enthusiasm would have been surprising. Every other guy she’d introduced to her family had pretty much run in the opposite direction.

  In addition to the banner, there were a half-dozen Tiki torches set up along the patch of grass between the cabin and the rocky beach, with multi-colored lights in the shape of hot peppers strung along the deck rails. Every one of her family members was clad in matching pink shirts with the words “Super Cox” emblazoned on the front.

  Add a couple of tinfoil hats and they’d look like they were waiting to greet an alien spaceship.

  “They seem fun,” Jake said as they ducked under the evergreen branches between the two lots.

  “That’s what people say about clowns right before they murder you,” she muttered under her breath.

  Nerves prickled in her arms and legs, leaving her with that hollow feeling of dread in her stomach. What if he took one look at her family and decided to turn around and run in the other direction? Or what if no one believed they were dating? The man was utterly gorgeous. With his golden brown hair, tanned skin and sunglasses that emphasized his square jaw, he looked like a movie star. Heck, even his muscular calves were sexy. His thighs probably were, too, though it was harder to tell because of the long board shorts he was wearing. When was the last time she’d even noticed a man’s legs?

  This ruse seemed like such a good idea in her exhausted state last night, but now, looking at the ridiculously excited smiles on the faces of every member of her family, the consequences of her impulsive decision seemed so much more real. They would forgive her for lying to them if they ever found out
the truth, but they would still be hurt. And be even more worried about her ending up a lonely spinster. The whole point of the lie was to get just a little more space from their meddling, but if it failed, they’d never leave her alone again. Ever.

  “Relax,” Jake whispered, as if he could sense the millions of thoughts whirring in her brain. “It’ll be fine.”

  Her mom was the first to jump up from her lawn chair to greet them. “Welcome! It’s so good to meet you.”

  Before they could respond, her mom whipped out a can of bug spray from the back pocket of her nylon pants and opened fire, hitting them in the face with a fog of retina-burning DEET. Clem coughed hard enough to expel a lung as the noxious liquid coated her tongue like a chemical straightjacket. “A little warning next time,” she managed to say.

  “Sorry about that, but you can never be too careful about West Nile Virus!”

  Clem managed to open her stinging eyes wide enough to see that Jake had escaped the worst of the attack. He was holding back a cough but his eyeballs weren’t red and watery from a direct hit.

  Her mom snared Clem in a bear hug, despite having just seen her last night, then turned to Jake and did the same.

  “It’s nice to meet you, too, Mrs. Cox,” he somehow managed to say politely despite the fact the woman had just tried to poison him and left a coral lip print on his cheek that she was now attempting to wipe off with her thumb. “Clem’s told me so much about you.”

  “Oh please, call me Darlene.” She smoothed her hands across Jake’s chest to his shoulders and frowned. “Oh, goodness.”

  “Mom!” Clem scowled, only to be ignored as usual.

  “I had a shirt printed for your new boyfriend, but you never told me he was so…big. Every other boy you’ve brought home has been so skinny.”

  She looked around, wondering if it would be faster to drown herself in the lake or just wait for sheer embarrassment to kill her.

  “Oh, well. I’ve got yours right here,” her mom said, patting Clem on the cheek.

  “I appreciate you welcoming me to your family, Darlene, but I’ve been looking forward to rubbing suntan lotion onto your daughter’s shoulders since the moment she invited me on this trip. It would be a shame to deprive me of the chance.”

  Clem wasn’t sure if her mom’s knowing grin or the thought of Jake’s hands all over her made her blush more, but she was certain she needed to take over the introductions before she shriveled into a little pit of humiliation.

  “I guess I should introduce you to my dad, Frank.”

  Her dad rose from his lawn chair like the evil emperor in a bad Hollywood movie and shook Jake’s hand, pouring every shred of his military intimidation into it. “So you’re the man who thinks he’s good enough for my daughter?”

  She had to give Jake credit for not cowering like most of the guys she’d dated in the past. “I don’t know if I’m good enough, but I’m sure going to try to be.”

  Her dad set his other hand on Jake’s shoulder, squeezing tight. “Then you won’t mind proving it. We’ll start tomorrow at oh-five-hundred sharp for a little basic survival skills training. Do you know how to use a compass?”

  “Dad, no,” Clem said in a warning tone. “He’s here on vacation to relax and have fun. He doesn’t need survival skills training.”

  “Every man needs survival skills training, especially one who’s serious about dating my youngest daughter. Don’t you agree, Jake?”

  She could tell by the pulsing veins along Jake’s neck that her dad had intensified his grip to a bone-pulverizing level. “Of course, sir.”

  Five minutes in and everything was already a disaster. Why had she thought this vacation could go any other way? “He doesn’t need it because he’s already had it. He’s an expert.” The lie burst out of her as gracefully a dove released from its cage.

  “Military?”

  “Reserve, but he doesn’t like to talk about it.” She swallowed back the guilt from having lied about something sacred to her dad, but she knew from experience that he wouldn’t listen to the word no, and she wasn’t going to subject Jake to that particular flavor of Cox-family torture.

  Her dad nodded and let Jake go. “I can respect that. But don’t think that gives you a free pass on everything else. I’ll be watching you this week.”

  “Of course.”

  As soon as her dad turned around, Jake gave her a look that could only be translated to “what the hell?”

  There wasn’t any way to deal with that little fib right now. She cleared her throat and pointed toward her sisters. “You’ve met my sisters Chastity and Clover already.” Clover, who loved everybody instantly, waved excitedly toward him. Chastity made a sign of pointing to her eyes, and then to Jake—a warning she was watching him.

  “That’s Mike, Chastity’s husband, and Andrew, who’s married to Clover.”

  Most people immediately made a joke when they found out her sisters had married identical twin brothers who looked like they had a fetish for Thor cosplay, but if Jake was surprised, he’d hidden it well.

  “The old man might be going easy on you, but I won’t, so be prepared to get your ass kicked this weekend,” Andrew said, looking every bit the stereotypical overgrown jock he was in a backward ball cap, pink T-shirt tucked into his shorts like a football flag, and bare, freshly waxed chest. He and Mike were two of the most decent guys she’d ever known, but they seemed to make it their personal mission to put any guy Clem dated through the ringer.

  “Did I mention my family is a bit competitive?” she whispered.

  “No,” he whispered back. But unlike any of her real boyfriends, Jake didn’t back down from the peacock-strutting display of machismo. “Looking forward to it.”

  “Over there is my oldest niece, Olive,” she said, pointing to Chastity and Mike’s fourteen-year-old daughter whose nose was buried in the giant hardcover book Clem had bought her for her birthday last month, while holding her baby sister on her lap. “And the little one is Poppy.”

  “Don’t forget about us, Aunty Clem!” Ellie and Millie jumped up from the spot on the ground where they were playing with tiny little animal figurines and attacked her like poisonous tree frogs with their skinny arms wrapping around her legs, nearly knocking her off balance.

  “Of course not, sweetie. Jake, meet the world’s cutest six-year-old terrors, Ellie and Millie.”

  “Are you our uncle now?” Ellie asked.

  Jake crouched down to put himself at eye level with the mini-twins. “Not exactly, but you can call me whatever you like.”

  Millie crossed her arms and studied his face. “Mommy says you’re the reason we’re not allowed to have a sleepover with Aunty Clem this week. Nobody reads bedtime stories as good as Aunty Clem.”

  “That’s true. Your aunt and I are going to get to know each other a little better this week, but I promise you’ll still get to spend lots of time with her, and that she’ll come read you some bedtime stories, okay?”

  Millie narrowed her eyes with suspicion before breaking into a wide, toothless grin. “Deal!”

  Mind. Blown. No man had ever run the Cox family gauntlet without breaking a sweat before. There was only one last person for him to meet. Clem directed Jake’s attention to her grandmother sitting beneath a large umbrella with a navy visor tucked into her curly gray hair, giant sunglasses fitted over her bifocals, and a glass of lemonade in her hand. “This is my Grandma Jean.”

  “It’s very lovely to meet you,” he said, dialling up his charisma to an eleven.

  “Well don’t you look like the juiciest peach in the orchard. I’d just love to squeeze those ripe, round cheeks of yours.”

  “Grandma Jean!”

  Jake stuttered. It was almost valiant how far he’d come, but she was pretty sure he was about to run away in defeat. He cleared his throat and tilted his head. “Thank you for the compliment.”

  “Okay, now that we’re all here, time to get in place for the photo,” her mom interrupted, pressing
her hands into her and Jake’s backs.

  “Mom, we haven’t even unloaded the car yet,” Clem said reasonably.

  “Nonsense, if we don’t do it now, we’ll never remember. Don’t you want a photo to honor Jake’s first family vacation with us?”

  Her dad set up the tripod while her mom herded the family into a group around Grandma Jean’s lawn chair, making sure the lake was in view behind them.

  “Oh, don’t be shy, Jake. Put your arm around Clem,” her mom said, waving him closer with her hand.

  Clem stiffened as soon as he pulled her close, still not used to the feel of his body next to hers. He tucked his head down and whispered, “Reserve?”

  She sucked in a breath. “Sorry, but I needed to get him off your back. Whatever you thought was in store for you isn’t even close to the truth of how bad it would be. Dad’s been really into the show Naked and Afraid lately.”

  “Places, everyone!” Her folks dashed into the group just as the camera beeped its count down for the photo.

  They took five more shots, rearranging everyone in between each one, and ending with instructions to make goofy faces in the last photo—an order she’d refused to comply with since she was twelve, but somehow always ended up looking like she was playing along anyway.

  “Oh my, it’s 11:30 already. Time for the first round of water gun Olympics,” Darlene said. She grabbed a long piece of paper from her purse and handed it to Clem. “Here’s your schedule for the week. We put you and Jake on the same team for most of the events, but if you prefer to compete—”

  “Mom, I told you we just wanted to relax this week.”

  “But what’s more relaxing than a nature scavenger hunt?”

  “What Clem is trying to say is that we need the chance to unpack and get settled. We’ll gladly join you for dinner at…” he took the paper from her hands and glanced down. “5:30 p.m. sharp, though.”

  “But you’ll miss the croquet tournament!”

  “Leave those kids alone, Darlene,” her grandma called out. “They want to go rumble on the beach and get sand in their unmentionable places. Quit being such a Cox Blocker!”