“Holy shit, you didn’t tell me your house was amansion,” Julien whispered to Tyler when Mr. Ashford had stepped out of earshot.
He had made his way over to the fireplace, taking up the far wall of the dining room, and warmed his hands.
Tyler widened his eyes. “It’s not a mansion. It’sjusta house,” he whispered back. He moved to the winding staircaseoff the side of the large room and placed his luggage there.
“I guess I’ve been living injusta shoe box then,” Julien protested. The room was doused in natural sunlight from the windows covering the walls that went up two stories, and it looked bright, airy, and massive.
Something cold nudged Julien’s knee while he took in the space. The droopiest dog sniffed him. Immediately, Julien knelt down to give the dog a scratch with a wide grin. He loved dogs. He’d never been able to have one but held out hope that one day when his shit was together, he could adopt one.
“Hey there, buddy,” he cooed. “Who’s a good boy?” The dog lazily leaned over and swiped his wet tongue over Julien’s chin. “Yes, you are.”
“That’s Duke,” Mr. Ashford said from the fireplace. “He’s taken a liking to you already.”
Tyler watched him practically make out with Duke, a smile spreading over his lips. “Julien and I are going to bring our stuff up, and I’ll get him settled in the guest room,” Tyler said as a woman emerged at the top of thestairs. “Mom!”
Mrs. Ashford was tall and slender, with a bottle-blonde bob that had no hair out of place. She wore a pair of khaki pants and a red turtleneck sweater. The solid of the shirt was broken up by a long necklace that glittered in the sunlight. She wore a pair of house slippers as she stepped down the stairs to greet Tyler with a kiss on the cheek, but her piercing blue eyes focused on Julien.
Julien had convinced himself that he didn’t care if these people liked him, but from how Mrs. Ashford assessed him, he didn’t think he stood a chance even if he tried. It was as if she could see right through the clothes already.
“How was your flight, Honey?” Mrs. Ashford asked after she pulled away from Tyler.
“It was fine. Julien had a little motion sickness, but nothing too bad. I’m just glad we’re here.” Tyler turned his piercing blue eyes to Julien. They were somehow as transfixing on Tyler as they were unnerving on his mother. “Mom, this is Julien.”
Julien stood straight and took a few hesitant steps to take Mrs. Ashford’s perfectly manicured hand. “Nice to meet you, Mrs. Ashford.”
“Connie, please,” she said. “Nice to meet you, Julien. I’d love to say I’ve heard all about you, but Tyler has kept you something of a mystery.”
Tyler shifted uncomfortably behind his mother. His expression turned from warm to concerned, almost like he didn’t trust Julien to sell this.
Well, Jules would fucking show him. “Has he? Well, he’s told me a lot about you and the rest of the family.”
The concern turned to apparent panic. Tyler had supplied Julien with only the basics of his family. From what Julien gathered, they were all pains in the asses. It fit the bill because Tyler had been a pain in the ass so far too.
“Has he? Only good things, I hope?” His mother narrowed her eyes with an appraising look.
Julien offered his most charming smile. “Of course. Thank you for having me over for Christmas. I’m sorry it was so last minute.”
Mrs. Ashford, Connie, clasped her hands together in front of her. “Yes, Tyler said your family is abroad forthe holidays. A shame you couldn’t join them. Where is it that they went?” she asked.
Julien tried not to let confusion show on his face.
Tyler slapped his hand over his forehead and shook his head rapidly behind his mother’s back until she glanced behind her. He stopped and grinned, waving nonchalantly.Subtle.
“Florida.”
Julien could tell from how Tyler practically melted and Mrs. Ashford’s smooth brow wrinkled that this was thewronganswer.
“Right,” Tyler chimed in. “Florida, to visit his grandparents, and then they’re all traveling to, what was it? Corsica?”
Julien didn’t even know what Corsica was, but he nodded. “Yep. Just the four of them,” he added. “In Corsica.”
“Anyway,” Tyler said hastily. “I want to get Julien set up in the guest room so he can freshen up, and then we’ll be back down soon. Walter is staying in the room closer to Hailey, right?”
“Oh no, Sweetie,” Connie said. “No, he’ll need to stay with you. Cece, Brad, and the kids are also staying with us.”
Tyler looked shocked. “What? What do you mean?”
Julien’s eyebrows raised. Tyler had mentioned that his mother had always been weird about couples sharing a room in her house, so he’d get a spare room.
