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“Was that the door?” Oz shouts.
“Yes,” I whisper-yell, jumping down from the counter and backing up to the far wall of the kitchen in case whoever is knocking decides to invite themselves in.
Another knock rattles the door, and I wrap my arm across my chest like covering my nipples makes me any less naked.
“Here, put this on,” Oz says, rounding the counter and handing me his bathrobe.
Taking it gratefully, I pull it on, tying the cord as tightly as I can.
“I’ll go see who it is,” he says, his sexy ass now covered by gray sweatpants.
Nodding, I edge to the counter and peer around it, trying to see, but stay hidden. In my partially concealed spot, I hear the door open, even though I can’t see who’s there.
“Surprise,” a familiar, jovial voice says loudly.
“Dad?” Oz says, his tone both shocked and unimpressed.
“Surprise!” Bruce says again excitedly, completely ignoring Oz’s less-than-enthusiastic greeting.
“What are you doing here?”
“We came to visit you and your sister,” Bruce announces.
I wince at hearing him call me Oz’s sister.
“She’s not my sister,” Oz corrects him, his tone terse and cold.
“Well, aren’t you going to invite us in?
“I guess,” Oz says coldly.
When I hear not one but several sets of feet march into the house, I start to internally panic. Bruce, on his own, I could probably have avoided. It’s doubtful he would look at me and Oz and see anything except exactly what he wanted to see—a brother and sister sharing a house. But my mom isn’t an idiot, even if sometimes she pretends to be. The moment she sees Oz in sweatpants and me in his bathrobe, she’s going to know exactly what’s going on between us. What I’m unsure of is how she’s going to react.
“We’re literally on the side of a mountain,” Bruce says with a hint of derision. “If you’d gone into insurance, you wouldn’t be living in a place like this.”
“Maureen,” Oz says, greeting my mom and ignoring his dad’s not-so-subtle dig.
“Hello, Oscar, it’s lovely to see you,” Mom says brightly.
“Kids, say hello to your brother,” Bruce urges.
I hear the sound of shuffling feet, then a quiet chorus of “Hi.”
I recognize my sister’s voice. “Where’s Henni?”
“Henni?” Oz asks gruffly, but before he can say anything else, I step out of my hiding spot.
“Hey guys,” I say, trying to force a confidence and enthusiasm into my voice that I really don’t feel. As nice as it is that my family came to visit, I don’t want them here. I don’t want our past lives to invade the bubble of newly discovered happiness we’ve created here.
“Henni!” Everly exclaims, rushing forward to hug me.
“Hey, sweetie, how are you?” I ask, wrapping my arms around her and hugging her tightly. She’s only fourteen, but she’s already taller than me, and I feel tiny in comparison.
“Hey sis,” Carson says when Everly finally lets me go.
“Hey.” I offer him a wave, knowing how embarrassed both he and my other brother Dawson get if I try to hug them. “Mom, Bruce. I didn’t know you were coming,” I say, pointing out the obvious.
“We wanted to surprise you kids,” Bruce says, once again completely oblivious to the mood of the room.
