Page 2 of Only You

“They asked if they could stay with me, but I told them it wouldn’t work.”

“Okay.” Kayla had no idea what this had to do with her.

“Anyway, I said I had a girlfriend, and she just moved in with me, so I set them up at an Airbnb instead. I might have said you were my girlfriend,” he finished in a rush.

Kayla blinked a few times but didn’t speak.

Jack waved a hand in front of her face. “Hello? Are you still with me?”

She exhaled loudly. “Why? Why would you do that?”

He rubbed his hand over his stubbly chin. “A moment of weakness? I don’t know. It just came out, and then I couldn’t take it back.”

“But why me? Why not someone else we work with, like Samantha, whatever her last name is.”

“Higgins,” he provided.

“Yes, her!” She said it so loud, the people at the next table stared at her.

“Your name was the first one that came to mind,” Jack explained.

“So, what exactly are you proposing?”

Jack took another deep breath. “Move in with me. It would just be for a few weeks—six, actually—but it’ll go by really fast.”

Kayla’s eyes bulged. “Six weeks!”

He nodded. “They’re flying in for Thanksgiving and flying out after New Year’s Day.”

“Six weeks,” she repeated.

“Think of it this way: you won’t have to listen to Josie having sex every night.”

She cocked her head. “So I get to listen to you having sex instead?”

“What? No! If you’re my girlfriend, I won’t be having sex with anyone.”

The people at the next table snickered.

Kayla scowled at them. “Do you realize how ridiculous this idea is?”

Jack sucked in his bottom lip, another familiar habit. “Yes, but it won’t be forever, and you’d be doing me a huge favor. My mom was starting to think I was gay—not that there’s anything wrong with that—and she was thrilled when I told her I had a girlfriend. You don’t want to spoil her happiness, do you?”

“Way to play the mom card,” Kayla said wryly.

“Plus, I sent her a picture of you, and she can’t wait to meet you.”

“What picture?”

“The one on our company website, which is really good by the way.”

“You sent your mom a professional photo of your girlfriend. Don’t you think that’s a little suspicious?”

“Oh. I didn’t think of that.”

She sighed. “If I do this, and it’s a big if, what is required of me?”

“Well, you would have to attend a few family dinners, including Thanksgiving and Christmas. And you’ll have to hang out with us a few times outside of that.”