Page 9 of The Naughty List

“You don’t think they’ll find it strange that this random friend that they’ve never heard of spends the holidays with you?” I’m not sure what I’m getting at here but I’d rather use the boyfriend angle with this whole thing.

“Not as weird as my boss bringing me home. Look, I don’t tell my parents about every friend I have or guy I meet so it won’t be weird. Just—” She trails off and I can hear the irritation in her voice. I don’t want to upset her but I can see by her bouncing leg that either the caffeine has kicked in or the closer we get, the more anxious she gets.

“Want to talk about it?” I finally ask. She looks over at me suspiciously. “Chad. Yeah, you mentioned him too last night.” She doesn’t say anything right away. “We don’t have to. I’m just offering a listening ear if you do want to vent.”

“I love being with my family at Christmas but, yeah, having him there when he might have cheated on me and my family still loves him… It’s not the best feeling.”

“Can I ask why you didn’t tell them?” I’m genuinely curious about this dynamic.

“I didn’t have proof; it was just a gut feeling because she was always with him and he was cagey about their texts and when I would bring it up, it turned into a fight and she was always just a friend. Then, two months later, he was dating her and they were exclusive. Now they live together, eleven months after he dumped me.” She shakes her head and lets out a pathetic laugh. “It wasn’t worth it to cause a huge dramatic thing between him and me and my family. I know if he did cheat and I had proof and told my family, they’d believe me and back me up but—”

“Your family shouldn’t need proof. If you feel hurt by their actions and betrayed, they should respect you.”

“I know but it’s more complicated than that. Like I said, I don’t want to burn bridges or cause drama. I can put my feelings aside for the holidays,” she says with a weak smile and it pulls at me. I want to punch this Chad guy in the face and his balls and tell her family to respect their fucking daughter. I grip the wheel a little tighter.

“You still love him?” I probably shouldn’t ask it but what the hell; she seems to have let her guard down a little.

“No. That’s part of why I don’t make it into something with my family. I don’t want to give him the satisfaction of even thinking that I’m still in love with him. I got over him as soon as he started dating Tess.”

“Ugh, Tess. I know a Tess. There’s something about that name,” I say and it makes her laugh.

We spend the rest of the trip in silence. Kate nodded off about an hour before we arrived. I caught myself a few times glancing over at her. She looks so peaceful when she sleeps. Gone is the constant scowl and the claws are fully retracted.

“Kate.” I reach over and shake her, the GPS indicating we are about fifteen minutes from her parents’ house.

“Oh shit. I didn’t realize I fell asleep. Did you pack my mak—?” I reach behind her seat and grab the bag of makeup and hair products that I packed for her.

“Thanks,” she says as she unzips it and frantically pulls out random objects. Not even ten minutes later she’s running her hands through her fluffed up hair and slicking a gloss on her lips that smells like peppermint. My dick twitches when I think about tasting that gloss right from her mouth.

Nope, keep those thoughts at bay, I remind myself, but then thoughts of taking her in her childhood bedroom has my blood pressure soaring. We’re pulling into her parents’ driveway and a little plan formulates in my head. This one might actually end up getting me murdered, or at least my dick ripped off, but fuck it.

“Damn.” I whistle as we pull up the large driveway to the three-story brick mansion. “How did I not know your parents were rich?” I ask as we climb out of the SUV and I grab our bags.

“Because we’re not friends and that’s a weird thing to share with people. Okay, please, please, please be on your best behavior and don’t flirt with my mom or push my buttons.” Kate glances over her shoulder when she hears someone calling from the front porch.

“Sweetie, hiiii!”

“That’s my mom,” she says hurriedly. “Promise me, Damon!” she says, pointing a finger at me as I wave and smile at her parents that have now both gathered in the doorway.

“Don’t worry, sweetheart,” I say without moving my lips. “I’ll behave.” I carry our bags as we walk up to the front door and are immediately greeted by not only her parents but several other people.

“Hi, I’m Laurie Flowers, Kate’s mom and this is her father, Dennis.” They both shake my hand as Laurie points to another man and woman. “And this is our oldest, Oliver, and his wife Erin. They’re expecting our first grandbaby.” She claps as she says this and Erin shrugs and rubs her belly.

“Don’t forget about me!” someone says in the back as they come walking out of the kitchen, a huge grin on the man’s face.

“And this is Chad and Tess,” Laurie says as Chad juts his hand out toward me. I shake his hand and have to stop myself from snapping it off. I plaster on my fakest smile.

“Chad, good to meet you. Heard so much about you,” I say.

“Chad and Tess just stopped by briefly to give us some lovely holiday wine that his mother made. They got into town from Chicago yesterday. I told him he could have just brought it to the party but he insisted once he heard you were heading home tonight.” Her mom is so oblivious it makes my head hurt.

I reach down and squeeze Kate’s hand, but she quickly pulls it away.

“Mom, Dad, this is Damon, my—”

“Boyfriend,” I say, reaching out and pulling Laurie in for a tight hug.

“God, I’ve been dying to meet you guys.” I grab Dennis’s hand and give it a hearty shake.

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