Drunk on You: an age gap, enemies to lovers, fake engagement, office romance (Love & Whiskey Boo

Chapter Twenty-Two

“This Sunday, barbecue at our house.”

I glance up from what I was working on and blink several times. Our house.

“Are you asking or telling?” I say, pushing his word choice to the side. I’ll analyze that later.

“My family wants to meet you, and I haven’t seen them since you moved in.” He steps inside my office and closes the door behind him. “Figured it would be better to do it at our place than theirs.”

There goes the whole “our” thing again … but before I can focus too hard on that, the other part of his statement hits me.

“Your parents want to meet me?” I ask, trying to keep my tone level despite my sudden nervousness at the thought of meeting his mom and stepdad.

“Yeah. You can invite your dad and Selene. I might invite Ryder and his wife. We can make it a casual get-together. I’ll grill.” He winks playfully, but I’m still stuck on one thing…

“I’ve never met anyone’s parents before.”

“Well, there’s a first for everything. My parents caught wind that I’ve met someone and that it’s serious. So, they want to meet her. And since her is you …”

“Do they know …” I lift my left hand to show him my engagement ring.

“That we’re engaged? Yeah. Nora is an attention whore and had the Rosemary News post a wedding announcement, which included pictures from the event. Since Ryder’s family is a big deal around here, it was a main article, and it mentioned my fiancée and me attending.” He shrugs like this is no big deal. “My sister called this morning, hurt that I didn’t tell her, and then she and my mom tag-teamed me this afternoon by video calling me on three-way and begging to meet you.”

“Great,” I mutter. “So, they already hate me.”

“What?” Julian walks farther into my office. “Why would you say that?”

“Because we got engaged behind their back. My mom would be so upset if she were still alive and I did that.”

“They’ll get over it once you hit them with all that charm.” He slides between me and my desk and pinches my chin, lifting my face up. “You won me over in a matter of minutes, Red, and I have no doubt you’ll do the same to my family.”

He leans down and presses a soft kiss to my lips, and I sigh into it, not caring that we’re at work. We’ve been back from Hawaii for a few weeks now, and if I thought things would go back to normal once we were home—you know, pre-Hawaii days—I was wrong.

We might not be living in the vacation bubble anymore, but that hasn’t stopped Julian from pretending like we’re still there. Sure, we go to work every day, but at five o’clock on the dot, he insists we leave—oh, did I mention he somehow conned me into carpooling with him? Yep, we’re that couple.

We spend the evening either ordering in, him cooking, or on occasion, we go out. We talk and laugh, and he never lets us discuss work.

Sometimes, we watch a movie. Other nights, I lie on the couch with my head in his lap while we both read our separate books. The night always ends with him fucking me until I’m so tired that I can barely speak, and then after we shower, I fall asleep in his arms.

I’m almost positive that he’s attempting to fuck me into submission, but it’s so good that I don’t have it in me to argue. Besides, we only have a few months until my dad makes his decision at the end of the year, so I might as well enjoy it while I can because even though Julian won’t admit it, I know damn well once my dad picks one of us, whatever this is between us will come to a screeching halt.

“So, what do you say?” he asks, shaking me out of my thoughts. “Barbecue at our place?” He strokes down my cheek with his knuckles. “It would mean a lot to me. I’m close with my family, and I want you guys to get to know each other. They’re important to me … and so are you.”

“Sure,” I choke out, refusing to think about how deep his statement runs. Standing between his legs, I wrap my arms around his neck, needing to lighten the mood. “On one condition,” I say, using his words from a few weeks ago against him. “You fuck me on my desk and make me come at least twice.”

“Oh, Red.” He chuckles. “Just for that, I’m not going to stop until you’ve come three times.”

“Do I look okay?”

I glance down at the fourth sundress I’ve changed into and then back up at Julian, who has the nerve to chuckle.

“You look beautiful. Hell, you could wear a potato sack, and you’d still be the most gorgeous woman in the room.”

I roll my eyes and pull the dress off, throwing it onto the bed. “That’s cliché and annoying, Julian Parker. I’m meeting your entire family today. You don’t get it because you might as well be the son my dad always wanted, but this is scary.” I shouldn’t be this nervous to meet my fake future in-laws, yet I am.

“My family’s going to love you,” he says just as the doorbell rings, and I shriek in surprise.

“They’re early!” I gasp, grabbing the dress I just took off and sliding it back on.

“Probably. Frank has this weird saying: To be early is to be on time, to be on time is to be late, and to be late is to be forgotten.”

“Jesus,” I hiss, quickly sliding on my sandals. “My mom used to say it’s better to arrive late than to arrive ugly,” I mutter, reapplying my red lipstick.

Julian laughs, and I glare.

“Breathe,” he says, kissing my cheek. “Everything’s going to go great.”

We rush down the stairs, and just before he opens the door, I grab his arm and glance at him.

“Don’t forget, if anyone asks, I made all the side dishes and desserts.”

He rolls his eyes but nods. “My fiancée is not only a badass marketing analyst, but she’s also a cuisinier.” He grins. “Got it.”

After trying to cook several dishes to impress his mom and sister—who love to cook and bake and, according to him, are damn good at it—and burning and ruining every one, I gave up and ordered from a local restaurant and bakery.

Julian swings open the door and says, “Mom, Frank!” He gives them each a hug while I stand back, my heart beating rapidly in my chest. “I’d love for you to meet my fiancée, Anastasia. This is my mom, Helen, and my stepdad, Frank.”

“You can call me Ana,” I tell them, extending my hand.

Helen glances down at it in confusion, then steps inside and wraps her arms around me in a hug. “It’s so great to finally meet you,” she says, then steps back. “My goodness, you’re even prettier in person.”

“Oh, well, thank you. It’s lovely to meet you both.” I glance from Helen to Frank. “Julian has told me so much about you.”

“All good, I hope,” a young woman says, sauntering through the door. Unlike Julian’s brown hair, hers is blonde, but she has the same emerald eyes he and their mom have. “What’s up, big bro?” She kisses him on the cheek, and he rolls his eyes. “It’s been too long. I started to get worried when you weren’t bugging me about my classes every five seconds, like you usually do.”

“Ana, this bane of my existence is my baby sister, Jessika.”

“His favorite sister,” she argues.

“My only sister.”

“That you know of,” she retorts, making her brother grumble.

“It’s nice to meet you.” Jessika gives me a quick hug and smiles. “I didn’t think we’d ever see the day that Mr. Workaholic would actually settle down, but now, I get it. You’re gorgeous.”

“And smart,” Julian says, pulling me into his side. “Ana has her degree in business marketing and her MBA in hospitality.”

Jessika’s eyes go wide. “Oh, so you’re not a trophy wife, huh? I didn’t see that one coming.”

“Jessika!” Helen hisses. “I’m sorry,” she apologizes. “My daughter has no filter.”

“It’s okay,” I say, freaking out at how badly this is going. “I’m definitely not trophy-wife material. Hell, I’m not even sure I’m wife material,” I joke and then cringe at how horrible that sounded.

“What I meant is …” I swallow nervously, trying to come up with a way to save this train wreck, but I draw a blank.

“What she meant is,” Julian says, “she’d rather be running a company than doing laundry. And it’s one of the things I love about her.” He glances down at me with mirth twinkling in his eyes. “She’s my biggest competition for the CEO position.”

“Oh,” his mom says. “I didn’t know you worked together. Julian said you met online …”

“We did,” I admit. “But it turns out that my dad is his boss.”

“Samuel Kingston is your father?” Frank says, glancing from me to Julian in confusion. “Why haven’t we seen you at any of the company functions?”

“I was away,” I mutter, wondering how the hell we got here in less than two minutes while still standing in the foyer.

Spotting the dishes in Frank’s hands, I say, “Can I take those from you?” hoping to change the subject and get this barbecue back on track.

Frank hands them over. “Thank you. I don’t know what’s in there, but if I were to get mugged, I could probably hit him and knock him out.”

Jessika snorts. “In this neighborhood? They’d probably think we were the ones trying to mug them.”

She glances my way with a glimmer in her eye, and I quickly excuse myself to put the dishes in the kitchen before she can make a comment about me being born rich and privileged since she now knows I’m a Kingston.

I set the dishes on the counter, unsure of what the hell to do with them, but thankfully, Julian follows me and lifts the lids to check them out.

“Mmm, mac ’n’ cheese. That will go perfectly with the burgers I’m grilling.”

“I know it’s your favorite,” his mom says sweetly from behind us. “The other dish is a homemade apple pie.”

“Hell yeah,” Julian says. “Good thing Ana bough—made other desserts because this pie is all mine.”

“Oh! What did you make?” Helen asks.

“Lemon bars and, um, cake pops.”

I made sure everything looked like it could be homemade.

“Sounds yummy,” Helen says as the doorbell rings again.

“I’ll get it,” I offer, leaving Julian with his family.

I open the door, expecting my dad and Selene, but instead find Ryder and his wife, Nora, standing there, both looking like they’d rather be anywhere but here.

“Hello,” I say, putting on my best hostess smile. “I’m so glad you could make it.”

“Thank you for having us,” Nora says, sticking a fake smile on her face.

Just as they walk through the door, my dad and Selene come around the corner.

“Anastasia,” my dad says, opening his arms to hug me. “Thank you for the invite.”

“Thanks for coming.”

I finish giving him a hug and then give Selene one. I don’t know her well, but every time I’m around her, she’s always so nice. I can see why my dad loves her.

After introductions are made, Julian herds everyone outside and offers them a drink. Jessika lies out by the pool with her mom while Frank offers to help Julian man the grill, and my dad and Selene sit at the table with Nora and Ryder.

As I stand here, wondering what the hell I’m supposed to be doing, it hits me how long it’s been since I’ve had to be social. When my parents were married, Mom would host parties all the time. Until they started drifting apart and she stopped. Then, it was as if an invisible line had been drawn, and while Dad would still have his functions and dinners, Mom and I never attended—which is why I never met Julian or his family. Soon after, I left for college and then London, not returning until now.

Living in London meant focusing on school and work. The only reason I became friends with Paige was because we worked together. For the past several years, I’ve been an introvert, and I didn’t realize until now how much it’s affected me. I used to be the life of the party, but now, I feel like I barely belong.

As if Julian can sense my hesitancy, his gaze roams across the expansive backyard and finds me. He smiles softly and nods once, beckoning me over to him. And like a moth to a flame, I go.

“I was just telling my dad how you spent the past several years in London,” Julian says, sliding the arm he’s not using to grill across my shoulders and pulling me into his side. “He wants to take my mom there for their anniversary. Any pointers?”

I spend the next several minutes sharing my favorite parts of England while Julian grills. I can’t help but notice that the entire time, he makes it a point to touch me. Whether it’s to kiss my temple or squeeze my hip, he constantly keeps the connection going. I’ve never considered myself an affectionate person, but with every touch and kiss, I find myself craving more. And it’s in that moment that I realize I’m falling for Julian. It wasn’t planned—if anything, it only complicates things—but it doesn’t change the fact that it’s happening.

“Food will be ready in about ten minutes,” Julian says, snapping me from my thoughts. “Wanna go heat up the sides and set them out?”

“Sure,” I rasp, my emotions clogging my throat.

I step away from him, but before I can get far, he pulls me back into his arms and presses a quick kiss to my lips.

“What was that for?” I ask.

“Just needed my Ana fix to hold me over.”

He playfully winks, and I feel my face heating up, suddenly shy with his dad watching and chuckling next to us.

When I get to the kitchen, I go about grabbing the dishes I bought to look like I made them and heat them up as the manager at the restaurant explained to do. I also throw in the mac ’n’ cheese Helen made.

While they heat up, I work on getting the outside area set up to eat. Once everything’s hot, I create a buffet of sorts. Julian comes over with the burgers and chicken, and everyone starts to fill their plates.

“Ana, this sweet potato casserole is delicious!” my dad exclaims from across the table. “Where did you get it from?”

“She made it,” Julian says as he stuffs his face with a forkful of mac ’n’ cheese. “She made all of it.”

He shoots me a quick wink, and my heart swells at him having my back. I might not be wife material, but Julian is definitely husband material.

“Oh, wow,” Helen says. “I’ll have to get the recipes from you.”

“Really?” Nora adds, furrowing her brows in mock contemplation while I hold my breath, praying she’s not about to say what I think she’s about to say … and then she says it. “It tastes an awful lot like the sweet potato casserole from Maggie’s. As a matter of fact, so does the pasta salad and the fruit salad.” She smirks. “Are you sure you actually made these? Because I’m pretty sure when I ate there a few weeks ago?—”

“Enough,” Julian barks as tears of embarrassment prick my eyes.

“Excuse me,” I rush out, standing to get away before I cry in front of everyone. “I think I forgot … something.”

I run from the table, not stopping until I get to the guest bathroom and lock myself in. I don’t know what I was thinking, lying about cooking. I should’ve just said I bought it, and nobody would’ve cared.

As I swipe at the tears that are sliding down my cheeks, there’s a soft knock on the door. Assuming it’s Julian, I wipe under my eyes and then crack the door open.

Only it’s not Julian.

“Helen,” I gasp.

“Can we talk?”

She smiles softly, and I step out and follow her to the living room, where she sits on the couch and pats the cushion next to her for me to join.

“The lunch was delicious.”

“Thanks.” I snort out a self-deprecating laugh. “But as you heard, I didn’t make it. The truth is, I can’t cook or clean or do laundry.”

“Why did you lie?” she asks, zero judgment in her tone.

“Because I wanted to impress you,” I admit truthfully. “Julian thinks the world of you. The way you take care of your family. You taught them how to cook and clean and do laundry.” I shrug sheepishly.

“I wanted you to think I was capable of taking care of him as well. You’re, like, the perfect wife and mom,” I mutter. “Meanwhile, I can barely boil a pot of water without burning it.”

“Oh, Ana,” she says, taking my hand in hers and squeezing it. “First of all, nobody is perfect. And there are many other ways to take care of someone.”

“How?”

“Well, sometimes, taking care of someone is as simple as loving them. I’ve only been around you and my son for a short time, but I can see a huge change in him. He laughs and smiles more. He can’t keep his eyes off of you.”

As she speaks, her admission swirls around in my head, making me dizzy. She thinks Julian loves me? I know he’s mentioned wanting to see where things could go between us, but love? Is it possible?

“So what if you don’t do all the domestic stuff?” she continues. “You make him happy, and as his mom, that’s all that matters to me … that my children are happy.”

“And that’s all that matters to me,” Julian says, making me jump in my seat.

“Mom, can you give me a moment with Ana, please?” he adds, walking over to stand next to me.

“Of course.” She smiles at him. Then, she turns back to me and says, “If you ever want to learn how to cook or bake, I’d love to teach you, but if that’s not something that interests you, that’s okay too.”

“Thank you,” I tell her. “That means a lot to me.”

Once Julian and I are alone, I lean back and groan. “Not exactly how I hoped today would go.”

“Eh”—he chuckles—“could’ve gone worse.”

“Really?” I hiss, glancing over at him. “How so?”

“You could’ve served the food you made and given everyone food poisoning.”

He shrugs, and I glare his way, not finding his joke funny in the slightest.

“I hate you.”

I smack his chest, and he grabs my hand, pulling me into his lap so I’m straddling his thighs.

“No, you don’t,” he says, leaning in and kissing me. “You like me,” he singsongs. “You really, really like me.”

“How do you figure?” I mutter.

“It’s simple,” he says with a grin. “You lied about cooking the food to impress my family. You wanted your soon-to-be in-laws to like you … because you like me.”

“There’s nothing simple about anything you just said.”

“That’s where you’re wrong, Red.” Julian cradles my face in his palms. “You’re trying to complicate shit, but the truth is, everything about us is really fucking simple, and the sooner you realize it, the quicker we’ll be able to move forward.” He kisses the tip of my nose. “But don’t worry, Red. I’m in no rush. Take all the time you need to figure out what I already know.”

“And what’s that?” I breathe.

“That you and I are inevitable.”