Chapter 14
It’s funny how quickly you can get used to playing house with a billionaire and his mom. I mean, if you’d asked me a few weeks ago, I would’ve laughed in your face at the idea of sitting around in a cozy living room, watching Jeopardy! with Topher Brodie and his mother.
But there we were.
Josephine was back from the hospital, feeling stronger every day, wrapped in one of her hand-sewn blankets, and leaning back in her chair like a queen on her throne.
Topher sat next to me on the couch, his arm casually slung over my shoulders like it belonged there.
It was all fake, of course. It was just for show.
But I’d noticed something: whenever Topher knew the answer, his arm would tighten around me just before he shouted it out.
And then there were his fingers, drawing lazy lines up and down my arm.
Was he doing it on purpose? He was so good at pretending, and I was terrible at being the one he pretended with—because the flutter in my chest, the gentle pull low in my stomach, the urge to lean into him and rest my head against his chest? That all felt very real.
The TV droned on in the background, the voice of the game-show host filling the room. Topher, naturally, was dominating. Another question flashed on the screen, something about the structure of DNA, and before I could even blink, Topher said, “What is a double helix?”
I raised an eyebrow. “Okay, Mr. Know-It-All, is there anything you don’t know? Like all the numbers of pi?”
Topher grinned, “3.14159—”
“Stop, stop!” I waved my hand, laughing. “I was kidding.”
He chuckled. “I could keep going, you know.”
Josephine piped up from her chair, “Don’t tempt him. He once spent an entire road trip to Pennsylvania telling me every single detail about every NASA mission ever launched.”
“Hey, Apollo 11 deserves respect,” Topher said, mock offended.
“True, but I don’t need to know what everyone on the crew ate for each meal,” Josephine joked. “Remember that road trip? We were headed to see some... what was it? That ridiculous science museum?”
Topher grinned. “Ridiculous? Mom, it was the Franklin Institute, and it was incredible. They had an entire exhibit dedicated to the history of space exploration, not to mention the Foucault pendulum. That thing swings for hours without stopping as proof of Earth’s rotation.”
I stared at him, blinking. “You drove across the country to watch a pendulum swing?”
“Uh, yeah,” he said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “It’s physics in motion. And also, they had a giant heart you could walk through.”
Josephine snorted. “Let’s just say it was the longest eighteen-hour drive of my life. He kept me entertained by listing all the prime numbers up to one thousand.”
Topher grinned. “It’s a mental challenge. 2, 3, 5, 7, 11...”
“You’re giving me a headache already,” I groaned.
Topher grinned down at me. “I’m a delight to go on a road trip with.”
Josephine shook her head, eyes twinkling. “You get used to it. After a while, you just learn to nod along. Or make him take breaks to decorate for Halloween.”
“Right, the decorations.” I glanced over my shoulder at the window, where our over-the-top haunted beach display was still proudly standing outside. “I think the skeleton lifeguard has officially won over the neighbors.”
Topher smirked. “Yeah, he’s been pulling in the crowds.”
But it wasn’t solely the holiday decorations that brought the constant stream of neighbors to the house. It was Josephine. Everyone wanted to hug her or make sure she was okay. People stopped by daily, dropping off gumbo, crawfish pies, and enough jambalaya to feed a small nation.
And she sent each neighbor off with a homemade gift, from scarves she knitted, jars of her famous pickles, or pumpkin-shaped soaps she whipped up in her kitchen.
It seemed like everything in her house had her personal touch.
The cozy throw blankets on the couch? She’d sewn those herself.
The lavender-scented candles on the table? Yep, made by Josephine.
Everyone loved Josephine. How could I not?
And then there was Topher. He had this endearing way of being utterly ridiculous without even realizing it.
Take movie nights, for example. It was never just ‘watching a movie’ with him.
We’d sit down with Josephine for a lighthearted comedy, something simple to unwind to.
But five minutes in, Topher would be deep into an analysis about how the director completely botched a prime opportunity to play with shadows to enhance the emotional depth.
“This scene is begging for a chiaroscuro effect,” he’d say, munching popcorn like it was the most normal observation in the world.
Then, of course, he’d follow it up with, “And why is that character holding a coffee cup like that? Nobody drinks coffee like that unless they’re hiding something! He’s the culprit!”
The more time we spent together, the more I found myself charmed by his quirks.
I tried really hard not to fall for the cozy family moments, the neighbors treating us like a unit.
But with every oddball thing he did, every glance he shot my way, the harder it was to remind myself this was all just pretend.
The lines between what was real and what wasn’t were starting to blur, and I was finding it difficult to keep my feelings in check.
Just then, the host started reading a brain-busting clue, and before he finished, Topher rattled off the answer. “What is the Treaty of Westphalia?”
Josephine rolled her eyes, shaking her head. “Honestly, who even knows that?”
Topher shrugged. “Uh, anyone who’s taken a college course in Advanced Diplomatic Relations of the 17th Century.”
I burst out laughing. “Oh, yeah, because that’s totally on everyone’s bucket list of classes.”
Topher looked at me, dead serious. “It should be. I mean, who wouldn’t want to learn about treaties that literally shaped the modern state system?”
I cut him off, grinning. “Stop. Just stop. You’re like a walking Wikipedia page, and it’s infuriating.”
He grinned, grabbing another handful of popcorn. “I prefer ‘highly knowledgeable and incredibly humble.’” He flashed me that crooked grin that made my stomach flip.
“Debatable,” I shot back.
He chuckled, pulling me closer with a quick, playful tug. Butterflies took flight in my chest. As Jeopardy! droned on in the background, I found myself relaxing into him: his warmth, the steady hush of his breathing.
After the next question, I glanced up at him from the crook of his arm. He was thinking, eyes narrowed in concentration, his face so close I could see the subtle shift in his expression as the answer dawned on him.
Then his eyes flicked down to me, softening, and for a split second, I swore he was going to kiss me. My heart pounded in my chest, and I held my breath, waiting.
“Oh, don’t let me interrupt,” Josephine’s voice cut through the moment, laced with amusement. “You two lovebirds carry on.”
I blushed and opened my mouth to stammer out a response, but before I could, Topher’s lips brushed against mine. It was barely more than a whisper of contact. Yet it sent electricity coursing through my veins.
As he pulled back, a ghost of a smile played at the corners of his mouth. “Happy now, Mom?” he quipped, but his eyes never left mine.
The kiss was barely a brush of his lips, a fleeting touch, but it sent a shockwave through me that I couldn’t control.
It wasn’t the kind of kiss that made your heart race.
No, this was something deeper, something that stirred everything inside me, down to the parts I’d kept hidden.
His gaze held mine, and it felt like he could see into the darkest corners of my soul.
Like he wanted to devour whatever he found there.
It had been the lightest kiss, almost not there at all, but it rocked me like an earthquake, like no other kiss had. It obliterated every kiss before it.
My high school boyfriend? Gone. That guy in college? Never happened. Alex? Who? There was only Topher now.
The rush of feelings left me dizzy, as if I’d finally found what I’d been searching for, and now had everything to lose.
Oh no. This wasn’t good. I didn’t need anyone. I didn’t need this.
I yawned in a way that I hoped was convincing and stood up quickly. “I’m pretty tired. I think I’ll head to bed.”
I made my way out of the room, trying to ignore my pounding heart.
But of course, Topher followed, his footsteps trailing behind as I reached the hallway. “Kathleen,” he called softly.
I stopped, closing my eyes for a moment before facing him. He was standing so close I could touch him, concern etched on his face.
“What’s going on?” His voice was gentle. “You’re going to miss Final Jeopardy.”
“I’m just exhausted. I think I’ll go to bed.”
Topher raised an eyebrow, clearly not convinced, but he didn’t push. “Alright. I’ll go to bed, too.”
“It’s not even that late,” I said, a little louder than necessary, hoping to sound nonchalant. “You should go back and hang out with your mom.”
Before he could respond, Josephine’s voice floated in from the living room. “No, no, you two go be together. I’m going to bed! And don’t worry about me. I’ve got earplugs and a white noise machine.”
My face heated, and I could feel the blush creeping across my cheeks. If only she knew this was all fake.
Topher gave a slight shrug, as if to say, ‘Well, guess we have no choice.’ I forced a smile, my heart racing, and nodded as we headed into the bedroom.
An awkward silence hung between us. I busied myself with straightening the pillows. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Topher watching me.
His eyes lit up, as if he’d just remembered something important. “I looked up a program you might be interested in. Tulane has a social work degree. It’s impressive, and with a fellowship, you wouldn’t have to worry about the tuition because it would be completely covered.”