“Thanks. So do you.”
She was wearing a black fitted dress—classic and classy—and sapphire and diamond studs at her ears. It was casual enough to be appropriate for a family dinner. Her long hair tumbled down her back, and Jared was oddly relieved. If she’d tied it up in some elaborate style, it would be even weirder somehow.
“I’ll drive,” Hadley said. “I thought you might want to stay over tonight.”
Jared nodded once and tried not to blush. He locked up while Hadley got her red, sporty BMW out of the garage and met her outside.
“How are things with Adam, then?” she asked as they pulled on to the road.
“Good.”
“Oh, come on, Jared. Give me the juice.”
He laughed at that. “We’re really good. You were right, you know,” he added on impulse.
“Oh?”
“He was worth waiting for.”
Hadley’s eyes didn’t stray from the road, but a genuine smile crept at the corners of her mouth. A few moments later, the Hemlocks’ drive came into view, and Jared pointed it out so she didn’t miss the turning. It was a good excuse to stop talking about sex, and Jared grabbed the opportunity with both hands.
“Wow,” Hadley said as she pulled up outside the house. “This place is gorgeous.”
“Juliette designed the whole place. She’s an architect.”
“I’ll make sure to compliment her on it, then.”
They climbed out of the car, and the heavy front door opened as they were still walking up to it. Adam had gone with the jeans and a shirt combination too, which relieved Jared, who smiled at him.
“Hi,” Adam said and gestured them inside. “Mom’s in the kitchen. She said to go on down.”
“Oh, I’ll find the way,” Hadley said. “Don’t mind me. Would you take my jacket, Adam?”
“Yes, of course. Sorry,” he said and Jared grinned at his sudden turn of charm.
She gave them both a knowing smile and strode off in the direction of the stairs on extremely high heels.
“She decided to have the sex talk with me on the way over,” Jared said, appreciating the grin that spread over Adam’s face.
“My mom did the same thing last night.”
Jared laughed and took advantage of the opportunity, leaning in to brush his lips very lightly over Adam’s. Adam reached up and cupped Jared’s cheek, then parted his lips, taking the kiss just one millimeter further before pulling away.
“Let me put this somewhere safe,” he said, lifting Hadley’s jacket in explanation. Jared nodded and watched Adam tuck it away in the little security control room. They walked down to the kitchen with their hands loosely entwined. They had nothing to hide, here.
Dinner was fun. It was somewhere after the main course and before dessert that Jared realized he hadn’t laughed this much in a long time. Juliette had prepared the whole meal herself, all four courses, and was clearly delighted to have the opportunity to show off her French-inspired cooking.
The four of them sat around one end of the huge dining table where Jared and Adam had eaten the first meal Adam ever cooked, and Juliette’s eyes shone with humor while Jared recounted the story to her.
“I’ve been trying to get that boy to cook something… anything for years now,” she said. “You must have different tactics from me.”
“I’m sure he does,” Hadley murmured under her breath, making heat rise in Jared’s cheeks.
“No!” Adam exclaimed, slapping his hand down on the table hard. “No. You don’t get to make that dirty. It was one of the nicest, sweetest things anyone’s ever done for me. It’s not a sexy thing, it’s an eating thing.”
Juliette laughed and reached over to touch her son’s cheek. “Do I need to cut you off?”
“No, you need to top me up,” he said petulantly, pushing his wine glass toward her.
She grinned at him obligingly and did as he asked.
“You’re very calm about them drinking,” Hadley said, twisting the stem of her glass of Bordeaux with delicate fingers.
“It’s a French thing,” Adam said in explanation. “Kids over there start drinking wine with dinner from when they’re about eight. It’s not a big deal.”
Juliette looked like she was going to argue, then acquiesced. “We create a drinking culture in this country,” she said lightly. “By making alcohol something taboo, it’s what teenagers gravitate to when they want to rebel. In Europe drinking isn’t such a big deal. In England you can buy wine or beer for a sixteen-year-old in a restaurant if it’s to go with a meal. I like the attitude there a lot better.” She glanced at the clock. “Who wants dessert?”
“Um, me,” Adam said with a grin.
“Hadley, could you help me please?”
The two women pushed back from the table and went to the kitchen on stocking feet, the ridiculous heels abandoned.
“I think I love your mother,” Jared whispered conspiratorially. “Can she adopt me please?”
“No, because that would make you my brother, and that would be weird.”
“I hadn’t thought of that.”
They were sitting next to each other, meaning for the past few hours they had been playing footsie under the table, resting hands on knees or thighs, stealing kisses when no one was looking.
Jared was pleasantly buzzed. Not drunk like he got at parties, but full of a warm, fuzzy feeling that came from good wine and amazing food. He leaned over on impulse and caught Adam’s mouth with his own, tasting and teasing and taking the full, plump bottom lip into his mouth.
He was about to slide his tongue between Adam’s parted lips when an emphatic throat-clearing forced them apart.
“Sorry,” Jared said, pulling away and blushing more.
Juliette winked and set a glass dish in front of him.
“Is this tiramisu?” Adam asked, immediately poking at the layered, creamy dessert.
“Yes.”
He grinned widely. “Thanks, Mom.”
After dinner they moved into the kitchen and loaded the dishwasher together, the four of them, like a family rather than as guests. Then, instead of moving to the living room for coffee, they drank it sitting on the tall stools around the island in the kitchen, sharing a
