6. Hutton

hutton

. . .

“Oh!” Felicity’s hands flew to her cheeks. “I was just . . . um . . .”

My mind hopefully stepped in where her tongue left off.

Wondering if you want to get naked?

Curious about what your body would feel like on mine?

Thinking about fucking you in ten different ways?

Great, me too.

But what she said as her eyes wandered over my chest was, “Thirsty.”

“Right,” I said. “That’s why I’m here.”

“It is?”

“Yes, I thought you might be thirsty and I forgot to tell you there are bottles of water in the fridge. Why don’t I just get you one?” I turned away from her, my heart pounding, and walked quickly across the great room into the kitchen. Pulling the fridge door open, I stood there for a moment and let the cool air hit my bare chest. I stared at the contents, completely forgetting what I was looking for.

She knows, asshole. She totally knows why you were knocking on her bedroom door without a shirt on. I’d been standing there trying to be cocksure for five full minutes, vacillating over whether I should knock or not, imagining all the possible ways it could go.

The thing was, I was sure of my cock, but my cock wasn’t all that sure of me.

It was a huge risk, making this kind of move when you’d known someone as long as Felicity and I had known each other. It wasn’t like Zlatka approaching me at a party and saying, “I want you. Let’s get out of here.” That was unmistakable.

Was Felicity flirting tonight or just being familiar? Had I imagined the physical attraction? What would she say if I told her I wanted to make her feel safe during the storm, possibly by distracting her with an orgasm or two? I knew I could deliver, but was she?—

“Hutton?”

Startled, I turned around to see her standing there in my T-shirt and bare feet, her hair in disarray. In my fantasies, she’d whispered my name in the dark like that a thousand times. Of course, if this were my fantasy, she’d be on her knees right now. Or I’d have her back against the fridge. Or up on the counter with my tongue between her thighs.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you.” She smiled gingerly. “Did you find the water?”

“Water. Yes.” Turning around again, I closed my eyes and took a breath, then grabbed a plastic bottle and shut the fridge. “Here you go.”

“Thanks.” She took the water from me but made no move to leave the kitchen. Even in the dark, I could see her gaze wandering over my chest and shoulders and stomach. My drawstring pants hung low on my hips, and her eyes strayed south. “I guess I’ll...go back to bed.”

“Wait.”

She looked up. “Yes?”

Ten different questions popped into my head, and unfortunately the one I went with was, “Did you cut your hair today?”

She touched the jagged ends. “Oh. Yeah. This morning, after I saw the bad review on that app. It looks terrible, I know. It’s all uneven.”

“Not at all. There’s beauty in asymmetry too.”

She smiled, but with nothing left to say, and neither of us brave enough to cross the line, standing there started to feel a little torturous. Finally, she broke the silence. “Night.”

“Night.” Cursing my lack of nerve, I watched her walk away from me. A moment later, her bedroom door clicked shut.

I went back to bed and lay awake for a long time, listening to the raindrops pummel the roof, like little fists on my brain. I’d fucking blown it at least five different times tonight. I’d spent years thinking about her and wondering what if, and then tonight when I’d actually had the chance to do something about it—multiple chances—I’d backed off.

But maybe that’s how it was supposed to be. Maybe my subconscious was doing me a favor and getting Felicity in bed would wreck things beyond repair. I’d ruined enough relationships in my life, hadn’t I? This one was worth protecting.

Tomorrow morning, I’d go for a long run and give myself a heavy lift session to work off some of the testosterone and frustration. Then I’d get myself off in the shower while I thought about what it might have been like if I’d had the nerve to knock on that bedroom door tonight. The way she’d taste. The sounds she’d make. Her legs around me. Her back arched. Her perfect breasts beneath my lips.

Before I could stop myself, my hand crept inside the waistband of my sweatpants. Fisting my cock, I stroked myself while I imagined her body under mine. I’d lick every inch of her skin, tease her with my fingers, fuck her with my tongue.

My breathing grew heavy and fast, and I was grateful for the noise of the storm. I worked my hand harder, quicker, tighter, fantasizing about sliding into her for the first time—she’d be wet and warm, eager for me, begging for my cock. Her hands in my hair, down my back, on my ass, pulling me in deeper. She’d cry out in pain or pleasure or maybe both, because I’d never hurt her but I wouldn’t be able to hold back—I’d wanted her for too long and she was finally mine and I wanted to make her come, I wanted to feel it and hear it and watch her take it all from me, harder and faster and fuck, fuck, fuck —I barely suppressed a groan as all the tension was released in thick, pulsing beats that left a mess on my stomach.

Ashamed of what I’d done—she was right in the room across the hall!—I snuck into my bathroom, cleaned up, and got back into bed, where I tossed and turned the rest of the night.

“Hutton.”

It was Felicity’s whisper. For a second, I thought I was dreaming.

“Hutton.” Now her hand was on my shoulder. Had she changed her mind and come to my bed after all? “Hutton, wake up. Someone is here.”

My eyes flew open. My room was bright—it wasn’t the middle of the night, it was morning, and Felicity wasn’t here to seduce me. In fact, her forehead was creased with concern above the top of her glasses. I struggled to make sense of what she was saying. “Huh?”

“Someone is here, knocking on the door. I think it might be your mom.”

“My mom?” That was not sexy at all. I propped myself up on an elbow and blinked. “Here?”

“Yes. And maybe some other people.” She stood up and glanced out toward the hall. “I heard pounding and shouting, but I didn’t want to answer the door.”

I noticed Felicity still wore my T-shirt and also that her nipples were hard, poking at the cotton. Under the covers, my dick sprang to life.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

“Hutton! Are you in there?” That was definitely my mother’s voice.

Moaning, I fell back and put my pillow over my face. “Go away, Mom.”

“I don’t think she’s going away. She’s been knocking for several minutes.”

“Fuuuuuuck.” I tossed my pillow aside and sat up, messing my hair with one hand. “Why is she here so early? What time is it?”

“It’s after ten.”

“Is it? I never sleep this late.”

“Me neither. But I had trouble falling asleep last night.”

“Me too.” I looked at her chest again, and she folded her arms.

Nice. Now she thought I was a pervert.

“Was it the storm that kept you awake?” I asked.

“It was a lot of things.”

“Hutton, darling, open up! I looked in the garage and saw your car, so I know you’re here!”

I groaned as I got out of bed, thankful that at least my mother’s yelling had deflated my erection—mostly. Heading for the bathroom, I said, “Give me a minute.”

“I’ll get dressed,” Felicity said.

“No rush. I’m just going to brush my teeth and then try to get rid of her.”

But two minutes later, when I opened the door, I found it wasn’t just my mother—it was also my sister, my brother-in-law, my nieces, my nephew, and all four members of the Clipper Cuts: Stan, Harvey, Buck, and Leonard, decked out in their red and white striped coats and straw boater hats. Harvey held a big white bakery box. Before I could stop them, they all shuffled into the house and stood there looking at me expectantly.

“What’s going on?” I asked, running a hand over my bedhead hair. “Why are you all here?”

“We were at the house rehearsing for the FitzGibbons’ fiftieth anniversary luncheon when we heard the news,” my father said. “We gathered the troops and rushed right over.”

“Is it true?” my mother asked breathlessly, hands clasped in prayer.

“Is what true?” I asked, looking at the crowd’s rapt faces in confusion.

“There she is!” My mother’s face lit up, and her eyes misted over. “It’s true! It’s true!”

I glanced over my shoulder to see that Felicity had come from the direction of the bedrooms, wearing the blue dress from last night, her hair a mess, her legs and feet bare. It was obvious what this looked like.

Hurrying over, my mom took her by both hands then wrapped her in a giant hug. “Sweetest Felicity, this is better than a dream!”

“It is?” Felicity looked at me with wide, panicked eyes over my mom’s shoulder.

Taking her hand, my mother dragged Felicity over to me and looked at the two of us side by side. Then she wiped her eyes. “I don’t know if I can contain my emotions. The two of you—after all this time—engaged to be married!”

My jaw dropped. Felicity made some sort of squeaking sound.

My sister came over and mock-punched my gut before giving me a hug. “You jerk! Since when can you keep a secret from me?”

My brother-in-law, Neil, threw his arms around me and thumped me on the back. “You should have said something, man.”

“But it makes perfect sense now!” my mom exclaimed with a laugh. “No wonder he always protested so much when I tried to help him find love. He’d already found it!”

“But why was it a secret?” asked Zosia, eyeing the box of donuts. “I don’t get it.”

“Because when you’re someone like Hutton, the media is always prying into your business, and taking a relationship public puts a lot of pressure on it,” said my sister. “Right, Hutton?”

“Uh, yes.”

“And the sad eyes and discontent aura I sensed yesterday must have been his yearning to share the news with us, but feeling protective of his blossoming love! But in retrospect, it was right there.” My mother took my hand and placed Felicity’s palm in mine. Her eyes filled with tears. “Gentlemen. A song please?”

But before we could protest, the Clipper Cuts gathered into formation before us, and Harvey blew a note on the pitch pipe.

“Congratulations to you,” they sang in four-part harmony to the tune of Happy Birthday, “Congratulations to you. Congratulations on your engagement, congratulations toooooo youuuuuuu,” they crooned, drawing out the last two notes while shock coursed through my veins.

Everyone cheered as Felicity and I exchanged a frantic look.

“Pic!” my sister shouted, holding up her phone. “Everyone in!”

The Clipper Cuts eagerly crowded in behind us while my family squeezed in on the sides. Neil held Jonas in his arms, and my mother scooped up Keely and set her on one hip. Allie snapped one, then scrunched down in front of us and took another selfie-style so she could be in it too. “How about smiling this time?” she suggested with a laugh. “Hutton and Felicity, you two look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

I couldn’t even attempt a smile. I have no idea what shape Felicity was able to make with her face. For fuck’s sake, I didn’t even have a shirt on.

“Now one of the happy couple,” my mother said.

I held up one hand. “Mom, really, this isn’t the?—”

“Oh, now don’t be shy,” she chided, clasping her hands beneath her chin. “Put your arm around her, Hutton! You’re in love! And the poor girl is trembling with excitement.”

I looked at Felicity—she did look shaken and scared—and immediately put my arm around her shoulder.

“Um, Mrs. French, everyone, there’s something I need to explain,” Felicity began.

“Please. Call me Mom.” My mom’s eyes grew tearful again. “And there’s nothing to explain. It’s the oldest story in the book—boy meets girl, they’re just friends for years, then they realize that there’s always been something more there...” She wiped away tears. “It’s like the universe has answered all my prayers. Now I can stop worrying about you, Hutton.”

“You can?”

“Yes.” She laughed delightedly. “No more trying to set you up, because clearly you’ve realized that your soul mate has been right here all along.”

Felicity shook her head. “I’m so sorry about this, but?—”

“Don’t be sorry.” My mother smiled. “We understand wanting to keep the news to yourselves. It’s only natural to want to hold a secret like that close to your heart. But now that it’s out,” she went on excitedly, “I can’t wait to celebrate! And is it true the wedding is next month?”

“Uh...” Another panicked look passed between Felicity and me. “Where did you hear that?”

“Oh, the news is everywhere,” said my sister. “Online, local morning news, social media. You’ve been secretly engaged for weeks, and you’re having a very intimate wedding at Cloverleigh Farms in August. At least five friends texted me the headlines and asked if it was true.” She laughed. “I had my doubts, but Mom was positive the universe would not play such a cruel trick on her.”

“And I was right! Just look at them—it’s obvious what’s been going on,” my mother said with a wink, gesturing at my shirtless chest and Felicity’s bare legs.

“Hope we didn’t interrupt,” said Neil with a laugh.

“Say cheese!” My sister snapped another pic. “How about a kiss?”

“A what?” A tremor went through Felicity, and I tightened my arm on her shoulders.

“A kiss!” My mother clearly loved the idea. “For the camera. For prosperity. For love!”

“Exactly,” my sister said, aiming her phone at us. “Kiss her, Hutton.”

I looked into Felicity’s eyes and saw a multitude of emotions—fear mostly, but also a familiar warmth, and possibly even a little hope. Without thinking, I lowered my lips to hers.

My mother sighed, my sister awwww ’d, Zosia ewwww’d , and the Clipper Cuts launched into “Let Me Call You Sweetheart.”

But I barely heard any of it, because for the first time, I was actually kissing the girl I’d been wanting to kiss since I was fifteen. Her lips remained closed, but they were just as soft and sweet as I’d imagined them, and even though the kiss was as chaste as it had to be with such a big audience, I didn’t want it to end.

“Okay, I got the picture,” my sister said.

But we didn’t stop.

“Get a room!” shouted Neil.

“That’s gross. Can we have the donuts now?” asked Zosia.

I lifted my head and opened my eyes—Felicity’s expression was one of total astonishment. “I’m—I’m confused,” she whispered.

“Come with me.” I grabbed her forearm and yanked her toward the back hallway, my mind clicking.

“I was kidding!” Neil yelled with a laugh.

“Oh, let them go,” my mother said. “They probably need a moment to themselves—we barged right into their love nest unannounced.”

Inside my room, I closed the door and spun around. Felicity’s face was drained of color except for two splotches of red on her cheeks. “Oh my God,” she said. “I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t be.”

But Felicity had started to pace along the foot of my bed. “I shouldn’t have opened my big mouth to Mimi. I knew this would happen. I just didn’t think about the consequences of your family hearing the news and being so happy about it! And it’s not just them.”

“What do you mean?”

“When I turned on my phone this morning, I saw that Winnie had sent me a bunch of headlines about us—we’re front page news!”

“We are?”

“Yes! My follower count skyrocketed overnight. I’ve got tons of DMs. My notifications on Dearly Beloved are blowing up. And my mother—Frannie, I mean—left me a voicemail, which I haven’t listened to, but I can imagine what it’s about.” She stopped moving and put her hands up to her face. “Now I have to tell everyone the truth—that I made it up. This is so embarrassing.”

“Okay, hang on.” My mind was spinning. “Maybe we don’t have to tell everyone that.”

“Huh?”

I ran a hand through my hair. “Maybe we can just—go with it.”

“Go with it?”

“Yes—for a little while at least.”

Her head drew back. “Why?”

“You heard my mother. She’s finally going to leave me alone. Maybe everyone else will too.”

Felicity stared at me like I was nuts. “Are you serious?”

“Yes. I’m tired of being harassed by everyone around me about my lack of a personal life. I’ve got a lot of work to do to get ready to testify, and if people think we’re engaged, they’ll give me the space to do it,” I said. What I didn’t say was, Also, being your fake fiancé will mean I get to spend a lot of time with you, acting like you belong to me, perhaps in ways that don’t always involve clothing.

“For how long?”

“Just while I’m here,” I said. “I only rented the house for three months. I have to be out by August fifteenth.”

She did the math. “So one month?”

“Right.” I felt strangely liberated by the idea of inhabiting this other version of me for thirty days—the guy I would be for her if I could. “What do you think?”

She smiled. “I think there’s going to be a lot of disappointed Prancin’ Grannies out there.”

“So you’ll do it?”

“Of course I will.”

“It’ll mean lying to your family...are you sure you’re up for that?”

She chewed her bottom lip for a moment. “But we’re not hurting anyone. My family will actually be overjoyed. The only problem will be when we have to end it. But I guess we could just call it off when you go back to San Francisco.”

“Sounds reasonable.”

“Except that I said we were getting married next month! Shit!” She thumped her head with the heels of her hands.

“Look, let’s not worry about that right now.”

“But we have to get the story straight, Hutton. We need a script.” Felicity shook her head, her eyes wide. “Otherwise I’m liable to go rogue.”

“We can come up with a story.” I glanced at the closed door. “For now, let’s just try to get rid of them.”

Felicity laughed. “Maybe if we just stay in your bedroom, they’ll take a hint.”

My stomach muscles tightened at the thought. “I wish.”

I threw a shirt on before we went back out to the kitchen, where my hopes of brooming everyone out the front door were quickly crushed. Coffee had been brewed, Neil was cracking eggs into a frying pan on the stove, my sister was peeling oranges, and everyone was enjoying the donuts.

“Come sit, you two,” said my mother, setting out two full mugs for us on the marble island. “We want to hear all about how you popped the question.”

“That’s private, Mom.” I slid onto the edge of a stool next to Felicity.

“Come on, just tell us,” Allie cajoled. “And let’s see the ring.”

Felicity played with the fingers on her left hand. “The ring is actually still at the jeweler’s. It’s being sized.”

“Grandma says this means you’ve gotten over your emotional devoidance issues,” said Zosia, licking pink frosting off the top of her hand. “Is that true?”

“Emotional avoidance issues, and don’t say that.” My sister gave her daughter a stern look.

“Just tell me—did he get down on one knee when he proposed?” My mother’s eyes grew dreamy. “Was it romantic?”

Felicity glanced at me, and I nodded, figuring I’d take my cues from her. “Yes,” she said, her voice growing more confident. “He got down on one knee and it was very romantic.”

“Where were you?” Allie wondered.

“Here.” Felicity glanced over her shoulder. “Out in the woods.”

“You proposed in the woods?” My mother seemed excited about that. “That makes sense for an earth sign like Taurus. And what sign are you, Felicity?”

“I’m a Cancer. My birthday just passed—in fact, that’s when he asked me to marry him.” Felicity was enjoying the story now. “On my birthday.”

“Oh, that’s perfect.” My mother nodded happily. “An earthy bull is a wonderful match for a sensitive crab.”

Allie snickered, and I rolled my eyes. “Mom, calling someone a sensitive crab is not a compliment,” I told her.

“I’m saying you’re going to be good together,” my mother said defensively. “Both Taurus and Cancer are very family-oriented. But a Cancer might struggle with someone who isn’t in touch with his feelings, Hutton, so you’ll have to take care not to let her down. She’ll snatch her feelings right back into her little crab shell.”

“Let’s talk about the wedding,” Allie said. “It’s going to be at Cloverleigh Farms?”

“I think so,” said Felicity. “I just need to confirm some details with my sister Millie. She’s the wedding planner there.”

“What’s the date?”

“Um, that’s one of the details to be confirmed.” She looked at me. “We’re hoping for August.”

My father looked at me. “So are you moving here for good, son? Or will you two move to San Francisco?”

I cleared my throat. “Plans are up in the air right now.”

“Can I come to the wedding?” asked Zosia hopefully. “Please?”

“Of course you can,” said my mother.

“Out of curiosity, what’s the rush?” Allie glanced at Felicity’s mid-section. “Is there anything else you want to tell us?”

“ No ,” Felicity and I answered at the same time.

“Alexandra, the reason for the rush is obvious,” my mom said with a sigh and dramatic gesture at us. “They’re in love! And they’re perfect together, don’t you agree?”

My sister laughed and picked up her coffee. “I agree. A bull and a crab are a match made in heaven.”

We made it through breakfast by changing the subject any time someone tried to ask about the wedding or our future plans. Felicity was awesome at steering the conversation away from us. She asked my mom how things were going at her store and promised to come in for a reading soon. She asked my dad how his garden was this summer and said she’d love to come by and pick some tomatoes. She asked Neil what it was like working for her uncle Noah, who was the county Sheriff.

“He’s a great guy,” Neil said. “That’s your uncle?”

“He’s married to my stepmom’s sister,” Felicity explained. “But I grew up in that family, so they’re all aunts and uncles to me.”

“The Sawyers are wonderful people,” said my mom. “In fact, I can’t wait to speak with Frannie about the wedding and everything.”

“Not yet, Mom,” I said, noting the look of alarm on Felicity’s face. “This news sort of got out unexpectedly, so give us a chance to talk to the MacAllisters first.”

“So where can I see your next singing performance?” Felicity asked the Clipper Cuts, smoothly switching topics.

It was incredible—like watching her tap dance for a solid hour when she’d never had one lesson.

Finally, I told everyone they had to go because I had work to do. My mother was the last one out. I shut the door behind her and leaned back against it. My left eyelid was twitching. “Jesus.”

Felicity covered her cheeks with both hands. “That was...a lot. Are you okay?”

“Yeah. You?”

She nodded. “You think they bought everything? I feel like your parents were convinced, but sometimes your sister would look at us like she wasn’t sure.”

“Allie is pretty shrewd, but mostly I think she was just amazed I’d kept a secret from her. I usually tell her everything.”

“I love that you’re close to your sister. I think that’s cool.” Dropping her arms, she sighed. “Okay, come on. Let’s get the kitchen cleaned up and figure out how we’re going to handle my family.”

The thought of having to do this all again in front of the MacAllisters was almost enough to make me pull the plug on this insane scheme, but then I remembered how good it felt when I kissed her. How badly I wanted to do it again.

I followed her to the sink.

“I’ll wash, you dry?” she suggested.

“Sure. But—hang on.” I rubbed the back of my neck. “That kiss.”

She glanced up at me. “What about it?”

“I didn’t see a way out of it.”

“No. Of course not.” She looked down at the island and traced a long vein in the marble with a fingertip. It was a minute before she spoke. “Isn’t it amazing that this was formed millions of years ago because of heat and intense pressure?”

But I couldn’t answer, because I was too busy wondering what it would feel like if she traced a vein on my skin that way—slowly, deliberately, with awe. I had a particular vein in mind.

Eventually she looked up at me. “I didn’t mind when you kissed me, Hutton.”

“You didn’t?”

She shook her head. “At least now we know what it’s like, right?”

“Right.”

She went back to tracing the vein. “In fact, we’ll probably have to do that kind of thing again.”

My heart stumbled over its next beat. “Kiss?”

“Yeah. I mean, people are going to expect it if we’re engaged.” She peeked at me. “Won’t they?”

I nodded, feeling like the universe had rewarded me for being bold.

“So I was thinking, maybe we should practice.”

Blood rushed straight to my cock. “Right now?”

“Maybe not right this second, but you know... soon.” Her shoulders rose. “Don’t you think it would be a good idea?”

“Yeah. Soon. Practice. Good.” Like a fucking caveman.

“Great.” She smiled and picked up a plate to rinse it.

“You should move in,” I blurted.

The plate slipped from her hands and clattered back into the sink. “Huh?”

“You should move in with me.” I raked a hand through my hair. “It would make things more real, more believable. Don’t you think?”

“Um. Yes. Definitely, it would make it more real.” Her cheeks had grown pink. “It’s just—I don’t—I didn’t know if you...”

“Didn’t know if I what?”

“If you, you know, wanted to make it more real.”

My heart was beating way too fast. “I do.”

Her lips hung open for a minute, then she closed them. Offered me a smile. “Okay. I’ll go home this afternoon and get my stuff. It will be nice to get out of my parents’ house, even if it’s just for a few weeks.”

“Great.”

We continued doing the dishes in silence, but inside, I was freaking out.

She was moving in—today. She wanted to practice kissing. What else might be allowable inside the parameters of this act?

My skin prickled with heat as my eyes wandered from her head to her heels.

This could get complicated.