London Falling (26 page)

“Don’t remind me.” I slid between the covers. Beau was only a few feet away, sleeping in the guestroom at the end of the hall. I probably wasn’t going to get any sleep tonight.

***

I awoke to the smell of bacon. Mmm…bacon. I quickly darted in the bathroom, washed my face, brushed my teeth and hair, and changed out of my pjs before racing downstairs. When I reached the bottom of the stairs, I couldn’t believe what I saw.

They were all there. As if cooks in an assembly line, my brothers were manning the breakfast stations, along with my favorite houseguest, Beau.

“Wow. What’s gotten into all of you?” I scanned their faces for an answer. My zombie movie-watching experience told me an apocalypse had probably occurred while I was sleeping.

“There she is.” My dad was at the table reading the morning paper. “Isn’t this a treat? Your brothers were possessed in their sleep last night and we get the benefit of them making us breakfast. Sit. Sit.”

I wandered over to the table, still not sure if I was awake. Who knew Roman could scramble eggs or that Nash was any good with toast? Austin handed me a cup of tea.

“Here you go.”

“Thanks.” I took the tea and swirled in a teaspoon of sugar. I glanced around the kitchen. This was utterly amazing. All of my family, my best friend, and the boy I was crazy about were in the same room.

Beau walked over with a tray of bacon. “Don’t you look happy this morning.”

“I am. I really am.”

***

The parking lot was crowded. It looked like everyone in Beau’s apartment complex had returned from their weekend excursions. I steered into an empty spot far from Beau’s building.

I shifted the car into park and turned to face Beau. “Thanks for going on the hometown with me.” After the rocky start, the weekend had gone better than I ever could have imagined.

“It was awesome. I loved meeting your family. Your brothers are cool to hang out with. I don’t think I’ve ever played that much basketball and corn hole in one weekend.” My brothers had cornered Beau into every competition they could create. I was surprised they didn’t get into competitive eating.

“So, you’ll go easy on them in your blog?”

The smile that had spread across his face faded. “You’re worried about what I’m going to write for my post?”

Shit.
“No, that’s not what I meant. They are overwhelming sometimes. There was so much that happened this weekend.” My joke was a fail. I should have said something about the way he washed dishes and won my mom’s respect, or how he impressed my dad at dinner with his newly learned wine technique, or how my world suddenly felt so complete with his hand in mine. But no, I had to mention the blog.

“Right. I better go. Thanks for the weekend.” Beau opened the door, retrieved his overnight bag from the backseat, and jogged toward his building.

Dammit.
Two steps forward and three hundred steps back.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Nina shoved her phone between the pillows on the couch as I walked into the living room, ready to start
Love Match
.

“Who was that?” I eyed the bumpy cushion. She seemed especially jumpy.

“You won’t be mad if I tell you, will you?” Nina was biting her lip.

“No.” I lied.

“It was Austin. He was just calling to say ‘hey.’”

“My brother is calling you now? Austin is calling you?” This was unbelievable.

“You said you wouldn’t get mad.” Nina was pleading with me. “It was just a simple phone call, but if you don’t want me to talk to him anymore, I won’t. He is your brother. I guess things could get weird.”

I laughed as I folded my legs beneath me on the couch. “Who am I to stand in the way of true love? Austin obviously likes you. And even though he might be an annoying big brother to me, I know he’s a good guy. He’s a hundred times better than Derek. At least he better be.”

I didn’t realize when I invited Nina to the hometown date over the weekend that I might be stirring the pot for another romance. My brothers constantly surprised me.

Nina squealed. “Oh yeah! I was hoping you would say that. I didn’t know what I’d do if you said no.”

I hugged her. “Probably sneak around.” We both smiled. “My brother is smarter than I thought, but just be careful. He is a lot older.” I reached for the remote.

“Yes, ma’am. Besides, if things don’t work out with Austin, Nash is next in line. He’s single right?”

“Nina! My brothers are not the next
Love Match
bachelors.”

She laughed hysterically on the couch. “I’m just kidding. Calm down. The only one I’m interested in is Austin. We’re taking it super slow. We’re just going to get together next weekend to see how it goes.”

That didn’t seem slow to me, but Nina looked happy, and for the most part, I trusted Austin. He wouldn’t hurt her like Derek. “Ok, so give me the lowdown on this episode. You said something about an overnight date?”

“Best episode of the season! You aren’t going to believe these dates.”

“Why? What happens?”

“It’s unreal. Ok. So, they’ll have whatever date for the day, then they’ll go to dinner and on the table is an envelope from Mitch Henderson. He leaves them some kind of note enclosed with a room key for a dream suite.”

“Dream suite? That sounds a little strange.”

“Oh my God, London. It’s amazing. They always have champagne and roses and there is usually a hot tub. It’s so magical.”

“So does Victoria choose which one of the guys she has the overnight date with?”

Nina laughed. “No, she doesn’t have to pick one—it’s all of them. Three dates, three overnights.”

I wasn’t sure how I was going to handle my one overnight date with Beau, if I could even get him to agree to it, much less how I would manage three of them. “This is crazy!”

“No, it’s called romance, London. Shhh, it’s starting.”

The rose petals fluttered across the screen. “Good evening, I’m Mitch Henderson. On tonight’s episode of
Love Match
, Victoria will face the most challenging decision yet on her journey to find love. Our bachelorette will have three different dates with three special men who have all professed their love for her. Who will she choose? Who will she let walk away? Will she be in love by the time these nights are over?”

I looked at Nina, who was glued to the TV. This was the last
Love Match
episode Beau and I had to reference for our date project. The final was due next week and we were going to have to complete our research before the finale aired. Granted, neither one of us was aware of the hometowns or the overnights when we planned the project in January, but it seemed unavoidable at this point in the semester. One last date. One final overnight before the end of the project.

I watched as Victoria spent one lavish night after another with the bachelors. I wondered if Beau was watching too. I pulled out my phone.

You watching LM?

I waited for him to respond for what seemed like ten minutes, but commercial breaks are excruciatingly long when you watch TV in real time.

Yep

Ok. He was back to one-word responses. Every time we were apart, it felt like I had to start all over again. I worried I wasn’t going to succeed in my agreement with Professor Garcia. Beau and I weren’t so far apart, we were still connecting, and I just needed Beau to remember that. I needed to erase all of the excuses that kept surfacing that he used to distance himself from me. Excuses that were interfering with us. I could remember how we felt together. He had to, too.

Where do you want to go for the overnight?

I typed the question into my phone and hit send.

Are you serious?

Very

This was my last chance. If Beau didn’t go on this date, everything I had done was for nothing. I didn’t need to channel any of my leading lady roles—this was all me—this was London James.

Finally, he texted.

Last date, right?

I let out a deep breath.

Yes

Ok. I’ll plan it.

I almost leapt off the couch. “London, what is going on?” Nina looked at me suspiciously.

“Beau. He agreed to the final date.”

“Oh…he wants some London time.” She started making obnoxious kissing sounds. “That hand-holding definitely wasn’t enough for him.”

“Very funny, Nina. It doesn’t matter why, does it? We’re going on a date.” I smiled at my friend.

“Not just any date—the you’re-gonna-get-some date. You know he loo-ooves you. I saw him at the vineyard. That boy is smitten; he’s just too stubborn to admit it.”

“I hope you’re right, Nina. I hope you’re right.”

***

Date Ten: Sweet Dream Suite

It was the Carolina Inn. As in the most popular, most Carolina place to stay in Chapel Hill and somehow Beau had snagged a suite for us for the night. I shouldn’t be surprised anymore. He knew everyone and no matter where we went, people were happy to help him. That was because they had to see what I saw.

I looked down at the shiny patent leather Carolina blue five-inch heels I was wearing. My grandmother often purchased presents for my brothers and I on a whim. One of those whim gifts was on my feet now. They had been in a box in the back of my closet for a year. Tonight they were making their debut. It was nice to throw in a touch of blue with my little black dress.

The Carolina Inn was like many places on campus; I had walked right past it and never stopped to enjoy it. I crossed the parking lot and walked in through the main lobby for the first time. I don’t know what I expected, but it wasn’t Beau standing in the lobby dressed in a dark charcoal suit.

He was holding a single stem red rose between his fingers. “Wow. You look—” He stammered. I smiled.

“Thanks. You look pretty good too.” I eyed him from head to toe. If I had known he could look like that in a suit, I would have concocted some kind of fancy
Love Match
date where suit wearing was a requirement a long time ago.

He held out his arm at almost a ninety-degree angle for me to loop my arm under. I wrapped myself around it tightly. “This way. We have dinner reservations that start now.” He glanced at his watch.

We entered the dining room and I steadied myself on Beau’s arm. It was incredible. The satin embroidered chairs, the candlelight, the orchids perfectly placed everywhere, and the music. I couldn’t imagine a more romantic dinner even if the
Love Match
crew had been in town. I felt like I was walking through a movie.

Beau shuttled me to the hostess station where the blond hostess led us to our table. He wasn’t kidding about the reservations. Taking in our surroundings, I imagined tardiness was not something the dining room was accustomed to accommodating.

I felt like I was in a trance. Beau ordered a bottle of something I hadn’t heard of and ordered an appetizer before I could read through the menu. He seemed nervous.

“I probably should have let you order the wine.”

“Why? Because of my parents? That doesn’t make me a wine expert.”

“You definitely know a lot more about it than I do. I would be happy with a beer, but I don’t think they even have beer here.” Beau glanced over his shoulder, taking note of the tuxedo-donned men doling out directions to the servers.

Our waitress returned to the table with a bottle and began the ritual of presenting the wine to Beau. I stifled a giggle as he pretended to approve the selection. Ceremoniously, she handed him a glass to swirl. I thought I saw him mutter, “Swirl, sip, savor,” to himself before tasting the red liquid. He nodded at her.

I took the glass of the freshly poured wine and held it up. “Should we toast?”

I expected Beau to squash the idea, but he held his glass toward mine. “To making it count.” He smiled.

“Oh, you’re going the classic, throwback route?” I giggled before tapping my glass to his.

“Something like that.” He sipped the wine.