#Rev (GearShark #2)(55)

Drew’s mother was of average height, not tall and not short. Her hair was a medium shade of brown that she wore in a shoulder-length style. Today she was dressed in a pair of jeans and a plain white T-shirt. Over the shirt was some sort of flowy-looking sweater with draping arms in a gray-and-pink flower pattern.

She wasn’t wearing shoes, but slippers that looked kind of like loafers, but they were pink and had fur poking out from the inside.

Her eyes were blue like Drew’s and Ivy’s. Her smile was quick, and when she noticed her son wasn’t alone, it didn’t dull. I thought that was a good sign.

“Andrew!” she exclaimed happily and held out her arms.

“Mom.” Drew grinned and jogged up the stairs to wrap her in a hug. He was a whole head taller than her.

When he pulled back, she turned to me. “Trent, it’s great to see you again. I didn’t realize you were coming.”

“Mrs. Forrester,” I said and quickly gave her a hug. “Hope you don’t mind me crashing your visit.”

“Not at all!” she said. “And you know better than to call me Mrs. Forrester. Call me Adrienne.”

“Is Dad home?” Drew asked, fidgeting a little.

“Of course. He’s inside. We’ve both been waiting for you to get here. I wish you would’ve let us pick you up from the airport.”

“Ivy sends her love,” he said as we headed for the door, choosing not to acknowledge the fact he’d been ignoring his texts and avoiding a car ride with his parents.

“She called this morning.” Adrienne went on, heading inside. “Nova’s getting so big. I was just telling your father we needed to plan another trip out there to see her.”

“I’m sure she’d like that.”

The inside of the house basically looked like it could be in a magazine. It was contemporary but comfortable, with a touch of country. The room we walked into was one huge great room. The floors were hardwood with various scrapes and dings that gave them character. The walls were painted a light but warm shade of tan, and there was a giant stone fireplace on the far wall that stretched all the way to the ceiling.

Wooden beams crossed the ceiling and were stained the same color as the floor. Area rugs in muted tones and patterns defined different areas of the room and provided a guide for where to look.

A huge leather sectional sat near the fireplace, above which hung a huge flat-screen TV. There were candles everywhere, most of them lit, and the entire room smelled of melted vanilla and sugar.

Artfully arranged on one wall near the front door was a huge collage of family photos. In the center were black letters that spelled out the word family. My eyes went instantly to all the images of Drew at various stages of his life, and a knot formed in my throat.

The kitchen was open to the great room as well, separated by a huge granite island with high-backed stools lining the front. The cabinets beneath the counter were painted a rustic red, adding a pop of color in the otherwise fairly neutral space. Behind the island, the rest of the cabinets were made of distressed wood in a creamy finish. The hardware on them wasn’t black, but more of a bronze brown. The appliances were all stainless, and the stovetop was sunk right into the countertop, making it look like it had been there all along.

“Burke! Drew’s here!” Adrienne called toward a hallway that led out of the great room and then went ahead toward the kitchen.

“Office is that way,” Drew explained as we passed. “Dad’s probably working.”

“Can I make you boys a sandwich?” his mom offered.

“No, thank you,” I said, and Drew shook his head.

I wanted to reach out and stroke my hand down his back and remind him to breathe. I’d caught myself twice already reaching out to touch him before remembering I couldn’t.

Drew’s father appeared out of the hallway and stepped into the kitchen. “Son!” he said, rubbing his hands together like Drew was a delicious meal. “Good to see you!”

“Hey, Dad,” Drew said and stepped forward for a quick hug.

Drew’s father held out his hand to me, and we shook. “Trent.”

“Sir,” I said. Even though I’d met these people before, I couldn’t help but feel awkward, like this was a movie and I was in high school picking up this guy’s daughter for her very first date.

But this wasn’t high school. This wasn’t my first date… and Drew wasn’t a girl.

“Wasn’t it nice of Trent to come along with Drew so he wouldn’t be alone to travel?” his mother said.

That’s when I really knew this wasn’t going to go well. I liked Drew’s parents, but, man, they were old school and lived in their own little world. I was also beginning to see how Drew was so good at ignoring things (like his phone, like the way we felt for each other for so long), because I was beginning to think his mother was the same way.

Honestly, there was nothing wrong with that. I respected it. I lived in my own little world, too, I supposed. Everyone did.

I just wished the worlds we occupied weren’t so incredibly different.

Burke crossed the kitchen toward a large coffeepot taking up a spot on the counter. The red light on top was lit and dark liquid filled up the pot about halfway.

“Coffee anyone?” his mom asked us.

We both shook out heads.