Page 42 of Wildest Dream

I picked up my bags and Isaac followed suit. I nudged my head to let him know where we were going, and he followed me through the busy living room and down the hallway.

I went into Jesse's room instead of my own.

"I'm just going to leave my things in here and come back and get them later," I said. "This is Jesse's room where you'll be sleeping. Does it look okay?" I stepped inside and checked it out along with him.

"Of course," he said easily. "It's great. Thank you." He reached out and set his bag on the foot of the bed, and I set mine next to it even though I would move it eventually.

"I know it's a little much meeting everyone all at once."

"It's not much," he said with an easy smile. "I like your family. I can already tell they're nice people."

I went to him. I couldn’t resist. I had to do it. I took a step, putting myself in close proximity to Isaac. He wrapped his arms around me to let me know he was glad I did it. Our eyes met and then I glanced at his nose and mouth and jaw. I couldn't stop staring at his perfect face. His lips were mesmerizing. The top one bulged out over the bottom a bit when his mouth was open. I adored him, and I felt like putty as a result of being in his arms, but I did my best to play it off.

"You're pretty handsome," I said. I smiled and leaned in to kiss him on the cheek before pulling back a little bit. He had been about to kiss me back, and I no doubt would've returned it, but I heard my mother's footsteps coming down the hall.

I took a half-step back just in time to see her walk around the corner and come inside Jesse's bedroom. She scoped us out instantly, head to toe. Then her eyes roamed over the room, seeing what was going on, checking us out. She noticed our proximity and our bags.

"I have Nick's bedroom all set up for you," she said, looking at me and smiling through a look of slight worry.

"Yes ma'am, I just set my things in here for a second."

She cleared her throat, looking a little timid as she regarded us. I didn't even realize that I was holding onto Isaac until my mother's gaze went to my hand. I had pulled back, but I hadn't let him go, and my mom was noticing. I saw her cheeks turn red.

"I didn't realize you two were so close, and I didn't know if… I don't know what you do in Atlanta, but here in Savannah, we're going to sleep in separate bedrooms." She looked at Isaac when she said it.

"Mom, we are," I defended, smiling. "No one's planning on staying in here. I mean, he is and I'm not. I’m going to my own room. I was just setting my stuff down for a second."

"Well, I didn't know what you're doing in Atlanta because you're grown, and that's your business, but—"

"Isaac has a hotel in Atlanta."

"Mrs. Moreno, I have the very best intentions for your daughter," Isaac said. "And as far as her holding my hand right now and everything… there are some pieces to the equation you don't have yet."

"Oh, yeah?" she asked curiously. She smiled because Isaac was just that charming.

He let go of my hand and gestured. "Ari told you I was coming today and that we were dating each other now, but she hasn't had the chance to tell you our whole story yet. It's pretty cool. I have a book in my bag that can help explain."

"A book?" my mom said. "What's that mean?"

"It's a really long story, Mom."

"Why haven't you told me?"

"Because I… because Isaac just got to Atlanta two days ago, and before that, I was just… I was processing everything. It's a lot to process."

"What's a lot to process?"

"Our story," he said.

I nodded. "Yeah, it's a lot."

"What does that even mean?" my mom asked.

"Ari and I have a whole, long, amazing story about how we connected. It was all so unbelievable that she held off on telling you guys about it until we were able to connect in person. And I can understand that. My family was all part of it. They knew about it before she did, so it was different from my angle."

My mom stared at him blankly. "Okay, now, I'm really lost," she said.

Chapter 15