“I’m warning you now, so you don’t get confused later,” Victoria said, facing her parents’ front door. “I will probably act and sound different around them. I might not touch you like I normally would, and I’ll be saying ma’am and sir a lot. Again, I’m really sorry about this.”

John winked in response. God, he actually winked.

“I need you to tone that down when we get in there,” she added.

His hand settled on the small of her back. “Baby, you’re getting wound up,” he warned. “What did we say about being open and honest?”

Victoria hadn’t seen her parents since Uncle Jeffrey’s retirement party, but she had increased the frequency of phone calls with them. While there seemed to be a change in her mother’s tone, something softer and less demanding, she still dreaded the eventual visit with John in tow. She relied on a couple of mantras to give her strength: Teach people how to treat you. Set your boundaries from the start.

For his part, John wore a gray suit, kept his hair in a respectable ponytail, and held flowers for Katherine. However, that didn’t take away from the fact that he looked like pure sex. Or that they’d almost missed their train because of an ill-timed quickie. The whole two-hour ride was spent on her smoothing down her hair, adjusting her make up, and telling John to stop saying “calm down, honey.” God, she’d been worried about her mother... What about her dad?

As the door swung open, Victoria held her breath. Archie revealed himself, dressed in an apron that read: “Grill Master.” He saw the both of them and beamed. “Hey honey.” He grabbed her for a tight bear hug before peering over her shoulder at John. “Is this the beautiful librarian? Did you get your book back, son?”

John gave a throaty chuckle. “Yes, sir,” he said, holding out his hand.

The two men shook hands while Victoria looked on in trepidation.

“Archie, let them in for godsakes,” Katherine’s voice rang out. “It’s too cold to be mingling on the porch.”

“You heard the woman,” Archie muttered under his breath.

They pulled their overnight bags inside and closed the door behind them. The Reese household was humming with activity and brightly lit with her mother’s “sensible” Christmas decorations. There was a tree in the foyer, and if Victoria guessed right, there would be two more in the living room and the study.

“Go ’head and set your bags over there and Vicki will show you your room later,” Archie said.

Victoria held her tongue. As long as they stayed at her parents’ house, she knew they’d have to sleep in separate rooms. Even her father was insistent on that.