I generally like flying, but I spent the entire flight up to Albany with my stomach in knots. Kyle tried to distract me, but all I could picture was how awkward it would be if his parents saw through the charade. Would they blame me? As the plane taxied down the runway, I knew I had to stay positive. There was no way I was going to make it through the week otherwise.

I stalled as long as I could, but eventually I had no choice but to walk down the aisle and get off the plane. Kyle got right into character, wordlessly taking my hand as we headed to baggage claim. His strong hand comforted me as I struggled to pull myself together. I could do this. I could face his family.

We walked through the doors into baggage claim. “Kyle!” A woman called his name as we rounded the corner.

“Hey, Mom.” Kyle smiled and pulled us toward where a stunning middle-aged woman waited. Her gray hair was the opposite of the black that my mom always kept hers dyed. “This is Jade.”

“Jade!” She pulled me into a hug. “It’s wonderful to finally meet you. We’re so excited you were able to join us.”

“Thanks for having me.” All of my planning, and I couldn’t come up with anything better to say?

“Of course! We’re thrilled that you’re here.” She put her hands on my arms and looked into my eyes. Guilt rushed through me. Was I really supposed to lie to this woman for a week? Cara had been right to deter me. I’d made a huge mistake.

“Is Dad in the car?” Kyle asked without any hint of nervousness.

“No, he’s at the hotel working.” His mother smiled sheepishly. “Are you surprised?”

“No.” Kyle took my hand again while carefully avoiding my eyes. He probably knew I was about to lose it. “Let’s wait for our stuff.”

I smiled. When all else fails smiling can get you out of some awkward situations.

“I’m sure Kyle can handle the bags.” His mother put a hand on my back.

“Sure. Be right back.” He winked before letting go of my hand. He was dead. Two minutes after landing and he’d ditched me already. It was also when I realized I still didn’t know his mom’s name. I couldn’t believe I had forgotten to ask Kyle that simple detail, and I couldn’t ask now. A boyfriend definitely would have told his girlfriend that.

She waited for Kyle to walk out of earshot before turning to me. “I know I’ve already said it, but I’m so excited you’re here. Can I admit something to you? Woman to woman?”

“Uh, sure…” I stammered. Did things have to get awkward already?

“Kyle’s brother tried to convince us that you were made up. Can you believe that? And part of me believed him. I’m so happy we were wrong!” She pulled me into another hug.

Oh. My. God. I was going to hell. I was completely and certifiably on my way. And why was this woman so excited that Kyle had a girlfriend? He was twenty years old, not forty. Would it matter if he were single?

“Uh, yeah. I’m real.” I fought the urge to chew my nails. That would only make me look stranger and possibly more guilty.

“Of course you are.” She stepped back and looked at me. “And you’re absolutely beautiful. No wonder Kyle is so taken with you.”

“Oh. Thanks.” What was one supposed to say to that?

“Kyle mentioned this is your first time to Lake George. You’re going to love it, especially the hotel we’re staying at.”

“Oh. Cool.”

“And don’t worry, you and Kyle can stay together.” She winked. “I’m not going to be old fashioned.”

“Oh, it’s fine. You don’t have to make yourself uncomfortable for me.”

“I won’t be uncomfortable. If Kyle brought you here it means he’s serious about you. You might as well be family.” She nudged me.

I glanced over my shoulder to where Kyle waited by the baggage carousel. A loud beep signified that it was finally starting to move. I hoped our bags came off quickly. I wasn’t sure how long I was going to be able to handle his mom on my own before saying something stupid.

“Where are you from, Jade?” She smoothed out her long white linen skirt. “Kyle hasn’t shared all the details yet.”

“South Carolina. A small town about three hours from Charleston.”

“Oh, how lovely. South Carolina is such a beautiful state. You know we have a house out on Kiawah. Has he taken you there yet?”

“Not yet.” I hoped Kyle didn’t fabricate that detail earlier.

“What?” She turned and strode over to Kyle.

I watched nervously. Hopefully we weren’t already getting caught. After several deep breaths I walked over to meet them.

Kyle gave me a sheepish smile. “Mom says I owe you an apology for not taking you to the beach yet this summer.”

“No apology needed, it’s been busy.”

“You and that radio station. You’d think Kyle owned it for the amount of time he spends there.” His mother gave me a knowing look.

“She knows, Mom.” He rolled his eyes. “She works there too.”

“You do?” She turned to me. “How nice. I had no idea.”

“Yes, Kyle’s a wonderful boss.”

“Boss? Is he your boss?”

“Technically he can fire me. He doesn’t pay me though.”

“I never considered that Kyle’s position came with that sort of responsibility.” His mom seemed pensive.

“Of course not. Who’d trust me with responsibility?” He let out a deep breath.

“That’s not what I meant.” His mom narrowed her eyes.

“There’s my bag!” Like a beacon of hope, my black rolling bag with the tie dyed belt came out onto the conveyer belt.

“I’ll get it.” Kyle shot me an apologetic look before walking over to grab it. Thankfully a few seconds later his bag showed up too, and we headed out to the car.

Kyle held open the passenger door to his mom’s Mercedes for me.

“Oh, I can sit in the back.” I bent down to move under his arm to the back before he could stop me. He wasn’t making me sit up front with his mom. I preferred sitting in the back where I could hopefully be forgotten about. I’d looked it up, and the drive was going to be close to an hour.

Kyle didn’t say anything. He just got in the front and closed his door a little harder than he needed to. I hoped he snapped out of his funk. I was the one in over my head on this one. He could at least try to keep things reasonable for my sake.

“Have you told Jade much about the plans for this week?” His mother broke an awkward silence that had set in since the conversation in baggage claim.

“I wasn’t sure of the plans myself, so I couldn’t tell her.” Kyle rested his arm on the center console.

“Well, that’s the whole fun of it. We have almost no plans at all. Isn’t that a hoot? A break from the usual.” She inserted her ticket into the toll booth machine and the lever moved to let us out of the lot.

“That’s great.” Kyle looked at me through the space between the seats.

“Sounds good.”

“I already told Jade, but you two are staying together, so don’t worry about that.”

“Oh. Thanks.” He shot me an ‘I had no idea’ look.

“I assured your mom we didn’t want to make her uncomfortable.” It’s not that I wanted to share a room with his cousin, but I wasn’t sure if staying in a room with Kyle was such a good idea.

“Exactly. We’ll do whatever you want, Mom.”

“You’re staying together. Everyone else has already checked in anyway.”

“Oh. Ok.”

I looked out the window, needing to focus on something—anything but the fact that I was going to be spending a week in a hotel room with Kyle. Hopefully it would be double beds.

At least the scenery kept my attention. Tall green trees were a welcome change from the typical palm trees of Charleston. Both were beautiful in their own ways, but upstate New York was new to me, and there is something awe inspiring about seeing a new place for the first time.

Forty-five minutes later his mom pulled into an empty spot in the lot and led us toward an absolutely beautiful old hotel.

The large white building was beautiful in its own right, but it was the seemingly endless lake that held my attention. Kyle took my hand and my bag as we walked inside. I was so busy looking around me, that I was lucky I didn’t walk into anything.

“I told you it was pretty up here.” Kyle nudged me.

“I never doubted it.” I waited patiently in the lobby as his mom went up the desk.

“Have fun you two.” His mom smiled as she handed Kyle the room keys. “Remember, dinner is at six thirty. Don’t be late.” She patted Kyle’s arm and walked away.

“Ready?” Kyle asked.

“Sure. Let’s see this room.” I followed him upstairs while a bellhop saw to our bags. I was never comfortable leaving my stuff with anyone, but then again the only things of value I had were in the purse I was carrying.

Kyle pushed open the door to our room, and I followed him inside. My eyes immediately went to the one king sized bed. It was going to be an interesting week.