My heart raced with a mixture of anticipation and trepidation as Jacob pulled the car into my parents’ driveway. I felt bad for lying to them, but like I said to Jacob a moment ago, the lie had simply slipped out of my mouth before I could stop myself, and it snowballed from there. Mom was always harassing me about my love life, and it was like something inside me just snapped earlier.

If I’d admitted to her that I was once again totally single, she would’ve given me that sad motherly sigh which blatantly communicated all her longings for weddings and grandchildren which weren’t even on the horizon. Every woman knew that sigh, and I was damn well tired of it.

Maybe seeing me with Jacob would shock that sighing tactic right out of Mom.

“Hey, Mom. Hey, Dad!” I said, waving and dashing over to the front porch steps as my parents came outside.

“Hello, darling!” Dad said, wrapping me in a bear hug before letting Mom hug me too.

“You look tired,” Mom said, fretting over me. “Why are you here so late? We were expecting you earlier than this.”

“I’m sorry, we got caught up with work stuff,” I said. I gestured to Jacob, who was walking up to us now, sunglasses still on.

He removed them, and my mother immediately gasped. “Dr. Easton West!”

“No, Mom, his name is Jacob,” I said. “Jacob Archer. We met on the set of the sports movie I’m working on at the moment.”

“But you can keep calling me Doctor if you like,” Jacob said with a grin. “Makes me feel smart.”

He extended a hand to my father, who firmly shook it. “Jacob, nice to meet you. I’m Roy, and this is my wife Anne,” he said. “I’m sure Nora’s told you all about us.”

“She has,” Jacob replied. “I’ve been looking forward to meeting you. I hear you’re a big football fan.”

Dad nodded. “I am. You?”

“More of a baseball guy, actually. Nora has to stand there on the set and yell at me until I pass the football properly when we film scenes. I’ve got the coordination of a baboon, apparently.”

“I don’t yell,” I said, nudging him with my elbow. “I simply advise.”

Dad leaned forward and gave Jacob a conspiratorial glance. “She got that from her mother. Anne ‘advises’ me quite frequently too.”

Mom laughed and elbowed Dad. “Hush, you! Anyway, Jacob, please come in.”

“Wait, wait,” Dad said, holding his hands up. “He said he’s not much of a football fan. So I’m going to have to take him out the back and—”

“Shoot me?” Jacob said.

“That too, but I was going to say I could teach you some throws. My daughter might have less work to do on your set, then.”

Dad winked at me. I could tell what he was doing. He was trying to give me and Mom some time alone to gossip about how I’d met Jacob and ensnared him, and he also wanted some time alone with Jacob to gauge what sort of man he was and see if he was good enough for his daughter. A pang of guilt bit at my guts, but I pushed it aside and nodded.

“We’ll go get some drinks and snacks,” I said, linking arms with Mom, who was still sneaking disbelieving glances at Jacob.

When we got inside, she busied herself by setting some cookies out on a big plate. Then she gave me one of those faux-nonchalant looks that mothers are so good at. “So you’re dating a TV star, are you?”

I gulped. “Yes.”

“Why haven’t you mentioned this before now? You told me your boyfriend was an accountant.”

“No, I said actor,” I said. “Accountant and actor both start with ‘ac’, so maybe you misheard.”

She gave me a suspicious look. “Hm. Yes, I suppose I must have misheard. But why haven’t I seen or read anything about this in any of my magazines? Last time I read about Jacob Archer, he was involved in some sort of tryst with a bikini model and the host—”

I cut her off. “Mom, those are just rumors. He doesn’t even do half the stuff the media says he does.”

“So he does do some of the stuff?”

“Mom…”

“Sorry, sorry,” she said, waving her hand at me. “I just worry.”

“I’m fine, Mom. We’re trying to keep things quiet because it’s still pretty new. That’s why no one knows yet. So please don’t call or email any of your favorite magazines and inform them of my love life.”

“I won’t. But do you really…”

She trailed off and nervously tucked a strand of brown hair behind her ear. I raised my eyebrows. “Do I really what?”

She sighed. “Never mind. I’m already your second favorite parent. We should wait to see what your father says.”

“Mom!” I said, slinging my arm around her. “You aren’t my second favorite! You’re my favorite mother and Dad is my favorite father. That’s how it is and you know it.”

She smiled. “Good.”

“Now tell me what you were going to say.”

“I just wonder if dating a guy like Jacob Archer is the right decision for you. I know you said the media likes to make up stuff, but he still does some of the things they report on. I’ve seen pictures of this man drunkenly spilling out of nightclubs and posing with women dressed like… well, you know what I mean. Wouldn’t you rather be with someone stable?”

I smiled. “You don’t approve of your daughter dating your favorite TV doctor?”

“It’s not that I don’t approve,” she insisted. “He seemed perfectly nice when you introduced him to us. I just worry because… well, I’ve never told you this, but I dated a man like him once, before I met your father.”

My eyebrows shot up. “You dated an actor?”

She waved her hand. “No, no. I mean a party kind of guy. Always up for a good time, and so on. He seemed so charming and fun at first, but he turned out to be… not so nice. I just worry about the same thing happening to you.”

“I’ll be okay.”

“Maybe, but a mother can’t just turn off her worries,” she replied.

I sighed. “Mom, I get it. On the surface he seems totally wrong for me. We’re so different in every way, and he has this crazy, larger than life personality and bad boy rep. But he’s actually a really good guy. And he’s a good boyfriend.”

I was technically lying because Jacob wasn’t my boyfriend, but I found myself genuinely meaning the words anyway. Jacob was a good guy. He did seem totally wrong for me at first, for obvious reasons, but now… now I didn’t think so. I felt like all his differing traits balanced me out. Being with him today had left me feeling more content than I had in a long time. With James, I’d always felt on edge, wondering when I’d discover his next lie, but there was none of that when I hung around Jacob. None of that at all.

There was just…happiness.

“That’s good to hear,” Mom said softly. “I’m very glad. Well, I’ll give him a chance. But if I see a photo of him with a stripper anytime soon, you can warn him that I’ll be paying him a visit.”

I laughed. “Thanks, Mom.”

The side door opened, and Dad and Jacob walked in a few seconds later.

“This young man has the worst spiral throw I’ve ever seen,” Dad announced as he grabbed a cookie. “You’ll need to train him better, sweetheart.”

I laughed. “I’ll try.”

Jacob winked at me. In that moment, my heart melted. I tried to remind myself that this wasn’t real, and he wasn’t actually my boyfriend, but I had great difficulty with that task for a reason which was becoming increasingly apparent by the second.

I still wanted him.