His Parents Think He Owns My House Chapter 1

It was the third month I’d been living with Leo when his parents decided to visit.

He brought it up to me, asking if we could tell them that the condo was his.

Considering his pride as a man, I agreed.

That very evening, Leo’s parents moved into the master bedroom, bringing his grandmother and grandfather with them.

Leo promised me that as soon as they left, he would make it up to me in every way.

But I had no idea his parents had no intention of leaving.

* * *

Leo showed up to pick me up from work that night—a rarity.

When I got into the car, I was greeted with a latte, a small designer cupcake, and a Swarovski necklace.

Seeing him so ridiculously attentive, I gave him a dry look and asked what he wanted.

Leo stammered out the truth. “My parents are planning to visit for a couple of days, starting tomorrow.”

Leo was from a small town. He’d come to Austin for college and stayed after graduation.

He once told me he was the only person in his whole extended family to graduate from a major university.

He was essentially the family’s hope.

Five years out of school, he’d managed to find a foothold in the city, so it wasn't surprising that his parents wanted to visit and see the big time.

I took a bite of the cupcake and nodded. “Sure, that’s nice.”

“You should take them to see the Capitol building or maybe down to South Congress. We can check out some Airbnbs in the meantime, things book up fast.”

Leo wrung his fingers, looking at me with his lips pressed tight.

That look always gave me a bad feeling.

Sure enough, the next second he looked miserable. “Sweetheart, um, could they stay at our place?”

“I told my parents I bought a place in the city.”

“You know how it is. I’ve been out of school for five years, and every time they call, they ask if I’ve bought a house yet. I couldn’t take it anymore, so I told them I did.”

“So this trip, they’re mainly coming to see the condo I supposedly bought.”

I stared at Leo, shocked. The man who was so straightforward and honest with me was apparently a total phony with his own family.

He’d actually lied about owning a home in Austin.

Leo clasped his hands together and pleaded, “Sienna, just for the few days they’re here, can we tell them the condo is mine?”

“I promise, they’ll see the place and then they’ll be gone. They definitely won’t bother us.”

I dropped my head, slowly finishing the cupcake spoon by spoon. Only then did I sigh.

Leo was hung up on his image, especially since he was the sole college graduate in the family.

If his parents found out that five years after graduation, he was barely scraping a six-figure salary and was living in his girlfriend’s condo—a condo *her* parents had bought, no less—how could he ever face them again?

Considering Leo’s dignity as a man, I nodded and agreed.

“You have to promise me they’ll only stay a few days.”

“And they are absolutely not to go through any of my things!”

Seeing my agreement, Leo instantly snapped a salute.

“Don’t worry! I will protect all your stuff with my life, I swear they won’t touch a thing.”

“As soon as they leave, I’ll take a week off, and we’ll go on that cruise to the Greek Isles we talked about!”