Real Romance - By Ginny Baird Page 0,32

to grip him by the elbows. "I'm not going to hurt you, I swear. "She found herself giggling uncontrollably. Her? A menace? Hooo.

"David," she said again, blinking hard and straightening her quivering lips. "Here's the deal."

He looked at her without flinching, his crystal blue eyes calm.

"You and I are engaged."

"Okay."

She narrowed her eyes and resisted another giggle. "You started it, I didn't."

"Okay."

"Therefore, you are mine until the night is through."

David's heart did cartwheels, but he didn't say a word.

"What I mean is, we can play this game for a few hours, just to get my family off my back. But when the clock strikes midnight..."

Holding his tongue seemed to be working so far, so why wreck it now, David reasoned.

"Then you go home."

"Got it," he said, bowing backwards as she dismissed him with a wave of her knife.

And then he darted through the swinging door and gave Johnny a high-five before Marie could rejoin them.

"More wine?" Johnny asked, passing the carafe in Marie's direction.

She'd already had two glassfuls and was thinking she should stop. But then she looked over at David holding court at the other end of the table and motioned for Johnny to fill her glass halfway.

Maybe it was the wine, or maybe it was the lateness of the hour. Or maybe, it was because she was so full of sweet potato casserole and pecan pie she couldn't think straight. But the truth of the matter was that David looked good sitting there in her father's chair.

He seemed so at ease with her family. And, for a man who had never met them before, it had certainly been a baptism by fire. Yet, none of it appeared to faze David at all.

"Sweetheart," he asked, looking in her direction as he stretched back and patted his belly. "Can I help you with the dishes?"

"See there," Meg said, nudging Johnny. "This man isn't domestically impaired. He's offering to help in the kitchen."

Johnny flushed and drained his wineglass. "Oh now, honey, you know I'm helpless when it comes to you ordering me around."

David knew just how Johnny felt. He got to his feet, the room turning a bit at an odd angle. Just how much wine had he had? Though he hadn't been counting, the carafe had seemed to make quite a few trips to his end of the table.

"Come on, hon," Marie said, coming over and rubbing the back of his waist.

Wow. The room came into focus then, along with all sorts of electrifying images in David's mind.

He pulled a stunned Marie into his arms. "Baby," he said, his voice husky from the wine, "you should know better than to touch me like that in public."

Someone at the table let out an amused giggle. But all Marie could see was the fire in David's eyes. It was all too clear what was on his mind.

"Maybe we should get going," Jill said, tugging on Dan's sleeve and rising from the table.

"No," Marie said, trying to break the lock of David's arms but failing miserably, "stay."

David nodded slowly as a sexy grin worked its way across his kissable lips.

Gracious! Marie thought, feeling a little sweat trickle down her cleavage beneath her too-warm dress.

"Ah, yeah," Mark said, slapping the table loudly and springing to his feet. "Time's a-wasting. We'd best all get on the road before that big storm hits."

"Storm?" Marie asked, finally wriggling free of David's embrace and practically running to the opposite end of the room.

"Yes," Meg said, as Johnny went to collect their coats from the hall closet. "Haven't you heard? They've predicted a lot of snow tonight."

"Say," Jill said, as Marie wondered what on earth she was going to do once she was left alone with David in the house, "You sure you don't want us to stay and help with the dishes? We've made quite a mess."

But David just smiled and muttered something about helping the little woman all she wanted.

Little woman, her foot! If Marie had had darts to throw, she would have aimed them straight at David.

What was wrong with her anyway? This entire fiancé thing had already gotten out of hand. There she'd sat all through the meal, envisioning David as a permanent fixture in her father's chair. And rather than her siblings, all the other seats around the table had been occupied by imaginary children—her and David's, to be exact. Six of them altogether.

She shook off an unwanted chill as David's warm hands settled on her upper arms.

"Sweetheart," he said, leaning over and kissing