it was better than wondering just how much of an ass Lisa thought he was, deep down. And it was way better than analyzing why he even cared what she thought about him.
The only good part about the situation was he finally had a beer in hand. And while Rafe would never admit it, a tiny part of him was enjoying hearing about the smart-mouthed Lisa as a cheerleader in high school. Images of her in a short, flitty skirt all giddy and juiced up on adrenaline surged through his mind and warmed his blood.
Yeah. A smile tugged at his mouth as he lifted the bottle and took a long pull. Lisa in a cheerleading skirt. In the backseat of his Mustang. Cheering him on. That was definitely better.
Darkness pressed in through the windows. Garlic and spices permeated the air. The little fantasy taking root in his mind burst with a pop when Lisa stalked into the kitchen with her brawny-looking father close on her heels.
Keira and Catrine stopped bickering at the counter where they were chopping vegetables for a salad. Colleen paused midsentence and glanced up from the steaming pot she’d been stirring. From the doorway, Lisa’s gaze cut to Rafe, and in her emerald eyes, there was no way he could miss the pleading.
And dammit, it softened him. Just enough so he didn’t lurch out of the chair and go after her father’s throat.
“So, Puerto Rico,” Darin said, shifting his feet, looking anywhere but at Rafe. “Been there once. Colleen and I took a cruise to the Caribbean. Nice island.”
Rafe’s eyes widened. That was an apology? Puhleeze.
Lisa’s big, green eyes did that pleading thing again, every muscle in her tense body begging him to just let it roll off his shoulders and go on.
Oh, hell. Rafe’s jaw clenched. He could make a scene or keep the peace. Neither sounded appealing at the moment.
On a long breath, he leaned back in his chair and frowned, finally giving up. “Yeah, nice island.”
As if that were good enough, Darin Maxwell nodded and stepped around Lisa into the kitchen. “How much longer ’til we eat?”
Great. Brush the whole sordid mess under the carpet and be done with it. Nice tactic. Hell, Rafe’s parents had done it their whole lives anytime things got sticky. Why should Lisa’s family be any different?
Catrine and Keira returned to their argument over some book they’d both read. Lisa’s parents chatted about the meal. When Lisa slid into the chair at his right, he unclenched his jaw and finally glanced up.
“Thank you,” she mouthed.
Thank you?
The gratitude across her face made him feel like he’d done something great for her. She was actually thanking him? That was an interesting turn of events.
He should simply have shook his head and looked away, sipped his beer and gritted his teeth. But for some idiotic reason he didn’t. Instead, he made the biggest mistake since he’d stepped foot in the house. He looked into those gleaming emeralds and felt the first stirring of…guilt. It shocked him more than her father’s half-assed apology. And it burned him deep inside.
The front door opened and closed. Male voices echoed from the entryway, followed by the low rumble of shuffling feet and high-pitched chatter streaking down the hall. Lisa glanced away, breaking the spell that seemed to be sucking him under, and within seconds the kitchen was flooded with more bodies than the small room could contain. Two men who had to be her sisters’ husbands walked in just before a swarm of kids talking nonstop.
Rafe’s ears rang as the noise level jumped. He blinked and shifted, happy to have something else to focus on besides Lisa. He counted two…four…no, five kids, had no clue who went with whom, and seriously didn’t care. Kids weren’t his thing either. In fact, he avoided them at all costs. Partly because the few he’d encountered were brats. Partly because he’d had his fill from the years he’d taken over as father figure after his old man had finally croaked and he’d tried to set Billy straight.
That had gone over real well. Another ripple of guilt snaked through him. He took a long swallow of his beer and pushed down the familiar feeling.
One short, redheaded mongrel who couldn’t have been more than three launched himself at Lisa’s legs as she introduced Rafe to the newcomers. Laughing, she swept the boy up in her arms before he could do serious damage, lifted his shirt and blew raspberries all over his belly.