to go back to your place,” Marc said when they got to the front door. The way his hand fit into the curve of her waist and his lips brushed hers, sending a yummy heat rushing throughout her body, made her want to take him up on the offer.
Then the front door flew open. And the only heat rushing was straight to her face.
Abby looked frazzled and slightly harassed. She also looked from Lexi to Marc and back to Lexi. Her eyes were wide, and sweat beaded her upper lip. Abby tended to sweat when she got mad. So Lexi took a step back, away from Abby and out of Marc’s arms.
“You’re here.”
“Don’t look so horrified,” Lexi joked—kind of—and then, after studying the way Abby’s left hand plucked at the hem of her shirt, practically strangling the silk, she realized that Abby wasn’t mad, she was pissed.
Lexi smiled.
Abby didn’t smile back. She didn’t move, didn’t open the door wider, didn’t say, “Please come in.” She just stood there, blocking the entry—sweating, her hands fisted in her shirt.
“I have to go to the bathroom,” Abby announced as though it was the most natural greeting in the world. Then, to make an already awkward moment even more awkward, she grabbed Lexi by the elbow and pulled.
Marc grabbed her other elbow. “And you need her to do that?”
Abby looked behind her, uncharacteristically worrying her lower lip.
“You okay?” Lexi asked, feeling a wee bit guilty. Abby had called her a total of seven times today, every one sent to voice mail. The week was up, Abby would demand answers, and Lexi still didn’t know how to explain her and Marc. It wasn’t fake, but it couldn’t be real, and she wasn’t sure exactly where that left them.
“I’d like to bring my girlfriend inside, so would you mind moving?”
That he didn’t even stumble on the word made Lexi smile.
“Yes. No. I mean, I need her.” Loud male laughter erupted from somewhere in the house. “Now.”
“Yeah, well, I need you to stop advertising your ex’s goods, or lack thereof, until after the Showdown. Just like you can talk to Lexi after we’ve come inside and said hi to Nonna.” Marc’s hand tightened on Lexi’s, telling her he wasn’t letting her go. It felt nice. It also made her realize that she wanted Marc to escort her inside. She wanted to walk into this house holding hands and greet their families as a couple.
Abby eyed Marc. “Five minutes with her or I tell Nonna how you sold bootleg porn in high school to buy your truck. Is that really the way you want to introduce your girlfriend?”
Marc choked and let go.
Lexi looked at Marc and raised a brow. “Really?”
He shrugged. “It was a nice truck.”
“But porn?”
“I’m an entrepreneur.” Then he leaned in and his warm breath tickled her ear as he whispered, “Don’t worry, cream puff. Even back then I was all about quality. I think I still have a few DVDs left if you want to check them out later.”
Marc pulled back, and except for her nipples, which were standing up and cheering their support, Lexi didn’t move. She thought of herself and Marc lying naked in bed, watching someone else naked in bed, and by the time she got to the part where she should have been turned off, her whole body was reaching DEFCON 1.
“I think my soul just died a little,” Abby said, yanking Lexi by the arm.
She yanked her through the foyer, past three smiling grannies, a group of stunned DeLucas, one Hard-Hammer Tanner—minus tool belt and steel-toed boots—and into the bathroom, not stopping until they were inside the shower with the curtain pulled.
Marc wondered how he’d gone from date to third wheel as he watched his sister disappear down the hallway with Lexi, and her swaying, beautiful backside, in tow. When the bathroom door slammed with a resounding no-boys-allowed thud, he accepted that he’d have to enter the first family dinner he’d ever brought a girl to girl-less.
“What’s that about?” Jack Tanner, his old buddy, asked the second Marc entered the family room. His brothers and Tanner were all seated around the coffee table, sharing a bottle of DeLuca cab. All except for Tanner, who held a longneck in his hand.
“Abby had to go to the bathroom, and apparently she needed Lexi to go with her,” Marc explained while he took a seat in one of the high-back chairs.
“No, I meant, since when did you start bringing dates to your family