“Looks like it.” Will might be the bad twin, but that didn’t mean Web didn’t get into plenty of shit himself.
“But why?” she asked, looking up at him as if they were on the same side for once.
The combination of her closeness and that nonhostile expression on her face was disconcerting. It made his fingers itch to reach out and run a thumb across the line of her jaw, tilt her face back, dip his head down, and— Whoa there, Holt. Remember who you’re looking at and why.
Rubbing his palm across the back of his neck, he tried to steady his pulse. “Guess someone wants us to be friends.”
Hadley snorted. “Not gonna happen.”
“Finally,” he said, not meaning to but somehow dropping his gaze to her glossy pink lips. “Something we can agree on.”
But that wasn’t the only thing they’d agreed on. A week ago, they’d agreed on that kiss, that stick-your-brain-in-a-wind-tunnel-and-let-it-get-blown-away-because-you-aren’t-using-it-and-you-don’t-care kiss. As if she were thinking about the same moment, Hadley lifted her fingertips to her mouth and let out a shaky breath.
“Enough with the gadgets—come on into the kitchen,” Stephanie called from the area behind them.
He and Hadley jolted apart, the air coming back into the room with a whoosh, and looked away from each other. After a few seconds, Hadley led him from the living room. Everyone had gathered around the huge kitchen island and was eating handfuls of a Chex cereal, peanut butter, and chocolate mixture that they called Puppy Chow. There was Hadley’s mom, her sister, several people introduced as cousins ranging in age from six months to late teens, and one older lady who’d spent a lot of time staring at his junk and then unashamedly giving him a wink when he caught her.
Note to self: Do not dance at the wedding with the old lady. Possible package grabber alert.
The radio was tuned to a country music station, but with so many people talking at once, he only caught a half a verse here or there. It was loud enough, however, that Hadley was moving along to the beat, her hip occasionally bumping up against his as they stood next to each other on one end of the island that separated the kitchen area from the living room.
“Don’t be a chicken,” Hadley said, nudging toward him the bright-green bowl everyone was snacking from. “It’s made from only the best organic dog food.”
She was giving him a hard time—he knew this because what was in the bowl looked like a giant vat of Muddy Buddies. Still, her cocky we’re-on-my-home-court stance had him second-guessing himself, something he never did.
He dipped his hand into the bowl and scooped up a few pieces. “You’re giving me shit, aren’t you?”
Hadley elbowed him in the side, shooting him a what-is-wrong-with-you look, at the same time her mom cleared her throat.
“Language, young man,” Stephanie said, her tone cutting him not even an ounce of slack.
He winced. Cursing in front of the family was definitely a mistake Web wouldn’t have made. “Sorry, ma’am.”
“Yeah, I’m Stephanie. There’s no reason for that ma’am stuff.” She rolled up the sleeves of her denim work shirt, never taking her eyes off him, as if he were the kind of person who needed to be kept track of at all times. “Now, Web—sorry, Will, we haven’t heard hardly anything about you except that you’re a fabulous dancer.”
That was one of the talents he and his brother had in common. Their grandmother had insisted on lessons, which he’d hated then but got the most possible use out of now. Women loved a guy who knew how to move on the dance floor.
“Mom,” Hadley said with a groan. “Don’t interrogate him; he just got here.”
Stephanie grinned. “That seems like the perfect time. He’s tired out from the trip and vulnerable.”
“Now I see where Hadley gets her instincts.” Will gave Hadley’s mom his best charming smile and it had absolutely no impact at all. Okay, then. Maybe it only worked on women from the city. Maybe that’s why Hadley had always blown him off. “I grew up in Harbor City, and I work in the family business.”
Usually, this is when he dropped the Holt Enterprises name and people got dollar signs in their eyes. That didn’t seem right here. Not because of Hadley’s warning but because everyone here seemed genuinely nice. They weren’t looking at him like they were wondering how they could use him to their advantage. It was more like they were considering him. It