Imaginary Lines

Page 49

  “It’s like you’re a psychic. ”

  “It’s like I’ve known you guys for ten years. ”

  I sighed and moved the plate of veggies up and down between our chests. “They just don’t really get this. ”

  He mimicked the gesture, and his voice dropped an octave. “‘This’?”

  I shrugged and nodded. “And they wanted to warn me. ”

  His voice tensed slightly. “And what did you have to be warned about?”

  “I don’t know. You know. They’re afraid I’ll get my heart broken. ”

  He stepped closer to me. “They think I’m going to break your heart?”

  “Well, it’s unlikely I’ll drop it on the ground by accident. ”

  “Goddammit. ” He came down and plucked the tray from my hands and deposited it on top of his dad’s car before I could blink. Sometimes I forgot how dexterous he was, off the field as well as on. “And what about me?”

  I blinked at him. “Excuse me?”

  “You think you’re the only one that would get your heart broken?” His hand slid around the back of my neck. “So I have the power to break your heart. Good. Because you could smash mine to smithereens if you wanted to. ”

  Something soft and happy unfolded in my chest even as my lips parted slightly in surprise. “Abraham. . . ”

  He pressed me against the car and kissed me.

  My body responded faster than my brain, and I melted into him. “I’m not going to break your heart,” I whispered. “I promise. ”

  “Good. Because I don’t think I could survive it. ” His hands glided under around my waist and dipped inside my jeans. His fingers were nimble and strong and they worked their magic, and his lips teased and tormented the hollow of my neck. I groaned and my head fell backward as all my strength pooled out of my bones and converted to hot desire pumping through my veins.

  My head hit something.

  After a dazed second, I realized the veggie tray was sliding off the car. “Oh!”

  Abe lunged and caught it before it careened down the windshield. I started giggling—and the door into the garage swung open.

  I froze as my pulse went wild.

  Sharon stood in the doorway, peering at us in the dim lighting. “Did you find the veggies?”

  “Uh. ” I nodded and slowly inched back from Abe. “Yup. ”

  Abe lifted up the tray as unnecessary evidence. “Right here. ”

  His mom looked at us strangely. “All right, bring it in then. ”

  “Yes, ma’am. ”

  She vanished from the door, and at one look from Abe, we both burst into horrified, convulsive laughter. “Oh, God,” I finally managed. “Half a minute earlier and she would’ve walked in while your hand was down my pants. ”

  He had to support himself against the car as he laughed. “Never say that again. ”

  “It’s never going to happen again! Oh, God. Okay. ” I patted my hair. “Do I look okay?”

  His laughed slowed. “Tamar, you look perfect. You always look perfect. ”

  I backed away from him and took the tray in my hands. “Don’t be too cute. We still need to get through this meal. ”

  Chapter Nineteen

  At dinner, I sat across from Grandma Krasner, who smiled beatifically, and next to Abe’s cousin Matt, who was fourteen years old. Abe sat on my other side. Every so often he would place his hand on my leg beneath the table and slowly run his fingers up my sensitive flesh. I burned hot and ready, and my pupils were almost certainly dilated more than was appropriate.

  It wasn’t actually all that fun to be incredibly turned on at a family dinner.

  Abraham clearly wasn’t having that problem, because he didn’t stop smiling the entire meal.

  A little over halfway through, we’d slowed down our food intake considerably and finished off all the water on the table. Sharon leaned back behind some of the chairs and waved for her son’s attention. “Abe, can you go refill the pitchers?”

  I leaped up immediately. “I’ll help!”

  We barely made it into the pantry and deposited the pitchers by the water cooler before we were in each other’s arms. Abe kissed me hard, tasting of cranberry and spices. “I don’t know that I’m going to be able to last this entire dinner. ”

  I laughed breathlessly. “Not just this meal. We’re not going back until Saturday, and you won’t be back from the Patriots game until Monday night. We’re not going to get a second alone until then. ”

  He started kissing a path along my jaw. “I could sneak into your bedroom. ”

  I grinned. “Or we could join the mile-high club. ”

  “Or we could disappear right now and maybe no one would even notice. ”

  “Oh, I like that idea. ” But first I was going to get in one more kiss, and run my hands over his endless shoulders one more time. . .

  A glass shattered.

  We both froze. Maybe we’d knocked a glass off the counter. Maybe something outside the room had echoed oddly.

  A ceramic plate lay in shattered pieces on the floor.

  Above it, Abe’s neighbor cousin Emmett stood with his hands apart and his mouth open.

  Which wouldn’t have been that bad, except that Emmett was eleven with a mouth as big as Texas.

  And that the doorway behind him was filled with Abe’s aunt Claire, Grandma Krasner, various cousins—and Abe’s mom.

  And my mom.

  Well, shit. “Hi,” I said weakly.

  Aunt Claire arched her brow. “Something you two wanted to tell us?”

  I wanted to curl up in a hole and die. “Um. . . ” Absolutely nothing came to mind.

  Abe shrugged and threw his arm around my shoulders. “We’re dating. ”

  Oh my God. My stomach swooped and then sprouted wings, which, seriously, was not something you wanted your stomach doing. I stared at Abraham so hard I thought my contacts might pop out. Then down at my feet. My cheeks were hot enough they could boil water.

  “You’re dating?” With my mom’s mouth open like that, she kind of looked like a fish.

  I smiled tentatively. “Sort of?”

  “Sort of?” Abe looked offended. “What do you mean, sort of?”

  “Um. ” Oh, shit. When had my life turned into a farcical comedy? I hated being the center of attention. I felt like a rabbit. A very red-cheeked rabbit.

  But Abe was right.

  I made myself bring my chin away from my chest, to an approximate parallel path with the ground. “Not sort of. Yes. We’re dating. Surprise!” If my arms hadn’t been frozen, I might have done jazz hands.

  It was probably a really good thing my hands were frozen.

  “All right, nothing to see here. ” Grandma Krasner started herding people away from us. “Leave the young ones alone. ”

  Thank God. Thankgodthankgodthankgod. Maybe I could remember how to breathe now.

  One of the younger cousins, now out of sight, let out a confused whine. “But I thought they weren’t dating!”

  Grandma Krasner took my gaping mother’s arm, and then her gaping daughter-in-law’s arm, and then she closed the pantry doors again quite firmly.

  Oxygen in, oxygen out.

  “See?” Abe smiled down at me. “That wasn’t so bad, was it?”