* * *
Gwen was relieved when Dominic led her toward his black Silverado pickup truck. She was late getting home and had just enough time to change into a belted, green sheath dress and strappy, black sandals. She hadn’t considered the fact that he might drive his motorcycle until they walked toward the parking lot.
She couldn’t help but admire how he looked in his perfectly pressed black dress pants with a blue button-down dress shirt. She had always thought him all rugged male, but seeing him dressed up tonight showed her that he fit in perfectly well, no matter what the surroundings.
He took her hand, helping her up into the truck before pulling the seat belt around her. He kissed her lightly, then ran his hand down her thigh. “You look beautiful tonight, baby.”
“So do you,” she said honestly. She didn’t bother to hide her admiration as she openly stared up at him.
“Don’t look at me like that,” he growled, “or we’ll never make it on time.” She grinned as he adjusted himself before stepping back and shutting the door.
He held her hand as they made their way through the Myrtle Beach traffic. “Where are we going?” Gwen asked, realizing that she had no idea. She would have been just as happy having dinner at his apartment again. Yeah, that resolve to keep her distance wasn’t working at all.
She almost thought she had imagined the quick grimace that crossed his face until he said tightly, “You’re probably going to be pissed off at me so I might as well give you fair warning.”
“What? Why?” she asked, confused and a little unnerved by his prediction. Where could he possibly be taking her that would make her mad? She didn’t care if they went to McDonald’s; she just wanted to spend some time with him.
“We’re . . . kind of having dinner with my sister at Ivy.”
“Oh, I like Ivy.” Gwen smiled before the word “sister” sank in. “Um, your sister?” she squeaked, fighting the urge to open her door and roll out into traffic. She and Dominic had been doing things for only a few days and she was meeting his family? Oh my God, she’d never made it that far with a man before. She felt herself beginning to panic when the truck suddenly stopped.
Dominic had pulled off the road and was looking at her with a worried expression. “Shit, I’m sorry, Gwen. It’s just that my sister, Meredith, is in town for some convention. She’s a blogger for a romance book site. She had told me originally that she’d be going home right afterward, but then today she called and said she was staying overnight. I wanted to see her, but then you and I had already made plans and I didn’t want to break those. I just kept putting off making a decision all day and then it was six and it was too late to change anything. So, fuck, please don’t be angry. I just didn’t know what to do.” At any other time, Gwen would have found Dominic’s unusual rambling funny. He was normally so calm and self-assured, but it was obvious now that he was afraid she was going to freak out and dammit, she was about to.
“Maybe you should just take me back home,” she suggested tightly. “Your sister is expecting to just see you tonight. You don’t want to spend your time trying to entertain me when you could be catching up with her.” Why were men so completely oblivious to social situations that made women cringe? Meeting a man’s family was something that usually didn’t happen for quite some time—or in Gwen’s case, never. She certainly hadn’t been expecting to meet his sister the first week they started dating.
Dominic took both of her hands in his, forcing her to look at him. “Babe, I really want you with me tonight. I know you’ll like Meredith. She’s a lot of fun and you two will get along well. Please do this for me. I wouldn’t ask if I thought you’d be uncomfortable around her.”
Oh shit, he was giving her the sad puppy dog eyes. How was she supposed to say no? He’d included her in his life tonight as no other man ever had. Maybe it was way too soon, but if she turned him down, it might set the tone for the rest of their possible future relationship. How bad could it be? She’d have a glass—or three—of wine and enjoy a meal at a restaurant that she couldn’t often afford herself. It was a win-win. She just needed to pull the big-girl panties up and say yes. “All right,” she agreed softly.
“Really?” A look of relief crossed his face as he squeezed her hands tightly. “Thank you, Gwen. I promise you’ll have a good evening.” She nodded in reply, already regretting her decision. As they walked through the parking lot, Gwen saw a dark-haired woman rushing toward them. Dominic leaned down and said something that struck fear in her heart just before his sister launched herself into his arms. “Meredith reminds me a lot of Maddy and Megan. Heck, she could be their mother. You don’t embarrass easily, do you?”
Surely, he was just kidding . . . “Dom!” his sister yelled as she hugged him tightly. Suddenly, she turned in his arms and noticed Gwen standing at his side. “Holy shit, did you actually bring a woman with you?”
“Very funny.” Dominic laughed, pulling on his sister’s hair. “Mer, this is Gwen Day. Gwen, this is my sister, Meredith, and she’s the rude one in the family.”
Gwen extended a hand to the other woman only to find herself pulled into a hug instead. “What a surprise! Wow, my brother brought a woman to dinner!” Gwen looked helplessly at Dominic as Meredith slung an arm over her shoulders and steered her toward the restaurant. “Now, how long have you known my brother?”
“Um . . . a few months,” Gwen replied. She might not have been sleeping with him that long, but she had known of him. Surely, that counted for something.
The other woman pulled back enough to look her up and down. “Honey, don’t take this the wrong way because I’m totally loyal in my love of men, but you are hot. I can see why Dom would like you. It’s so nice to see him dating someone with a little staying power.”
“Staying power?” Gwen asked uncertainly. She wasn’t sure she even wanted to know what that meant.
Meredith made a vague hand gesture before saying, “You know, a normal girl who has more on her mind than planning her next tattoo or body piercing.” They had been walking toward the glass doors of Ivy when Meredith stopped and spun around, causing Gwen to pull up sharply to avoid a collision. “Please tell me that you didn’t meet my brother at a strip club.”
“What?” Gwen gaped at her, thinking she must have heard the question wrong.
“You don’t collect dollar bills in a G-string for a living, do you?” Meredith asked, looking completely serious.
“N-no,” Gwen managed to get out, thinking Dominic was right. His sister was every bit as bad as Megan and Maddy. And what was it with the stripper questions. Was that Dominic’s usual mode of picking up women?
As if sensing her thoughts, Dominic closed the distance between them, resting his hand on the small of her back. “What are you two talking about?” he asked, looking just a tad too concerned.
“I was just assuring your sister that I didn’t work a pole for a living. She seemed to think that we might have possibly met that way.”
Looking not the least bit surprised or even upset, Dominic rolled his eyes at Meredith. “Could you at least wait until we’re inside before you run Gwen off?”
“Come on,” Meredith laughed, “it’s a valid question. Gage told us all about Kandi. He’s still upset with you, by the way, for dumping the poor girl.” Before Dominic could comment, they were seated at a table in the corner and a waiter had taken their drink orders. Gwen, though, found that she couldn’t let his sister’s earlier comment go without finding out more. She figured Meredith would happily satisfy her curiosity even if her brother did kill her afterward.
Flashing a brilliant smile, Gwen turned to the other woman and asked, “So, who’s Kandi?” She pretended not to hear the groan Dominic emitted beside her. Meredith, however, looked thrilled by her question.
“Well, I never met her personally, but according to Gage, my brother here thought she was some kind of ballet dancer who was quite popular with the men everywhere they went. She finally confessed that she performe
d her particular brand of ‘ballet’ to Beyoncé’s “Naughty Girl” most evenings at midnight . . . so he dumped her.”
“That’s not why we stopped seeing each other,” Dominic jumped in quickly.
Turning in her seat to stare at him, Gwen asked, “Oh really? Then why?”
He seemed surprised by her question before slumping down in his seat. “You don’t want me to answer that, babe. Trust me. Hell, neither of you want to hear it.”
Gwen was more determined than ever now to know the reason and his sister seemed to be right there with her. “Come on, brother dear, you can’t leave us hanging like this. Gage said it was just because you were a prude and didn’t like her profession.”
He shook his head, looking like a deer in the headlights. It was obvious that whatever the reason, he didn’t want to talk about it. She really should just let it go. He was more than likely right, and she was better off not knowing, but geez, it was going to kill her now. His sister continued to needle him until he finally cracked, saying something that Gwen hadn’t been expecting. “All right! She called my . . . package her lollipop, and she talked to it in some weird baby talk. It freaked me the fuck out, and I just couldn’t . . . do it and could you please stop being BFFs with Gage!”
Meredith burst out in laughter while Gwen just stared at him. Did he mean that he never slept with Kandi or that he couldn’t do it that last time before they broke up? She was helpless to deny the twinge of jealousy working its way through her system. No doubt, she had been no older than twenty-five, with the perfect, small ass, unlike herself. “Dear Lord, Dom.” Meredith giggled. “I can just imagine your face when that happened.”
“I’d rather you not be able to picture any of it, Mer. You are my sister, remember?” Gwen felt his eyes on her before his hand slid over her leg. “I told you that you didn’t really want to know,” he said quietly. “She didn’t mean anything to me, and she damn sure didn’t hold a candle to you.”
Meredith watched them from across the table, seemingly surprised by this softer side of her brother. If her smile was any indication, she completely approved. “Anyway, now that we’ve covered that, let me tell you what your nephews have been up to. Caleb got pissed at Jacob because he broke his iPad. Therefore, in retaliation, he flushed Jacob’s goldfish down the toilet. Then Jacob freaked out, took Caleb’s favorite Georgia Bulldogs T-shirt, and attempted to flush it. Well, needless to say, they clogged the upstairs toilet and flooded the bathroom and the hallway. Derrick was so pissed off I thought he would stroke out. He had the whole throbbing-vein-on-the-side-of-his-face thing going on.”
Dominic winced, laughing softly. “Those boys are something else. I guess that’s why Derrick said in his last e-mail that he’d been up to his knees in shit.”
“Trust me, he meant that literally.” Meredith shuddered. “We’d been meaning to have the carpet taken out and install hardwoods so that project got a major jump start.”
“How old are your boys?” Gwen asked, enjoying the easy banter between Dominic and his sister. It was obvious that he loved his nephews a lot and took great interest in their lives.
“Caleb is eight, and Jacob is six. Derrick’s holding down the fort while I’m gone, but hopefully he hasn’t set them out on the side of the road by now.”
Dominic smirked at his sister, saying, “I can’t believe you haven’t figured out how Derrick keeps the kids under control when you’re away. I mean, have you never noticed those muzzles in the hall closet?”
Meredith laughed, pointing her finger at her brother. “Hey, I’m smart enough not to question what happens when Mom’s away. As long as they are in one piece when I get home and Derrick’s not handing me divorce papers, I let it go.” Turning to Gwen, she added, “In case you’re wondering, my hubby’s a veterinarian.” Fanning herself she said, “The damn sexiest one you’ll ever meet. He has nerves of steel and a body for sin. I’m a very lucky girl!”
Dominic made a choking gesture at his sister’s words. “Can we please not turn this into an hour of talking about your husband’s . . . attributes. I feel like I know the man’s body much better than I should. Let’s leave it at ‘he’s a hell of a guy’ and deserves some kind of gold medal for all that he does.”
Meredith raised her glass of wine, smiling fondly as she said, “Here, here. No complaints there. So, Gwen, what type of work do you do?”
“I work at Danvers International as a senior accountant.” With a rueful grin, she admitted, “I’m a numbers nerd; I always have been.”
Giving her a look hot enough to melt the clothing from her body, Dominic growled, “You’re the sexiest nerd I’ve ever met.”
Meredith grabbed her wineglass, taking a gulp. “You do remember I’m here, right?”
Dominic looked at her as if surprised. He actually seemed to have forgotten that there was anyone else in the room other than the two of them. “It’s not like I haven’t heard worse from you,” he tossed back. Gwen could see a telltale blush on his face that was totally adorable. She loved that he could get so caught up in her that he blanked out the rest of the world. Again, that was something that had never happened to her with another man and it felt far too good.
As if just remembering Gwen’s earlier words, Meredith snapped her fingers, saying, “Hey, your office is at Danvers as well, right, Dom? Is that how you two met?”
Before thinking better of it, Gwen answered first. “Nope, we live in the same apartment.” Then realizing how that sounded, she was quick to clarify. “I mean we live in the same complex, but a few doors away. I noticed him there a long time before we actually crossed paths at Danvers.”
“A long time, huh?” Dominic eyed her across the table. “Exactly how long had you been watching me before we officially met, babe?”
Oh great, now she was the one turning red and stumbling over her words. She knew the guilt was written all over her face. Dammit, she had watched him for months. Even when she’d been going out with Mac, she hadn’t been able to resist ogling her hot neighbor. It made her feel as if she was a cheater when she realized that he and Mac were not only coworkers, but best friends. She’d like to say that she’d never looked at him again from that point on, but it would be a lie. “Well, um . . . I mean, of course I saw you coming and going sometimes. And, when you returned from your runs in the evening or in the summer when you were using the pool.” With both Meredith and Dominic now openly staring at her, she became even more flustered. God, she had admitted way more than she’d intended. Now she sounded like some kind of crazy stalker lady. She made matters even worse when she hastily added, “It was hardly ever, though. Not every day or anything.”
Meredith took advantage of her pause to wink at her. “Ah, girl, it’s okay. I don’t want to stroke his already overinflated ego, but my brother’s smoking. Even I can admit that. If I had a neighbor, not blood-related, of course, who looked like him, I’d be glued to my window every chance I got. Derrick thanks his lucky stars that we have only senior citizens living near us because he knows what would happen otherwise. I’m afraid being a book blogger has given me a new appreciation for the male body.”
“Thanks for that, sis. You managed to kill the thrill of Gwen’s words by sharing your inner pervert with us once again.” He looked around the table before shaking his head in shock. “We’re on our second bottle of wine, and we haven’t even ordered yet. How did that happen?”
Looking sheepish, Meredith admitted, “I kept waving the waiter away. The conversation was way too good for us to be interrupted. I guess we should eat now, though, because I’m buzzing just a little bit.”
Dominic picked up one of the wine bottles, then looked at Gwen. Before she could stop what she knew was coming, he grabbed her glass and said far too loudly, “Baby, are you drinking wine?”
“I . . . didn’t even think anything of it.” And that was the truth; nothing had entered her mind other than having a glass to relax. She figured by this point, though, she was a few past that. Putt
ing her hand over his, she tried to reassure him covertly since they had an audience, “It’s fine.”
He lowered his voice to match hers, sounding concerned. “I still think you should be on the safe side until we know for sure.”
Gwen felt like a cross between a scolded child and an unfit mother or mother-to-be, which only served to piss her off. She didn’t like being questioned; she wasn’t used to having to defend herself against something like this. Before she could make the snarky comment that was hovering on her lips, Meredith dropped her hand loudly onto the table and said in a whisper-shout that was mainly the shout part, “ARE YOU PREGNANT?”
And it was at that point that the evening went to hell. Gwen barely tasted what she knew was probably the best seafood of her life while Dominic tried to convince his sister that she had misunderstood things. For the rest of the meal Gwen spoke only when she was asked a direct question and then felt horribly guilty for being so rude to Meredith. She was determined to get her e-mail address from her ass of a brother and apologize.
A heavy silence hung over them as Dominic drove them home. He put his hand in the small of her back when they left his truck, and she childishly wanted to step away, but let it go. When they reached her door, she stopped and quickly found her keys in her purse. He took them from her hand and opened her door, as if he planned to come inside. She stepped up, blocking the doorway. Good manners kicked in, and she said stiffly, “Thanks for dinner. I’ll see you . . .”
He didn’t let her finish her brush-off. Instead, he put his hands on her hips and pushed her gently forward enough for him to enter behind her and shut the door. “Not so fast, baby. I’m not letting you go to bed and stew on how pissed off you are at me all night. We need to talk about this now.”
Gwen clenched her hands at her side to keep from wrapping them around his neck. Instead of yelling, though, she said sweetly, “Don’t you think I need my rest? I mean . . . we need to be cautious right now, just in case.”