At the mention of her name, the man’s dark-haired wife sauntered through the door. “Now don’t you be teasing him. Not everyone can be slim and trim and the darlin’ of the silver screen.”
If there was any jealousy in the woman’s tone, Marc couldn’t detect it. Carrie moved close to her husband and sister-in-law and was welcomed with open arms. In fact, they all seemed to get along quite well.
As Carrie drifted toward Faith and Parker, Scott leaned down to Gina. “You okay, sis?” His quiet tone told Marc that he meant the words for her ears only.
“Yeah.”
“Not real convincing for an actress.” His keen gaze examined her as though she were beneath a microscope.
“Hey.” She quickly stepped away from him. “I want you to meet someone. Scott this is Marc Charleston. Marc, my eldest brother, Scott Easton.”
The tender expression the man had for his sister disappeared. Marc extended his hand and for a moment he thought Scott would refuse him. Gina nudged her brother into action and he took the proffered hand.
Once again, Marc found his character scrutinized, but this time he read a warning in the intense blue eyes of Gina’s older brother as his hand closed with a death grip.
“Honey?” Carrie placed her palm on her husband’s biceps and he released Marc. “We need to check on Sylvia.”
Scott slung an arm around his wife and one around Gina. “Come on. Let’s go get something to eat.”
Gina flashed Marc a look that he took as an apology. Then she wiggled out from beneath her brother’s protection, moving to Marc’s side.
“We’ll be down in a little bit. I need to change.”
“You look fine to me,” Scott grumbled before glaring at Marc. Marc, on the other hand, smiled in return.
Carrie shook her head. “Come on, big fellow. Let’s see what delicacies await us.”
As they all filed out the door, Gina turned to Marc. “I’m so sorry.”
“You don’t have to apologize. Your brothers are looking out for your welfare.”
Her brows tugged together. “I’ve never seen Scott like that before, so rude.”
“Protective,” Marc clarified. “With all the headlines about you, your entire family is probably wondering what the hell is going on, and then you show up with me.”
Gina snuggled close to him, her hands smoothing up his chest, stirring every nerve in his body. Through feathered lashes, she gazed up at him. Marc cupped the back of her head and leaned in to capture her mouth. The whimper she released thrilled him, but he knew exactly what she was doing when her tongue slipped between his lips. Gently, he took a step back, breaking the caress.
“You’re delaying the inevitable.” Yet he did have to agree. Taking Gina to bed sounded more fun than having another pissing contest with Scott. In fact, having her tied to that large four-poster bed sounded even better. Maybe a little sultan play. He could tease and love her all night long.
Her coy smile was sexy. “How’d you know?”
“Sweetheart, I know everything about you.” He pulled her back into his arms and kissed her thoroughly before swatting her on the ass.
She yelped, laughing. “Okay. Okay. I’ll go change.”
As she rummage through a suitcase and then headed for the bathroom, Marc took a moment to survey his surroundings. The room was large, feminine. The curtains and matching comforter were cream with white eyelet lace. Even the light oak furniture had a womanly touch to it. He’d already noticed the king-size bed, but there was also a dresser and mirror, a tall armoire and a table with two chairs that sat near the window. The furnishings were elegant but simple. Pictures hung throughout were of Gina and family members on what looked like vacations. Marc especially enjoyed the one where she looked about sixteen in a bikini lying on the beach, a starlet pose that gave him a glimpse into the dreams she had made reality.
Now if only she would allow him to make all her other dreams come true.
Chapter Nine
Surrounded by family, Gia should have felt at ease, but it was just the opposite. The subtle looks she received not only from her immediate family members but cousins, aunts and uncles were enough to make her skin crawl. With all family get-togethers it seemed there was always someone who supplied fodder for gossip. Guess it was her this time.
Oh wait. Hadn’t she been the topic of discussion two years ago too?
Scanning the crowd, she spied Marc with her nieces. As she approached, Sylvia was intently explaining the rules of badminton. Gia smiled at the grin he wore.
“Can I play?” Gia asked.
“Sure,” Shelley chirped. “Here.” She pushed the old-fashioned racket in Gia’s hand. Blonde ringlets bounced as the little girl ran to where additional equipment was stashed.
“Whose team am I on?”
“Mine,” Shelley yelled, returning. “When the birdie comes to you, Aunt Gina, you have to swing. Okay? Now stand over there.”
“Okay.” Quickly Gia moved to the location her niece pointed to.
“Ready?” Sylvia raised her racket.
When everyone acknowledged their readiness, she tossed the shuttlecock into the air and batted it over the net. There was a slight breeze in her favor and it carried the birdie right to Gia. She swung, striking and returning it.
The game was on.
Marc moved out of the way to allow Sylvia to intercept the shuttlecock, only swinging when she was out of reach. He even gave up his serve to allow Sylvia more playing time. Gia marveled at how at ease he was with the children. When Marc and Sylvia won the game, he swept the child off her feet and swung her high into the air, both of them laughing.
“He’s good with the girls.” Gia’s mother eased up beside her. Evidently, she had been watching them from the sidelines. “Has he ever been married?”
“No. But he has two nephews.” The lie came easily.
“Soooo… Is it as serious as he alluded to earlier?”
Serious? If only Gia could confide in her mom, but she knew the fallout would be monumental. She shrugged.
As always her mother didn’t push the issue, allowing Gia to come around in her own time, which might be a very long time in this case.
When Marc came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist, she startled. He hugged her tight and for whatever reason the world righted. Well, except for the interest that gleamed in her mother’s eyes.
“Mrs. Easton, thank you for allowing me to invade your special occasion. By the way, congratulations.”
“Thank you. It’s a pleasure having you join us. And please, call me Elaine.” She turned to Gia. “The Seattle Seahawks are playing San Francisco. Parker said to send Marc in to join them.”
Yikes! Football? Sports and politics. Dangerous topics.
“Do you like football?” she asked tentatively.
“Love it.” Marc responded with way too much enthusiasm for her comfort. “Lead the way.”
Leaving her mother behind, they walked toward the house. “Do you really know anything about football?” Sports, hunting and fishing were everything to her family.
“I do. Trust me.”
Trust me. Such easy words to say—hard to do.
“The Seahawks are my family’s favorite team.”
“San Francisco is mine.”
There was a cockiness to his tone that pulled Gia to a screeching halt just outside the door. “Marc?” But he had already stepped inside, heading toward the cheers and laughter.
Shit. Shit. Shit. This had catastrophe written all over it.
As she entered the large, circular video room behind Marc, Parker tossed an open beer toward him. He caught it dead-on, not spilling a drop. Tipping the bottle to his lips, he took a long drag and then crossed the carpeted floor that muffled his footsteps. The curved walls were aligned with luxurious theater chairs designed for comfort and also for viewing at any angle. Passing by several unoccupied chairs, Marc plopped down in one right next to Scott, surprising Gia. The friction between
him and her eldest brother couldn’t be mistaken. As she wondered if Marc’s choice of companionship was intentional, an itchy sensation spread across her skin.
Gia hovered next to Marc, squealing when he reached over and pulled her onto his lap, earning a frown from Scott. Marc handed her the beer and she took a swig.
Slowly she scanned the occupants. Everyone with even a mild case of testosterone was in attendance, which included some of the younger boys and an aunt or two. What could she say?
A low grind sounded as a panel in the middle of the ceiling slid open and the television projector emerged. A spotlight shone down and dust motes floated in the beam. The surround-sound speakers rumbled and for a moment the crowd grew silent. Then a hologram formed, displaying the pre-game announcers chatting around a table and the prattle in the room continued.
Scott slid his narrow gaze from her to Marc. “What do you do for a living, Charleston?”
“I work for the Institute of Robotics.”
Gia’s eyes widened. Marc wouldn’t dare.
Scott looked away, feigning attention on the picture before them. “Janitor?”
She ground her teeth, wanting to berate her brother, but thinking it best not to in front of a crowd. What had gotten into Scott? He never treated anyone with such disrespect.
Marc chuckled but there wasn’t any humor in the low, ominous sound. “I’m a scientist.”
Scott harrumphed in disbelief. “Scientist?”
“Yes. I’m the creator of the latest models of the Male Android Companions,” Marc offered smugly while Gia almost swallowed her tongue.
No. No. NO. This was not happening.
How would she ever remember all these lies? And how dare Marc tread so close to the truth of where they met? Gia took another drink of the bitter ale and then another. Hell. She tipped the bottle up and drained it dry.
“Hmmm…” Scott eased back in his seat. “Been working there long?”
“Since college.” Marc pinned his gaze on the hologram, which showed clips of each team’s prior games. Other than the television, silence reigned—all eyes seemed to be focused on him.
Last week’s game between the Seahawks and Cardinals filled the room. A young boy jumped up from his seat, blending in with the three-dimensional picture. With a big grin on his face, he ran after the football player carrying the ball, stopping only when he smashed into a coffee table. The crash pulled everyone’s gazes from Marc to seven-year-old Joshua, who started to cry. When he realized he’d captured everyone’s attention he thought differently about weeping and dried up immediately. His father, one of Gia’s cousins, pulled the boy backward out of the center of the room.
“I saw the advertisement the other day.” Parker moved up behind Marc and Gia, handing her another beer as he took the empty from her. “Can’t really be a market for such a thing. I mean, what woman would want an android when she could have the real thing?”
“Like you, bro?” Scott snickered.
“Well. Yeah.” Parker flexed his biceps, which was pretty impressive even to Gia. “I’m prime-cut, USDA male.”
“And married,” their father stated frankly. He sat on the other side of Scott pretending to watch the pre-game, but she knew his sharp attention was on the interplay between Marc and her brothers. How did she know this? Because he was that type of man. Nothing escaped his regard, especially a stranger introduced into the family.
“We sold twelve units within three hours and I have a backorder of six.” Marc jumped when she pinched him on the side. He frowned. “What?”
She giggled nervously. “Quit showing off.”
“Baby, it’s the truth.”
Gia flexed and curled her fingers. She felt like strangling him. Why didn’t he just keep his mouth shut? Thank goodness the announcer introduced the two teams and they began lining up for the kickoff. But that’s when the real fun began.
San Francisco received the ball and Marc almost threw her off his lap as he started to cheer for the receiver.
Gia tensed, every muscle and tendon bunched.
Except for the play-by-play commentary from the television, a dead hush filled the room. All steely eyes were on Marc but he didn’t seem to notice, he was so intent on watching the runner successfully weaving through a mass of oncoming Seahawks. Gia almost cheered when the runner’s luck ran out.
“Damn,” Marc yelled when the 49er became buried beneath a mob of navy-blue uniforms. “That was a hell of a catch.” He turned and she saw him fighting a grin. “Don’t you think, Scott?” The little devil was teasing her brother.
Parker was the first to catch on and then her father as they burst into laughter. Several others in the room followed.
When Scott realized Marc’s reaction was for his benefit, he chuckled softly. “Sis, your man has shit for brains, even if he is a scientist. Thank God he had the good sense to snatch you up.”
Gia took her first real breath since they’d entered the room, pulling it deep into her lungs. Snaking her arms around Marc’s neck, she relaxed against him. He held her near until the ball was snapped and the game resumed.
The noise in the room rose with the excitement. The comfortable rivalry in the air actually appeared to make the game even better for her family as they threw Marc insults and he returned them admirably.
Everything was working out.
Then why did tears threaten to fall? She squirmed in his arms. This is exactly what she had dreamed of, except that their arrangement was a ruse. Gia glanced at Marc and felt her chest tighten. He would never be part of their family—couldn’t.
During a commercial, he leaned into her. “You okay?”
“Yeah. Sure.” Even to her the taut smile she plastered on her face felt weak.
Concern darkened his eyes.
Dammit. She wasn’t fooling him.
“Do you want to go outside?” he asked.
“Yes. No. You stay here and watch the game.” Gia started to rise but felt his arms close around her.
“You need me.” It wasn’t a question but a statement.
How did he do that? Yes. She needed him or at least someone like him. He was perfect except for the small fact that he wasn’t human.
“I haven’t seen Mom and Becka in so long. I think I’ll join them. You stay and watch the game.”
He slid his warm palm down her bare arm, causing goose bumps to pebble her arms. Every inch of her ached to feel him against her, to have him hold her as if he would never let her go. If only—
Her heart squeezed as he gripped her hand.
When the room exploded into loud cheers, Marc’s gaze darted to the hologram. “You sure?”
Gia nodded and pulled out of his grasp before quietly drifting toward the door and letting herself out. Outside wasn’t much better than inside. Sylvia dodged Shelley in a game of tag. Children ran all over the ground like ants. Their laughter and screams filled the wide-open space, reminding Gia of what she didn’t have.
In the distance she saw Aunt Clare pinning her keen gaze on her. Quickly she looked away and headed for the line of trees promising escape. It had been so long since she had filled her lungs with the clean scent of pine. A forest of fir trees shot upward some seventy-five to a hundred feet, threatening to block out the sun. Vines and other foliage draped the trees, shrubs and ground. Serenity promised to take her into its embrace.
Gia’s intrusion on nature as she walked through its folds had several birds skittering from their nests. A squirrel scampered up the rough bark of a tall Noble Fir. The branches swayed beneath his weight each time he pounced from limb to limb. A rabbit twitched its nose as it watched her from some underbrush.
In the distance, the rush of water caressed her ears. The creek that ran through the property had been her favorite spot when she lived here. Approaching the rippling stream, she dragged in a weighted breath. Life here had been simple as a young child. Why did growing up have to be so complex? Beneath her leaden footsteps, twigs snapped and dried leaves
crackled. As she sat down upon the cushy ground of pine needles and mulch, she pulled her knees to her chest and hugged them.
Only a week ago it had felt as if she was on the right track heading for happiness. Now she felt overwrought, out of sync. It didn’t help that she was amongst her family, who had found their other halves to make them whole.
Would she ever find someone like Marc, who could rock her world behind bedroom doors and provide her with love beyond them? Someone who could make her remember the simple things in life? Family. Love. Children. And what about her career? If she did find the paragon of her dreams, would he insist she give up acting?
Resting her chin on her knees, Gia watched the water cascade over the rocks and fallen branches. “Marc,” she whispered his name. What was she going to do about him when they returned to California?
The 49ers won by a field goal. Marc kept his gloating to a minimum and basked in the success he had achieved winning Gina’s brothers’ acceptance. Her father, although hospitable, had not yet let him penetrate the barricade around him, but Marc would. If he could gain acceptance from her family, maybe when this all blew up in his face he would have their support.
As the group filed outside in one big boisterous crowd, Marc glanced around. He located Elaine and Becka rounding up the children, but Gina wasn’t with them.
“She’s hiding.” It was Parker’s lovely blonde wife who appeared from somewhere behind him. She gazed across the ribbons of yellow, orange and red streaking the sky. “When it gets too much for Gina, she disappears into the woods.”
Too much? Had something happened?
“Does she hide often?”
Faith shrugged, but the truth was in her eyes. She cared for Gina. “It will be dark soon. Maybe you should find her. Look down by the creek.” Then she gave him a tender smile and directions before she walked away.
The second the trees swallowed him up, the daylight dimmed in the cooling evening. The height of the trees and the thick vegetation gave the place an almost melancholy air. Twigs and brittle leaves snapped beneath his feet as he moved deeper into the forest. When the tickling sounds of flowing water touched his ears, he headed in that direction.
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