She trailed her fingers along his jaw. “Okay. Well, let’s just go in and get through this.”
After another quick squeeze, he released her hand and opened his door to hop out. She inhaled and blew the breath out slowly, then grabbed her purse as Will pulled her door open. He wrapped an arm around her waist and helped her out of the truck. He bussed her cheek and whispered, “I don’t think I told you before; you look amazing, Ms. Lawrence.”
He set her on her feet and she smoothed a hand along the simple black dress, which fell to just above her knees.
“You don’t look so bad yourself, Mr. Calonen,” she teased. In truth, he looked amazing in black dress pants, crisp white shirt with the top button undone. She could see just a hint of his collarbone and fought the urge to lean forward and run her tongue along it. She pressed her thighs together and tried to ignore the familiar twitch, twitch Will seemed to cause by just breathing.
She ran her fingers along the collar of his shirt. “I suppose it seems silly to you to get dressed up for a family dinner. Sorry about that.” She grimaced. “We could have rebelled, I guess, and shown up in jeans and t-shirts.”
He grinned, then took her hand. He pushed the truck door shut and they made their way up the steps. “Next time,” he promised.
“Deal.”
Emma opened the door and they stepped into the entryway. She crossed the large space and set her purse on the table near the staircase. “Hello? We’re here!” she called out.
“We’re in here,” came Matt’s shout.
Emma turned toward Will as he burst out laughing. “What?”
“So not what I expected.” He shook his head.
“And what was that? A butler waiting to take my things and escort us to the parlor?” she asked archly.
He gave a sheepish grin and an exaggerated shrug.
“Well, I’d be happy to escort you, sir.” She hooked her arm through his and together, they walked into the front room where her family was gathered.
They were greeted immediately by Mia and Mandy.
“Auntie Emma! You brung Will!” Mia exclaimed, throwing her arms around Will’s knees. “Hi, Will.”
Her younger sister mimicked her movements, effectively stopping Will in his tracks. “Hiya, Will.”
“Well, hello,” he said as he untangled their limbs and crouched down. “My goodness, you both look beautiful.”
Mandy simply grinned while Mia fluffed her red dress. “It’s new,” she said proudly.
“Yours too?” he asked Mandy, clucking her under the chin. She nodded happily, then did a little twirl that set the blue skirt floating. “Lucky girls.” He stood and reached for Emma’s hand. She gave it a quick squeeze as her dad crossed the room.
“Hi, Dad.” She stood on tiptoe and kissed his cheek. “You remember Will from the housewarming, don’t you?”
Henry nodded, then turned to Will. “We met in passing.” He held his hand out. “It’s good to see you again.”
“Good to see you too. Thanks for inviting me.” He shook the older man’s hand. “You have a beautiful home, Mr. Lawrence.”
“Call me Henry, Will.” He clapped a hand on Will’s shoulder and led him toward where the rest of the family gathered. “You know my sons?”
Emma watched quietly as her brothers and sisters-in-law greeted Will. Only Matt welcomed him warmly. She rolled her eyes and stepped forward until she was next to Will.
“You know Mandy and Mia, of course,” she said brightly, “but you don’t know Tom’s kids.” She gestured to the other three children in the room. “Scott’s sixteen, Beth is twelve, and Jason just turned ten. You know, you should talk to Will, Scott. He’s a chef.” She turned to Will. “Scott cooks like a pro. You should have tasted the dinner he cooked for his mom on Mother’s Day. To die for.”
“You just say that because you can’t cook,” Scott said with an awkward laugh.
“Brat.” She stuck her tongue out at him. “I may not be able to cook, but I can definitely eat and I know good food when it hits my mouth, thank you very much. You should talk, though. Will can tell you all about culinary school and what he does.”
“He is not going to culinary school,” Tom sneered.
Scott looked down at his feet and took a step back. Will tensed slightly and Emma glanced up to see his jaw clench. She turned to Tom and glared. What the hell was wrong with him? Did it even dawn on him how insulting that was? Before she could say anything, his wife, Alice jumped in.
“Scott has plenty of time to decide what he wants to do, and it will be his decision, not yours, honey.” She smiled brightly at her son, then at Will. “I’ve eaten at your restaurant a number of times. The food is delicious.”
Will nodded stiffly. “Thanks.”
“Well, hopefully you’ll enjoy dinner, tonight,” Matt drawled. “Not every day we’re entertaining a talented chef. And I can attest to the talented part. He’s fed me a few times.”
“I’m sure our chef will meet his standards.” Tom gave Matt a harsh look. “He trained in France before coming to the States.”
“He did, huh?” Will asked pointedly. “Maybe I met him while I trained in France?”
Emma bit her lower lip to keep from laughing. “Uh, I’m going to give Will a quick tour before we eat.” She grabbed his hand and dragged him out into the entry. “Oh God, I’m so sorry. He’s an ass. There’s no excuse for—”
Will stopped her with a finger against her lips. “Don’t worry about it. Not the first person I’ve encountered who looked down on what I do.”
She pressed against him and gave his finger a quick swipe with her tongue. “Stupid people.”
“Hmmm.” He shifted his hand into her hair and lowered his head. His mouth covered hers in a hard, brutal kiss. She slid her arms around him and flattened her palms on his back. She moaned helplessly as his tongue snaked around hers in a sleek, sensuous dance. His fingers tightened painfully…deliciously, and he pulled her head back. After a quick nip on her bottom lip, he trailed his mouth along her jaw.
“I thought you were giving me a tour?” His hot breath washed over her skin and goose bumps erupted over her body.
“That was just an excuse to get out of there,” she said in a rush. “Do you really want a tour?”
He licked her earlobe, then straightened. “Not particularly, but…” he flexed his hips and the hard length of his cock pressed against her intimately, “I need some recovery time before facing your family again. Don’t want to scare the poor kids.”
She dropped her head against his shoulder and groaned. What she wouldn’t give to grab his hand, drag him out the door and get home as quickly as possible. He ran both hands down her back to rest on her ass. After a quick squeeze, he released her and stepped back.
“Lead the way, sweetheart,” he said with a wry grin, and took her hand.
As they started walking, she glanced at him. “So you studied in France?”
“Nope.”
She burst out laughing and slapped at his arm playfully.
“I couldn’t help myself. Him and the fancy French chef, my ass…” he muttered, then glanced around. “God, this house is huge.”
Emma nodded. “Yeah, I know. Tom and Mark and their families all live here. Separate wings upstairs, of course.”
“Of course,” he drawled. “You lived here before buying your house?”
“I moved out five years ago, shared an apartment with Ana until I bought the house.” She opened double doors and motioned for him to enter. “This is my favorite room, the library. I can’t tell you how many hours I spent curled up on that couch reading and just escaping.”
He strolled over to the long leather sofa and ran a finger along the worn arm, then looked at her. “Escaping what?”
She gave a small shrug. “Everything, sometimes. Don’t get me wrong, I had a great childhood. I know how damned lucky I was to have the advantages I did. But,” she said slowly, “it’s not easy being the only girl. My moth
er was in a car accident when I was six, so from that point on, it was just me and all the guys. And they were…protective, to put it mildly.”
Will sat on the sofa and patted the cushion next to him. She smiled and went to him. She toed off her shoes and sat, curling her legs beneath her, leaning against him. A sigh escaped as he wrapped his arm around her, and she closed her eyes and just enjoyed the warmth of his embrace.
“Moving out was tough,” she continued. “Dad was against it from the start. I think, in his opinion, I was supposed to stay here until I got married. Maybe not even then.” She laughed softly. “It was suffocating though, especially once Tom and Mark were married and the kids came along. I love them and love spending time with them, but I was spending more time with their kids than they were. I was a built-in nanny, I suppose.”
Will rubbed his palm up and down her bare arm, but said nothing.
“When I moved out, things got really tense. Dad disapproved, but didn’t try to talk me out of it. Tom and Mark were more vocal in their objections.”
“Shocker,” he muttered.
“I know, right? But they were more concerned with how it would inconvenience them than if it was a good move for me. Matt was supportive. Then again, he’d moved out long before I did.”
“And your other brother—Nick, right?—what did he think of it?” Will asked.
“He was out of the country at the time, but he made his opinion clear.” She chuckled. “He sent me a card that said ‘Long, long overdue. Congrats.’ Right to the point, that’s Nick.”
“I look forward to meeting him.”
She lifted her head and met his gaze. “He’d like you.”
He lifted a brow. “What makes you think that?”
She cupped his cheek and rubbed her thumb over his lips. “Because you make me happy.”
“Goes both ways, sweetheart.”
Shifting onto her knees, she leaned forward until her mouth hovered over his. “I love you, Will.”
As soon as she said the words, her stomach knotted and she couldn’t pull in a breath. Damn it, she hadn’t meant to blurt it out like that, and certainly not so soon.
Will’s eyes narrowed slightly and he seemed to be searching for something in her gaze. When he opened his mouth, she quickly covered it with her palm.
“Stop. You don’t have to say anything, and you definitely don’t have to say it just because I did. I shouldn’t have said it, anyway. We’ve been together a little while, and it’s far too soon to be thinking along those lines, right? God, I’m sorry.”
He grasped her wrist and pulled her hand from his mouth. “Emma,” he said, clearly exasperated.
“I shouldn’t have said it,” she whispered.
“But do you?”
She blinked, surprised by the harsh question. “What?”
“Do you love me?” he asked slowly, succinctly.
“I…” She inhaled deeply, willing the fluttering in her belly to stop. “Yes,” she admitted.
He stared at her, then his lips curved oh so deliciously. “Sweet, sweet Emma.” His hand swept up her arm, over her shoulder, up to cradle the back of her head. He guided her forward and seized her mouth. Emma gripped his shoulders and let herself fall into the seduction. The silky glide of his lips over her, the wet heat of his tongue as it pushed inside to tangle with hers. His harsh groan vibrated through her soul…
“For crying out loud, this is what you call a tour?”
Emma jolted and twisted around to see Matt standing in the doorway, shaking his head.
“Think you two can keep your hands off each other long enough to make it through dinner?” he drawled.
“We’ll manage.” Will chuckled as Emma scrambled to stand.
Her cheeks aflame, she slid her feet into her shoes, then looked at him through her lashes as he rose from the couch. He held her gaze intently a moment.
“Ready?”
She nodded, then walked with him to the door, ignoring her brother as they passed. Matt laughed and followed them to the dining room, where the adults were already seated.
“Where are the kids?” she asked with sigh, though she already knew the answer. Her brothers preferred not to be bothered with their children as they ate. Idiots.
“They’re eating in the kitchen then heading upstairs,” Tom replied.
“It’s supposed to be a family dinner,” she murmured, then shot Will a smile as he held her chair out for her. “Thanks.”
He dropped a kiss on the top of her head before sitting next to her. At least her dad had listened to her and the food was spread out on the table, family style—instead of having staff serve them formally. That was something, she supposed. She filled her plate and listened with half an ear as Will and Matt, who sat across from them, discussed the current baseball season.
She’d just taken a bite of the roast chicken when Mark pinned with her look.
“So are you ready to quit playing house and get a real job, Emma?”
Chewing slowly, she narrowed her eyes in his direction. Leave it to him to make things even more uncomfortable. Jerk.
Chapter Eleven
Though he kept his eyes on Matt, Will was completely focused on Emma. She stiffened at her asshole brother’s question and didn’t answer immediately. When she did the tension in her voice was clear.
“I assume by ‘real job’ you’re referring to the position as your admin assistant? No, thanks,” she said curtly.
“So you plan to continue living off family funds and not working?”
Now, Will did turn. Mark stared Emma down, a frown marring his face. She took another bite and lifted one shoulder.
“You’re being completely ridiculous and irresponsible,” Mark bit out.
“How?” she asked quietly. “I invested the money Grandmother left me, and am living comfortably. I don’t see how that affects you at all.”
“The rest of us work hard at our jobs while you take advantage of your situation,” Tom jumped into the argument. “You’re setting a poor example for the kids, Emma. They’ll get the impression it’s okay to do nothing and expect everything in return. You act as though you’re too good to do any work, yet you’re ‘living comfortably’.”
Will glanced around the table, shock coursing through him. Why the hell wasn’t anyone defending her? The bastards were ganging up on her and everyone sat there like that was okay. Their father, though frowning at the exchange, said nothing. To hell with this. Will opened his mouth, but Matt beat him to the punch.
“When was the last time either of your paychecks went into this house?” The younger Lawrence leaned back in his seat, the picture of complete calm—until you looked at his eyes, which sparked with anger.
Mark glanced at his brother. “Excuse me?”
“Last time I checked, you—and your families—live here, in Dad’s house, and I just wondered what you were contributing. I know Dad doesn’t charge you rent or anything, so accusing Em of living off family funds takes some balls.”
“Enough,” Emma said quietly, eyes cast downward, color staining her cheeks. Her hand trembled as she set her fork down. “This is hardly the time for this discussion.”
Will reached under the table and settled his hand on her thigh. She wrapped her fingers around his and squeezed tightly. Desperately.
Henry studied his daughter a moment, brow furrowed, before clearing his throat and looking at Will. “So, how did you meet my Emma, Will?”
So they were going to pretend all was normal and well? All right, then.
“Emma was out with her friends and Matt celebrating her birthday. I was at the club to listen to the band; my sister is their guitarist. I knew Hannah and Lynn—we went to school together—and met Emma and Ana that night. And you could say Emma and I hit it off right away.” He turned his hand over until his palm kissed Emma’s. She finally looked at him, and her smile nearly stopped his heart. Inwardly, he groaned at the overly romantic thought, but God, she was beautiful.
> “And you went home with her that night.”
Mark’s disapproving voice grated across Will’s nerves. Anger surged, swift and hot, as Emma’s smile disappeared and her eyes drifted closed briefly. He shifted his gaze to the other man and lifted a brow.
“I was there the next morning, remember? You were there, half-dressed, looking quite comfortable in my sister’s house.” Mark glanced at his father, then smirked at Will.
“Last time I checked your sister was an adult. What’s between her and me is just that. Between us,” he bit out.
“I just think your relationship has moved rather quickly.” Bracing his elbows on either side of his plate, Mark leaned forward. “I guess when it comes to a woman with Emma’s…rich qualities, quickly is the best way, right?”
Emma jerked in her seat and her gasp echoed through the room. The horrified look on her face had Will’s anger morphing into fury. His chair scraped the floor loudly as he stood.
“You son of a—”
“Will.” Emma grabbed his hand and rose. “Don’t.”
“I’m sure as hell not going to sit here while he implies the only reason I’m with you is your fucking money.”
“No, of course not.” She looked up at him, eyes glistening. “We’re leaving.”
He nodded and, letting go of her hand, wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “Thank you, Mr. Lawrence, for the invite. I won’t lie and say it’s been a pleasure.”
Henry leaned back in his seat, his eyes oddly bright, and gave a slight nod.
“God, this is ridiculous!” Mark exclaimed as Will led Emma to the door.
She froze. “Go on to the truck if you want. This will just take a minute.”
Turning on her heel, she stalked to the table and slapped her hands on the surface. Cutlery and china clattered.
“How dare you?”
Will didn’t try to hold back his smile as she practically shouted the words at her brothers. He braced his legs apart, content to wait for her to finish.
“What right do you have to say anything to him? To judge him? You don’t know him, and you aren’t even trying to. You made up your minds already so to hell with anything else, right? Clearly a man can’t be interested in me; he has to be a gold digger.”
Her Way Page 13