A warm hand landed on his shoulder. “Hi, Deek. I see you met my sister. What are you two whispering about in here?”
He looked up at Lori, back at the woman beside him whose hair was just a bit different from Lori’s, then jumped to his feet. “You’re twins?”
The sister sitting on the couch laughed. “I’m Rachel. Sorry for messing with you. It was just too hard to resist.” She turned her attention to Lori. “Have you been holding out on me? Since when have you been into kinky sex?”
“What?” Lori turned three shades of red. “That’s what you guys were talking about?” She turned and faced him with widened eyes.
An older, attractive, dark-haired woman joined them. “It smells like the ribs are done, Lori.” She glanced his way. “Hi. I’m Linda, Lori and Rachel’s mother. Are you and your son staying for dinner?”
He was still reeling from the embarrassment that he’d just talked to a complete stranger about BDSM. “Well…”
Rachel said, “Of course he is. We have a million things to talk about, don’t we, Deek?” Rachel grinned mischievously as she grabbed his arm and tugged. “You should sit beside me.”
Panic set in. He needed an exit plan. Immediately.
“Nope.” Lori shook her head and clasped his other arm to hold him in place.
Was he going to be the middle of a twin tug-of-war sandwich?
“Quit teasing him, Rachel.” Lori stood on her tiptoes and whispered in his ear, “If you want to stay, I’ll protect you from my meddling family.”
“How many more are there?” He wasn’t sure what he had just gotten himself into.
Lori took his hand and pulled him toward the kitchen. “My brother, Nick, and my father will try to act all intimidating and ask a million questions, but they’re harmless. My sister-in-law, Shelby, knows all about you. But don’t get in between her and dessert. She’s pregnant. And you already survived meeting my sister and my mom.”
He glanced over his shoulder at the two women smiling as they followed behind. He felt like the turkey on Thanksgiving, about to be carved up and served.
But he still needed to talk to Lori, so he’d play along. Besides, the smoky aroma of the ribs baking in the oven made it impossible to say no. “Asher and I would love to stay for dinner.”
After dinner, Lori got the kids situated with chocolate cake at the table in the nook and then headed for the dining room to join the adults. She’d asked Deek’s permission first, just in case he didn’t want Asher to have any sugar. She was trying to respect Deek’s strict rules, but lucky for Asher, Deek made another exception and allowed one small piece.
She laid the cake on the table and sat next to Deek again. “Who’s ready for dessert?” Lori glanced at Deek, who’d held his own with her family so far, and couldn’t help her smile. “You were probably hoping for pie, but I hope cake will do.”
Puzzlement wrinkled his face as everyone at the table snickered. She pointed to his T-shirt. It said: Come to the nerd side. We have Pi.
“Ah. Good one.” Deek grinned back at her. “A small piece, please.”
She just loved how good-natured he always was. He had a great sense of humor, as long as it didn’t involve sarcasm. “You got it.” She cut his piece and then passed the cake plate to her mom.
Her brother, Nick, said to Deek, “I’m unclear about something. Are you dating my sister? Emily told me you’ve been here almost every day for the past couple of weeks.”
Shelby swatted his arm. “Don’t start.”
Her mother jumped in. “Nick, he has been helping Lori with her house renovations.” She turned to Deek. “Ignore him. Just enjoy your dessert.”
“No. It’s a fair question.” Deek laid down his fork. “Lori and I are just friends. Our kids go to the same school. Nothing more.”
Except for that mind-blowing kiss they’d shared. He must’ve already forgotten about it.
A tinge of sadness poked Lori’s heart at the straightforward tone Deek had used. Almost like it’d be silly that they’d ever be together. And he’d be right. He wanted someone else.
Rachel smirked as she cut herself a huge piece of cake. “Lori’s never had a guy friend before. Certainly not one she smiles at like that. You must be one special man, Deek.”
Her pregnant sister with a secret was going to pay for that one. She said to the table, “Didn’t we all just miss Rachel? And her…glowing personality?”
Rachel stuffed her mouth with cake as her eyes narrowed. She’d gotten the hint to knock it off.
Dad said, “Yes. We’re all glad you’re back, Rachel. Now, Deek, I understand you design software?”
All eyes at the table focused on poor Deek, who’d just taken a big bite of chocolate goodness. He nodded as he wiped his mouth with his napkin. “Video games, actually.”
“Video games?” Her father frowned as he chewed. “So that’s your only job?”
“Dad! Stop.” Lori wanted to crawl under the table and disappear. Her family was being so protectively obnoxious. “Deek designs the most popular game on the market, and he’s the top programmer in his field. He does very well for himself, not that it’s any of your business.” She glanced at Deek, whose eyebrows disappeared under the shock of hair that had fallen across his forehead. She whispered, “I googled you.”
Deek nodded his approval and then cleared his throat. “Since Lori cooked this wonderful meal, I’m on dish duty.”
“I’ll help you, Deek.” Her brother stood and started clearing the table. Something she’d rarely seen Nick do.
Shelby handed Nick her plate. “Be nice, Nick.” She tilted her face up for a kiss. “Or that couch might get lonely later.”
Lori smiled as she gathered up dishes while her brother kissed his wife like they were alone instead of in her dining room. Shelby was the only woman who’d been able to put Nick in his place, and he loved it. Their whole family adored Shelby for it. She was perfect for him. It made Lori sigh a little as she pushed the swinging door to the kitchen open with her hip.
Would she ever find that kind of love again?
Deek and Asher were almost home before Deek remembered he hadn’t told Lori about Jason the freak. He’d gotten so caught up in the great dinner Lori had cooked, all the nosy questions from her well-meaning family, and then the games they’d played afterward. Playing charades with her family had been so much fun, he’d forgotten to pull Lori aside and tell her what he’d found out about her date. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d enjoyed an evening that much. “Did you have a fun time tonight, Ash?”
“Yes!” Asher called out from the backseat. “Emily has fun aunts and uncles. And Mrs. Went makes great food. They have a nice family.”
“They do.” Deek met his son’s eyes in the rearview mirror. “And so will we when your mom comes home.”
Asher huffed out a breath. “I don’t think she’s ever coming home.”
A pang shot through Deek’s heart. Asher deserved a family like Emily’s too. “Mom says she is. After the dig is complete. We just don’t know exactly when that’ll be.”
Asher’s forehead crumpled, but he didn’t respond.
Deek poked the remote for his electronic gate at the end of his drive. While he waited for it to open, he turned around and faced his son. “Your mom misses you, Asher. I’m sure she’ll come home as soon as she’s able.”
Asher crossed his arms. “She didn’t even come home for Christmas. I know you just stuck her name on those gifts. I saw them in the closet where you were hiding them.”
Crap. How had he found them?
“Your mom asked me to buy those for you. They don’t have those kinds of toys where she is.” He turned and drove up the long drive to the house, desperately trying to think of something that might soothe his son’s hurt feelings. “Why don’t we call Mom after school tomorrow and tell her how much we miss her?”
“She only has time to talk to me on Wednesdays, not Mondays.”
“That’s not true. It�
�s just the best day for her to talk.” But Asher wasn’t entirely wrong. Annie told him he had to go back to once-a-week calls yesterday. But an exception was in order so she could reassure their son that she missed him.
After they had pulled into the garage, he turned off the engine and got out. Asher appeared by his side, so Deek slipped an arm around his small shoulders as they stepped inside the house. “I know it’s hard not to have Mom here with us every day. But we do okay, don’t we?”
“Yeah. I guess.” Asher shrugged out of Deek’s embrace and headed for the stairs. “I’m going to bed. Good night.”
“Night, bud.” Deek stood at the bottom and watched Asher, with slumped shoulders, slowly trudge to the top. He was still upset. Asher rarely went to bed without being asked to.
The sadness in Asher’s body language made Deek mad enough to go to his study and slap the door closed. He needed to talk to Annie. Tell her enough was enough. Asher’s birthday was coming up. She’d better get her ass home for that, or… What?
He slumped into his office chair and laid his head back against the soft leather. If he gave her an ultimatum, it’d backfire. He’d tried it once before and had paid for it ever since. He’d been so angry at her. Who’d leave a five-year-old at home to go on a multiyear dig? He’d told her two years ago that if she left for the dig, she had to marry him first, or he’d take Asher, and she’d never see him again. She left the next morning, saying if that was the way he wanted to act, then he’d have to live with it.
She’d known how much it meant to him for Asher to have a mother, and she’d called his bluff. But he’d feared she’d never come back if they weren’t married. Hell, she’d only been home once since that day. On Asher’s sixth birthday. Happy that she was finally coming home, he’d gone out and bought a new house, hoping to show her how much she meant to him. That he’d become a success, but it didn’t mean anything to him without her to share with him. He’d killed himself for years, designing his game in the evenings and on the weekends until it was finally ready to be sold, garnering the highest price ever paid for a video game to date.
But Annie had walked through the front door of his three-million-dollar home, dropped her dusty duffel bag on the marble-floored entry, and declared it to be excessive and stupid to buy a house so fancy. She was happier living in a tent. And what had changed about him that he’d do that? They’d been happy in their crappy little apartment before he’d developed the game, hadn’t they?
Her words had sliced through his heart so deep, he’d sworn it’d be the last time he’d ever surprise anyone ever again.
Calmer now, he leaned forward and called up the video conferencing software on his desktop computer. He’d ask Annie to please consider coming home for Asher’s birthday. And if she said no, maybe he’d tell her if she came back, then he’d consider giving her the funding she needed to complete her dig.
It was just damn money, after all. Asher’s feelings mattered so much more than cash. And he had plenty. But she’d have to agree to come home more than once every two years if he agreed to the funding.
He waited for the connection, but after ten rings, he gave up. It was two hours ahead of where she was in Peru. They’d have to talk about it later.
He closed his eyes and sighed. Being around Lori’s incredible family had made him and Asher both realize what they were missing in their lives. So he’d send Annie an e-mail. Hopefully, she’d see it in the morning and call them after school tomorrow for a change.
As hard as he tried to be both parents, it was clear that Lori was doing a better job of that than he was.
He pulled up his e-mail and started typing. He laid out some terms for the million dollars she needed, suggested the number of visits home each year, and even threw marriage in as a line item once again. It’d give her something to throw out and feel like he was compromising because she always said no to that. Then he hit Send, shut everything down, and headed for bed.
As he slid under the covers, he smiled at the trick Lori’s twin had pulled on him earlier. Their conversation still made him want to hide under a rock, but Rachel had been a good sport about it all.
Lori’s sister was just as beautiful as Lori, but it was interesting that she didn’t seem quite as attractive to him. That made no sense; they were identical twins. Yes, Rachel had the same smile, but something in Lori’s eyes, the way they lit up when she smiled at him, made his chest feel tight.
Especially the way she’d looked at him during the games earlier. He and Lori had taken the kids on their team for charades and had still kicked everyone’s butts. They barely had to gesture before the other guessed the clues right. As if they were of the same mind.
They’d made a good team. He’d never forget how it felt when they’d won and Lori had slid her arms around his neck and snuggled her magnificent, curvy body against his to give him an excited hug. He’d wanted to kiss her so badly at that moment.
He was having a hard time forgetting their last kiss. And fantasizing about what it’d be like to make love to her.
But he didn’t want to use her or lead her on. He’d never be able to give her what she wanted, a whole family again, because he had to do his duty. Be a good father to Asher and win Annie back.
For Asher, anyway. He had to come first.
Yeah, giving Annie the money for the dig would probably fix everything. It’d allow her to hire a few more people so she could come home more often, and then they could finally be a family.
Well, after she finished her dig in a year or two.
8
SOMETIMES THE COVER OF A BOOK IS BETTER THAN WHAT’S INSIDE.
Lori dug through Rachel’s suitcases, using them as a shopping mall, while helping her sister unpack and settle into the guest room. “Hey, Rachel? This dress might work for me tonight. What do you think?”
Her sister had just returned from another trip from the bathroom to deal with her morning sickness and was lying on the bed with her eyes screwed shut. “I think I’ll puke again if I open my eyes to look. But I don’t get why you’re picking out dresses for Jason instead of acting on your feelings for Deek.”
Lori laid the lovely red dress down and sat beside her sister. “Because Deek wants Asher’s mother. Not me. We’re just friends.”
Rachel slowly opened just one eye. “The way he looks at you says he wants you. Naked. Even Dad noticed last night. He said you both look smitten.”
“Smitten?” Lori shook her head as she stood to continue unpacking. She was more than smitten, but she’d keep that to herself. “He’s off limits. End of discussion. Maybe a red dress sends the wrong message? I’ll be meeting Jason’s parents tonight.”
Rachel sighed. “You don’t fool me for a second, but fine. I get it. You don’t want to talk about it. So let’s talk about Jason instead. Maybe he can help you end your celibate streak tonight. Two years is a long time to live in the sexless abbey.”
“I’m not going to sleep with Jason tonight. It’s only our second date. And the first one lasted all of ten minutes.” Lori found a satiny deep blue dress and held it up in front of the mirror. It looked expensive, so she checked the tag. If Jason asked her who designed it, she’d have an answer this time. She read the label and gasped. “Holy crap! This must’ve cost a fortune.”
Rachel chuckled. “I used to make a fortune, remember. But back to your nun-like tendencies. If Jason is as good-looking as you say, why not let him be the one to get you back in the saddle again?”
“I’m a mother. I can’t just sleep with someone because I’m only getting lucky with something that’s battery operated these days.”
“Stop. Don’t make me laugh. It makes me nauseous.” Rachel laid a hand over her mouth as she struggled to hold back her grin.
“I’m glad you think that’s so funny. Because, honestly, if I didn’t have Emily to think of, I might just be desperate enough to bring Jason home and let him have the honor of reacquainting me to the game.”
Lori hung
up the gorgeous blue dress and then dug through Rachel’s impressive shoe collection. A pair with red soles practically called her name, so she slipped off her tennis shoes and slid her feet into the prettiest black stilettos she’d ever seen. “You think I’m kidding, but Deek kissed me, and I nearly went off like a rocket.”
Rachel sat straight up. “You kissed Deek? When?”
Crap! I shouldn’t have let that slip.
She could fib, but her sister would know. They had a sixth sense about each other. “Friday night. After my mini date. He said he’d done sex research to please his ex, and could he show me what he’d learned. As friends. I’ve never been kissed by a friend like that before.”
“Sex research?” Rachel’s eyes went wide. “If you aren’t going to go after a guy who cares what gets a woman’s rocks off, then get out of my way. I want Deek.”
“Don’t even think about it!” Lori whipped around so fast that she nearly tottered off her high heels. “Seriously.”
“Look at you.” Rachel’s right brow popped. “All green around the gills. You’re in love with him.”
Lori closed her eyes and sighed. “Deek and I have always gravitated toward each other at school events because we just get along so well. But now it feels different. I care for him. A lot. So much that I’ll never tell him how I really feel and possibly hurt his relationship with Asher’s mother. Deek wants Asher to have a whole family again and is going to great lengths to make that happen.”
Her sister flopped back onto the pillows. “So he’s hot, knows his way around the female anatomy, is nice, and he’s noble too? Why couldn’t I have found someone like Deek to lose my senses with instead of Marcello—”
“The twins’ father?” Lori sat beside her sister on the bed. “Tell me, Rachel. I can’t help unless I know the whole story.” Lori’s mind raced to think of someone famous named Marcello. Then a possibility dawned on her. “Marcello Romano? The actor? And the sexiest man in the entire world according to most polls? That Marcello?”
Matched For Love (Rocky Mountain Matchmaker Book 3) Page 8