Before I had a chance to ask what he was doing there, my mother pushed her way into the living room where everyone was gathered, pulling someone behind her. “Hey honey. I’m so glad you’re here. I have someone here I want you to meet.”
Warning sirens started going off. “What?”
“Yeah,” she chirped happily, jerking the guy forward. My stomach dropped like a sack of potatoes. “This is Drew. He just started as the Program Director for the Hope Foundation.”
The Hope Foundation was something my parents started years ago, not long after they adopted Zach. My dad had also grown up in the foster system, only, unlike my brother, he hadn’t found his family until he was an adult and made one of his own. With what he and Zach had both gone through, they wanted to do what they could to help as many kids as possible. The foundation lead to Hope House, which took amazing care of so many kids throughout the years. Many of those kids had gone on to do incredible things. A lot of them even came back as adults, wanting to offer the same help they got when they lived there.
“Drew, this is my daughter, Lennix.”
Ah hell.
I offered the guy a small smile and extended my hand. “Hi, Drew. It’s nice to meet you.”
“Isn’t she just as beautiful as I described?”
“Mom!” I gaped, whipping around to shoot her a wide-eyed look. My face heated with embarrassment.
My mom had gone and done it. The further along in her pregnancy that Rae got, the worse my mother’s grandbaby fever got. She wanted me blissfully married and knocked up so badlythat she’d mentioned setting me up on a blind date nearly every time I saw her. She even suggested I put myself on a few dating apps. A suggestion that nearly gave my father an aneurism. Apparently she’d gotten sick of me shooting her down, so she took it upon herself to set it up.
Rae giggled at my expense over in the corner, and I shot her a look that told her clear as day she was no longer my favorite sibling.
“Her beautiful, verysingledaughter,” Grandma added with a waggle of her eyebrows.
“Oh my God,” I groaned as I slapped my hands over my face. “This is my nightmare.” Drew’s quiet, slightly nervous chuckle had me parting my fingers to get a real glimpse of him. My mom hadn’t done bad, I’d give her that. He was handsome in that clean-cut suit-and-tie kind of way that tons of women were attracted to, and Drew made it work really well. It just wasn’t a look I usually went for.
“It’s okay,” he offered. “It’s nice to meet you too. And Rory, she’s even more beautiful than you said.”
I heard the soft sound of someone fake gagging and whipped my head around to glare at Raylan. He met my murderous gaze with a stare that somehow felt dark and decadent, and promised something that sent a tiny shiver down my spine. I quickly looked away, refusing to get lost in his thrall.
“Wait. You’re tryin’ to fix her up?” Zach asked our mother in an accusing tone, jabbing his finger in Drew’s direction. “Withthisguy?”
The overprotective big brother in him was starting to come out, and now that he knew my mother’s ulterior motives for inviting Drew to dinner, he’d suddenly decided not to like him. It was what he’d been doing ever since I was old enough to show interest in boys. He’d hated every single guy I dated—even ifthey’d been chummy beforehand. It was one of the many reasons I insisted on keeping my love life private.
“Zach, don’t be rude,” Mom admonished.
“Excuse me for thinking family dinner should be a special, sacred”—he turned to glower at Drew—“privateevent.”
Rae came over and used her finger to push my jaw closed where it had hinged open at my brother’s audacity. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” I spat, throwing my hand out in Raylan’s direction. “What about him?”
Zach rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest. “Please. Raylan’s been around even longer that you have. He’s practically family.”
I let out a scoff, but before I could get a word out, Raylan’s scent alerted me to his presence. A subtle cloud of spice and leather surrounded me, making my core pulse and my skin tingle. “Yeah, Chaos. I thought we were pretty...close.” The innuendo was subtle, but I didn’t miss it. He crooked one eyebrow, his gaze almost daring me to react. My body felt like one giant frayed nerve as he came to stand right beside me. There was no way I could respond the way I wanted without causing a scene in front of my family.
Rae met my gaze and widened her eyes as she stretched her bottom lip into a face that screamedeek. She knew all about the kiss, seeing as I called her almost as soon as I finished closing the door in Raylan’s face. She’d spent an hour on FaceTime with me while I overanalyzed that kiss from every side.
“Zach, you’re being ridiculous,” Mom reprimanded, breaking into the silent conversation I was having with my sister-in-law. It was always funny to watch Mom get on Zach. He was so much bigger than she was, but she could still put the fear of God in him with a single look. “Drew is more than welcome here. As are you, Raylan,” she added with a resolute nod.
“Thank you, Mama P.” Raylan shot my mom a wink that had me rolling my eyes. I snatched the beer bottle he was holding and brought it to my lips, taking a huge, unapologetic gulp as he glared at me. “By all means, help yourself,” he muttered gruffly.
I shot him a smug grin. “Oh, I intend to, thanks.”
I’d just taken another sip when the tip of his finger brushed feather-soft against the small of my back, right where the sliver of skin was exposed between my waistband and the hem of my shirt. I jolted at the unexpected touch, choking on the sudsy liquid and nearly spitting it all over the place.
“Sorry,” I apologized on a cough, wiping at the dribble of beer that had spilled down my chin. “Let me clean up real quick, then we can eat.” I tried to hide the fact I was suddenly flustered behind a fake smile. “I’m starving, and whatever you cooked smells like heaven, Mom.” I also wanted to get this night over with as quickly as possible.
I closed myself in the powder room and braced my hands on the vanity as I tried to slow my heartbeat and catch my breath. The sight of Raylan had been an adrenaline dump to the bloodstream, and I felt like I’d just run a marathon. I needed to calm the hell down or I was going to be a jittery, anxious mess the whole night.
Closing my eyes and dropping my head, I worked to center my breathing and counted to ten. “He’s just a guy. He’s just a guy. He’s just a guy,” I chanted under my breath. Lifting my face to the mirror, I met my reflection and scolded, “Sure, he kisses like it’s his sole reason for existing, but it changesnothing.”
