“You’re tired and you have a big day tomorrow. You will always come first to me, Asa, and this acting gig is important to you, so it’s important to me, too.”
His lashes fluttered as he opened his eyes. “Are you sure you used to be a mob boss? You’re too gentle.”
I laughed. If only he knew. “For you? Always. But I’m a tough businessman, trust me.” Leaning in closer, I smiled. “And if anyone does give you trouble, I know someone who can help me take them out.” I winked.
He poked my chest, and I laughed loudly. Now that he was more awake, he tipped his chin up, and I laid a kiss on his mouth, tasting a light hint of toothpaste.
“I’ve been thinking....” He tilted his head. “I want you to meet my family.”
My eyes widened. “Are you sure? Have you told them about me?”
“Of course I have.” He frowned. “They know I’m dating someone and they’re happy for me.” Rubbing a hand up my chest, he stared at me seriously. “They’re good people, Ruslan. They don’t come from this sort of life.” He looked around our dark bedroom, with its high ceilings and furniture that cost more than some people’s houses. “I’m not ashamed of them, but I want you to be prepared—”
“Don’t even finish that sentence.” I tapped him on the nose, and he crinkled it. “I come from an immigrant family, Asa. We didn’t always have a lot. I get it and I would never judge them. Hell, I’ll buy them anything they want.”
He chuckled. “Don’t even mention that near my brothers. They’ll ask for new rides.”
“And?”
He pursed his lips. “No. No presents for any of them. You’re there as my boyfriend, not a sugar daddy.”
I laughed and kissed the corner of his mouth. “Fine.” I shut my eyes and enjoyed the silence of our room and the closeness of his body to mine. “So, after you finish shooting, we’ll go?”
He hummed. “I would like that. I want you to meet them because I know they’ll love you like I do. You don’t think this is too fast, do you?”
“Never. You do remember I told you I felt something afterseeing you on a billboard, right? Too fast isn’t in my vocabulary.” Cupping his cheeks, I kissed him deeply. He moaned into my mouth. “I love you, too. And not just Augustine Hart. I love Asa McGogh.”
He sighed happily. “The people who think love at first sight doesn’t exist can kiss my ass.”
This man would never stop making me laugh.
12
ASA
I knocked on the door of the three-bedroom craftsman house I’d grown up in. The wooden siding had been freshly stained by someone since the last time I’d been home, probably one of my brothers, and the windowsills were painted a bright red that reminded me of the holiday season. Snow fluttered down and a frigid wind blew, cutting straight through my coat.
“Well, I wish I still had a key,” I said. With a sigh, I turned to look at both Dad’s and Mom’s cars in the driveway. “I’m not sure why no one is answering.” I knocked again.
“I didn’t expect it to be this cold.” Ruslan wrapped his arms around his torso and shivered, and while he was smiling, I thought maybe he was serious, too.
I laughed. “We’re a lot farther north here than we were in New York City.” I held up my left hand and pointed at the tip of my middle finger. “We’re here on Michigan’s mitten. Well, more or less. It’s about the equivalent of the northern part of New York, only I think it gets colder here since we’re right between Lake Huron and Lake Michigan.”
“Being out in the woods makes it colder,” he said, glancing around at the pine trees that encroached on the lawn.
“I don’t think so,” I said with a chuckle.
“I do.”
I was laughing when the door opened, then I gasped. My dad stood about a foot taller than me and looked like hell leaning on two crutches. His graying blond beard was thick on his face. Normally he shaved clean. Not to mention he was wearing gray sweats and a T-shirt that were ready for a trip through the washing machine. I glanced down his body and stared stupidly at the bottom of his right leg. He was in a cast from his foot up to his knee.
“Dad! What happened?”
He hung his head, but a wry grin twisted his lips. “What didn’t happen? Your mother is mad.”
“Damn it, Fred! Did you go open the door? I told you I would get it in a second. I was taking chicken out of the oven.” Mom came bustling into view, looking the same as ever. Her blonde hair was styled short and she was wearing a Green Bay Packers sweatshirt and matching headband.
Dad turned to her with a grunt. “I can answer the door, Donna. I’m not an invalid.”
