Leo remembered that day vividly. Faith had been vibrating with anxiety and combativeness and passion for her work, and even in her grungy moving clothes, she’d been gorgeous. If that’s not how Carlisle remembered her, his opinion wasn’t worth considering.
Faith apparently felt so too because her smile was razor-tipped. “So good to see you again too.” She smiled up at Leo. “I promised my parents I’d say hello to George Voit when I saw him tonight, so I’d better go make the rounds.”
Damn she was good, casually mentioning the Big Dig CEO in front of his name-dropping boss. She rested a hand on his arm for the briefest moment. “Leo, thanks for the invitation tonight. I love chatting with new people about BUILD.”
With that, she turned and was swallowed up in the crowd while his bicep burned from her fleeting touch. Carlisle gave an impatient huff and moved in the other direction, clearly expecting Leo to follow him.
He spent the rest of the night meeting a dizzying number of new people, all of whom smiled and shook his hand and congratulated him on the work he was doing with the foundation while Carlisle hovered on the edges like a turd in a punch bowl. He bumped into his other grant recipients as the night wore on and was delighted to introduce Char McDougall and Barrett Allen and Isaac and Luna Hamoud to Big Dig employees eager to learn about the work the company was helping to fund in Beaucoeur. He even managed to get Faith that gin and tonic she’d requested, letting his finger trail along the back of her hand oh so briefly as she accepted it from him. Then they were pulled in different directions, and the night spun on.
When the event finally started to draw to a close, Faith signaled him from near the ballroom exit. His cheeks ached from the uncharacteristic amount of smiling he’d been doing, so he gratefully made his excuses and slipped out after her. They drove straight to his house, and she introduced him to the wonders of formal-wear sex, which was a lot like regular sex but probably had a bigger dry-cleaning bill.
Afterward, their limbs tangled together on top of his sheets, she pressed soft kisses over his heart and said, “I didn’t get enough time with you tonight. Can we hang tomorrow?”
“Love to.” Then he groaned. “Can’t.”
She pulled away. “Making excuses already?”
“No. But there’s a big family thing at my parents’ house. My cousins are in town from New Jersey, so we’re all getting together.”
“Mmm.” She rested her head against his shoulder and ran her nails gently over his chest. “You can’t miss that.”
“Come with me.”
Her fingers stopped moving. “Really?”
“Of course.” The invitation had been spontaneous, but it settled right in his heart.
“Will your sisters be nicer to me?” Her chest rose and pressed against his side as she sucked in a steadying breath. “Because I can handle myself around them if I have to, but I’d rather not have to.”
“I’ll take care of it.” He kissed the top of her head. “Tell them they’re not allowed to hassle my girlfriend.”
She stopped breathing entirely. So did he. He’d tossed the word out there because he was tired of keeping his feelings inside, and he braced himself for however she’d respond.
Moonlight poured through the window, turning the room silver. When she looked up at him again, her eyes shimmered with the same unearthly glow.
“Okay. I’d love to come.”
TWENTY-SIX
“Not too late to back out, Dutch.”
Faith dug her elbow into his ribs, or at least she tried to. He was too muscly to get much traction. “That’s not helping! You being nervous makesmenervous!”
She’d met his parents years ago, but she guessed whatever was waiting for her behind that bright red door was going to be more intense than that. Hence the nerves. But Leo had asked her to come, which meant more to her than she could put into words, and for that reason alone she was here. Hell, if he asked, she’d probably swim with piranhas or use a Greyhound bus bathroom. Meeting all his aunts should be a piece of cake. So here she was in her nicest jeans and her cutest sweater, and she’d made the brownies that never failed to win every potluck.
She was still nervous as hell.
“I’m not worried. You’ll be great,” Leo said. “I’ve never seen a person you couldn’t charm if you wanted to.” Then he pressed his forehead against hers and lowered his voice. “I just wish we were still naked in my bed.”
Was it bad form to make out with the baby of the family on his parents’ doorstep? It probably was. The question was how much she cared.
“Oh my God. What are those?”
Faith jumped away from Leo to see his sister Jessie staring at the plate in her hand.
“Um, brownies?”
Jessie rolled her eyes, done up with the most perfect winged eyeliner Faith had ever seen. “You’re seriously letting her walk in there with brownies?” she asked her brother.“Brownies?”
