But maybe all families were odd in their own way, and as the banter and chatter continued between Dan’s, she realized that maybe his family’s unspoken agreement not to mention Isabella was done out of kindness and diplomacy.His family was a tight-knit unit.And maybe that’s how tight-knit families behaved?Libby had no firsthand experience.Working forHot Gossipwas the closest she’d ever gotten to being part of a tight family, though now she understood that they hadn’t been a family at all.More like a bunch of sewer rats, feeding off the secrets and scandals they’d scavenged.
Family and what it meant stayed with Libby for a while after the call with Dan’s sisters.Carina and Malek returned toAre Moana—they’d arranged to meet at the beach later—and Dan went to work out in the yard.Libby prepared a picnic and then got Karim’s beach things ready.When she’d done everything, she sighed and braced herself for a call with her parents.
“Merry Christmas, Dad!”
Dad huffed.“It’s freezing, and you’re wearing next to nothing.”
“It’s the tropics here, and it’s beautiful.Look!”She angled the phone toward Tia Rosa’s yard but forgot that Dan was working out.
“Who the hell is that?”
Oh, no.Bare-chested, Dan was lifting some timber that he’d found in the yard above his head like a dumbbell.Libby whipped the phone back to her and Karim.“That’s the gardener,” she said quickly.“He works here.”
“Even on Christmas Day?”
“Well, you know more than most, Dad.Christmas is fake, and not everyone celebrates.”
“Damn right.”
“Is Mom there?”
“Hi, Liberta.”
“Hi, Mom.How are you?”
“Cold, and there’s nothing on TV except shmaltzy, Christmas-is-magical bull crap.”
“I guess it’s the time of year for it.Here’s Karim.Say hello, sweet cheeks.”
Karim waved, and despite all odds, Mom and Dad actually waved back and smiled.They cooed a little too, told him he’d gotten bigger, and were generally not as negative as they could have been, telling him only once that he could easily drown in the ocean if he weren’t careful.
When the call was over, Libby didn’t feel as exhausted as she usually was after speaking with her parents.Probably because the call had been less than five minutes long, but mostly because she’d positioned herself so she had a full view of Dan, half-naked in the yard, his pecs bulging and sweating in the most mouthwatering way.
Chapter 27
D-Day.DropDay.
The day after Christmas, at every spare opportunity, Libby and Dan had been posting and engaging with their community on social media, whipping up as much excitement as they could, right up to the minute when their first video dropped.
It was now ten p.m., Karim was fast asleep, and Part One was live.But instead of being at her laptop—monitoring, analyzing, and reacting—what was Libby doing?
Coming down from another intense orgasm, that’s what.Dan had been waiting for her release again, and now she squeezed his tight butt as he let himself go.
“Man…” she hissed, soaking up the tremors his climax had triggered inside her.
“Woman,” he gasped.
“No, I meant—man, what are we doing?”
“Isn’t it obvious?”
A thousand percent it was, but they had work to do, and again she’d been sidetracked by sex.She smacked his butt.“We need to get back to it, Cranky.”He shifted off her, and she reached for her T-shirt, which had somehow ended up over the lamp on his nightstand.
“Admit that my idea worked,” he said smugly.
“Huh.”His idea—sex—had happened when nerves had gotten the better of her and she’d had a mini freak out after their video had gone live.
“What if everyone hates it?”she’d said.“What if we get attacked by trolls?What if this only brings us the wrong kind of attention?”
