“To the car,” he said, shooing her back to the butler pantry for their second escape of the night. They could make out in his car some more and go back to her apartment. Better yet, they could check into a hotel or something. Some place no one but room service would interrupt, and no one knew where they were.
Room service had sandwiches.
An exceptional plan, except that was the moment his sister Courtney waltzed through to the kitchen holding a plastic bowl with popcorn remnants in the bottom.
She must’ve caught Linx and Becca in her periphery because she jolted and dropped the bowl. Unpopped kernels in the bottom bounced across the tile with atick, tick, tick.
“Announce yourself.” She held a hand to her chest. “Seriously, Cedric.”
While he was not thrilled that his family interrupted his plans with Becca, he couldn’t help the smile stretching across his lips. He loved his sister like a… well… a sister. His parents were awesome, too, in small amounts, every few months.
Reluctant, he released Becca’s hand to kneel and snag the plastic bowl. He handed it back to Courtney.
“What are you doing here?” he asked. “And why are you up? Isn’t it past your bedtime?”
It wasn’t. His sister was a total night owl. His parents, on the other hand, were usually in bed by nine. It was most definitely past their bedtime.
She glanced to Becca and perked up like the German Shepherd puppy they’d adopted when they were kids. He’d named the mutt Stixx and they remained best friends all through Linx’s teenage years.
Beside him, Becca still frantically tried to tame her hair.
“Are you the woman Linx told me about?” Court was all syrupy sweet, ready to turn on the Lincoln dazzle. She glanced to Linx. Then to his missing sleeve. “Did I interrupt…?”
“Court.” He said her name low, a warning. Not that he expected she’d heed the warning, but a guy could hope. “This is Becca. Becca, this is Courtney. My sister.”
Becca stopped messing with her hair and raised her brows in his direction. “AmI the woman you told her about?”
“The therapist waitress with the pretty smile.” Courtney set the bowl on the counter and bounced on her bare feet. “Is that you?”
“Of course, she is.” Linx glared at his sister. “And now we”—he gestured between Becca and himself—“are leaving before Mom and Dad”—he gestured to the living room—“know I’m here.”
“What am I supposed to tell them?” Courtney smirked. “They’re going to want to know where you are.”
“Tell them about your intense desire to check into the Four Seasons with my credit card tonight. Then wait for an invitation to breakfast tomorrow.”
“When have we ever waited for an invitation?” Courtney asked, like he was the one who had gone bananas when it was the world around him.
She was right. His family didn’t do invitations.
All he wanted for his evening was to eat cake and hang out with Becca. Also, change his jeans. Was that too much to ask?
“We never wait for an invitation,” Courtney explained to Becca, the sweet seeping back in. “Because if we did, we’d never get to see him.”
“That’s not true.” Except, he couldn’t quite remember the last time he’d extended an invitation. He should make it a point to do that. Then again, perhaps, they should give him the opportunity. That was the problem. They never gave him the chance to invite them, what with the random showing up.
Granted, he liked it when they showed up. Except now. Right now, he wished they’d take him up on the Four Seasons offer.
“We’ll meet up for breakfast,” he conceded, since breakfast was his favorite meal of the day. “Tomorrow morning. I’ll text you.”
They could stay here the night with Gibson. He’d take Becca to the hotel. A magical place where they could finish what they started.
“Cedric!” his mom called from the living room. “Is that you?”
“I didn’t hear anything.” His dad’s reply muffled through the walls.
Courtney blinked her innocent Bambi eyes at him. “What’s your plan now that they know you’re here?”
“You could tell them I wasn’t here,” he suggested. “That I wasn’t coming home tonight.”
