“Have you been okay out here?” she whispered.
“Nobody’s attacked me yet,” he said, feeling a little dumb at her obvious concern. Yes, he was a lot more introverted than her, and bringing her to deceive his family had been the craziest thing he’d ever done, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t talk to people without her.
“Okay, so can we ask questions now?” Ashley asked. She was sitting across from him on the couch next to her husband. A girl, about twelve, sat in front of her on the floor. She handed up a hair brush, and Ashley immediately began brushing the girl’s hair. Dillon remembered what Lina had said about Ashley and Chase raising his siblings. What a strange thing, to go from Lina’s single roommate to a mom of three older children.
Lina nudged his side. Right. Ashley had asked for permission to grill him.
“Ask away.” He wouldn’t likely see any of these people again because he and Lina weren’t actually dating. Okay, so maybe the feel of her thigh up against his was causing his blood to pump a little faster, but that didn’t mean anything.
“What’s your favorite color?” Shaun asked, cutting off whatever Ashley started to say. He gave her a victorious smile.
Dillon laughed. “Um, red.”
The boy playing Battleship with Shaun looked up. “That’s my favorite color too. Do you like the Arizona Cardinals?”
“Yeah, though I’m more of a Dallas Cowboy’s fan.”
“Me too!”
Chase reached forward and ruffled the kid’s hair. “Well, Tyler approves of you.”
“Did your family believe Lina was your girlfriend?” Ashley asked.
Dillon wasn’t sure his brothers did, but that wasn’t something he’d be sharing. “My mom sure did.”
“I felt very welcome,” Lina added.
Ashley crossed her arms. From the way she was looking at him, she seemed to sense part of the truth was missing from his answer. “Okay, but why did you need your family to think you had a girlfriend?”
“Ash,” Paige reached over and flicked her sister in the arm. “Leave him be. Let’s get out Catch Phrase or Uno or something.”
“He said we could ask.”
Lina sighed. “I already told you why, Ash.”
Dillon scratched the back of his neck. “It’s fine. My siblings aren’t all paired up like all of you. So, bringing someone home is a big deal. And my little brother didn’t want all that attention like a bullseye on his girlfriend. He’s hoping to propose soon and not have her run away screaming.”
Paige gave him a sympathetic smile. “I can understand that. Lina, I approve.”
Lina bumped his shoulder. “Thanks, but we’re not actually dating, ya’ll. And based on this fun little interrogation, good luck getting me to bring anyone over again.”
Ashley squirmed. “I’m sorry. I’m retiring from being a pest tonight. Except I have one more question.”
That earned her some groans.
“So, is there no chance you two could date for real?” Ashley hid her face as if expecting to be pelted by rotten tomatoes.
There was no good answer for that, nor did Dillon want to be the one to answer it. But Lina only stared at her hands, so he gripped his dessert plate and said, “I didn’t plan this as some backhanded way to ask Lina out or some weird pickup attempt. If things change, both of us will know.”
Everyone was silent for a moment, and then Ashley attempted to get to her feet, her pregnant belly throwing her off balance until her husband, Chase, steadied her.
“Let me take that,” she said, gesturing toward Dillon’s empty dessert plate. “And not that you need it, but you have my approval. I’m sorry I’m a nosy nelly.” She leaned over and hugged Lina before taking Lina’s dish too. “Anyone else? I’m on my way to the kitchen.”
“Why is the pregnant woman cleaning up?” Shaun took the dishes from her and shooed her back to the couch. “If anyone needs me, I’ll be avoiding further awkward conversations by doing the dishes. And I want it to go down in the record that I was not involved in the interrogation of Dillon tonight.”
“You get a ribbon, hon,” Paige called after him.
Lina leaned in and rested her chin on Dillon’s shoulder for a moment, whispering, “You ready to go?”
