He took her hand, helping her up into the truck before pulling the seat belt around her. He kissed her lightly, then ran his hand down her thigh. “You look beautiful tonight, baby.”
“So do you,” she said honestly. She didn’t bother to hide her admiration as she openly stared up at him.
“Don’t look at me like that,” he growled, “or we’ll never make it on time.” She grinned as he adjusted himself before stepping back and shutting the door.
He held her hand as they made their way through the Myrtle Beach traffic. “Where are we going?” Gwen asked, realizing that she had no idea. She would have been just as happy having dinner at his apartment again. Yeah, that resolve to keep her distance wasn’t working at all.
She almost thought she had imagined the quick grimace that crossed his face until he said tightly, “You’re probably going to be pissed off at me so I might as well give you fair warning.”
“What? Why?” she asked, confused and a little unnerved by his prediction. Where could he possibly be taking her that would make her mad? She didn’t care if they went to McDonald’s; she just wanted to spend some time with him.
“We’re . . . kind of having dinner with my sister at Ivy.”
“Oh, I like Ivy.” Gwen smiled before the word “sister” sank in. “Um, your sister?” she squeaked, fighting the urge to open her door and roll out into traffic. She and Dominic had been doing things for only a few days and she was meeting his family? Oh my God, she’d never made it that far with a man before. She felt herself beginning to panic when the truck suddenly stopped.
Dominic had pulled off the road and was looking at her with a worried expression. “Shit, I’m sorry, Gwen. It’s just that my sister, Meredith, is in town for some convention. She’s a blogger for a romance book site. She had told me originally that she’d be going home right afterward, but then today she called and said she was staying overnight. I wanted to see her, but then you and I had already made plans and I didn’t want to break those. I just kept putting off making a decision all day and then it was six and it was too late to change anything. So, fuck, please don’t be angry. I just didn’t know what to do.” At any other time, Gwen would have found Dominic’s unusual rambling funny. He was normally so calm and self-assured, but it was obvious now that he was afraid she was going to freak out and dammit, she was about to.
“Maybe you should just take me back home,” she suggested tightly. “Your sister is expecting to just see you tonight. You don’t want to spend your time trying to entertain me when you could be catching up with her.” Why were men so completely oblivious to social situations that made women cringe? Meeting a man’s family was something that usually didn’t happen for quite some time—or in Gwen’s case, never. She certainly hadn’t been expecting to meet his sister the first week they started dating.
Dominic took both of her hands in his, forcing her to look at him. “Babe, I really want you with me tonight. I know you’ll like Meredith. She’s a lot of fun and you two will get along well. Please do this for me. I wouldn’t ask if I thought you’d be uncomfortable around her.”
Oh shit, he was giving her the sad puppy dog eyes. How was she supposed to say no? He’d included her in his life tonight as no other man ever had. Maybe it was way too soon, but if she turned him down, it might set the tone for the rest of their possible future relationship. How bad could it be? She’d have a glass—or three—of wine and enjoy a meal at a restaurant that she couldn’t often afford herself. It was a win-win. She just needed to pull the big-girl panties up and say yes. “All right,” she agreed softly.
“Really?” A look of relief crossed his face as he squeezed her hands tightly. “Thank you, Gwen. I promise you’ll have a good evening.” She nodded in reply, already regretting her decision. As they walked through the parking lot, Gwen saw a dark-haired woman rushing toward them. Dominic leaned down and said something that struck fear in her heart just before his sister launched herself into his arms. “Meredith reminds me a lot of Maddy and Megan. Heck, she could be their mother. You don’t embarrass easily, do you?”
Surely, he was just kidding . . . “Dom!” his sister yelled as she hugged him tightly. Suddenly, she turned in his arms and noticed Gwen standing at his side. “Holy shit, did you actually bring a woman with you?”
“Very funny.” Dominic laughed, pulling on his sister’s hair. “Mer, this is Gwen Day. Gwen, this is my sister, Meredith, and she’s the rude one in the family.”
Gwen extended a hand to the other woman only to find herself pulled into a hug instead. “What a surprise! Wow, my brother brought a woman to dinner!” Gwen looked helplessly at Dominic as Meredith slung an arm over her shoulders and steered her toward the restaurant. “Now, how long have you known my brother?”