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And they’d never forgive her for hurting him.
“Scoot, gorgeous,” Ryan said to her as he brought over a steaming platter of burgers and hotdogs.
Before she could go take her seat, Marcus growled, “Watch it, Ryan.”
His brother frowned at him, clearly without the first clue what the problem was. But Nicola instantly realized Marcus didn’t like his pro baseball player brother flirting with her or calling her gorgeous.
She would have had a harder time wrapping her head around all of these good-looking men in one family if she’d been able to focus on anything but Marcus. Technically, her brain told her that Zach was the best-looking of them all, with Smith not far behind, while the rest of them were still jaw-dropping. But to her, it didn’t matter how perfect their features were.
Marcus outshone them all and she could hardly tear her eyes away from him, even though she knew it was a dead giveaway to her feelings.
Thankfully, their mother appeared just then, along with Lori and Gabe. The three of them put the rest of the food on the table and for a few moments, everyone was focused on filling their plates.
Everyone except Marcus...and her.
“What can I get for you?”
It was the first thing he’d said to her today apart from the quick “Hi” right when he’d walked in. And even though he was only asking her if she preferred hamburgers or hot dogs, her body—and heart—reacted as if he’d just said the most sensual, intimate words in the world.
How she was going to miss the warmth of his low, slightly rough voice, as he held her, as he stroked her hair.
As he made love to her.
Her skin felt hot, her insides turning to goo beside him. “A hot dog. Thank you.”
But he didn’t reach for the food. Instead he caught her hand beneath the tablecloth.
For a long moment—way too long if she wanted to keep their relationship a secret for much longer—she was lost in his eyes, in the sweet caress of his thumb across her palm.
It took every ounce of the strength she had left after her sleepless night alone for her to mouth, “No.” Marcus deserved a great life, damn it, not the circus he’d get from being with her.
She reinforced the short word by pulling her hand from his and reaching for some of the food. She hoped no one noticed that she couldn’t stop her hand from trembling.
Once everyone had a full plate and was starting to dig in, Marcus’s mother said, “We’re so glad you could join us today, Nicola.” If anyone thought it strange that their mother hadn’t called her Nico, they were too polite to say anything about it. “I hope everyone has been on their best behavior while I was inside.”
“Everyone has been great.” Realizing she was mumbling, she made herself sit up straighter and smile at Mary. “I don’t get to see my family as much as I’d like to. I miss Sunday lunches like this.”
As Mary asked her about her family and she had them laughing with stories about the pranks she and her twin brothers would play on each other when they were kids, Nicola was almost able to relax.
The problem was, she was palpably aware of the fact that neither Marcus nor Smith were laughing along with the rest of them. It didn’t take long for everyone to realize something was up.
“Marcus?” Lori asked. “You’re not eating and you look kind of, well, not so good.” She scrunched up her nose. “In fact, I can’t think of the last time you didn’t shave. Are you feeling okay?”
“No,” Marcus replied, “I’m not okay.”
Six faces—Chloe and all the siblings apart from Smith—went slack with shock. Clearly, this was the first time their overly capable big brother had ever admitted to having a problem in front of them.
Nicola was glad she hadn’t had more than a couple of bites of her hot dog, because it would have come back up all over the pretty tablecloth. He couldn’t be about to do what it looked like he was going to do, was he?
Okay, yes, the two of them had a few more things to say to each other. But not in front of his whole family.
Marcus had just turned to face her and was obviously about to say something when Smith abruptly stood up.
“There’s something I need to show you in the garage, Marcus.”
“We’re in the middle of lunch,” Mary protested, but there wasn’t any heat behind her words. In fact, she sounded strangely pleased with the turn events had taken.
“Sorry, this can’t wait.” Smith stood up and headed for the house. “Marcus needs to see it right now.”
For a moment, Nicola didn’t think Marcus was going to follow. But then, on a muttered curse, he threw his napkin down and shoved his chair back.
Nicola expected his mother to look upset at the way her meal was falling to pieces. Instead, she simply raised her eyebrows at her other sons and said in a mild voice, “Go ahead. I know you boys are dying to see it, too.”
A few moments later, Nicola found herself sitting alone with the women.
“Sullivan men.” Mary smiled at her. “They’re really something else, aren’t they?”
The understanding in Mary’s eyes nearly broke Nicola, and no matter what else went on here today, she needed Marcus’s mother to know. “You have a beautiful family.”
“I know, honey. I’m so glad you’re here with us today.”
And, amazingly, even though this lunch had been a struggle from the very first moment she’d walked in the door, Nicola realized she was, too.
