Page 90 of Love In Hiding

But regardless of all of that, this was the father of the woman he was slowly losing everything to.

“Good to meet you,” Austin said, giving him a firm handshake after hugging Paris. “It’s damn good seeing my girls. But I know they’re in excellent hands where they are. There are plenty of cousins watching out for them.”

“We don’t need anyone watching out for us,” she said. “Paris and I are pretty tough.”

Tough didn’t begin to cover it.

His fingers itched to slide an arm around her waist and silently agree that he’d be one more person on that list.

But this was supposed to be a secret.

So he did the only safe thing. He pulled out his chair and planted himself for dinner, pretending he wasn’t vibrating with the urge to touch her.

It was one hell of a strange place to be. To be sitting across from the woman who’d blindsided him in the best possible way, knowing he’d found someone who fit him too damn well and having to act like none of it existed.

Dinner kicked off with easy conversation, stories flying between the sisters, their parents laughing, Raleigh chiming in with commentary that made Paris roll her eyes and London nudge her under the table.

“Now for the big announcement,” Austin said. “I’ve finally got one of my kids following in my footsteps.”

London’s eyes shifted to Raleigh grinning next to her father. “Don’t say it.”

“I knew it,” Paris said. “I told London a few years ago it was going to happen.’’

“I didn’t even know,” Raleigh said. “No one knew I even applied. I think if I didn’t get into law school, I would have just moved on. Maybe I was afraid I wouldn’t.”

“Nonsense,” she said. “You’re smart like the rest of us. Good for you. Dad, you’ve got to be thrilled. Unless Raleigh doesn’t want to work with you. You know, you babied her the most.”

“Which Dad and I will have to work out in time,” Raleigh said firmly.

“I’ll keep him in line,” Carolina said.

Spencer tried to blend in, nodding, listening, answering when spoken to. But every time London’s knee brushed his, every time her laugh lifted, every time she glanced his way like she couldn’t quite help it, he felt it like a spark in his gut ready to light the table on fire.

“So, Spencer,” Carolina said, cutting into her salmon, “how are the girls adjusting to the new place? You’ve been working closely with them, they said?”

“We are sitting right here, Mom. We can answer,” she said. “We are adjusting just fine, right, Paris?”

“I had no doubt,” Austin said. “But maybe we’d like to hear from someone else.”

He knew when he was being put on the spot. “They seem to be adjusting fine, but I don’t know them any other way than who I’ve seen in the past few weeks.”

Paris snorted. “We’ll take that compliment with the hesitancy it came with.”

She smirked. “Translation. He thought we were maniacs the first week.”

He squinted at her. “Not Paris.”

Everyone at the table laughed. “See, Mom and Dad. Nothing has changed,” she said.

“I wouldn’t call her a maniac. More like, what was the word Braylon used? Ahh, intense. She’s not afraid to speak her mind.”

“Gets that from me,” Carolina said. “I think it’s a great trait to have.”

“I agree,” he said.

She lifted her water glass to her lips, her eyes sparkling with mischief she probably thought no one else could read.

But he read it.