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Ginny stepped back. “Dax has told me so much about you.”
“He has?” Heather looked up at him with a questioning look.
His sister knew that he never talked about his personal life to women. Or at least he hadn’t before Ginny.
“Yep.” He nodded, then moved on to more pressing matters. “How did you guys get here? I just talked to mom last night.”
“We flew into O’Hare and rented a car.” His mom answered as if it was obvious. As if it was something they did all the time. It wasn’t. His mom hated to fly. When he got out of the Corps he’d moved to Tennessee and she’d made the ten-hour one-way drive to visit him once a month for two years. This was the first time she’d come to Illinois and he’d been here eighteen months.
“You flew?”
“Of course I flew,” she snapped as if he was a kid that was talking back to her.
“Oookay.” He lifted his hands in surrender and almost said “yes, ma’am” since that was his default whenever he heard that tone.
“So, what’s on the agenda today?” she asked, as if she and his sister were included in whatever he and Ginny were doing.
“I have to work but you both can hang out here.”
His mom’s face fell.
Ginny must have noticed it because she placed her hand on his arm. “Actually, I’ll be fine at the studio. You don’t have to stay there with me all—”
“Yes I do.”
Her eyes widened slightly at his harsh tone.
He hadn’t meant for his words to come out that severe, but him not staying with her was not up for discussion.
“We can go with you. I’ve always wanted to see what you do.”
“No, Mom.” The last thing he needed to do was babysit his sister and mom all day.
Ginny bit her lower lip, which she did whenever she was in problem solving mode. Over the time he’d spent with her he’d noticed that she was a people pleaser. She wanted to make everyone around her happy, but, at least from what he saw, no one was making sure she was happy.
“Well, um, the studio is at the Riverwalk. There are shops, even a spa, and restaurants.” Ginny’s face lit up as she continued, “Oh, The Plate is there too. It’s so beautiful, Dax and his partners did such a great job.”
“I would love to see it,” Heather said. “And a day at the spa wouldn’t hurt either.”
“Then it’s settled.” His mom clapped her hands. “When do we leave?”
“Just give me a few minutes to freshen up.” Ginny stepped past them and started down the hall.
Her arm brushed Dax’s back and even through his thermal he felt the heat of her body. As soon as the door shut to her room, both his sister and mom started whispering questions and comments about her.
He closed his eyes. This entire morning had felt so surreal. From Ginny openly discussing what she’d said last night, to the passionate kiss they’d shared in the kitchen to his mom and sister showing up out of the blue. He felt like he was in The Twilight Zone.
“Do you know if she wants to have kids?” His mom whispered in a conspiratory fashion. “A lot of career women don’t.”
Or Hell. Yeah, he felt like he was in Hell.
