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“Uh…sure.” Her voice came out breathless. She was still trying not to think about their intense kiss last night—or how much of a bummer it was that they’d started something they couldn’t finish—and she hadn’t considered how they’d act around other people. But as a couple, they had to touch each other.
Rory was definitely a fan of consensual touching, but given her reaction toGrant’stouch, she hoped she wouldn’t make a fool of herself by getting all breathless in public.
Conversation rose throughout the massive, high-windowed dining room. Linen-draped tables glittered with crystal glasses and silverware, and elaborate bouquets bloomed from vases. Grant curled his fingers gently through hers.
“Rory, my mother Joanna and my father Edward.” He extended his other hand to the handsome, well-dressed couple getting to their feet.
“We are so delighted to meet you, my dear.” Joanna Taylor was a lovely woman with perfectly coiffed blond hair and fine, elegant features. She squeezed Rory’s hand between hers. “It’s been forever since Grant has come home, much less brought anyone with him.”
“I’m glad it was me, then.” She smiled and turned to Edward Taylor to shake his hand. Tall and broad-shouldered, he was an older version of Grant, his face settled into strong, distinguished lines enhanced by a neat, graying beard. “Nice meeting you, even if you could scale up the Intellix database architecture by making the grid computing more transparent to the user.”
Silence fell. Her face heated. She opened her mouth to apologize when Edward laughed. The tension broke, and the other guests joined in the laughter.
“Did I mention that Rory is a software engineer?” Grant’s eyes twinkled at her.
“Then I’d like to find out what she’s doing with you.” Edward pulled out the chair beside him and motioned for her to sit. “Where do you work, Rory?”
“I’m going to start at Digicore after Thanksgiving.” She sat down and glanced warily at Grant, but he looked both comfortable and relaxed as he took a seat next to his mother.
“Hmm.” Edward nodded and picked up his drink. “Digicore isn’t the best or the biggest, but they’re doing some interesting work.”
“That’s why I accepted the job.”
Edward introduced her to the other guests at the table. Though Rory might have found it intimidating to talk to the founder of Intellix, it was entirely different talking to Grant’s father. He was curious about her work, her ideas, and how she would change the Intellix database system to make it run more efficiently.
“No more shop talk, you two.” Joanna leaned over from the other side of the table, her eyes bright. “Tell us how you met Grant.”
“At the tavern.” Rory took a sip of wine and shrugged. “It’s not very interesting, I’m sorry to say. My mother owns a bakery in Bliss Cove, and I moved back a couple of years ago after my father passed away. I knew the Mousehole had been sold, but I hadn’t met Grant until I stopped by again.”
She wouldn’t tell them about the grilled cheese sandwich and tomato soup. She hadn’t told anyone how he’d made her feel better with that one gesture. Did he even remember it?
“When did he ask you out?” Another woman—Grant’s aunt—asked eagerly.
Rory glanced at Grant. “About…how many months ago?”
“Three or four, I think.”
“I will never forgive you for not bringing her to meet us sooner.” Joanna gave her son a chiding look. “Why did it take you so long to ask her out? You’re lucky she was still available.”
“I was lucky, indeed.” He met Rory’s gaze, and a sizzle lit the air between them.
Her belly fluttered. What was wrong with her? It was as if that kiss from last night had settled in her bones, silver and bright like the moon, and was radiating all sorts of never-before-felt sensations toward him.
So strange. She’d always been a woman who could separate the physical from the emotional. She preferred it that way. Her tech jobs had allowed so little room to breathe, and while she loved the mind-bending work, the challenges and problem-solving, she’d always needed to find supplementary ways to exert her body.
She’d run track in high school and college, played volleyball, spent a lot of time hiking and jogging. She’d been discriminatory about her sexual partners, but the act itself had been more of a release than a loving, intimate connection.
Too many encounters with sexist pigs who wanted to demean or dismiss her had left her wary of men in the tech industry. And after the crash-and-burn end of her last career venture, she hadn’t sought any kind ofreleaseduring her relatively stress-free stay in Bliss Cove.
Which meant that it really had been a long time. At least a year. Maybe that was why she was getting all hot and bothered about Grant. That, and the fact that the man knew how to kiss. Extremely well. It made her think he also very likely extended that expertise to other sexy acts.
“…for the database design,” Edward was saying.
Rory refocused on the conversation. She was here to play a role, not to start imagining what Grant would be like in bed.
While they hadn’t discussed what would happen if someone found out that she wasn’t really his girlfriend, she wanted the weekend to be a success. Whatever reasons Grant had for his family issues, she wouldn’t be the one to make them worse.
“So sorry we’re late!” A stunning redhead in what had to be a designer suit sailed up to the table trailed by a handsome young man who had a softer, kinder version of Grant’s hard features. “I can’t believe the last-minute issues that are coming up.”
