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“I wouldn’t have asked if I didn’t want you there.”
“But if it’s a family thing—”
“It’s Erin’s family, and that includes you.” His smile was as warm as his words. “Please tell me you can come. Having you there will help me stay sane.”
My heart pounded thickly at the back of my throat as I nodded. “Of course I’ll come.”
His answering smile made my chest feel tingly. It was almost enough to drive away the heavy lump of dread in my stomach.
A get-together with Donal’s parents and teenaged children. Splendid. Delightful.
This didn’t promise to be uncomfortable at all.
CHAPTERSIXTEEN
TESS
I hadn’t been back to the old neighborhood since I’d sold my parents’ house a few months ago. And now here I was again, in my old, familiar haunt, much sooner than I’d ever expected.
Currently, I was parked on the street in front of Donal’s childhood home. From the outside, it looked exactly the same as it had thirty years ago, the last time I’d darkened the Larkins’ door. I sat in my car, staring at the familiar brick house and trying to shake off the memories and uneasiness the sight of it brought up.
There was still time to back out. I could invent an excuse—some sort of work emergency maybe.
No. I couldn’t do that. Donal had said he wanted me here, and that meant something. Besides, Erin was here. This was an opportunity to get to know her better, and I wasn’t going to pass that up. I had to go in there and face Donal’s family.
I could handle this.
Straightening my spine, I got out of the car and made my way down the sidewalk and up the concrete steps to Mrs. Larkin’s front door. The familiar gong of the doorbell took me back to all the times I’d come here to work on a school project or hang out with friends in the Larkins’ basement rec room—not to mention those three months during our senior year when Donal and I had been messing around in secret. I shuffled my feet on the stoop, feeling like an awkward teenager again.
To my intense relief, it was Donal who answered the door. “You made it.”
“Sorry I’m late.” I forced a smile as I stepped past him into the small foyer. The house smelled like my childhood: Pine-Sol, polished wood, and fresh-baked cookies.
The sound of voices coming from the next room set my heart pounding in my ears. Usually, in difficult social situations, I cloaked myself in an armor of detached indifference. But I didn’t want to come off detached or indifferent today. Not with Donal’s family, and especially not in front of Erin. Which left me floundering, unable to adequately hide my apprehension.
Donal’s eyes swept over my face, and he surprised me by slipping an arm around my waist and kissing my cheek.
Oh.
Okay. I could deal with this. I wasn’t the least bit thrown by the feel of Donal’s soft, warm lips on my skin. It definitely didn’t make me think of the kiss we’d shared a week ago. That was my story, and I was sticking to it.
While I was still recovering from the cheek kiss, he surprised me further by pulling me into a hug.
Oh, jeez. Now we were doing this.
It was too much. Donal’s muscles, his skin, his smell, it was all too good. I couldn’t help but lean into him, enjoying the feel of his body against mine. Something tightened in my stomach, a tingling warmth that suffused all my limbs.
When he let go of me I wavered a little, feeling like I’d lost my equilibrium. But he hadn’t let go all the way. His arm was still around my waist, anchoring me, holding me upright, and it stayed there as he drew back and smiled at me. “I’m really glad to see you.”
I swallowed, attempting to pull myself together. “Is Erin here yet?”
“She got here about ten minutes ago.”
“How’s it going?” I searched his face for evidence of tension, but if there was any, he was hiding it well.
“Great. You know my mom—she could make friends with a Bengal tiger. She and Erin hit it off right away. And Jack seems taken with Erin as well. Between him and my mom talking her ear off, no one else has had much chance to get a word in edgewise.” His smile grew wider, showing off his dimples. “You look gorgeous, by the way.”
I felt his words—and his smile—all the way down to my toes. I’d agonized over what to wear, and in the end had settled on a floral dress paired with a lightweight mint green sweater that seemed appropriate for the pleasant late April weather we were having.
