But Ivey had been the one to up the ante again—and he was incredibly glad. The way she kissed him, or more like attacked his mouth, made him think she hadn’t been properly appreciated in far too long.
Her ex had to be the biggest tool alive.
As she adjusted and readjusted, she continually took the kiss a little deeper. She tasted sweet and hot, felt soft in his arms, and he loved the hungry little sounds she made...
The laughter reached them, along with the sound of the front door opening. Corbin eased her away, but couldn’t resist one more, soft kiss on her now damp mouth. “I think we were supposed to be ordering pizza.”
She touched her lips, her eyes heavy, her expression dazed. She let out a shuddering breath—then stalled his heart by whispering, “When I decided to add some fun to my life, I wasn’t thinking of a guy with a kid and a comedian brother.”
Was she already having regrets? “Meaning what?” She’d kissed him and now she wanted to rethink things?
“Meaning you’re so much more than I ever imagined. Not to say the pickings around here are precisely slim, but...yeah. I know all these guys and none of them ever curled my toes.”
There she went again, making him laugh. “Curled toes, huh? Sounds kinky.”
Around the corner by the entry, they could hear Lang calling for Justin to hurry up.
Ivey lowered her voice. “I was a teenager the last time I ran through the woods! And all the fun banter? I love listening to you and your brother, and I especially enjoy taking part. Even this, pizza at a guy’s house... I haven’t done anything like that in forever.”
Such simple things, and she appreciated them, same as he did. “I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself.”
“I am, so very much.” She glanced around his kitchen, seeming to take it all in with interest. “Thank you for including me. Far as first dates go, this one is a winner.”
“So that’s what this is? A first date?” Amused by the way she blushed, he picked up the kitchen phone. He’d found that his cell reception here near the lake wasn’t always reliable. Given his business interests, it made sense to have a landline.
“I consider it a date.” She wrinkled her nose. “But then, I’m woefully out of practice with this stuff. Geoff and I were together for two years—is it bad form for me to mention him? Probably, but hey, it’s true. In those whole two years, I don’t remember having this much fun.”
Why had she stayed with the putz for so long? A smart, caring woman like her should have demanded more.
He smoothed down one of her curls and watched it spring right back. It made him smile. “I’m having a great time, too, so I don’t care what we call it. Just saying, if this was a date, I got off easy.”
“Well, I imagine dating with a son is different.”
Lang stepped in. “It might have been, but now with Uncle Lang here...” He waggled his eyebrows. “You kids feel free to use me as a sitter whenever you want.”
“Where’s Hope?” Ivey asked, not at all bothered by Lang’s intrusion.
“She and Justin found some creepy-ass caterpillar that I wanted no part of.” He shuddered. “Said they’ll be right in.”
“Wuss.” Corbin turned to Ivey. “What kind of pizza do you and Hope like?”
“Anything is fine. Pepperoni and sausage, or load it up. Oh, but no anchovies.” She made a face of disgust. “Those things are foul.”
“I’ve always thought so,” Corbin agreed, then turned back to the phone.
A minute later, Justin and Hope walked in discussing the bug. Hope said to Ivey, “Justin found the biggest tobacco hornworm I’ve ever seen. It was huge!”
“Really big,” Justin said, bounding forward in excitement. “And fat and green.” His taunting gaze slanted toward Lang. “He was afraid of it.”
“You disparage me, boy?”
Unsure how to take his uncle, Justin paused, his teasing expression arrested.
Corbin laughed and mussed Justin’s hair. “We both disparage you, Lang. You should have outgrown your phobias.” Damn Lang for making the boy uneasy.
Catching on, Lang gave Justin a nudge. “Hey, your dad and I disparage each other all the time. It’s all in how you do it.”
“With love,” Hope interjected, and then blushed.
“Exactly. I give Corbin a hard time but I do it with affection.” More seriously, Lang put a hand on Justin’s shoulders. “As a joke, in fun, it’s perfectly fine and I promise I was only teasing back. It takes a lot to insult me.”
“Very true,” Corbin said. “I’ve tried but he always laughs it off.” Since Justin was back to grinning, he figured they’d gotten past the awkward moment.
“Even though your uncle runs screaming from bugs—”
Lang snorted. “I do not. I just avoid them.”
“—he loves horror movies almost as much as you and Ivey do.”
That lead-in got everyone talking about favorite monsters and movies. First chance he got, Corbin planned to check out the movies Ivey had warned against, though Lang didn’t appear to think anything of it when Justin waxed on about Jason Voorhees and Michael Myers.
Finally the pizza arrived. Lang got out plates and napkins while Corbin offered colas, then they all took seats around the table. Corbin sat with Ivey on his left side and Justin at his right, which naturally put Hope and Lang together. He’d seen his brother in many modes, but this one was new. Lang was all about being the uncle, but he was also acutely aware of Hope.
Corbin gave her a quick, more detailed scrutiny. Sure, Hope was cute, in an understated way. She looked younger than she was and dressed in the plainest clothes imaginable. Dark brown, nearly black hair framed a pale oval face dominated by deep blue eyes. She watched Lang like a sheep fascinated with a wolf, understandably wary but interested anyway. Her reticence was almost painful to see.
Lang must have felt it, too, given the way his expression gentled every time he glanced at her. At thirty, his brother had been around enough to pick up on Hope’s shyness and insecurity.
But for the next two hours, everyone lingered over the food, talking, laughing, teasing and altogether having a great time. Being here with his brother, his son and Ivey was as cozy as a family gathering, Corbin thought.
Hope said little, even when Ivey tried to draw her into conversation, but she smiled a lot, taking it in with interest. Justin was just the opposite. He flourished in the group of people, talking nonstop first about the boat, then telling Lang all about Daisy.
Lang, ever a good uncle, asked all the right questions. When the puppies were mentioned, everyone looked at Ivey, but she blew them off, refusing to engage on the subject. It didn’t take a genius to know she had divided feelings. With the way she loved animals, she’d probably have a difficult time parting with them.