“Stop worrying.” She laces her arm through mine and grasps my bicep.
My jaw tightens. “We’re getting ready to go into my daughter’s wedding rehearsal dinner, and we don’t know anything about each other. How exactly is that going to work out?”
She stops in mid-step and frowns. “I didn’t think about that.” Biting her bottom lip, she worries it between her teeth.
Lord. My eyes glue themselves to her mouth. What would it feel like to kiss her? I lean in and inhale. She smells like coconut and vanilla. My cock thickens at her nearness. I clear my throat and inch sideways to put a little distance between our bodies.
It’s been longer than I want to admit since I’ve had sex. And being near her is starting to ignite a flame inside me.
A slow smile tips the corners of her mouth until it becomes a full-blown grin. “We just started dating, right?”
“Yeah.” My mind races back to my conversation with Karissa and Brandi. I’m pretty sure I said it was a new relationship.
“Then it’s normal we don’t know each other that well.” She pats my arm. “You can make up anything about me you want if they ask you directly. And, if I don’t know something, I’ll pretend I’m chewing my food, and you answer for me.”
I rub my face and chuckle. Her idea is probably not going to work. But why not? I love her enthusiasm. “Let’s go. It should be interesting if nothing else.”
We don’t talk as we weave our way down the hallway. Once we reach the grand dining room, the maître de opens the door for us and escorts us into the waiting area. I nod at him.
“Mr. Macklin?”
“Yes. Lead the way.” The room is dimly lit with crystal chandeliers, glass lanterns, bouquets of roses, and fine china, and it reeks of steak and potatoes. My stomach growls. For a wedding venue, the place is perfection.
“Follow me, sir.” He motions us forward with his hand and leads the way to the back room where my family will be seated.
Dalilah’s fingers tighten on my arm. “Dalilah, you’re right. It’s going to be fine.” Shit. Now, I’m reassuring her. We’re a mess.
She pastes an enormous smile on her face that doesn’t reach her eyes, and then she cringes. “What if your daughter doesn’t like me?”
“Well…” I pause for a second. I was about to say, ‘Its pretend,’ but she knows that. And she’s right. I’m trying to keep Brandi off my back, and I could care less what she thinks.
However, my daughter is different. I hate lying to her, and for some crazy reason, I want her to like Dalilah – as stupid as that sounds. I steady my shoulders. “She’ll love you.”
What the hell? Will she like her? I’ve preached to my kids for years to be nonjudgmental. To accept people, to support others, and to be kind. But will that extend to their father dating a woman that’s only two years older than my oldest child? Damn it. Pretend dating.
She straightens her shoulders and nods. “Okay. I’m ready.” Her head swivels in all directions, taking it all in. “This place is nice.”
I’d forgotten she loves all this romantic shit. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Brandi talking animatedly with Karissa. Her arms are swinging in all directions. My daughter’s face falls, and she crosses her arms. Damn. It’s time to play offense rather than defense.
I carefully remove Dalilah’s hand from my arm and draw her to my side with my palm on her hip. My fingers caress the fabric of her dress, which earns me an arched eyebrow.
There’s no time to explain. I walk up to them and grin. “Hey, baby girl. I hope you don’t mind, but I’m enacting my plus one. Dalilah was able to get away from work and surprise me.”
Karissa and Brandi exchange looks and then turn to study us. Brandi’s expression is filled with venom, while Karissa’s emotion is unidentifiable. Her head is cocked to one side, and her gaze travels over the two of us.
Finally, she licks her lips and sticks out her hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Dalilah. Thank you for joining us.”
Dalilah accepts her hand and firmly shakes it.
Brandi growls and slaps the toe of her shoe on the wooden flooring. “Karissa, you don’t have to be polite. Your father has brought some easy tramp to your wedding.”
Dalilah’s body tenses against me. I move my hand off her side and rub it along her upper back. The urge to tell her not to engage the beast is strong, but I don’t want to add fuel to the fire.
“Mom?” Karissa stares at her mother with wide eyes. “Don’t be rude.”
Yes. That’s my girl. I smile on the inside – not daring to let my emotions show.
“Fine. You put up with them, but it’s disgusting. She’s your fucking age. I’m out of here.” She gives us one last derisive glare. “You are pathetic. Can’t keep a woman your own age satisfied, so you’ve got to find some young girl that doesn’t know the first thing about men. I bet she’s in it for your money.”
“Brandi, go.” My jaw works as I say each word. I’m done playing nice. She mouths off one more time about the wonderful woman who’s doing a favor for me, and I’m going to toss her out. She can watch the wedding via FaceTime.
“Asshole,” she mutters and stomps off.
Dalilah glances up. “Well, that was pleasant. I don’t think she’s going to send us Christmas presents or RSVP our wedding invite.”
I grab my stomach and laugh. Dalilah’s sense of humor cracks me up. What could have been intimidating for her, she managed to handle with grace.
Karissa’s mouth drops. “I didn’t realize you two were that serious.”
“Shit.” Dalilah’s face turns a bright shade of red, and she slaps a hand over her mouth. “I’m sorry. I was being a smartass. Damon and I just started dating.”
“Oh, I see.” Karissa worries her bottom lip as if she’s trying to figure us out.
I can’t blame her. I don’t know what in the hell I’m doing. Is she going to call my bluff? All I need is two days, and I can head back to New York. After a week or so, I can tell Karissa that Dalilah and I didn’t work out. We were too different.
I inhale. Why does that sound so shitty?
“How did the two of you meet?”
“Well…” My brain scatters in a hundred different directions. Why didn’t I come up with some meet-cute idea that would tug on my daughter’s heartstrings?
Dalilah turns to me and places her hand on my chest. My heart thumps under her fingertips. “Honey, let me tell her.”
“Okay.” My mouth dries as I stare into her brown eyes. Damn it. This isn’t real. She strokes her fingers along my chest.
“I was coming out of a pet store after playing with all the puppies and kittens and ran straight into your father.” She turns to Karissa and gives her the biggest doe eyes. “They were so adorable. I wanted to take them all home. But I live in a pet-free apartment. Anyway, imagine my surprise when I run smack dab into this solid wall of muscle.”
As she bites her curvy bottom lip, my cock jumps to attention. I’m even buying her story by this point.
“I dropped the contents of my purse, and he helped me pick everything up. Then, he invited me for coffee, and we chatted at this romantic café for hours. He made my heart swoon.”