Page 78 of Perfect Vengeance

“Hard not to. You really are in the doghouse tonight.” There was both humor and sympathy in her tone.

When it rained, it poured buckets. It was pushing seven months since he’d sat down with his family. Maybe it was time. Only now his decision was more complicated. He’d never, ever taken a girlfriend to his family’s dinner before.

Girlfriend? Was that what Gina was to him?

He turned to her. “Hungry?”

Chapter Twenty

They arrived at his mother’s house a little after 6:00 p.m. The first things Gina noticed were the heavenly smells of garlic and herbs and the noise—voices raised in heated discussion, followed by raucous laughter.

“Word of warning. We can get a little loud.” Jack hung their coats in a closet, then led her to the dining room.

“Jack! You actually showed up!” A deep voice chuckled.

“About friggin’ time,” another man said in a decidedly acerbic tone.

“Kyle, language!” a female voice admonished.

When Jack took Gina’s hand, pulling her into the dining room and tucking her to his side, the room went so quiet she could have heard a tumbler falling into place. Three sets of eyes pinned her with undisguised shock.

The two men seated at the table exchanged quick glances and shot to their feet. Jack’s mother’s jaw dropped, but she recovered quickly, wiping her hands on her napkin, then pushing back her chair to rush over and give Jack a big, motherly hug.

Jack released her hand to wrap his mother in a warm embrace, and she instantly felt the loss of his protection. The other two men continued eyeing her—one with outright suspicion, the other with mild curiosity.

“Son, I’m so glad you’re here.” Jack’s mother’s voice trembled.

Gina was left with the distinct impression Jack hadn’t been to a family dinner in quite a while.

“Ma,” he said, releasing his mother and placing a hand at the small of Gina’s back. “This is Gina. Gina, this is my mother, Elaina.”

She extended her hand to Elaina, who made a dismissive gesture, then engulfed Gina in a hug. For a woman about thirty years Gina’s senior and several inches shorter, Jack’s mother gave one heck of a hearty embrace.

“Welcome, Gina.” She pulled back and smiled. Like Jack, she had gray eyes, but where his were hard and flinty, hers were soft and twinkling with joy.

“Thank you for having me. These are for you.” She handed Jack’s mother the bouquet of pink calla lilies she’d insisted they stop for at a flower shop.

“How beautiful!” Her lined face brightened as she accepted the bouquet. “Jack, put these in some water for me.”

“Yes, Ma.” The look on his normally stern face was now adorably gentle as he dutifully accepted the flowers.

Well, whatdya know? As any good son should, Jack had a soft spot for his mother. Gina didn’t know why she was so surprised. And he’d just confirmed something. He hadn’t been grown in a clandestine laboratory test tube after all.

Jack headed down the hall, turning to give her a wink over his shoulder, one that made her belly flutter like a teenage girl with her first crush. Only it wasn’t just a crush. Somehow it had turned into more. So much more. Deep in her heart she knew what was happening, and it was one of the scariest things she’d ever faced. She was falling in love.

“And bring another place setting,” Elaina shouted after him.

Only then did she realize the table was set for four, as if Jack’s mother had expected—or rather, hoped—he would show.

“Okay, Ma,” came Jack’s shout.

“Now,” Elaina continued, linking arms with her, “these are my other two sons. Kyle and Deacon.”

Like Jack, both men were well over six feet and strikingly handsome. The family resemblance was obvious in their muscular physiques, square jawlines, and overall bearing. That’s where the resemblance ended.

“Call me Deke.” The man’s large hand engulfed hers as he shook it, his green eyes warm and smiling. A single dimple appeared out of nowhere on his right cheek. Thick, honey-brown hair gave him a California surfer-dude look. He was the kind of guy any red-blooded female with a pulse would fall head over heels for. “Welcome to our humble house of insanity.”

“Thank you,” she said. “I hope I’m not intruding.”