Page 32 of Romancing the Rude Guy

He breaks the kiss first.

My eyelashes flutter as I open my eyes to his handsome, smiling face. Sometimes I look at him and can’t believe this man is mine.

“We don’t want these getting cold,” he says, dropping his arms from around me and gently urging me up from his lap.

It takes me a moment to understand that he’s talking about the pancakes. “Right. I’ll eat and get ready as fast as I can.”

“No rush. We can be fashionably late. We are crashing this party, after all.”

And crash might be the right word.

When we arrive at the large two-story house at the end of a cul-de-sac in a large and pricy development just outside of town, we bypass the house and go right to the fenced-in backyard. I open the gate and, with Dan’s gift on his lap, Marcus rolls right in.

Following after him, I’m closing the gate when I hear a happy shout.

“Uncle Marcus! You came!”

A dark-haired boy in bright red swim trunks with blue sharks on them charges at Marcus and launches himself at him.

Laughing, Marcus returns the hug, and my heart positively melts at the sight of the two of them together.

Marcus said he could still have children and suddenly I’m hoping fiercely that he can. He deserves this.

I stand back and watch the two of them as Dan opens his gift, viewing the delight on the boy’s face when he pulls the drone out.

“Oh wow!”

Several of Dan’s friends gather around and block my view, but that’s okay. This is Marcus’s moment with his nephew.

“Who the hell are you?” an angry male voice hisses next to me.

Surprised, I whirl on my heels and gaze up at a man that has to be Marcus’s brother, Chase. There’s no mistaking that resemblance.

He’s tall, well-built, and clearly very ticked off.

“I’m Alice. Marcus’s girlfriend.” I hold out my hand and smile.

Chase looks down at my hand. His dark green eyes, so similar to his brother’s yet lacking Marcus’s warmth, dart around at the other people around us.

Probably not wanting to make a scene, Chase gives my hand a limp handshake and growls something about cake before stomping off.

I make myself useful and grab two bottles of water, one of which I pass to Marcus before giving him a kiss on his forehead, and going off to find a chair to settle into while the kids show off their cannonball skills in the pool for Dan’s cool Uncle Marcus.

Dan’s mother, Terry, comes over and introduces herself, and I’m glad to see she’s not the rude prick her husband is. She’s also surprised Marcus didn’t bring his swimsuit. I keep my mouth shut on that one and pack it away to tell Marcus later that his brother was behind the uninvite, not Terry or Dan.

Marcus comes over and takes me around, introducing me to some of Dan’s friend’s parents, and I get a thrill each time he says, “This is Alice, my girlfriend.”

Later on, Dan comes over with plates of cake for each of us and talks in the overly excited way only children can get away with. He demands to know when Uncle Marcus will be back to fly the drone with him.

Dan sheepishly peeks at me and extends the invitation to me as well.

All in all, it was a great afternoon and I’m so glad I talked Marcus into going. On the drive back to his house, he states the same.

Since he uses hand controls to drive, I can’t hold his hand during the ride and I’m afraid to place my hand on his thigh in case that might distract him.

Only later do I realize that he probably wouldn’t even know I was touching his thigh unless he looked down. A bit of sadness fills me at that realization.

As Marcus turns into his driveway, I can’t help remarking, “Terry and Dan are so nice. Shame your brother is an ass.”

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