Page 23 of Rating the Book Boyfriend

Lucinda pulls away and stands, leaving me with a rock-hard dick. “That’s Mother. We’re going to play tennis at the club.”

Fuck.

As she goes to answer the door, I adjust myself in my pants to try and camouflage the obvious erection pulsing in my shorts. I stand as Bianca Farina sweeps into the room, looking not much older than her daughter, thanks to the talents of her plastic surgeon.

“Riggs,” she purrs, “I didn’t know you would be here, darling.” She kisses me on both cheeks like we’re European royalty and then pats my face.

“Mother, look at the earrings Riggs brought me from Colorado.” Lucinda swivels her head from side to side, and the light glistens off the several carats adorning her ears.

“Ohhh, they’re beautiful. Such a thoughtful young man.” Bianca beams at me. “What are your plans for today, Riggs?”

I thought maybe I was going to get laid, Bianca. Alas, it’s not to be.

“I’m going to pick up Ace from my sister’s house and then go visit with Joe for a while.”

Mother and daughter share a disapproving look, whether from the mention of my big, goofy black lab or of Joe, I’m not sure. Probably both.

“Isn’t that nice,” Bianca says with a fake-ass smile that tells me she doesn’t think it’s nice at all. “We’ll let you get to it. My daughter and I have some tennis balls to smash.”

“Okay, you ladies have fun.” I kiss Bianca’s cheek, and then take Lucinda’s hand and lead her to the door. Her mother wanders to the kitchen, presumably to give us some privacy.

“Thanks again for the earrings,” Lucinda says, and I cup both her cheeks, brushing my lips across hers.

“You’re welcome. Do you want to come over tonight, sweetheart?” I ask, but I instantly know the answer when she scrunches her nose.

“Your dog will be there?”

“Not in my bedroom,” I say suggestively. “You know he has his own bed.” Actually my spoiled mutt has his own room.

“Oh, well, I’m going out with Eleanor and Stella. Girls’ night, you know?”

“You could come over after,” I say, trying to keep the edge of begging from my tone.

Her nose wrinkles again. “No, we planned to stay at El’s house.”

A voice comes from the kitchen. “Lucinda, we’re going to miss our court time!”

“Gotta go,” Lucinda says, pressing a chaste kiss to my cheek and herding me out the door.

Out in the hallway, part of the throb that was in my left temple migrates to the right, so now both sides of my head ache, though the previous throbbing in my groin is noticeably absent now.

“Hey, sis! How was Ace this weekend?” I greet Silvia when she opens the door.

Hearing his name, my boy abandons his chew toy and literally hops across the wood floor toward me. I squat and receive all the doggy loving he sees fit to bestow upon me, including lots of licks and nuzzles.

“Hi, buddy,” I say, rubbing my hands up and down the sides of his neck, which is his favorite thing in the world. “Were you a good boy for Aunt Silvia?”

He does a full-body wiggle, followed by an affirming bark.

“He didn’t eat any of my shoes,” my sister reports, kissing my cheek when I stand.

“I’ve been working with him on that. Having lots of chew toys available seems to help.”

Closing the door behind me, I step into Silvia’s living room, which manages to be extremely bright and modern without losing that homey feel. Ace trots back to my sister’s red-and-yellow throw rug and continues gnawing on his toy.

“I see you bought Instagram Barbie some new jewelry,” Silvia says, rolling her eyes and shaking her phone at me.

I suppress a laugh. My sister is not a fan of my girlfriend.

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