Page 3 of No Escape

“They love what you said about me. What if they don’t love the real me? Or what if I say or do something stupid, like trip and fall on your mother when we first meet, or my parents tell them an embarrassing story about me growing up, and they end up intensely disliking us?”

“Then let’s have a plan.” His brown eyes softened as he tucked another strand of hair behind my ear. “If you trip or stumble when you meet my parents, I’ll catch you before you fall. If your mom starts telling the story about the time you stuck a Darth Vader Lego figure up your nose, I’ll give my mom permission to tell the story about when I was six, ate a dozen cannoli, and threw up all over Nonna’s house. Then, if anything else goes sideways, we’ll have a secret signal. How about you tap the right side of your nose if you need a rescue, and I’ll do the same?”

“I like the idea of a plan,” I said, mulling it over. “I just have to tap my nose? I can do that.”

“You can.”

A honk sounded out front. Slash released me, opened the door, and waved. “It’s the limo with your parents. Time to go.”

Before he reached for our suitcases, his arms encircled me one more time, one of his hands resting at the small of my back. “Look, you’ve got this.We’vegot this. We’re already family, and we’re going to stay that way no matter what happens, okay?” He pressed a light kiss on my mouth, and I caught the scent of mint toothpaste and felt the slight scratch of the scruff on his cheeks.

I wanted to wrap my arms around his neck and stay like that forever. It was moments like this that reminded me how lucky I was to have him. Romantic love was exciting and captivating, and I enjoyed the benefits of that, but for someone as logical as me, finding a compatible partner wasn’t just about physical attraction or pairing up with someone who matched my exact likes and dislikes, although that was helpful. It was about finding someone who could help me grow, bring me out of my shell, and help me to see what was holding me back in life. Slash had done that for me. He’dalwaysdone that for me. He’d given me the courage to make the life changes I desired and stood by me no matter what kind of anxiety attacks or second thoughts I had about it.

I took a deep breath. Freaking out wouldn’t help anyone, especially me. “You’re right, Slash. I’m overthinking this. It’s going to be fun. Besides, it’s not our wedding—it’s just a family get-together where everyone is going to like each other.” I’m pretty sure he knew I was trying to convince myself rather than him. Still, the tenderness and kindness in his gaze caused my heart to turn over in my chest.

“That’s my girl,” he whispered against my cheek and then pressed his forehead against mine. “We’ve got this.” We stood like that for a couple of heartbeats before he pulled away, disappearing out the front door with our suitcases, leaving me to lock up.

I took a moment alone in the foyer to collect myself. I did feel a bit better, and I marveled how he could do that with just a few words. Still, as I set the alarm and locked the door, I couldn’t help but worry the little black cloud of trouble that followed me around would want to come with us.

“Just stay here,” I murmured to the cloud. “Please, Ireallyneed this to go flawlessly.”

I had no idea if my request would work, but I figured begging was definitely worth a shot.

Chapter Three

Lexi Carmichael

“I have a feeling I’ve forgotten something.”

My mom searched in her purse, as if that would help her locate the elusive missing item. “You brought two gigantic suitcases for one week,” I said. “I’m worried they’re both going to exceed the weight limit. What could you have possibly forgotten, Mom?”

“I don’t know, but I’m sure it’s important.”

I stretched my legs out, just like in my dream, and felt a nervous twinge. I had to remind myself we weren’t in London, and we weren’t headed toward a swanky restaurant, but the Baltimore airport. Slash and I faced my parents, with our backs to the limo driver, our legs splayed out next to each other. Fortunately, there was no large white dog in sight, though I barely restrained myself from searching the back of the limo just to make sure.

“Everyone has their passports, right?” Slash asked.

My dad pulled out two passports from his jacket pocket and waved them at Slash. “We’re good on the passports. Clarissa, if you’ve forgotten anything, we can buy it in Italy. You said you wanted to do a little shopping anyway. It’s been ten years since we’ve been there. Surely there are new things to purchase.”

“That’s true,” my mom said, pulling out her compact and applying more lipstick. She already looked beautiful, so I don’t know why she even had to use makeup. She effectively wielded her good looks as a board member on several charities, helping to raise millions of dollars for worthy causes. I’d inherited nothing of her looks except for her long legs and height, which unfortunately only served to make me look awkward instead of graceful.

“As long as I don’t have to dodge bullets and bad guys.” My dad pointed at Slash, which wasn’t fair, because most of the trouble that happened around us was usually my fault. “I didn’t bring or wear body armor, young man.”

I was the only one in the limo who laughed, and I did it mostly to draw attention away from Slash. Dropping to the floor to avoid bullets had become second nature to my parents since they’d met Slash. There was a bit of contention between Dad and Slash over the heightened danger factor, even though I was a magnet for disaster before I met Slash. Somehow, he put the blame squarely on Slash, and Slash wouldn’t disagree with him. They were working on getting past the danger thing but hadn’t got there quite yet.

I didn’t know what else I could do to ease that pressure, but I tried. “It’s a wedding, Dad,” I assured him. “The only potential shotgun that might have been in play would have belonged to the father of the bride. And seeing how Gio’s bride, Vittoria, is already pregnant, and Gio is marrying her, the shotgun shouldn’t be necessary at this point.”

A smile touched Slash’s lips, but my mom rolled her eyes. “For heaven’s sake, Winston, forget about guns and life-threatening danger for five minutes. We’re going to Italy. It’s one of the most romantic spots in the world, perfect for lovers and shopping.”

“And I feel compelled to mention we’re going with our son-in-law, with whom danger has constantly been synonymous,” he said. “How can we be sure we’ll be safe?”

“Dad!” I threw up my hands in exasperation. “That’s so uncalled-for. We’re going to a wedding.”

“After we spend time in a mysterious castle on a secluded island,” Dad returned lightly. “It’s a justifiable question.”

I opened my mouth to respond, but Slash put a hand on my knee to quiet me. He didn’t like me stepping between the two of them or defending him to my dad, even verbally.

Mom snapped her compact shut and slipped it into her purse. “Yes, about that, children. Why, again, are we going to a castle filled with puzzles and games before the wedding?”

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