Page 6 of Inarticulate

A smirk pulled at her lips. “That’s a risk I’m willing to take.”

“So you’ve decided on the kicking and screaming option?” There was no inflection in his tone. No humor. Only a formidable determination in his features. He was going to make good on his promise; she could see it in his eyes.

“Damn you.” She pushed to her feet and glared at him. He hadn’t changed. Not one little bit. And apparently, neither had she, because she was still succumbing to his stubbornness. “I’ll get my coat.”

Chapter Three

“Family dinner?” She shot Dominic a scathing glance as they approached a familiar house. The curb on either side of the street was banked with cars. The driveway, too.

“I think she may be a little over excited.” He parked in the drive behind a shiny silver sports car and cut the ignition. “But it’s free food, right?”

There were no words. All she could do was glare.

“Okay, okay, I’m sorry.” The laughter in his tone said otherwise. “I may have known there were a few additional people invited.”

“A few?” Savannah released her seatbelt and shoved open her car door. “The least you could’ve done was tell me to get changed.” She was still wearing her travel clothes—old comfortable jeans, her crushed blouse that was now hidden under a black suede coat, and a shimmery pink scarf she’d hoped would detract from her laziness.

It detracted nothing.

“I’m going to look like the homeless cousin stumbling to the doorstep for a free hand-out.”

“Don’t exaggerate.” He slammed his car door and rounded the hood. “You look fine. And besides, I wasn’t going to wait for an hour while you tried on a million outfits and plastered your face with make-up.”

“Now who’s exaggerating?” She walked backward, shooting daggers at him as she approached the single-story brick building. “Just remember payback’s a bitch.”

“And so are you, my sweet cousin.”

He was a jerk, but gosh, she’d missed him. The banter and the fun. The laughter and the snarcasm.

She swung around to the house to hide her smile and bounced up the three stairs toward the front door. Movement nudged her periphery and she slowed, taking in the sight of a man standing in the shadows at the far end of the porch. His hip was cocked against the banister, his eyes hooded.

Her concentration latched on to him, unmoving as the world around her dulled to a faint hum in her mind. She wasn’t sure what intrigued her. It could be his narrowed stare, the way he didn’t greet her with warmth or kindness. Only sterile appraisal. Or maybe it was the package his arrogance came in—the tense expression, stubbled jaw, and lush lips pressed in a tight line.

Her tongue tingled. Mouth salivated. She would’ve liked to think it was due to the heavenly aroma of her aunt’s cooking drifting in the air. Would’ve liked to…but that was a load of bull.

“Hi.” She gave him a friendly finger wave as Dominic came up behind her.

The man continued to stare, his face still unwelcoming in the shadows.

“Keenan, don’t be a prick.” Dominic tugged on her arm, stealing her attention. “Come on. I’ll introduce you later.”

She kept her focus on the stranger, their gazes entwined, hers soft and inquisitive, his harsh and fierce, as her cousin dragged her inside, the door slamming shut behind them. “Who was—”

“Oh, my sweet Savannah!” Aunt Michelle hustled up the hall, wiping her hands on an old apron tied around her waist. “It’s so good to see you.”

The familiar face held more wrinkles than Savannah remembered, her aunt’s long blonde hair now gray and thinning. But the beautiful blue eyes were still the same—loving and gentle.

“It’s good to see you, too.” She ignored the strangers poking their heads into the hall from different doorways and fell into a comforting embrace. “Thank you for the dinner invitation.”

“Oh, please,” her aunt chastised. “You don’t need an invitation. Come around any time.”

There was a whirlwind of introductions. Her aunt took position on her right, gushing with affection and compliments, while Dominic remained on her left, muttering snide comments that threatened to make her laugh.

A timer dinged from the kitchen, a welcome reprieve as her aunt excused herself and left Savannah to take a breath. There had to be twenty people crammed into the small house. All of them smiling and friendly, unlike the man outside who still lingered in her thoughts.

“You want a drink?” Dominic nudged her elbow.

Hell yes.“Please.” She followed him to the back of the house, into the laundry, and toward a fridge stocked full of beer, wine, and pre-mixed drinks.

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