Page 64 of All I Need (Hearts of the South)
Her father thanked them, and light conversation hovered over those gathered in the room. Frustration tightened her chest again, mingling with the slight panic. All she wanted was a few minutes alone with him, and he appeared perfectly content to remain where he was, chatting with Clark and Rob, her father occasionally joining in.
As her cousins drifted away, her grandmother motioned her near and took her hand, settling Savannah next to her on the sofa. Grandmother stroked her hair with the gentle touch she remembered from childhood, and she rested her head against the older woman’s shoulder, letting the repetitive caress ease away the stress. The drone of conversation around her, she allowed her lashes to fall. The weariness seemed overwhelming.
When she woke, late-afternoon sunlight colored the room. The house sat quiet and peaceful around her, and she blinked, disoriented. A cashmere throw covered her, and the wool-clad male thigh under her cheek was a far cry from her grandmother’s shoulder. She was intimately acquainted with the muscles of that leg, and she knew beneath the smooth fabric, right under her cheek, ran a long, thin surgical scar next to the ragged mark of a gunshot entry wound.
With a gentle finger, he tucked her hair behind her ear and laid aside a book, one of her father’s myriad biographies. She sat up, trying to smooth the wrinkles from her dress. “How long have I been asleep?”
He rotated his wrist to check his watch. “About an hour and a half.”
“What?” Horrified, she grabbed his arm to see for herself. She covered her eyes with one hand. “Oh, my God, I will never live this down.”
“There’s nothing to live down. You work hard, we didn’t get a lot of sleep last night—not that anyone here knows that but us and Clark—and your grandma put you out faster than Bennett does that baby. If it were a problem, I’m pretty sure someone would have woken you up.”
She wasn’t sure which was worse—sleeping through a family event, realizing Clark Dempsey knew the details of her sex life, or waking up with her head in Emmett’s lap when he’d barely said two words to her all day.
With her luck, Jen had captured that for posterity, as well.
“You don’t understand.” She pulled the throw over her legs and tucked her feet under her. Where were her shoes? “Have you met my father? There are expectations for how one is to conduct oneself—”
“Your dad loves you and is proud of you. Anybody can see that.” He shook his head. “That’s huge and it trumps possibly violating some family code of conduct.”
Why were they even discussing this? What she really wanted to know was why he’d been so removed all day. She frowned. “Are you regretting last night?”
“Last night was amazing. I’d never regret being with you like that.” Voice lowered, he tossed a look over his shoulder at the hallway to the dining room. “Today I needed to think through some things.”
“And you couldn’t do that on the way over with me?”
“No.” A half-smile hitched up one corner of his mouth. “You tend to interfere with my ability to think straight. Besides, Clark’s pretty good at helping me see the big picture. ”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “Do you tell him everything?”
“Not…everything.” He chuckled and laid his arm along the back of the couch. “But most things, yeah. It’s mutual, though. Think of it like you talking to your sister.”
“My sister does not know we’re sleeping together.”
“Considering how she’s been looking at me all day like she knows what Santa brought you for Christmas, I think she’s a good guesser.” He leaned in, mouth close to hers. “Her and your grandma both.”
Impossibly glad to have him nearer to normal, she closed the distance between them. Against her mouth, his lips were warm and pliable, and she curled her hand around his nape, holding him to her. He lifted a hand to cup her shoulder, fingers sliding along the bare skin of her upper arm.
“Savannah,” he murmured against her mouth, “I don’t think I want your dad to catch us making out on the couch.”
“Where is everyone?” She dropped her face into the curve of his neck and inhaled the mingling of aftershave, starch, and his unique maleness. She slipped one hand inside his jacket to rest below his ribs. “If he’s retreated to his study, we’re probably safe from getting caught.”
“Your mom, sister, and grandmother are in the dining room with Bennett, opening gifts, I think. Clark bailed on me and left when Troy Lee did, so apparently you have to drive me home.” He rested his cheek against her hair and moved his fingers down her arm in a slow caress. “Your dad disappeared down the hall earlier after everyone left.”
“Definitely hiding in his study. He can only socialize for so long.” She pulled back to look into his eyes and slid her hand up and down his side, seeking the ticklish spot between his ribs. “So we’re safe.”
“Behave.” He caught her hand with his, a hint of laughter lighting his eyes. “We’re not doing this the very first time I’ve been in your parents’ house.”
“I guess we should gooohandaahover baby gifts.”
“You sound awful enthused about that.”
“Oh, Hamilton’s great, and I’m thrilled for Amy and Rob, but I don’t get the appeal.” She shook her head. Becoming parents had been the one place she and Gates had differed, and finally they’d agreed to table the topic until they’d been married a couple of years. “I am never having children.”
“We’re in agreement there. I can pass on eighteen years of being afraid I’ll screw someone up for life.”
“So you weren’t joking last night about having had a vasectomy?”
