“What do you think marriage is?” she asked. “A few hours ago, weren’t you still thinking of that as the messiest emotional complication of all?”
“Can’t deny it,” he said. “I’ve given it some more thought. Maybe we should just go for broke.”
“Boy, I must be much better in bed than I thought,” she muttered under her breath.
“You’re amazing in bed,” he confirmed. “But it’s not about that.”
“Then it’s about a transformation worthy of some sci-fi film,” she said. “Nobody changes their entire belief system that quickly.”
“I don’t know that it was that quick,” he argued, sounding perfectly sincere. “I think it’s been coming on since the instant I realized that I was attracted to you. I fought it tooth and nail, but here we are. Maybe it’s time to stop fighting.”
“It’s the maybe I find worrisome,” she said. “I know you’re the kind of man who wants to do the right thing, but I’m not some starry-eyed teenager whose virtue you’ve stolen. We were equals in that bed last night. There are no expectations today, not from me, and definitely not from my family.”
“Well, since there are a half dozen people peering out of various windows in the house, maybe we should table this conversation till later,” he suggested, nodding toward Cora Jane’s.
Sure enough, Gabi was positioned in an upstairs window overlooking the driveway, Wade right behind her, a smirk on his face. Cora Jane and Jerry were the fascinated observers from the kitchen. And standing together at the French doors in the living room, to Samantha’s shock, her father and Sophia Grayson, of all people, seemed to be regarding them with amusement.
She kept her focus on that unlikely duo. “I think I’ve just spotted the answer to our prayers,” she said. “My father and Sophia. If we walk inside and I go on the offensive about what they’re up to, we can forestall the inquisition about us.”
She was about to step out of the car when Ethan stilled her with a touch. She turned back to him. “What?”
“Do you really want to throw the spotlight on them? Your dad’s been alone since your mom died. This thing with Sophia—if there even is a thing—could be the best thing that’s happened to him. Why stir up trouble just to take the heat off us?”
She knew he was right, but his thoughtfulness was certainly inconvenient for the two of them. “Do you have a better idea? Other than avowing your undying love, that is?”
He smiled. “Let’s just go in there, face the music and see what’s for lunch. You know Cora Jane won’t be able to resist the opportunity to feed us.”
“I doubt she’ll be placated by the opportunity to whip up sandwiches,” Samantha said.
“Southern hospitality is ingrained in her,” Ethan insisted.
“Okay, but it’s your neck on the line.”
“I’ll take my chances,” he said, coming around to help her from the car. He leaned in close and pressed a kiss to the hollow behind her ear. “And in case things go terribly wrong in there, I just want you to know, it’s all been worth it. I’ll take the memory of last night to my grave.”
He said it with an exaggerated sincerity that made her laugh.
“What on earth am I supposed to do with you?” she murmured.
He grinned. “I’ll try to come up with a list.”
“Just concentrate on surviving long enough so we can get to it,” she said direly, then winked. “Just in case, though, I thought it was worth it, too.”
* * *
Ethan was not the least bit surprised to find that everyone had gathered in the kitchen by the time they made their way inside. Everyone was making a determined effort to look busy and thoroughly disinterested in the new arrivals.
Cora Jane glanced up from the pot of soup she was stirring, her expression innocent. “There you are,” she said. “Hungry? You’re just in time for lunch.”
Ethan shot a triumphant look toward Samantha, who merely shook her head.
“Starving,” he said. “What can I do to help?”
“Are you kidding?” Gabi said. “With Grandmother and Jerry in charge, you’d only be getting in the way.” She turned her attention to her sister. “I think there’s time if you want to get out of that dress.” A feigned expression of shock registered on her face. “Are those grass stains I see on the back?”
Ethan saw embarrassed color flood Samantha’s cheeks before it dawned on her that there were no grass stains. There couldn’t possibly be, since they’d been safely inside Ethan’s bedroom before they’d started tumbling around in each other’s arms.
“Stop it!” she told Gabi. “You’re just trying to stir up trouble!”
Gabi grinned. “I know, but the look on your face was priceless. Something definitely went on last night.”
“Stop teasing your sister,” Sam Castle said, his tone surprisingly firm even though his eyes were sparkling with amusement.
Gabi and Samantha both stared at him with shock.
“Dad? Where’d that come from?”
He laughed. “Just trying out a little used disciplinary technique I learned from your mother.”
“Very forceful,” Sophia said, regarding him with evident fascination. “You girls are lucky to have a father who’s so involved in your lives.”
Gabi started to choke. Samantha wavered between wanting to set her straight and allowing the charade to go on. In the end it was Sam himself who corrected her impression.
“I’m afraid the whole involvement thing is very new to me,” he told her. “It was their mother who brought them up to be the amazing women they’ve become. She did it with very little help from me, I’m sorry to say.”
Sophia looked momentarily taken aback by his candor, but then she smiled. “I’m not sure I’ve ever known a man who so readily admitted his mistakes.” She turned to Cora Jane. “I imagine that comes from you.”
“I believe in being straightforward and honest, yes,” Cora Jane said. “Until right this minute, though, I wasn’t sure my son had seen the value in that.”
“Even an old
