He nodded in understanding. “So you need to find an apartment?”

“Yes.” I grabbed my phone off the table and led the way out, pulling the door shut behind him. “But before that happens, I’ll need to find that better paying job. Working for Natalie is fun, but it won’t pay my rent.”

Sebastian fell silent as we headed across the drive toward my parents’ house, and he walked sort of slowly and stiffly, like a prisoner headed for the guillotine.

“Hey.” I grabbed his hand. “No worries, OK?”

He looked down at our hands, his mouth set in a grim line.

“Are you nervous?”

“A little.”

“You know what I used to do when I’d get nervous before auditions?”

“What?”

“I’d imagine the very worst thing that could happen. Like forgetting my lines or falling on my face. Wetting my pants. Those things still wouldn’t kill me.”

He stopped walking right before we got to the front porch. “Except when I imagine the worst thing that could happen tonight, Skylar, I’m not wetting my pants. I’m stabbing someone.”

I turned to him. “Who are you stabbing?”

“I don’t know. Whoever’s closest.” His worried expression told me he was serious, and I was tempted to hug him, tell him he didn’t have to come to dinner if he didn’t want to, assure him I understood. But somehow I thought that wasn’t what he needed.

“Well, remind me not to sit next to you, then.” I headed up the steps. “Come on. Let’s do this.”

• • •

My family welcomed Sebastian warmly, Natalie giving me a smug smile behind his back as he shook our father’s hand.

“I take it things are going well,” she whispered on our way to sit down at the big antique table in the dining room, which was already laden with platters and serving bowls full of food.

I shrugged. “They’re OK.”

“I want details!”

“Tomorrow at work,” I promised.

“Sebastian, why don’t you sit here next to Skylar?” my mother suggested, pulling her usual chair for him. I sent her a grateful look.

Natalie sat on Sebastian’s other side, and Dan next to her. I wondered if she’d confronted him about the text messages yet. We’d have to talk about that tomorrow, too.

“Sebastian, did you have an older brother?” asked Jillian, who was seated across from him. “I went to school with a Malcolm Pryce.”

He nodded. “Yes, that’s my brother. He’s three years older than I am.”

“Does he still live around here?”

“Traverse City. He’s an attorney in my father’s practice, also.”

OK, so far so good. He wasn’t exactly relaxing in his chair, but his tone of voice sounded normal.

Jillian picked up a salad bowl. “Oh, are you a lawyer?”

“Yes.” He swallowed, maybe bracing himself for more questions about his past, and I put my hand on his leg to remind him he had a friend at the table. I wasn’t going to let the conversation go anywhere that would embarrass him. I might not have a college degree but I was a master at manipulating a crowd. He patted my hand, and I smiled at him.

Suddenly I could feel my mother’s eyes on me, and I could just imagine how pleased she was—not only had I brought a handsome new friend to dinner, but he was a lawyer too. Imagine that, Skylar did something right! Frowning, I picked up my wine glass and took a big sip.

The rest of the meal went smoothly, and even if Sebastian remained a little tense, he fielded questions politely and complimented my mother on her cooking. I winced once when Dan asked him why he’d moved back here from New York, but he simply said he missed the area and wanted to be closer to his family. My shoulders wilted with relief, and I put my hand back on his leg under the table. He covered it with his again, and this time, he left it there.

Our eyes met in the mirror above the sideboard on the opposite wall, and something about the look we exchanged made my panties get a little wet. Maybe it was just the candlelight playing tricks on me, but I liked the fire I saw in his eyes, which looked darker in the dim room.

After coffee and dessert, my sisters and I helped my mother bus the table, and then they shooed me back into the living room, where Sebastian sat with Dan and my father discussing the lack of skill in the Tiger bullpen.

He stood when I entered. “I should get going.”

“I’ll walk you out,” I said, hoping our evening wasn’t over but unsure how to keep it going.

Sebastian thanked my parents for dinner and shook everyone’s hands—I wondered if handshakes still bothered him—and we walked outside. The sun was setting, bathing the farm in beautiful amber light. Row after row of cherry trees in bloomed on the hills, and I inhaled the lush air, which was much cooler than it had been all day.

“So was it torture?” I asked as we strolled toward his truck, wrapping my arms around myself to fight the chill.

“Yes.”

I elbowed him, and he elbowed me back.

“Your family is very nice.”

“They are, thanks. Sorry for all the questions. They can be so overbearing sometimes.”

He smiled slightly. “That’s OK. Nothing I couldn’t handle tonight.”

“I’m glad.”

We reached his truck and he took his keys from his pocket. Part of me wanted to invite him in to my guest house for a beer, but another part said that wouldn’t be wise. Maybe it was enough today that we’d spent time alone, that we’d kissed, that he’d had dinner with my family.

“Well, goodnight. Thanks for coming.” Rising up on tiptoe, I put my hands on his chest and kissed his cheek. He kissed mine too, and then pulled me in close for a hug. I held him tight, my arms around his neck, our chests pressed together. I could smell the clean, masculine scent of his skin, feel his breaths start to come faster, igniting the hum inside my body. My thoughts strayed to my vibrator.

“It’s the craziest thing,” he said in my ear, his voice low and raw.

“What is?”

“I don’t want to leave you.”

My heart nearly burst open with longing for him. “Oh God, I don’t want you to, but this house is, like, right next to my parents, and—“

“Come home with me.” He released me slightly, keeping his arms around my waist and looking down at me. I saw that fire in his eyes again like I had in the mirror, felt the heat radiating from his body. “Give me another chance to make up for this afternoon.”

“Yes,” I said without any hesitation. “Just give me a second.”

“Skylar, wait.” He grabbed my arm, and I worried that he’d changed his mind.

His face was grave. “I want you so bad I can hardly breathe, but I have to be honest. I’m not looking for—”

“Shhh.” I put a finger over his lips. “I’m not asking for anything, Sebastian. I just want to be with you.”

Heart pounding, I ran into the house and pulled Natalie aside. “Can you grab my phone from the kitchen? If Mom asks, just tell her Sebastian and I went for a drive.”

“Awwwww,” she said, her voice rising like I’d been caught doing something naughty. “I’m gonna tell.”

I slapped her arm. “Shhhh! Just grab it please.”

Laughing, she ducked into the kitchen, where my mother was blasting Pavarotti and loading the dishwasher. Not that she’d have cared what I was doing—she’d probably have been happy, actually—but I didn’t want any questions tonight.

A moment, later Natalie returned with my phone. “Here you go. Have fun. Details tomorrow,” she said forcefully.

“Promise.” I scooted for the door.

“And don’t be late for work!”

I rushed back outside, where Sebastian was waiting for me at the open passenger door of the truck. “Everything OK?” he asked, helping me up.

I smiled at him. “Yes. Everything is perfect.”

“Good. Now buckle your seatbelt. I’m planning to speed.”