Dare to Submit (Dare to Love #4)(16)
Author: Carly Phillips

“I’m happy for you both,” Amanda said, but the way she rubbed her arms, her discomfort was clear.

“If we’re going out, we need to get ready,” Decklan said, having decided to get her alone and make sure she was comfortable with breakfast and the idea of company.

Once in the bedroom, Amanda realized her heart was pounding hard in her chest. She’d never thought the doorbell was family. A neighbor maybe, and when Decklan had taken his time coming back to her, she’d decided to see what was holding him up.

His brother and pregnant wife. Now breakfast. How had things gotten so complicated so fast? This was an affair—meant to be fun, not serious, and meeting family first thing the morning after was serious.

She turned toward him, ignoring the direct hit, both physical and emotional, she took upon looking at him. “You should go with your brother and his wife. They have a lot to celebrate.” She gathered her purse. “Like I said, I can take a cab back to the city.”

He stared at her and she couldn’t read him. Uncomfortable, she pulled her cell from her purse and began to Google taxicabs in the area.

“Don’t.” Decklan’s voice startled her. “You should come with us.”

She blinked. “What? Why?”

“You need to eat, for one thing. And for another, maybe if you’re there, they won’t grill me mercilessly.” He winked at her.

“Oh, I should come to be your buffer?” she asked, glad he’d turned things light.

He shrugged. “You’re also good to look at.” His eyes darkened as his gaze raked her over.

She felt herself flush but was beyond pleased with the compliment. “Then we should get ready,” she said, blurting the words out before she could think them through or change her mind.

Though she hadn’t planned on breakfast with the family, one meal couldn’t hurt, no matter how domestic. She swallowed hard because she was lying to herself. It could hurt. She already felt too much for this man. As for his brother, she couldn’t read Gabe at all, but she liked Isabelle’s warmth and friendly charm.

One breakfast. That was all. Then she wouldn’t see them again. With a determined nod, she took a quick shower, washed her hair and pulled it into a wet, messy bun, dressed, and washed her face. She had the extra crinkly cotton dress she’d rolled into her bag and nothing more. No makeup to help her look more presentable, but she didn’t have a choice.

“Ready?” Decklan asked, his gaze eating her up and making her feel more beautiful than she ever could be.

Her gaze slid over him. In a pair of faded jeans and a pale blue tee shirt, his hair damp, face unshaven, he looked deliciously sexy. And because he’d showered too, he smelled deliciously sexy. Yum.

She nodded. “Ready.” As she would ever be.

He took her hand and led her from the room.

To her surprise, she enjoyed the next few hours. Decklan’s family was fun—well, Isabelle was—Gabe liked to brood and stare, as if he could get into Amanda’s head and see what she was hiding. But his fiancée? In the short time they were all together, Isabelle had managed to exchange phone numbers with Amanda, press her for plans the next time she was in New York, and show her another side of Decklan.

Isabelle and Decklan had an amusing relationship. “He didn’t really arrest you, did he?” Amanda asked as the men were arguing over paying the check.

“He certainly did.” Isabelle stared at her with wide blue eyes. “I’d just left my ex’s place for good. I found a video of him cheating on me,” she said, her voice lowered. “But it really had been over for a while. Anyway, I drove off in the rain in my Mercedes, and Lance, the bastard, reported the car stolen.”

Amanda stared, dumbfounded. “Who does something like that?” she asked.

“A pompous son of a bitch,” Gabe muttered, now in tune with the conversation.

Isabelle merely nodded at his assessment. “I didn’t put things together right away, but turns out that my arresting officer”—she pointed to Decklan—“was Gabe’s brother. I knew Gabe from the country club my ex belonged to. Anyway, Gabe showed up to see Decklan, and there I was cuffed to the desk—”

“Because my brother doesn’t know the best places to bind a woman,” Gabe said with a smirk, the first real joke the other man had made.

“He does so!” Amanda said, defending Decklan.

Until she realized exactly what she’d admitted to and shared with the man’s family. Strangers to her. Her cheeks flamed with embarrassed heat.

Gabe grinned, showing her the family smile and resemblance for the first time. “Glad to know you have it in you, little brother.”

Isabelle punched him lightly in the arm and shot Amanda a sympathetic smile. “They can be major pains in the ass.” She leaned in closer. “But it’s worth it in bed, isn’t it?”

Oh dear Lord. Amanda managed a nod, but her head was spinning with the implications of what they’d all just shared. Wasn’t that what friends did? Family? How had she become a part of all this so quickly?

“I think we should get back to Isabelle’s arrest,” Decklan said, his understanding gaze on Amanda’s face. He obviously picked up on her discomfort, and he didn’t look too thrilled with his brother himself. She appreciated how he’d turned the conversation away from the too-personal sharing of information.

“It all worked out okay,” Isabelle said. “Decklan brought me an apology gift.”

Amanda raised an eyebrow. “He did?”

“Tums,” the other woman said with a grin.

“Suck-up,” Gabe muttered with a roll of his eyes.

Obviously it was an inside joke, but it served to show her how close this family was, and unexpected warmth curled in her belly. So opposite of the dysfunction she’d grown up with. In her family, the differences of opinion weren’t fun or treated like jokes. Instead, barbs were thrown by her mother at every turn.

At that thought, her phone rang. “Excuse me,” she said, pulling her cell from her purse and glancing down. “God, it’s like she has ESP or something.” Amanda hit ignore on her mother’s call.

“Everything okay?” Decklan asked.

She nodded. “Just my mother. It can wait.”

He narrowed his gaze but said nothing.

“So, Isabelle, will you find out the sex of the baby?” Amanda asked, desperate to keep the focus off of herself.