From This Moment On
Page 42
Smith handed him a beer. “We have to reshoot a couple of city scenes this week. Figured I’d get here a day early and see everyone.” He raised an eyebrow. “Was pretty surprised by your text earlier this week. So, Jill’s not in the picture anymore, I take it? Otherwise, you wouldn’t be needing my place.”
“Right, she’s gone.”
Smith grinned. “Good.” His grin widened. “So tell me about the new girl. After two years with the ice queen, I hope her replacement was seriously hot. Just as long as you changed the sheets when you were done.”
There was no reason for Marcus to want to knock a couple of Smith’s teeth out of his movie-star face. His brother couldn’t know he was inadvertently slamming Nicola.
“There were no sheets to change,” was all he was going to say about it.
Before his brother came at him with more questions, he headed for the backyard, where in good weather the large table was always set up for brunch. Smith’s voice came at him again before he could make it to the French doors.
“We’ve got a special guest outside. Lori said you’ve already met Nico. Gorgeous girl, isn’t she?”
Holy hell. The beer bottle slipped in Marcus’s grip and he had to fumble to keep from dropping it.
Marcus was torn between walking over to the table where Nicola was surrounded by his siblings and dragging her off to lock her in the nearest bedroom to do whatever it took to make her listen to him—or turning on his heel and getting the hell out of there.
He knew he needed to see her again, knew he needed to get down on his knees before her and grovel...but could he do those things in front of his entire family?
Marcus hadn’t made it any further than the threshold between the living room and the patio when his mother made a beeline for him.
Her arms were warm as she hugged him and her voice was soft as she said, “She’s lovely.”
He didn’t have time to school his expression into anything but surprise.
His mother’s smile was soft and understanding. “I’m glad to be able to have more than a few minutes to talk with Nicola today. That impromptu phone call the other night was much too short for me to get to know her.”
Oh no. How could he have forgotten about that call to his mother the night they’d left the club?
At his dumbfounded silence, his mother continued, “I’ll have to admit that I was surprised when she arrived with Lori rather than you.” She raised an eyebrow. “And I’m even more surprised that no one, not even your sister who’s been working with her, seems to know about you two.”
No one was better at getting information out of her kids than his mother. Among her specialties were questions that subtly pinned you in place, then forced you to spill your guts when you’d sworn to keep your silence on a subject forever.
“We’re not actually together right now.” It wasn’t hot out but he was sweating. “I blew it.”
His mother watched him carefully before her mouth curved up into a smile. “I’ve hoped for this for so many years, waited for someone to come along whom you could finally love more than your family, someone who would turn you inside-out and toss you off your path.” His mother looked positively gleeful in the face of his misery. “Someone just like Nicola for you to blow it with.”
Dumbfounded, Marcus could only watch his mother walk away with a smile on her face as Lori yelled out, “Marcus, you’re here!”
Finally, he got his feet working again and headed toward the group out in the middle of the backyard.
A half-dozen voices came at him, but all Marcus could see was that Gabe was sitting way too close to Nicola. He knew his youngest brother’s type. Nicola was exactly the kind of woman Gabe and the other guys at the fire station liked to take home for the night.
“Gabe,” he said, “you’re needed in the kitchen.”
His brother looked doubtful. Gabe was notorious for leaving the kitchen looking like a tornado had hit it. Fortunately, he shifted his seat back and started to get up, but before he did, he leaned over to say something in Nicola’s ear. She laughed and Marcus’s hands started to curl into fists.
Hell, he’d practically raised Gabe from a baby. He shouldn’t want to kill him now just because he’d made Nicola laugh, and looked at her a little too long, with a little too much interest.
Fortunately, before Marcus could leap across the yard to flatten his youngest brother, Chloe walked over to say hello with a hug. “I feel like I haven’t seen you in forever.”
Chase was a step behind his fiancée. “We’re thinking about coming up to the winery for a visit sometime soon,” Chase told him, pulling Chloe close.
The two of them had fallen in love at his winery and Marcus had been amazed to watch his brother fall head over heels for a woman he’d just met. He hadn’t been able to understand how something so big could happen so fast.
But now he understood perfectly.
“Come anytime. The guest house is always yours. It’s been too long.”
He meant what he said, but he could hear how stilted his words were even to his own ears.
Zach was on his cell phone on the other side of the yard, Ryan was at the grill flipping burgers, and Sophie and Lori were on opposite sides of the table again. They’d been at odds with each other for months.
Marcus had always been the one to break up the twins’ fights, to force the two of them to sit down and actually talk to each other. If this were a normal Sunday brunch, he would have dragged them off by their ponytails and done just that.
But he couldn’t focus on anything but Nicola today, could barely remember how to put one foot in front of the other or speak without sounding like a complete fool. Now that he’d let himself look at her, he couldn’t pull his gaze away. She looked so beautiful, so right, sitting in the backyard he’d grown up in.
“Hi."
She blinked at him, clearly wary. “Hi, Marcus. It’s nice to see you again.”
God, he hated the way she sounded so distant. Just the way she had when she’d told him she was glad to have met him, then walked out of his life.
Not picking up on the strained atmosphere between them at all, Lori cheerfully explained, “Marcus came by to visit our rehearsal a couple of days ago.” She patted Gabe’s open seat. “Come sit down.”
Marcus didn’t know how he’d manage to sit that close to her without touching her, without pulling her onto his lap where she belonged. But he couldn’t just keep standing there with his entire family looking at him like he’d lost his mind.
“Right, she’s gone.”
Smith grinned. “Good.” His grin widened. “So tell me about the new girl. After two years with the ice queen, I hope her replacement was seriously hot. Just as long as you changed the sheets when you were done.”
There was no reason for Marcus to want to knock a couple of Smith’s teeth out of his movie-star face. His brother couldn’t know he was inadvertently slamming Nicola.
“There were no sheets to change,” was all he was going to say about it.
Before his brother came at him with more questions, he headed for the backyard, where in good weather the large table was always set up for brunch. Smith’s voice came at him again before he could make it to the French doors.
“We’ve got a special guest outside. Lori said you’ve already met Nico. Gorgeous girl, isn’t she?”
Holy hell. The beer bottle slipped in Marcus’s grip and he had to fumble to keep from dropping it.
Marcus was torn between walking over to the table where Nicola was surrounded by his siblings and dragging her off to lock her in the nearest bedroom to do whatever it took to make her listen to him—or turning on his heel and getting the hell out of there.
He knew he needed to see her again, knew he needed to get down on his knees before her and grovel...but could he do those things in front of his entire family?
Marcus hadn’t made it any further than the threshold between the living room and the patio when his mother made a beeline for him.
Her arms were warm as she hugged him and her voice was soft as she said, “She’s lovely.”
He didn’t have time to school his expression into anything but surprise.
His mother’s smile was soft and understanding. “I’m glad to be able to have more than a few minutes to talk with Nicola today. That impromptu phone call the other night was much too short for me to get to know her.”
Oh no. How could he have forgotten about that call to his mother the night they’d left the club?
At his dumbfounded silence, his mother continued, “I’ll have to admit that I was surprised when she arrived with Lori rather than you.” She raised an eyebrow. “And I’m even more surprised that no one, not even your sister who’s been working with her, seems to know about you two.”
No one was better at getting information out of her kids than his mother. Among her specialties were questions that subtly pinned you in place, then forced you to spill your guts when you’d sworn to keep your silence on a subject forever.
“We’re not actually together right now.” It wasn’t hot out but he was sweating. “I blew it.”
His mother watched him carefully before her mouth curved up into a smile. “I’ve hoped for this for so many years, waited for someone to come along whom you could finally love more than your family, someone who would turn you inside-out and toss you off your path.” His mother looked positively gleeful in the face of his misery. “Someone just like Nicola for you to blow it with.”
Dumbfounded, Marcus could only watch his mother walk away with a smile on her face as Lori yelled out, “Marcus, you’re here!”
Finally, he got his feet working again and headed toward the group out in the middle of the backyard.
A half-dozen voices came at him, but all Marcus could see was that Gabe was sitting way too close to Nicola. He knew his youngest brother’s type. Nicola was exactly the kind of woman Gabe and the other guys at the fire station liked to take home for the night.
“Gabe,” he said, “you’re needed in the kitchen.”
His brother looked doubtful. Gabe was notorious for leaving the kitchen looking like a tornado had hit it. Fortunately, he shifted his seat back and started to get up, but before he did, he leaned over to say something in Nicola’s ear. She laughed and Marcus’s hands started to curl into fists.
Hell, he’d practically raised Gabe from a baby. He shouldn’t want to kill him now just because he’d made Nicola laugh, and looked at her a little too long, with a little too much interest.
Fortunately, before Marcus could leap across the yard to flatten his youngest brother, Chloe walked over to say hello with a hug. “I feel like I haven’t seen you in forever.”
Chase was a step behind his fiancée. “We’re thinking about coming up to the winery for a visit sometime soon,” Chase told him, pulling Chloe close.
The two of them had fallen in love at his winery and Marcus had been amazed to watch his brother fall head over heels for a woman he’d just met. He hadn’t been able to understand how something so big could happen so fast.
But now he understood perfectly.
“Come anytime. The guest house is always yours. It’s been too long.”
He meant what he said, but he could hear how stilted his words were even to his own ears.
Zach was on his cell phone on the other side of the yard, Ryan was at the grill flipping burgers, and Sophie and Lori were on opposite sides of the table again. They’d been at odds with each other for months.
Marcus had always been the one to break up the twins’ fights, to force the two of them to sit down and actually talk to each other. If this were a normal Sunday brunch, he would have dragged them off by their ponytails and done just that.
But he couldn’t focus on anything but Nicola today, could barely remember how to put one foot in front of the other or speak without sounding like a complete fool. Now that he’d let himself look at her, he couldn’t pull his gaze away. She looked so beautiful, so right, sitting in the backyard he’d grown up in.
“Hi."
She blinked at him, clearly wary. “Hi, Marcus. It’s nice to see you again.”
God, he hated the way she sounded so distant. Just the way she had when she’d told him she was glad to have met him, then walked out of his life.
Not picking up on the strained atmosphere between them at all, Lori cheerfully explained, “Marcus came by to visit our rehearsal a couple of days ago.” She patted Gabe’s open seat. “Come sit down.”
Marcus didn’t know how he’d manage to sit that close to her without touching her, without pulling her onto his lap where she belonged. But he couldn’t just keep standing there with his entire family looking at him like he’d lost his mind.
