Finally, it was time to leave. Penny’s grandmother insisted they take home leftovers, and the women went into the kitchen to pack them up.
Gramps sat in his recliner, staring at Ryan. “I don’t know what you’re pulling, but you and I both know you ain’t that idiot Braedon.” A wan smile creased his face. “But anything’s an improvement. Just don’t hurt my granddaughter, or you’ll have to answer to me. I may be old, but I’m wiry.”
“Yes, sir.” Ryan bit back a smile.
He stood as Penny reentered the room, a shopping bag hanging from one arm. “Ready to go?” she asked, kissing her grandfather’s cheek.
After thanking her grandparents for the meal, they headed home.
“I’m sorry Gramps didn’t recognize you,” Penny said a few minutes later as she stored the food in their refrigerator.
“Don’t worry about it.” He slid his arms around her waist and nuzzled her neck. Her grandfather was right, but thankfully, no one would believe him.
She turned in his arms, linking her hands behind his neck. “I guess I want my family to love you as much as I do, and it bothers me that my grandfather didn’t even know you.”
“Shh.” He brushed her lips with his. He didn’t want to hear how much she loved his brother. “It’s okay. I understand.”
“But I don’t want you to not like him—”
“Hey, he’s your family. How could I not like him?”
“Have I told you lately how much I love you?”
Dropping his arms, he reached around her to get a beer from the fridge. “I believe you mentioned it a time or two.”
With a sigh, she sank to the kitchen chair and leaned on her elbow on the oak table, watching him drink his beer. “What’s your brother like?”
The swallow of beer lodged in his throat, sending him into a coughing spasm. “Why do you want to know?” he finally gasped out.
“Are you okay?” She pounded his back.
He nodded and waved her away, then made a rolling motion with his hand to continue.
“Well,” she said, sitting again. “I never had any brothers or sisters, and always wanted some. At least one, anyway.” She grinned. “I used to watch the movie, The Parent Trap, over and over again, and wished I would find a secret twin sister.”
She laughed and his stomach twisted. If only she knew having a twin wasn’t all it was cracked up to be.
“Don’t you think it would be cool to be a twin?”
“Um, I don’t know.” Stalling for time, he tossed the empty bottle in the trash. “Not really.”
“That’s because you have a brother. Trust me. To an only child, the idea of having a twin—better yet, an identical twin—is intriguing.” She fished his bottle out of the trash and walked to a narrow cupboard. “I’ve told you a thousand times, we’re recycling. Throw your bottles in the blue bin in here.” She tossed in the bottle and closed the door. “Please. I know you think it’s stupid, but it’s important to me.”
“Recycling isn’t stupid. It’s sensible, and the right thing to do.” Noticing her stunned look, he grinned, pulling her into his arms and bumping her with his hips. “It turns me on.”
She laughed and pulled away. “What’s going on with you? Lately, everything I do turns you on.”
“What’s wrong with that?” He closed his mouth over her earlobe and gently sucked, biting back a grin when she shivered in response.
“Stop trying to distract me.” She stepped back. “I want to talk and I can’t when you keep doing stuff like that.”
He tugged on her hand as he walked toward the bedroom. “We can talk in bed.”
“No, we can’t.” Her steps lagged, pulling against his momentum. “Well, regardless, we won’t.”
Turning toward her, he cupped her shoulders, sliding the neckline of her dress down her arms until he’d bared her to the waist. Running the tip of his index finger along the top of her breast where it swelled over the low-cut red bra, he smiled at the catch in her breath. “We can talk while we’re naked.”
“I’m serious!”
“So am I!” He tried to tug her into his arms, but she stiffened her posture and resisted.
“Brae, we haven’t talked the way we did today in, well, forever. We never talk. All we do is cohabit and sleep together. Until yesterday, we didn’t even have sex all that much.” Her eyes narrowed. “What’s going on?” The smile slid from her face. “That wasn’t break-up sex, was it?”
He forced a laugh and pulled up her dress until she was once again covered. “No, it was not break-up sex. C’mon. If you want to talk, let’s sit in the living room where we can at least be comfortable.”
Her eyes rounded. “Really? You’re actually agreeing to talk?”
“Is that so hard to believe?”
“Well, you never wanted to talk before—”
“I can change my mind.” He tugged her to sit next to him on the sectional. “Nice,” he said, smoothing his hand over the suede-like upholstery.
Frowning, she put her hand to his forehead. “Are you sure you’re feeling all right? You’re acting like you’ve never seen your own furniture before. You were with me when we picked it out.”
He nodded. “I know. I guess I just never felt it before. Didn’t realize how soft it was since I don’t come in here all that often.”
She shot him an exasperated look and picked up a remote. Never blinking, she pushed a button. A soft whir filled the room, and the pastoral picture above the mantle rolled back to reveal a flat-screen TV. “Sweetie, I don’t know what’s going on, but you’re the original couch potato. Lately, you’re on the couch when I leave for work, and are still here, surrounded by trash, when I come home.” She leaned close. “What’s going on? Is something bothering you? Talk to me.”
He took a deep breath, promising to kill his brother if he survived this mess. “I guess I’ve been a little stressed, is all. Seeing you go to work every day while I lay on the couch doesn’t help.” His lazy, good for nothing brother needed to get his ass off the couch and get a job. No self-respecting man would allow his woman to support him.
“Oh, baby, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you feel guilty.”
He clenched his teeth. Great, now she was apologizing. “Forget it. You wanted to talk.” He leaned back and drew her close, his arm thrown across her shoulder while his fingers played with her hair. Whatever they discussed, he knew he’d feel better if he was touching her.
“I want to meet your family. I especially want to meet your brother. I can’t
