He pushed the sunglasses up and she got a good look at his whiskey-colored eyes trimmed with thick lashes. And…more tingling.
“What’s our game plan?” he asked.
She drew back. “I didn’t know we needed one.”
“If she’s suspicious, I mean,” he explained. “Flat-out denial? Laugh like hyenas? Or…change of subject? Anything but the truth.”
She looked up at him, a little surprised to hear that proclamation.
“If the truth is ever going to come out,” he explained, “I have to be straight with my parents first. They deserve to know before anyone else.”
She thought about that, nodding. “I get it.”
“So?” He inched back and made a casual gesture toward his face with the bag he held. “Look hard. Would you know instantly? Is it that obvious?”
She did look, hard and long, happy for the excuse to drink in every delicious detail of the man’s face. He wasn’t GQ model perfect—his nose was a little crooked and he had a light scar above one brow, butoof. He looked good.
But that wasn’t what he’d asked. Would Tessa know she was staring into the face of her own son? Other than the golden-brown eyes and light hair, he didn’t lookexactlylike Tessa. Strong bones and a wide smile, but her face was so feminine and beautiful.
“She’d have to be looking for it,” Lacey finally said. “She doesn’t know your name, or she would have reacted to it the first time she saw you on my Instagram account. There wasn’t so much as a flicker of recognition. I’m sure they’ll all be too…distracted by you.”
He gave an easy laugh. “I’ll pull out all my charm.”
“Don’t overdo it,” she warned. “I don’t think I can handle too much.”
Still laughing, he put his arm around her, taking the rose bucket and flowers.
“Come on, Lacey. Lead me to the women wolves.” He finally slowed his step and looked up at the house. “Nice crib, by the way. I love this place. But you know, my mom always says the real beauty of a house is the people inside.”
“Oh, I like?—”
The front door opened and Tessa stood there, a G&T in one hand, the other stretched out in greeting. “‘Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou?’”
Lacey sucked in a soft breath as she felt the man next to her freeze mid-step, looking up at…his biological mother. For what felt like an eternity, he didn’t say a word. Lacey waited, her heart hammering, suddenly very, very uncertain that this was such a good idea.
No, of course it wasn’t. It was madness, pure and?—
“‘Deny thy father and refuse thy name,’” he replied as he climbed the stairs.
What? What did he mean? Was he?—
“And he quotes Shakespeare,” Tessa said, throwing her head back with a laugh.
“My high school English teacher was married to the football coach. They thought it would be hilarious if the team did a production ofRomeo and Juliet.” He held out the bag of chocolates. “You must be Tessa.”
She blinked up at him, speechless for a split second. Long enough for Lacey to feel her whole body tense.
“I am,” she said, her eyes flashing. “And you”—she opened the door wider to invite him in—“are just what the doctor ordered around here. Come and make all the ladies swoon.”Laughing, he walked in and stepped toward the living room. Behind him, Tessa whipped around to Lacey and mouthed, “Oh, my gawd!”
Woman, you have no idea.
But Lacey just smiled and tried to relax into the evening. It would either be the best night she’d had in a long time…or a nightmare.
Jo Ellen wasdownright giddy in the presence of NFL “greatness” as she put it. Mom acted just weird enough for Lacey to know she was under the Roman Matteo spell, too. Even Maggie’s icy exterior thawed under the warmth of their guest.
And Tessa?
Well, she certainly had no idea that the center of attention at their outdoor dining table was the baby she’d given up for adoption twenty-five years earlier. And that gave Lacey mixedfeelings—guilt, remorse, excitement, and an overwhelming desire to tell her the truth.
