She couldn’t hold back her laughter. “I was talking about your mother.”
His eyes narrowed, promising retribution. “Brat.”
Then he spun her through a series of dizzying spins, leaving her breathless and happy. Jay clapped for them. “Way to go, Amy! You’re making the big guy look good.”
Meanwhile, Marlene stood next to the stereo and shuffled through several CDs. “Should I start another song, or do you all need a break?”
“A break from what?”
As one, the four of them turned to face the newcomer. Jack stood inside the entryway while a pretty woman and Ricky filed in behind him. Marlene lit up as soon as she spotted them. “You didn’t tell me that you were stopping by today.”
“We were out shopping and decided we’d do pizza for dinner. Thought you might like to join us.”
As he spoke, Jack scanned the room. Amy bet he didn’t miss a single detail. His next words confirmed it. “So, Mom, I see you’re giving dance lessons again. Tell me that you’ve finally managed to help Mikhail figure out how to do it right. I wouldn’t want him to embarrass everyone at the dance with those big, bumbling feet of his.”
Jack was obviously jerking his brother’s chain, but Amy didn’t like it. “I’ll have you know he’s a great dancer!”
She didn’t regret leaping to Mikhail’s defense, but instantly every adult and the one teenager in the room were staring at her. At them. At the fact that Mikhail was still holding her close. Darn it, maybe she should’ve kept her mouth shut.
But when she glanced up at Mikhail, he winked at her and gave her shoulder a quick squeeze before turning his attention to his brother. “About that pizza. Are you buying?”
Jack shot his brother a disgusted look. “Yeah, I am, but you or Jay will have to make a run to the store for ice cream and beer.”
Before answering, Mikhail asked her, “Maybe I should’ve asked if you actually wanted to hang out here with this bunch or if we should go in case you already have plans for this evening.”
Amy hadn’t expected to stay for dinner, not to mention that she had a puppy who would be missing her pretty badly by now. “I’d love to stay, but I can’t leave Panda alone for much longer.”
Marlene gave her a questioning look. “Who is Panda?”
“My bulldog puppy.”
The older woman smiled. “I’d love to meet him.”
Mikhail glanced at Amy and then back at his mother. “Tell you what, Mom. If Amy doesn’t mind, the two of us will go back to our houses and pick up the dogs. We’ll stop and get the drinks and ice cream on the way back.”
Marlene was already nodding. “Perfect.”
Amy had to ask, “Are you sure? Panda’s not completely housebroken yet.”
Mikhail snickered. “Neither is Jack, but she lets him in all the time.”
Their mother looked much put-upon. “All right, that’s enough of that. Amy will think I never taught either one of you how to behave in public.”
Then she smiled. “But to answer your question, I’d love to meet Panda and Sarge. This house survived everything my sons put it through. An accident or two from a puppy isn’t going to hurt anything.”
“All right, then Panda and I would love to join you for dinner.”
Mikhail took her hand and towed her across the room. “We’ll call you when we’re on our way back to let you know when to order the pizza.”
Jack started putting the furniture back where it belonged. “Sounds like a plan, but don’t drag your feet. I’m hungry.”
The woman who’d come in with Jack blocked Mikhail’s headlong rush toward the door. “Before you whisk Amy out of here, it would be nice if you stopped long enough to introduce the two of us.”
“Oops, sorry, Caitlyn. I didn’t mean to be rude. I just worry that if we delay feeding your husband too long, he’ll start chewing on the furniture.”
He shot the man in question a quick grin and added, “Again.”
Jack started to raise a single finger but then jerked his hand back down when he realized his mother, his wife, and his son were all watching. “You’re thinking of Tino, not me. And to be fair to him, he wasn’t actually chewing on the coffee table. He accidently banged his teeth on it when I, uh, inadvertently tripped him.”
