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Having absolutely no context or idea of what to do in such a situation, I had to go solely off instinct. “Hi, I’m Lexi,” I said, pushing the wet, slobbery hair out of my face and thrusting out my hand. “Your new daughter-in-law.”

She looked at me, shock and horror evident in her expression.

I heard Slash’s soft voice in my ear, his hand on my arm. “Come on,cara. It’s time to go.”

What? He expected to go to dinner after this?

My eyes suddenly snapped open, my hands squeezing the soft leather of the living room recliner beneath me. My handsome Italian American husband sat perched on one side of the chair, our cute Christmas tree visible over his shoulder.

I let out an enormous sigh of relief and pressed a hand to my forehead. “Oh, thank God, I’m home.Home.The dog didn’t get me.”

“Dog?” Slash lifted an eyebrow.

“Yes.” I closed my eyes, my heart still pounding. “There was a restaurant in London, and a woman with a big dog that jumped on me…and your mother. It was awful.”

He smiled, cupping my cheek with his hand. “I assure you, there’ll be no dog at Gio’s wedding. You, and my mother, will be completely safe from an animal attack. But you do need to get ready. I just got a text—the limo will be here in five minutes.”

Chapter Two

Lexi Carmichael

I hate flying.

There, I said it. Hate, hate, hate. Regardless, I do a lot of it for a geek girl who detests getting into a vehicle that propels itself thousands of feet above the ground without a safety net. I used to think that experiencing so many flights would inure me to flying, but it hasn’t. My recent plane crash should’ve been the perfect excuse for swearing off flying for the rest of my life, but no. Here I stood in my foyer, waiting for a limo to take me to the airport so I could pay money to have another near-fatal travel experience.

Ugh.

I hadn’t slept well last night, which had caused the impromptu nap and subsequent dog/limo/mother-in-law nightmare. I should have known better than to read that article on flight inScientific Americanbefore bed. Unfortunately, I’d discovered there was no mutual agreement among scientists on what generates the aerodynamic force known as lift. The aerodynamic theory of lift has been split into followers of a technical camp and a nontechnical camp, both of which have differing ideas on what keeps a plane in the air. I read both theories at length and came to my own conclusion that neither offers a complete or comprehensive explanation of all the physical forces that keep an airplane aloft.

So, yeah, reading that article about air travel made itmucheasier for me to fall asleep. Not.

Now, if I was talking about virtual travel, all would be cool. I’m all about virtual. That’s my world, and it’s where I’m the most comfortable. My name is Lexi Carmichael and I’m a twenty-six-year-old coder, hacker, and master of my own virtual domain. I double-majored in mathematics and computer science at Georgetown University and now work for a cyberintelligence company, X-Corp, in the suburbs of Washington, DC. Virtual flying, unfortunately, is not in my future. In three and a half hours, I’ll be boarding a real airplane to Italy for my brother-in-law’s wedding.

It seems weird to say “brother-in-law,” because I’m only recently married myself. My husband, Slash, and I accidentally got married in quite an unexpected and nontraditional way just a few weeks ago. We’re still having an official church wedding this spring with our families and friends, which I’d skip if I could, but I can’t, since I’m half of the main attraction. But I couldn’t stress out about my own wedding now because I was too busy freaking out about flying, as well as meeting my in-laws for the first time.

“Relax. It’s going to be fine.”

I stopped pacing the foyer and glanced at Slash, who leaned against the wall next to our suitcases. Dressed in dark jeans, a navy sweater, and a leather jacket, he looked dangerous and sexy all rolled into one. In some ways, he seemed out of place in suburban America, when he would have been perfectly suited to a fancy yacht on the Mediterranean Sea with no shirt, dark sunglasses, and hair blowing in the wind. But he’d laugh if I told him that, so I didn’t. Besides, although he’s nice to look at, I’m way more impressed with his stellar mind and hacker skills. He’s the smartest person I know, and that’s saying a lot, because I know a lot of really smart people.

He walked over and put his hands on my shoulders. “Still thinking about the nightmare?”

I sighed and tried not to look guilty. Social events always stress me out. Having to navigate a big wedding that included my husband’s parents, whom I hadn’t met yet, was daunting. “I’m thinking this is a really bad idea.”

“Which part?” He looked directly into my eyes, knowing that more than anything, I appreciated forthright communication. He knew he’d have to reassure me at least a hundred times before we got to Italy for several different reasons. I guess he wondered which issue was bothering me the most.

“Thewholepart,” I said. “Flying…again. Meeting my in-laws for the first time. Bringing my parents with us to meet your parents. Having to socialize with people I don’t know. The list goes on, but those are the big ones. What were we thinking? Why didn’t we just fly my parents to London to meet your parents without us having to go with them?”

He tucked a strand of my long brown hair behind my ear and spoke in the calm, reasonable voice he always uses when I’m on the verge of losing it. “We both agreed that having them meet in Italy, a neutral location,beforeour wedding made the most sense. Gio’s wedding provided the perfect opportunity with lots of people around, taking the focus and pressure off us. I know you don’t like to fly, but we’ll be traveling together, which you assured me makes it a bit easier for you to manage. Right?”

I nodded reluctantly. “Right.”

“And I do believe it was you who said it would be a wise move if our parents met at some placeotherthan at our wedding for the first time.”

I pressed my hands against my temples. “IknowI said that. I’m just reserving the right to second-guess myself.”

He chuckled, pulling me into his arms and resting his chin on top of my head. I was being irrational and cranky, but social pressure always did that to me.

“They’re going to love you,cara. They already do.”