Page 43

Chapter Twenty

“ Word of warning. We can get a little loud.” Jack hung their coats in a closet, then led her to the dining room.

“ Jack ! You actually showed up!” A deep voice chuckled.

“ About friggin’ time,” another man said in a decidedly acerbic tone.

“ Kyle , language!” a female voice admonished.

When Jack took Gina’s hand, pulling her into the dining room and tucking her to his side, the room went so quiet she could have heard a tumbler falling into place. Three sets of eyes pinned her with undisguised shock.

The two men seated at the table exchanged quick glances and shot to their feet. Jack’s mother’s jaw dropped, but she recovered quickly, wiping her hands on her napkin, then pushing back her chair to rush over and give Jack a big, motherly hug.

Jack released her hand to wrap his mother in a warm embrace, and she instantly felt the loss of his protection. The other two men continued eyeing her—one with outright suspicion, the other with mild curiosity.

“ Son , I’m so glad you’re here.” Jack’s mother’s voice trembled.

Gina was left with the distinct impression Jack hadn’t been to a family dinner in quite a while.

“ Ma ,” he said, releasing his mother and placing a hand at the small of Gina’s back. “ This is Gina . Gina , this is my mother, Elaina .”

She extended her hand to Elaina , who made a dismissive gesture, then engulfed Gina in a hug. For a woman about thirty years Gina’s senior and several inches shorter, Jack’s mother gave one heck of a hearty embrace.

“ Welcome , Gina .” She pulled back and smiled. Like Jack , she had gray eyes, but where his were hard and flinty, hers were soft and twinkling with joy.

“ Thank you for having me. These are for you.” She handed Jack’s mother the bouquet of pink calla lilies she’d insisted they stop for at a flower shop.

“ How beautiful!” Her lined face brightened as she accepted the bouquet. “ Jack , put these in some water for me.”

“ Yes , Ma .” The look on his normally stern face was now adorably gentle as he dutifully accepted the flowers.

Well , whatdya know? As any good son should, Jack had a soft spot for his mother. Gina didn’t know why she was so surprised. And he’d just confirmed something. He hadn’t been grown in a clandestine laboratory test tube after all.

Jack headed down the hall, turning to give her a wink over his shoulder, one that made her belly flutter like a teenage girl with her first crush.

Only it wasn’t just a crush. Somehow it had turned into more.

So much more. Deep in her heart she knew what was happening, and it was one of the scariest things she’d ever faced. She was falling in love.

“ And bring another place setting,” Elaina shouted after him.

Only then did she realize the table was set for four, as if Jack’s mother had expected—or rather, hoped—he would show.

“ Okay , Ma ,” came Jack’s shout.

“ Now ,” Elaina continued, linking arms with her, “these are my other two sons. Kyle and Deacon .”

Like Jack , both men were well over six feet and strikingly handsome. The family resemblance was obvious in their muscular physiques, square jawlines, and overall bearing. That’s where the resemblance ended.

“ Call me Deke .” The man’s large hand engulfed hers as he shook it, his green eyes warm and smiling.

A single dimple appeared out of nowhere on his right cheek.

Thick , honey-brown hair gave him a California surfer-dude look.

He was the kind of guy any red-blooded female with a pulse would fall head over heels for.

“ Welcome to our humble house of insanity.”

“ Thank you,” she said. “ I hope I’m not intruding.”

Deke shook his head. “ Not at all. Ma loves the company.”

“ And I want grandchildren.” She guided Gina to where Kyle still stood by his chair, eyeing her like a hawk honing in on his prey right before pouncing. “ Lots of them.”

Gina nearly stumbled. Whoa . Grandchildren ? That was jumping the gun just a tad. The woman had known her for less than five minutes.

“ Don’t worry, dear.” She patted Gina’s hand. “ A mother knows things. And this,” she continued without missing a beat, “is Kyle .”

A tiny shiver ran up her spine. With hair verging on jet-black and the most amazing eyes—bright gold—he reminded her of an eagle.

“ Gina ?” Kyle said, and she looked down to see he’d extended his hand.

“ Sorry .” She’d never seen eyes like that on a human being.

His lips quirked, softening the harsh angles of his sculpted face. “ It’s all right. I get those kinds of looks a lot.”

Heat crept to her cheeks, but she appreciated his understanding. And , good golly, Miss Molly . Jack’s mother had spawned a brood of the handsomest men she’d ever met.

Elaina chuckled, a low but feminine sound. “ We’re not sure where Kyle got his eye color. I think they’re beautiful.” She reached up and pinched his cheek as if he were a ten-year-old.

Kyle gave his mother a gentle smile. “ Thanks , Ma .”

Deke snorted. “ Didn’t the milkman have gold eyes?”

“ Deacon !” Elaina slapped Deke’s shoulder, and he winced, even though Gina was sure he barely felt it.

Jack returned, carrying a plate, silverware, and a napkin that he set on the table opposite the setting clearly meant for him. He held out the chair, waiting for her to sit. As he pushed it in, his hands brushed her upper arms, sending warm tingles to her neck.

“ Let’s eat,” Elaina said, taking her place at the head of the table while Jack sat across from Gina and next to Kyle .

A glass of red wine appeared in front of her, along with a plate piled high with roast pork, potatoes, and root vegetables, all smothered in dark gravy. The meat was beyond tender, the gravy so rich and delicious she had to hold back a sigh of pleasure.

“ So how are things going with your ops plan?” she vaguely heard Deke ask.

The next forkfuls were the potatoes and vegetables, so herby and garlicky she couldn’t keep from shutting her eyes and practically groaning out loud.

“ Good ,” Jack said as she swallowed the vegetables. “ I should have a final draft to send out by tomorrow afternoon.”

The second bite of meat sent her taste buds into a tizzy, and this time she did sigh, smiling and closing her eyes as she savored the incredible food.

Conversation ceased. She opened her eyes to find Elaina smiling proudly at her. The men—including Jack —had smirks on their handsome faces. Whoops . She set down her fork to take a sip of wine, hoping to douse the heat that had been in her cheeks from creeping up her neck.

“ Enjoying dinner, dear?” Elaina’s smile broadened.

“ Very much,” she admitted. “ I can’t remember the last time I had a home-cooked meal.” Probably when her mother was still alive. Despite the beautiful kitchen in her apartment, she rarely had time to cook. “ Takeout dinners are my usual fare.”

“ Bro , you never did say how that happened.” Deke tipped his chin to where Jack fumbled to cut a piece of pork. The plastic cast had barely been visible beneath his shirt, but he’d rolled up the sleeves.

“ Fractured wrist.” He speared the hunk of pork with his fork and shoved it into his mouth. “ That’s all you need to know.”

Elaina gasped. “ Is it bad? When did this happen? Will you be all right?”

“ How did it happen?” Kyle asked.

Jack chewed slowly, then swallowed.

What in the world will he tell his family? Gina wondered. Certainly not the truth.

“ Got hit by a car,” he answered matter-of-factly.

“ Seriously ?” Deke snorted. “ I hope you nailed the driver’s ass.”

“ Deacon ! Language .”

Deke grinned sheepishly. “ Sorry , Ma .”

The corners of Jack’s mouth lifted. “ Yeah , I nailed them.”

Kinsey had been driving, but Gina understood what Jack wasn’t saying and why he was holding back a full-fledged grin. He had nailed them. More specifically, he’d nailed her .

Gina nearly choked on the gulp of wine she took next.

“ I hope it’s nothing serious.” Jack’s mother eyed his cast warily.

“ Anyone know where Lance is?” He looked from Deke to Kyle .

“ Nope ,” Kyle said, and Deke shook his head. “ Wherever he is, he’s gone dark.”

“ I worry about all of you boys.” A wistful expression overcame Elaina’s face. “ Not knowing where Lancelot is makes me worry most about him.”

Gina raised her brows. Lancelot ?

As if answering her unspoken question, Jack said, “ Ma was going through a Knights of the Round Table phase when little brother was born. The rest of the free world calls him Lance .”

“ Ah . I see.” She grinned. Wherever the missing brother was, she was reasonably certain he was as strikingly handsome as the rest of the Gates boys. Boys . Gina stifled a giggle. No one could ever mistake these enormous men for boys.

“ Where did you two meet?” Elaina looked from Gina to Jack .

She swallowed her wine, trying not to make an audible gulping sound. Where all couples met these days. In a mobster’s closet. With your son’s hand on my breast.

“ At the fundraiser for that women’s shelter,” Jack supplied, then took a sip of his wine.

Kyle’s dark brows drew together. “ The one I gave you a check for?”

Something seemed to pass between the two brothers, but she couldn’t determine what.

“ Gina volunteers there,” Jack said, which was true. Kind of. “ She helps raise money for them.”

Raise ? Again , kind of.

Kyle pinned her with those golden eyes, the intensity of which made her heart thump faster.

“ It must be expensive to run a shelter,” Elaina said.

“ It is.” She set down her glass. “ Most women—and the occasional man—who go to a shelter have nothing. Many have to leave their spouse or significant other with little or no cash and often with only the shirts on their backs. It costs a lot to establish a new life, and that’s where we come in.”

From across the table, Jack smiled at her. Was that pride in his eyes?

“ What happens when the spouse or significant other goes to the shelter looking for them?” Elaina asked.