Cat Scratch Fever (13 page)

“Why do I get the feeling that anything I say might be used against me twenty years from now?”

“Fine. Forget it.” She went to adjust the volume on the radio, but Dante gripped her hand, stalling her. It was her turn to give him an uncertain look.

“No, I wouldn’t have been the same with someone else.” The heat in his eyes backed up his words.

Dante’s admission stirred a mix of happiness and trepidation in her belly. This was getting way more serious than she’d signed on for. A business arrangement was one thing. She knew how to deal with that. Anything else was terrifying territory.

The remainder of the trip passed by in an agonizingly slow drag. By the time they reached the outskirts of Rochester, Lilly’s nerves were stretched tighter than a wire.

“Which exit did you say again?”

She glanced at the dashboard clock. “I’ve changed my mind. We’ll go to Kinsey’s place first, then swing by my house.”

If Dante was surprised by her snap decision to take the bull by the horns, he didn’t let on. “Which way?”

She gave him the directions and fidgeted with the seam on the side of the seat as he took the correct off-ramp. By going to Kinsey’s now, she was in essence killing two birds with one stone. She’d be getting the dreaded speech done with. And her sister’s no-nonsense approach to things would be the perfect reminder about the reason for this entire charade.

Yes,
charade
. Because that was what this was, after all. Right? Hell, even the fact that Dante was here with her now was merely out of convenience. If not for the meeting with his distributors tomorrow morning, there’d be no reason for him to spend this time with her. He certainly wasn’t doing it because their relationship was
real
.

Less than twenty minutes later they pulled in front of Kinsey’s modest ranch house. A groan floated from Lilly when she spied her mom’s Lincoln Continental already parked in the drive.

“Something wrong?”

“I wasn’t expecting my mom to be here.”

“Look on the bright side. Now you won’t have to break the news twice.”

“Believe me, my mother won’t be the difficult one to convince. All you’ll have to do is lay on that werewolf charm, and she’ll be putty in your hands.” Unfortunately, that’d always been the case for Chloe Prescott—a detrimental weakness for hunky heartbreakers.

Lilly gave Dante a covert glance. He certainly fit hunky to a tee, but what about the heartbreaker part?

She had no intention of finding out the answer to that, if she could help it. With a determined shove, she wrenched the door open before Dante had an opportunity to dash to her side of the vehicle. Ignoring his wry look when she met him at the front end of the truck, she led the way to the porch and rang the bell.

A few seconds later Kinsey opened the door, her greeting petering into the ether when she spotted Dante. Her gaze panned between him and Lilly. A groan sprang to Kinsey’s lips. “Oh crap. What did Lilly do this time?”

Lilly scowled at her sister. “Must you always jump to that conclusion?”

“Yes, I’ve seen you in action, remember?”

Chuckling, Dante swung his arm around Lilly’s waist. “Don’t worry. She’s been behaving. Mostly.”

Kinsey’s eyebrows threatened to get lost in her hairline. Lilly wasn’t sure if that was due to Dante’s affectionate, albeit territorial hug or the possibility of Lilly actually behaving.

“Okay,” Kinsey said slowly, as if she were waiting for the punch line.

“Is it all right if we come in?” Lilly asked pointedly.

A flush crept across Kinsey’s cheeks. “Sorry, yes. Of course. Mom and I were just about to have dinner. Why don’t you join us?”

“That’s not necessary. This won’t take long.”

Dante rubbed the back of Lilly’s neck, his thumb caressing the mating mark that was concealed beneath her hair. “Actually, dinner sounds good.”

She debated stomping on his foot, both for thwarting her plan to enact a fast getaway after spilling the beans, and drawing her attention to the incriminating bite. But those steel-toed boots of his would only make the gesture useless. Not that it stopped her from shooting him a hard glare when Kinsey wasn’t looking. Ducking his head, he banished Lilly’s surliness with a kiss containing enough tongue action to be quick yet suitably hot. Unfortunately, the kiss also managed to rekindle her hormones, which had up till then been on their best behavior all day, damn it.

She broke away from Dante and licked her lips. “Well played, wolfman. But I’m still pissed at you.” She pasted on a smile just as Kinsey stepped inside the entry and turned to face them.

While Kinsey held the door aloft, Lilly and Dante trooped inside and shrugged from their coats. After storing everything on the nearby bench that acted as a catchall, Lilly took Dante’s hand and strode toward the kitchen, where the unmistakable and mouthwatering scent of Chloe’s world-famous chicken cacciatore emanated from. They stepped into the spacious room, and Lilly gazed at her mother’s profile. Garbed in her bright pink apron and humming some vaguely familiar tune, Chloe Prescott looked the picture of the domestic goddess. She was everything that Lilly wasn’t.

Lilly had worked hard the majority of her life to make sure of that. Not that she didn’t love her mom, because she did—with her whole being. Which only made her ache inside that much more every time she’d witnessed the pain and depression her mom had undergone living all those years with Rob Prescott’s tomcatting ways.

Unfortunately, Chloe had always been the exception to the typical female lynchat. She’d never been in possession of a backbone and believed that a woman stuck by her man no matter what. It’d finally taken Rob doing the right thing for the first time in his life—initiating the divorce proceedings—to make Chloe see the light. For the most part, anyway. Lilly knew Chloe still pined for her husband, despite everything he’d put her through during the rocky twenty-eight years of their marriage.

Chloe dragged in an audible breath before slapping her oven mitts on the kitchen counter and turning. She gave a startled jump when she spotted everyone clustered in the archway. “Lilly!” A beaming smile lighting up her perfect, porcelain features, Chloe clapped her hands in delight and rushed forward to offer a warm hug.

Lilly’s eyes misted as she returned her mom’s embrace. As always, Chloe’s familiar cinnamon scent brought a tidal wave of childhood memories rushing back. Most of them revolved around Chloe engaged in one of her manic baking sessions while waiting for Rob to come to his senses and leave his current mistress’s bed. To this day, Lilly couldn’t look at a chocolate-chip cookie without feeling queasy.

Chloe released Lilly and glanced at Dante expectantly. Lilly quickly made the introductions. A sly look entered Chloe’s eyes, and she playfully swatted Lilly’s arm. “You didn’t tell me you have a boyfriend.”

Kinsey cleared her throat as she stepped next to Lilly. “Mom, they’re not dating. You know who Dante is. Lilly’s mentioned him before.”

Dante slid Lilly an ironic look. She returned it with a sheepish grin. “I kept the profanity to a minimum.”

“Oh, you’re Foster’s boy,” Chloe exclaimed with another clap of her hands.

Dante winced, apparently preparing for the deluge of disparaging remarks that’d follow the associated connection to his father. Chloe—being her typical sweet self—instead veered the topic to Dante’s grandmother, who had raised him after his mother died in childbirth. Dante visibly relaxed, his mouth softening into a smile as he and Chloe shared some fond remembrances of Sara Morgan. Lilly attempted to ignore the strange little flutter that erupted in her belly while she watched the animated pleasure that brightened Dante’s face.

So she was attracted to him? What female in her right mind and possessing full vision wouldn’t be? It didn’t mean she was falling in love with him.

Because that would be just plain stupid and pathetic.

Turning her head, she caught Kinsey’s perplexed frown. Her sister’s gaze veered to Dante before shooting back to her. Giving another delicate cough, she grabbed Lilly’s arm. “Mom, Dante? Could you excuse us for a moment?”

Chloe waved her hand. “Go ahead, dear.”

Lilly shot Dante a panicked look as Kinsey dragged her through the archway. He made no move to rush to her rescue, the rat bastard. Kinsey beelined for the hallway that led toward the den. Once they were out of earshot, she slammed to a halt and stared at Lilly. “What in the
hell
is going on with you and Dante?”

“Nothing,” Lilly responded automatically. She grimaced. Aw cripes. Wrong answer. “Actually, if you want to know the truth, we’re having a torrid love affair and getting married on Sunday.”

Kinsey gaped at her before she burst into hysterical laughter. She wiped her eyes. “Good one.”

“I’m not joking. I love Dante and want to spend the rest of my life with him.” It was scary how easily that slipped from her tongue.

Kinsey’s smile faltered. “Lilly, please. It’s not funny to make up stuff in the hopes of making me feel stupid for falling for it.”

“That’s not what I’m doing, Kin. I really do love him.”
God, I need to stop saying that so convincingly.

Kinsey gaped at her. “I figured you were sleeping with Dante, judging from the googly eyes you were giving him in the kitchen. But I had no idea it was this serious.”

Googly eyes?
Really? That was disgusting and no way her style. Obviously Kinsey needed to get her vision checked. “What can I say? He’s my hunka burning love. I could stare at him all day.” Okay, that held more than a kernel of truth.

“How in the
world
did this miraculous feat happen?”

She blinked at Kinsey’s demand. Not because of the question—it’d been expected—but rather because there’d been a significant lack of suspicion on Kinsey’s part.

What had happened to Kinsey’s probing inquiries? The doubts and inevitable accusations?

Damn it, what did it
mean
that her sister had fallen for the lie so effortlessly?

Nothing. It meant nothing.

Kinsey tapped her foot. “I’m still waiting for some details. Preferably dirty ones.”

“Oh, it was the usual. You know, Dante came to the realization that I was the most awesome woman in the world, and therefore he would be only a mere shell of a man without me.”

Kinsey did her patented Spock eyebrow raise, and Lilly sighed. “I might have embellished a bit. Except for the awesome part, because I totally am.”

“Of course you are. You’re my sister, right?”

Not entirely certain if that hadn’t been some kind of backhanded compliment, Lilly gave Kinsey a narrow-eyed look. Any further discussion was ground to a screaming halt as Chloe called out that dinner was ready. They both turned in the direction of the kitchen. At the end of the hallway, Kinsey offered Lilly a telling look. “To be honest, I’d always sort of suspected you and Dante might be great together.”

It was a damn good thing she hadn’t drank something, because spraying it out in a fit of shock probably would have ruined the lovey-dovey vibe she’d been trying to perfect. “Err, yeah. I can see why you would have thought that.” When exactly had Kinsey begun to lose her mental faculties? As her sister, Lilly should have noticed it sooner.

The instant they stepped into the kitchen, Chloe rushed to Lilly and embraced her in a tight, exuberant hug that squeezed all of the air from Lilly’s lungs. Chloe’s shoulders shook with gentle sobs. “My baby is getting married.”

Lilly glanced across the way and met Dante’s sheepish expression. Hell, he thought she’d be mad about him spilling the news? Not freaking likely. At least this way Chloe had some time for it to sink in. No telling how bone-crushing her initial hug might have been otherwise.

They crossed to the kitchen table, where Chloe had already set out two extra places for Lilly and Dante. After everyone else had taken their seat, Chloe hovered like a frantic bee, seeing to any and all possible last-minute needs. Knowing full well that her mother would spend the whole evening waiting on them and ignoring her own plate, Lilly patted Chloe’s arm gently. “Mom, please sit down.”

“But—”

“We’re all good. Honestly,” Lilly said softly yet firmly.

Finally Chloe took her at her word and sat across from Dante. Her mom waited for him to take the first bite of chicken, the desperate expectation on her face almost painful to witness. Thankfully Dante was too busy lustily devouring his food to notice. He smacked his lips in appreciation. “Absolutely delicious.”

Chloe broke into a huge smile. Now that her worries had been laid to rest, she dug into her meal with a dainty gusto. Lilly sighed. Blotting the corner of his mouth with his napkin, Dante glanced at Chloe. “Any chance I can get the recipe for this before Lilly and I head out?”

“Certainly. But I’m afraid Lilly doesn’t cook. Didn’t she tell you that?” A flash of panic streaked across Chloe’s face as if it’d just occurred to her that perhaps he’d been kept in the dark regarding Lilly’s lack of domestic skills and might now rescind his marriage proposal.

“That she did.” Dante grinned. “Good thing I know my way around a kitchen.”

Chloe lowered her fork, her expression hinting that the concept of a man anywhere near a stove was more unheard of than a cow being able to fly. “Surely you’re not planning to be the cook in the house?”

Dante frowned. “Why not? I like to do it.”

“But then what will Lilly do?”

Dante was visibly confused by the question, but Lilly was all too aware what her mom was getting at. In Chloe’s eyes, if the wife didn’t bring something to the table—literally—her value was diminished and she risked having her place usurped by another. Of course, it didn’t matter that no amount of hard labor on Chloe’s part hadn’t altered her own circumstances. That was just the way things were.

“It’s okay, Mom. Dante and I have an arrangement. He cooks and I clean up.” Much as the idea of getting her fingers anywhere near a sink drain trap tested her gag reflex, she’d do it to put her mom’s fears to rest.

A lengthy silence descended, broken only by the occasional scrape of someone’s utensil. Lilly became aware of the heat of Kinsey’s penetrating gaze drilling into her forehead. Reluctantly, she lifted her focus from her plate and locked stares with Kinsey.