Karma (13 page)

Liza nodded. “Well, I was just about to call her. I came home from work and took half a pain pill and fell asleep. I set the alarm, but I swear I must’ve hit snooze and I don’t remember.” She blushed. “I’m never late and I feel awful that they waited for me.”

He waved away her concern. “Don’t worry about it. Faith’s the most understanding person I know. It’s Tess and her stomach you have to worry about,” he said, only partially joking.

“I just need a few minutes to pull myself together.”

She was wearing her clothes from work, which were now wrinkled. Obviously she’d come home and crawled right back into bed. Too much too soon, something he’d already figured out.

“Look, I’ll just be a few minutes and I’ll meet you back over at Faith’s, okay?”

He shook his head, knowing he wasn’t about to walk
away. “I don’t mind waiting and driving you over. No sense getting behind the wheel if your head is still bothering you and you’ve taken pain meds.”

She paused, obviously unsure, whether it was of him, of
them
, he couldn’t be sure. Dare only knew that despite whatever reservations she had or barriers she wanted to erect, he intended to get past them.

Whatever it took.

“I’ll bring you home whenever you’re ready,” he promised. “Even if it’s in the middle of a killer dessert.” He raised his eyebrows and waited for her to reply.

Her sudden smile took him by surprise and lit up her face. “Well, if you put it like that, then you must really not mind.”

Did she really trust him so little? “I wouldn’t have offered if I did.”

While waiting in her family room, he made a quick call to Faith to let her know they’d be there soon. A few minutes later, Liza walked back into the room, wearing a pair of jeans and a loose T-shirt. She’d washed her face, which was now makeup free, and had pulled her hair into a loose ponytail. The casual look worked for her. In fact, he’d never seen any woman so effortlessly sexy in his entire life.

“Ready?” he asked.

“Just let me grab a bottle of wine. I can’t drink, but at least I won’t walk in empty-handed.”

He smiled at her thoughtfulness, knowing Faith and Ethan expected nothing more than her company, but she didn’t understand that yet.

They drove to the house on the hill in comfortable silence. He’d just pulled into the driveway when Liza turned to him. “Before we go in, I meant to thank you earlier.”

“Didn’t we go over this before I left last night? No thanks are necessary. I wanted to be there for you.” He’d wanted to spend the weekend with her.

He shut off the engine and turned to find confusion in her expression.

“I meant thank you for the flowers.”

“I didn’t send flowers.” Though now he wished he had.

“Oh!” Her eyes opened wide, a flush staining her cheeks. “I just thought…”

“You received flowers today?”

She nodded.

“Was there a card?”

“No and I just assumed…” She glanced down and stared at her hands. “No wonder they say when you assume you make an ass out of you and me,” she muttered.

Dare fought back the tide of jealousy rising inside him. “I honestly wish I’d thought of it, but they weren’t from me. You have no idea who sent them?”

She spread her hands in front of her. “Not a clue. I guess I could call Millie’s tomorrow,” she said of the floral shop in town.

“Good idea. Could it have been your brother?” he asked, hoping for family and not competition.

“Not a chance.” She raised her head, her eyes dull as she answered. “We had it out today, and believe me, flowers for me are the last thing on his mind.”

“I’m sorry.” Reaching over, he placed his hand over hers. No wonder she’d left work early and needed something heavy for the pain. He had no desire to force her to revisit her argument with her brother. “How about we go inside?” he suggested.

“Sounds good.” She opened her door before he could get around to help her. “I didn’t realize you’d be here tonight,” she said as they walked up the path leading to the front door. She paused before they headed up the steps, turning to face him. “But I’m glad you are.”

His reservations eased and he rang the bell. “Prepare yourself,” he said, looking at her from the corner of his eye.

“What do you mean?”

The front door swung open and his half sister stood on the other side. Arms crossed over her chest, foot tapping in annoyance, Tess stared from Dare to Liza and back again.
“It’s about time. I’m
hungry
, and because we’re having real company, nobody let me eat first.”

Liza raised an eyebrow at the hellion he called his sister. “You must be Tess. I’m Liza. I’ve heard a lot about you,” she said.

“Yeah? What’d you hear?” Tess asked. “Anything good?”

“How about it’s nice to meet you too?” Dare asked. He placed a hand behind Liza’s back and led her inside.

“It is nice to meet her,” Tess muttered. “It’s hard to be polite when my stomach’s growling.”

Liza laughed. A real laugh, the sound actually light and carefree. “I know that feeling. I wasn’t feeling well and fell asleep. I missed lunch and almost slept through dinner, so I’m probably as hungry as you.”

Dare frowned at her admission. The woman was probably more hungry. Tess was a bottomless pit, but she was constantly snacking. “You need to eat if you’re going to keep up your strength.”

“Dare? Liza?” Faith walked into the hallway and straight over to Liza, pulling her into a hug. “I’ve been so worried about you!”

At the other woman’s sincerity and warmth, Liza nearly broke into tears. “Thank you. I’m okay, really.” She drew a deep breath, pulling herself together. “I’ve had a really good caretaker.”

“If you’re talking about my brother, that’s pretty hard to believe,” an unfamiliar male voice said.

Liza stepped back and looked up at the man who had to be Faith’s husband, the oldest Barron brother. Like Dare, Ethan had brown eyes and even darker hair. She vaguely remembered him from when they were younger as a bad boy on a motorcycle.

“You must be Ethan.” Liza stepped forward. “Thanks for having me to dinner,” she said with a smile.

“Any friend of Faith and Dare’s…” he said, extending his welcome.

“Ahem. Can we eat now?” Tess asked, her annoyance clear.

“We’re still working on her manners,” Dare explained.

Faith nodded. “No matter how hard we try, she insists on acting like the Neanderthal of the family. Let’s go into the dining room.” Prodding the girl in the back, Faith edged her forward.

Rosalita, who Faith reminded Liza had been around since Faith was a little girl, served a delicious chicken dinner. Liza was starving and truly appreciated the good food.

“Thank you so much for having me,” Liza said to Faith. “You’re right. I wouldn’t have been up to making anything for myself.”

“I had a concussion last year, so I completely get it.” Faith offered her an understanding smile.

“Really? What happened?” Liza asked.

Tess cleared her throat loudly. “So, you’re Dare’s new girlfriend?”

Liza nearly choked on her water.

Beside her, Dare let out a groan. “I am so going to kill you,” he muttered to his sister.

“Tess! Cut that out,” Ethan scolded the teen.

“Sorry. That’s Tess’s way of changing the subject,” Faith explained. “She doesn’t want to talk about how I got my concussion,” Faith explained.

Tess met Liza’s surprised gaze and grinned shamelessly. With her blue eyes and lighter brown hair, she resembled Nash more than her other brothers. But her impish grin was pure Dare.

“So you’re not his girlfriend?” the teenager asked.

“I’ll answer that if you tell me how Faith ended up with a concussion.” Liza raised her eyebrows, determined to hold her own with the teen.

“Touché,” Dare said, and beneath the table he reached over and squeezed her leg in silent support. Of course his
grip on her thigh had the effect of sending a pure bolt of desire sizzling throughout her body and she found herself reaching for her water glass once more.

Tess, meanwhile, looked at Liza with something like admiration in her baby blues, but she still had a determined expression on her face that made Liza wary.

“Okay, no girlfriend talk. So…I heard your brother has a mean throwing arm,” the teenager said next.

“Tess!” Every adult with the last name of Barron yelled at the teenager at the same time.

Liza shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

In the silence that followed, Liza realized Dare was staring at his sister with distinct anger in his gaze. Liza didn’t want to be the cause of problems and was about to nudge Dare to let it go when Tess spoke.

“Sorry,” she said, looking at Liza. “I was just kidding.”

“Some things aren’t funny,” Dare told her.

“That’s okay, Tess. I’m just not used to big joking families.” Liza didn’t know what possessed her to admit such a thing, but though Tess had a smart mouth, she didn’t seem to mean any harm.

And a part of Liza wanted Dare’s sister to like her, she realized, the thought taking her by surprise.

“Okay, then,” Faith said. “Let’s talk about something else.”

Tess nodded, picked up her fork and began to eat once more. Liza followed her cue. Thankfully, the rest of the meal passed with easy conversational talk about things like scheduling a meeting in the next few weeks to go over the fund-raiser details, Tess’s art and school, and other innocuous things. All earlier tension gone, the easy banter returned, and an hour later Liza realized she’d just experienced the real Barron family.

The night showed Liza that her instincts about Tess were right. She hadn’t gone after Liza to be mean. Tess tested
everyone in her orbit. Over and over again. She held nothing back, not in teasing her siblings or showing surprising moments of openness and vulnerability, and in return the Barrons gave back to Tess in equal measure.

The overwhelming emotion at the table was love and acceptance. It was obvious this family had become a unit, no matter how hard the road getting there had been. For anyone else, the night might have been normal, but Liza’s experience with family was anything but. She’d never been on the receiving end of love or acceptance, and Liza grew increasingly uncomfortable despite the fact that they all tried to include her in the conversation. She was grateful Nash and Kelly weren’t there or she would have been even more overwhelmed.

She hadn’t realized she’d completely spaced out on what was going on around her until Dare placed a hand on her shoulder.

“Ready to go?” he asked quietly, so no one else could hear.

Liza blinked, startled.

“Unless you want dessert, but you look exhausted and I’d guess your head hurts?” he asked softly. His understanding gaze told her he knew she’d had enough.

Her head had begun to throb and her anxiety level had kicked up a notch. His suggestion came just in time and she nodded.

“I’m going to take Liza home,” Dare said to Ethan and Faith.

“Thank you so much for dinner,” Liza said. “It’s just been a long day.”

“It’s been a long weekend, I imagine.” Ethan’s wry tone expressed a combination of seriousness while still mocking his brother.

Liza couldn’t help but grin.

Dare pulled out her chair and Liza stood. They said their good-byes, and as Liza passed by Tess the teenager slipped
her one of the precious chocolate-chip cookies she’d taken from the kitchen while Rosalita had her back turned.

As acceptance went, Liza was officially blown away.

Dare walked Liza up to her front door. She’d been deliberately quiet on the drive back home, and as if sensing her need, he’d left her alone with her thoughts. Liza had used the time to compose herself and think about how her insular existence had changed in such a short time. Her brother had gone over the edge and Dare Barron had insinuated himself into her life.

She didn’t mind his presence. Far from it. She liked him too much, even if his family could be overwhelming. And though she hadn’t been good company and she’d been asleep more often than awake, he seemed to want to spend more time with her too.

The sun had dipped below the horizon and the lights outside her house had gone on while the summer heat pulsed around them.

It seemed the right time for questions to be answered. “So how did you know I needed to leave?” She’d been wondering since he’d declared it was time for them to go.

His eyes twinkled with amusement as he shrugged his broad shoulders. “A hunch.”

“It was more than that. It’s like you
know
me.” As well as she knew herself. He’d picked the exact moment her flight instinct was kicking in.

He exhaled a long, hard breath. “It’s more like I can read you.”

She let herself process the statement and it made her squirm. Not that he’d be able to read her but that he’d want to try. Thanks to the humidity she’d broken into an uncomfortable sweat, which didn’t help the discomfort in her head. She searched her purse and found her key.

“Do you want me to come in?” he asked before she could invite him.

She didn’t hesitate and merely nodded, hoping she knew what she was getting herself into with this man.

She locked up after him and leaned against the door, palms braced behind her.

“Now where were we?” he asked. “Ah, yes. I said I’d read you. And realized you were uncomfortable with my family. Not that I blame you. They can be overwhelming on a good day and Tess wasn’t exactly on her best behavior.”

“I like her, though.” Liza couldn’t help but grin. “And it’s not that I don’t like your family. I do. A lot. I definitely appreciate how nice they’ve been to me.”

“I know. But you withdrew into yourself at dinner. You’d stopped talking, you weren’t listening to anything anybody said.” He raised his hand before she could argue. “You were polite and friendly, but I could tell you weren’t comfortable.”

“Am I that obvious?” she asked, embarrassed.

“Only to me, I hope.” His intimate smile heated her from the inside.

She bit the inside of her cheek. “You’re right. I was uncomfortable,” she admitted. “I’m not used to close friends and family.”

He nodded, his understanding gaze meeting hers. “I know that too and I wanted to give you the space you needed. And I’ll make sure you aren’t put in those situations often.”