LITMIR.BIZ

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3

      The repeated ring of the doorbell followed by an abrupt opening of the front door jolted Lincoln out of the kiss. While Remy’s breath caught, he grabbed his gun and moved to the edge of the kitchen entry.

      A file of people entered his house. Mom. Dad. Autumn. Jonas. Savanna. His mother noticed the gun and barely faltered. Blond hair in a bob and wearing jeans and a white T-shirt, she looked years younger than she was. He flipped the safety on his gun as Arizona brought in the rear, Braden McCrae and his son along with her.

      “Lincoln Ivy, what are you doing with that?” his mother asked, carrying two grocery bags. Tall and lanky behind her, russet-colored hair unruly as usual, Dad held three more. Jackson Ivy taking some downtime from big movie business.

      He chuckled when he saw the gun. “You look like you belong on one of my sets.”

      Great. One of Mother’s impromptu family gatherings was about to descend upon him. Camille Ivy made a job out of Home and Family, and the hour of day didn’t matter.

      “It’s after eight, Mom.”

      “It took us a while to put this all together. Brandie, Macon and Riana couldn’t make it.” She walked past him as though that were a normal explanation.

      His youngest brother and Number Five of the siblings rarely attended family get-togethers. “Macon still in rehab?”

      “Don’t start with that.” His mother stopped short when Remy appeared in the kitchen entry, hands in the front pockets of her jeans. “Who’s this?”

      “My neighbor. Remy Lang.”

      Remy looked uncomfortable as she awkwardly took one of the bags from his mother, and they introduced themselves.

      “Ah, the neighbor,” his dad’s deep voice boomed. He approached Remy with the three bags. “We’ve heard all about you.” He leaned in toward her. “It’s the reason Lincoln’s mother dragged us all here.” He winked back at Lincoln and his mother.

      “Oh.” Flustered, Remy carried the bag into the kitchen, Mom trailing behind, already asking questions.

      It had to have been Arizona who’d started them all talking.

      Refined and slender in a silky tan pantsuit, Autumn brushed long, light red strands of shiny hair behind one ear as she kissed Lincoln’s cheek. “Hi, oldest brother.”

      It had been a while since he’d seen her. “Hi, second oldest.”

      She laughed.

      Savanna stood behind Autumn; Number Six of the Ivy Eight had darker hair, with barely a reddish tint, and was taller. Her eyes were strong and happy today, but Lincoln knew she had her moments when she still struggled with heartache over her last relationship. Autumn hadn’t succumbed to that disease yet. It would take a strong man to make her commit. She had striking beauty like Savanna and an even more striking mind. The Ivys were all attractive in their own way, befitting the offspring of a famous producer.

      Jonas showed up to all the family gatherings because he never exerted himself on anything that didn’t involve workouts or women. Few knew he was capable of more. He just hadn’t found his way yet. It was hard when you were the son of a wealthy man. No one in this family had to work for a living.

      “Is your divorce final yet?” Lincoln asked, shaking Jonas’s hand.

      “Last month.”

      That was his third.

      “I’m staying away from women for a while.”

      Lincoln didn’t believe that. Except there was something different about his brother today. A fire in his eyes that Lincoln hadn’t seen before. He looked thinner than the last time he’d seen him. “Still working out?” Obsessively. Twice a day.

      “I bought a Trek Madone. Still hunting down bail jumpers?”

      Jonas was riding a bicycle? Trimming down. Lincoln had always thought he’d gotten too muscular, like a bodybuilder.

      “Are you going to race?”

      “No, I just like it.”

      Weight lifting had defined him once. Lincoln had never thought that was all there was to Jonas. He was glad to see his brother finally growing out of that shell. Maybe it had been his last marriage. He’d seemed to love the woman, but it had been obvious to many that all she’d wanted from him was his Ivy name. She must have been disappointed when the entertainment media hadn’t painted her in a favorable light. Just another of Jonas’s whimsical and meaningless marriages. It wouldn’t last. And it hadn’t.

      He hugged Arizona. “Thanks for telling Mom about Remy.”

      She laughed a little and leaned back from the hug. “Can’t keep a secret like that.”

      Like what? All he’d done was notice her. But Arizona had seen that.

      “After I get Aiden settled, I’ll get a game of Clue ready,” Arizona said. “It’s my turn to kick your butt.”

      As Lincoln marveled over her motherly instincts, Braden gave him a man hug, a few quick pats on his back, and Aiden was mesmerized by the television that Arizona had turned to a cartoon network.

      Lincoln headed toward the kitchen, where his parents had taken the groceries and Jonas and Savanna had followed. His father’s laughter joined Autumn’s. Already his mother was well on her way to exploding his kitchen.

      “There’s a casserole in the oven,” he said, half joking.

      “Savanna is taking care of that,” his mother called from the stove, missing his sarcasm.

      Savanna had removed the casserole and had found a container she was now dumping it into without ado.

      “What’s for dinner?” he asked, seeing Remy’s deer-in-headlights stare from the other side of the kitchen island, Autumn at her side. She white knuckled the back of an island stool.

      This wasn’t exactly how he’d thought meeting his family would go. He wouldn’t have thought she’d meet them at all.

      Arizona entered the kitchen carrying the game, Braden behind her. Now the gang was assembled. It grew loud in the room. Braden stopped to talk to Lincoln’s parents. Arizona gave him a shove, propelling him toward the table. He went there, seeing Autumn and Savanna engaging Remy in conversation. She still seemed awkward, disliking the loss of control. If she could, she’d bolt out the front door. Why did being surrounded by his family do that to her?

      Jonas took a seat at the island and listened to his sisters and Remy, pretty soon joining the conversation. Something about positive thinking. Savanna was a motivational speaker.

      Lincoln sat across from Arizona.

      “The neighbor, huh?” Arizona wiggled her eyebrows at him as she put three cards into an envelope. “Remy, wasn’t it?”

      He shouldn’t have told her Remy’s name. “Her dog keeps coming over.” Lincoln looked down at Maddie, who’d put her head on his thigh, the whites of her brown eyes flashing as she gazed up at him, tail wagging.

      “Look at that. She loves you,” Arizona marveled. “Does the neighbor come with her?”

      “She follows shortly thereafter.”

      “I knew you were more interested than you would admit.”

      “I’m not that interested.” He glanced over at Remy to make sure she couldn’t hear them. She answered questions from Savanna and Autumn on her job as a human-resource assistant while Jonas listened. Her vague replies made him wonder if that was why she was so tense. She didn’t like being asked personal questions. What was she hiding?

      “Yeah, right,” Arizona said.

      “She’s got a lot going on in her life,” he argued. Abusive men and bullets. “Too complicated for me.”

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