The feel of his bare arms and hands sends hot shivers. Warning! Warning! my mind blares.
Too late. He’s already breached my force field. I know because my heart is beating erratically and I don’t want to move from where I am. His thumb brushes my cheek gently, and I sense my resolve to keep him at arm’s length until I make senior analyst weaken. Until now, I thought people were being ridiculous when they talked about pheromones. But holy crap, they’re real.
Brisk knocks at the door make me freeze. “Pascal?”
Shit. Dad. I scramble off Court. He stands and smooths his shirt, his expression bland. “Sit. I’ll get the door,” he says, and opens it before I can reply.
Dad comes in. His sharp eyes sweep over me and Court. “Your color’s better,” he says to me.
“Yeah. Thanks. Court’s been a great…nurse.” I add a pat smile.
“Good to hear.” Dad nods. “Thanks, Court.”
Court flashes a wholesome, all-American boy-next-door smile at my dad. It’s so damn convincing that I almost see a halo around him. “No need to worry, sir.”
Dad clasps Court’s shoulder. “You know, we have a family dinner next Saturday when we return home. Consider yourself invited, if you’d like to come.”
Whaaaat? Why isn’t he swinging a bat at Court? Not that I want him to, of course, but that’s what he would normally be doing. “No,” I say.
At the same time, Court says, “Thank you. I’d love to.”
If either of them heard me say “no,” they don’t show it. Oh my God. Doesn’t anyone care about my opinion on this? “Dad, I’m sure Court is very busy.”
“And I’m sure he can speak for himself, Pascal,” Dad says, with a let’s-not-pursue-this smile. He turns to Court. “Can we impose on you to bring a bottle of wine?”
“Of course. Red or white?”
“Rosé. Dry, if possible.”
“Shouldn't be a problem. I know where I can get a good Tavel.”
“Excellent choice.” Dad turns to me. “Anyway, I need to go back to the reception. Just wanted to check up on you.”
“Is it bad out there?” I ask, doing my best to suppress a cringe but not doing such a great job.
“No. Curie turned the, ah, attempted abduction into a big joke, and everyone thinks it was amusing. Joe is also putting a good spin on it. You know how they are—lemons into lemonade and all that.” He leaves.
I cover my face with my hands, feeling very much like I’ve fallen into a rabbit hole. I don’t understand why Dad wants to see more of Court. It isn’t like we’re dating or anything. Besides, even if Curie and Joe are laughing about what happened, Dad isn’t the type to let it go.
“You should find an excuse not to come,” I say.
“Why?” Court says. “I think it’s nice of him to invite me.”
“You tried to ruin his daughter’s wedding. Do you know how much it costs to have a wedding in Hawaii?”
He considers for a moment. “No. Should I?”
“He’s going to try to kill you. The dinner will probably be poisoned.”
He laughs. “All right. I’ll only eat bread from the basket and drink the wine I brought.”
Ugh. Typical male, not taking what a woman says seriously. “I’m not being silly here. Dad really can hold a grudge. You don’t understand.”
A shadow passes over Court’s handsome face. “I have some experience with something similar myself. And your dad doesn’t seem like the type to be that petty or vindictive.”
I want to argue, tell him he’s totally mistaken. But somehow I can’t, not when there’s pain flickering in his eyes.
Suddenly uncomfortable, I lie down on the bed and put an arm over my eyes. “All right, fine. But you can’t sue me if you get poisoned. I did warn you.”