“Call me Ruth,” she said, surprising him further.
“Okay, Ruth it is then.” Leo looked over at Amanda. There was no mistaking her expression for anything other than total shock. Leo winked and grinned. Amanda rolled her eyes, but he noticed she did smile back. Good. He much preferred to see her smiles.
The drive to the cabin proved mentally exhausting. Amanda’s father had a million damn questions for him. Finally, Amanda put a halt to the third degree and Leo was only too relieved. It wasn’t until they were dropped at the door that Leo realized Amanda’s father never corrected him when he’d called him Mr. Harding. Christ, he was definitely going to have his work cut out for him if he hoped to impress Amanda’s parents. Then he remembered the truth. It was all fake. They weren’t lovers, and he didn’t need to impress anyone. Only save Amanda from being tortured all weekend. The thought should’ve made him happy.
It didn’t.
Chapter Four
They were inside the cabin. Alone. Amanda had stayed at Lake Tahoe before, nearly all their family reunions were held there, but it’d never seemed more intimate than it did in that moment. She knew the layout. Two bedrooms, one with a king-size bed, not to mention a Jacuzzi-style tub. There was a kitchen, already fully stocked by her mother, like always. The woman thought of everything. The living room had a fireplace—a very romantic fireplace. She could too easily see herself with Leo sprawled out in front of it, naked.
>
Amanda’s heart rate sped up as she thought of the sleeping arrangements. Would he sleep with her or take the second room? To take her mind off all the annoying questions, she turned to him. “Thanks for putting up with my parents. I wish I could say the worst is behind us, but it’s probably not. They can be really tenacious sometimes.”
Leo walked down the small hall, compelling Amanda to follow. Breath caught in her throat as she watched him take their bags to the king-size bed and toss them onto the end. His and hers both. “No problem, sweetheart.” He looked around the room. “So, you’ve stayed here before?”
Her gaze was caught on the bags. “Uh, yeah.”
“With anyone?”
Amanda’s gaze darted back to Leo. He stood with his hands shoved into his jean pockets, legs wide apart. Lordy, the man was fun to stare at. “What do you mean?”
With a nod he indicated the bed. “Any guys ever stay here with you, Amanda?”
She swallowed, pushing down the blasted boulder that seemed wedged in her throat. If she didn’t know better she’d think Leo jealous. “No. Usually I come to these reunions alone. Remember? That’s why you’re here.”
Leo pulled his hands out of his pockets and stepped closer. Just a few steps, but the room wasn’t that large. The movement put him directly in front of her. A mere few inches of carpet separated them. She could smell his scent. Woodsy. Spicy. Male. Her temperature spiked. He cupped her face in his palm. “You and I are going to share that bed, sweetheart. Are you okay with that?”
Forcing down the tremors his touch invoked, Amanda said, “There are two rooms.”
“I know, but I don’t want to sleep in an empty bed. Do you?”
Did she? What would happen if she slept next to Leo all night long? Could she keep her hands off him? She didn’t know, but one thing was for certain. She didn’t want to waste a single second of this trip. She had Leo to herself, and she wanted to know more about the sudden sparks flying back and forth between them. The only way to achieve that would be to act like a woman and not a silly teenager on prom night.
Feeling a little more confident, Amanda murmured, “I don’t want to sleep alone.”
One side of Leo’s mouth kicked up into a crooked grin. “Good answer, sweets.” He stepped back and dropped his hand. “Now, how about dinner? I don’t know about you, but I’m starved.”
He moved around her and headed toward the kitchen. Amanda took a few seconds to calm her racing heart. When she heard him call out to her, she smiled. For the first time in her life she was actually going to enjoy one of the Harding family reunions. Go figure.
Leaving the bedroom behind, Amanda went in search of Leo. She found him bent over, peering into the refrigerator. She licked her lips at the sight of his jean-covered ass. When he straightened and turned, Amanda’s cheeks heated. Had he noticed where her gaze had been?
“Your mom thinks of everything doesn’t she?”
Okay, so he hadn’t seen her eyeballing his butt. Whew. “Uh, yeah, pretty much.”
“She’s left us hamburger meat, hot dogs and there’s even potato salad in there. Looks homemade too.”
At the mention of her mother, Amanda relaxed a little more. Moving toward a cupboard, Amanda found two plastic cups, took them out and placed them on the little table in the center of the room. “Mother wouldn’t have us eating store-bought potato salad. In her opinion that’d be tacky.”
Leo leaned against the counter, as if content to quietly watch as she took out plates, utensils and napkins. It wasn’t until Amanda opened the refrigerator and took out two cans of pop that he finally spoke. “So, what are you in the mood for?”
You, she ached to admit. Instead she said, “How about hot dogs?”
“Sounds good to me.”
“There’s a grill out back, but that’s a lot of work and we’re both tired. How about we just nuke them?”