It must have taken a moment for his words to sink in. When they did, she froze for a moment before asking, “You want me to go with you?”
“That’s what I said.”
“Like...a date?”
Okay, judging by her tone, he wasn’t the only one who thought this was a big step. Still, he couldn’t yet read anything in her expression except blank shock. “Exactly like a date.”
“Oh, I don’t—I don’t think that’s a very good idea.”
His eyebrows beetled. “You have other plans that evening?”
She tucked her hair behind her ear in a nervous gesture. “No. I mean, I don’t think so. I haven’t checked my schedule, but we shouldn’t go to a party together.”
“Why not?”
Her loud sigh signaled impatience with his obtuseness. “Well, because. Even if your sisters aren’t there, and even if they don’t know your friends, it’s still too likely that word would get back to them that you’d brought me as a date to the party. It’s not like in Seattle, where the chances were slim that we’d be recognized.”
“And yet, we were,” he reminded her. He was getting a little irritated, but he warned himself to give her time to adjust to the idea before he started growling at her.
She waved a hand in dismissal. “Isabella never even heard your name. That’s less likely this time.”
“True. I would definitely tell my friends your name.”
She looked agitated now, squirming on the couch until Fiona jumped down and walked away to find a more comfortable place to sit. “And you know what they would think.”
“What would they think?” he asked her evenly.
“That we’re a couple. Or at least that we’re seeing each other.”
“Alexis, we’ve been seeing each other—intimately—for seven months. I think it’s time we stopped pretending otherwise, don’t you?”
She set her wineglass on the table so hard it was a wonder it didn’t shatter. And then she jumped to her feet and began to pace. He watched her in surprise, having seriously underestimated her response to his simple invitation.
“You think it’s time,” she repeated flatly. “Is that right?”
“Obviously, I wouldn’t say anything without your consent. Which is why I asked you if you’d go with me to the party. Sort of easing into it.”
“Easing into what?” she demanded, whirling to look at him.
He rose slowly. “Into going public. Seeing each other openly, without pretending we hardly know each other when we cross paths at the inn. We had our reasons when we started this thing. We figured it was no one else’s business, and we didn’t know if it would work out long enough to bother mentioning it to anyone else. It was great to have time to get to know each other without well-intentioned interference from family and friends. But we’re past that point now, don’t you think?”
“No. I don’t think!”
He had to admit he was taken aback by her vehemence. “I don’t get it, Alexis. What’s going on here?”
He watched as she drew a deep breath, obviously struggling to regain her composure. She spoke more calmly then. “If we go public, as you say, everything will change. People—my mother, your sisters—will start expecting things from us. Asking us if we have plans for the future, that sort of thing. You said yourself it’s been great with just the two of us. Do you really want to deal with that sort of outside pressure?”
He’d spent a lot of time asking himself those questions before inviting her to the party. Now he shrugged and said, “Maybe it is time we start thinking about the future. We’re good together, Alexis. In bed and out. It’s not such a stretch that we could stay together. Maybe even end up getting mar—”
She didn’t even let him finish the word. “Stop! Just stop, okay?”
Squeezing the back of his neck with one hand, he glared at her. “I’m going to need a little clarification here. I don’t know why you’re freaking out like this.”
“Because you’re changing the rules,” she shot back. “This is not what we agreed on. Everything’s been going so well, and now you’re trying to change it.”
“You changed things when you invited me to join you in Seattle.”
She winced. “Maybe that was a mistake. I thought we could have a good time, relax for a few days, then go back to the way we were after we came home.”