“She hit you with a stun gun and you’re still dating her?” Larry lifted his glass. “I think you’ll fit right in, Dakota. Welcome to the family.”

Lily was stunning. Porcelain skin so smooth Dakota wondered if she spent any time in the sun. The dinner was slated for casual, but Lily Phelps wore a skintight strapless black number that went to midcalf. The woman had curves . . . and if Dakota hadn’t just sampled the talents of Walt in the boathouse bedroom, she might be concerned.

But no, Walt was by her side, supplying her with drinks and whispering in her ear.

“Was she a cheerleader in high school?”

“Buckteeth and glasses.”

Dakota sipped her drink. “Looks like she cleared those issues up.”

Walt’s grip on her waist confirmed he was with her. Then he kissed her temple. “Thanks again for being here.”

“You thank me by tossing me in the lake.”

Walt wiggled his eyebrows and Dakota’s cheeks warmed. “We’re even for the stun gun.”

She was laughing when JoAnne interrupted them. “We’re about to sit for dinner.” She placed a hand on Dakota’s arm. “I hope you don’t mind. I placed you next to Brenda this evening.” JoAnne lifted her eyes. “I had no idea our son was bringing a guest.”

Dakota was about to tell her hostess that was perfectly fine when Walt pulled her closer. “I’m sure whoever you have sitting beside me won’t mind moving.”

JoAnne blew out a long-suffering sigh and gave him an insincere smile. “You know how I feel about table arrangements, Walter.”

Dakota lifted up on her toes and kissed Walt’s cheek. “It’s OK, honey,” she said, pouring on the sugar and her normally buried Southern accent.

“It’s not OK.”

“Walter—”

“I brought a guest, Mom. Work with it or we can leave.”

Dakota stood back.

JoAnne lifted her chin, turned on her heel, and left.

Dakota turned in to Walt so only he could see her face and hear her words. “Nice going, Ace. Your mom is bound to hate me now.”

Walt pulled her back, away from the room full of Phelps and Eddys.

Once they were out of sight of his family, he pushed her against the wall. His tongue was pushing past her lips and claiming her before she could gasp.

God, he felt like heaven.

Her body heated instantly, her hips moved against him without any permission.

She wasn’t sure what brought on this sudden urge for intimacy, but Dakota didn’t want to stop it. The drink in her hand tilted and she felt liquid drip over her hand.

She placed a palm against his chest, moaned when his hips met hers and said hello, and forced him away. “Walt?”

His eyes carried a smoky quality, one that made her want to be at the boathouse and not a dinner party. “You have the most seductive voice,” he told her.

Dakota placed her free hand on his cheek and he leaned into it. “You have me all weekend, Doc.”

“Best decision ever. Don’t let my mom get to you.”

So that’s what prompted this sudden urge for intimacy. “Mom who?”

He kissed her again, soft, smooth.

A bell . . . a freakin’ bell was ringing from the other room. “Dinner.”

Dakota broke away, ran a thumb under his lower lip, wanting to see if her makeup was smeared as much as she assumed it was.

“You look fine,” Walt whispered in her ear.

They stepped around the corner and caught the attention of a scowling JoAnne and a giggling Brenda.

The Phelps were family friends. Lily was the second oldest to a brother who was already married with a kid on the way . . . then there were the twins. The boys were just past their seventeenth birthday and they certainly had a better idea of how to spend their Friday night than with a bunch of adults celebrating some old guy’s birthday. They huddled together and practically ignored everyone else in the room.

Tonight they were blessed with the twins, and not the pregnant mama and her hubby. They apparently lived in Texas.

Dakota sat on Walt’s left while Lily was on his right. Across from them sat Brenda and Larry, the twins on opposite sides of the table from each other, Dr. and Mrs. Eddy on each end with Mr. Phelps next to Dakota and Mrs. Phelps next to Mrs. Eddy.

The arrangement spoke volumes. The women separated by the men . . . the kids across from each other as to not place a gap in the conversation . . . and Lily by Walt’s side. A part of Dakota wanted to grab a pen and take notes. Family dynamics always lent to great plots.

The first course was served by a staff brought in for the weekend. According to Walt, there was a full-time housekeeper, but meals were often of the heat-up variety brought in once a week from a caterer.

Lily sat stiff-backed beside Walt, her attention on whatever Brenda was saying when the soup was served.

“Are you enjoying our state?” Mr. Phelps asked Dakota.

“It’s amazing. The wide-open space, the fresh air. Outside of the airport, I can’t say I’ve seen much of Colorado.”

Dr. Eddy placed a napkin on his lap and tilted his head. “Do you travel a lot?”

“I do.”

Walt was commenting on something Lily said.

“You must work with Walt’s traveling staff,” Mr. Phelps said.

She laughed. “I’m not a doctor or a nurse.”

One of the caterers set a bowl of tomato bisque in front of her. Dakota turned to the opposite side of the table. “This looks lovely,” she said to JoAnne.