“Maybe you should just take me back home,” she suggested tightly. “Your sister is expecting to just see you tonight. You don’t want to spend your time trying to entertain me when you could be catching up with her.” Why were men so completely oblivious to social situations that made women cringe? Meeting a man’s family was something that usually didn’t happen for quite some time—or in Gwen’s case, never. She certainly hadn’t been expecting to meet his sister the first week they started dating.

Dominic took both of her hands in his, forcing her to look at him. “Babe, I really want you with me tonight. I know you’ll like Meredith. She’s a lot of fun and you two will get along well. Please do this for me. I wouldn’t ask if I thought you’d be uncomfortable around her.”

Oh shit, he was giving her the sad puppy dog eyes. How was she supposed to say no? He’d included her in his life tonight as no other man ever had. Maybe it was way too soon, but if she turned him down, it might set the tone for the rest of their possible future relationship. How bad could it be? She’d have a glass—or three—of wine and enjoy a meal at a restaurant that she couldn’t often afford herself. It was a win-win. She just needed to pull the big-girl panties up and say yes. “All right,” she agreed softly.

“Really?” A look of relief crossed his face as he squeezed her hands tightly. “Thank you, Gwen. I promise you’ll have a good evening.” She nodded in reply, already regretting her decision. As they walked through the parking lot, Gwen saw a dark-haired woman rushing toward them. Dominic leaned down and said something that struck fear in her heart just before his sister launched herself into his arms. “Meredith reminds me a lot of Maddy and Megan. Heck, she could be their mother. You don’t embarrass easily, do you?”

Surely, he was just kidding . . . “Dom!” his sister yelled as she hugged him tightly. Suddenly, she turned in his arms and noticed Gwen standing at his side. “Holy shit, did you actually bring a woman with you?”

“Very funny.” Dominic laughed, pulling on his sister’s hair. “Mer, this is Gwen Day. Gwen, this is my sister, Meredith, and she’s the rude one in the family.”

Gwen extended a hand to the other woman only to find herself pulled into a hug instead. “What a surprise! Wow, my brother brought a woman to dinner!” Gwen looked helplessly at Dominic as Meredith slung an arm over her shoulders and steered her toward the restaurant. “Now, how long have you known my brother?”

“Um . . . a few months,” Gwen replied. She might not have been sleeping with him that long, but she had known of him. Surely, that counted for something.

The other woman pulled back enough to look her up and down. “Honey, don’t take this the wrong way because I’m totally loyal in my love of men, but you are hot. I can see why Dom would like you. It’s so nice to see him dating someone with a little staying power.”

“Staying power?” Gwen asked uncertainly. She wasn’t sure she even wanted to know what that meant.

Meredith made a vague hand gesture before saying, “You know, a normal girl who has more on her mind than planning her next tattoo or body piercing.” They had been walking toward the glass doors of Ivy when Meredith stopped and spun around, causing Gwen to pull up sharply to avoid a collision. “Please tell me that you didn’t meet my brother at a strip club.”

“What?” Gwen gaped at her, thinking she must have heard the question wrong.

“You don’t collect dollar bills in a G-string for a living, do you?” Meredith asked, looking completely serious.

“N-no,” Gwen managed to get out, thinking Dominic was right. His sister was every bit as bad as Megan and Maddy. And what was it with the stripper questions. Was that Dominic’s usual mode of picking up women?

As if sensing her thoughts, Dominic closed the distance between them, resting his hand on the small of her back. “What are you two talking about?” he asked, looking just a tad too concerned.

“I was just assuring your sister that I didn’t work a pole for a living. She seemed to think that we might have possibly met that way.”

Looking not the least bit surprised or even upset, Dominic rolled his eyes at Meredith. “Could you at least wait until we’re inside before you run Gwen off?”

“Come on,” Meredith laughed, “it’s a valid question. Gage told us all about Kandi. He’s still upset with you, by the way, for dumping the poor girl.” Before Dominic could comment, they were seated at a table in the corner and a waiter had taken their drink orders. Gwen, though, found that she couldn’t let his sister’s earlier comment go without finding out more. She figured Meredith would happily satisfy her curiosity even if her brother did kill her afterward.

Flashing a brilliant smile, Gwen turned to the other woman and asked, “So, who’s Kandi?” She pretended not to hear the groan Dominic emitted beside her. Meredith, however, looked thrilled by her question.

“Well, I never met her personally, but according to Gage, my brother here thought she was some kind of ballet dancer who was quite popular with the men everywhere they went. She finally confessed that she performed her particular brand of ‘ballet’ to Beyoncé’s “Naughty Girl” most evenings at midnight . . . so he dumped her.”

“That’s not why we stopped seeing each other,” Dominic jumped in quickly.

Turning in her seat to stare at him, Gwen asked, “Oh really? Then why?”