He seemed surprised by her question before slumping down in his seat. “You don’t want me to answer that, babe. Trust me. Hell, neither of you want to hear it.”

Gwen was more determined than ever now to know the reason and his sister seemed to be right there with her. “Come on, brother dear, you can’t leave us hanging like this. Gage said it was just because you were a prude and didn’t like her profession.”

He shook his head, looking like a deer in the headlights. It was obvious that whatever the reason, he didn’t want to talk about it. She really should just let it go. He was more than likely right, and she was better off not knowing, but geez, it was going to kill her now. His sister continued to needle him until he finally cracked, saying something that Gwen hadn’t been expecting. “All right! She called my . . . package her lollipop, and she talked to it in some weird baby talk. It freaked me the fuck out, and I just couldn’t . . . do it and could you please stop being BFFs with Gage!”

Meredith burst out in laughter while Gwen just stared at him. Did he mean that he never slept with Kandi or that he couldn’t do it that last time before they broke up? She was helpless to deny the twinge of jealousy working its way through her system. No doubt, she had been no older than twenty-five, with the perfect, small ass, unlike herself. “Dear Lord, Dom.” Meredith giggled. “I can just imagine your face when that happened.”

“I’d rather you not be able to picture any of it, Mer. You are my sister, remember?” Gwen felt his eyes on her before his hand slid over her leg. “I told you that you didn’t really want to know,” he said quietly. “She didn’t mean anything to me, and she damn sure didn’t hold a candle to you.”

Meredith watched them from across the table, seemingly surprised by this softer side of her brother. If her smile was any indication, she completely approved. “Anyway, now that we’ve covered that, let me tell you what your nephews have been up to. Caleb got pissed at Jacob because he broke his iPad. Therefore, in retaliation, he flushed Jacob’s goldfish down the toilet. Then Jacob freaked out, took Caleb’s favorite Georgia Bulldogs T-shirt, and attempted to flush it. Well, needless to say, they clogged the upstairs toilet and flooded the bathroom and the hallway. Derrick was so pissed off I thought he would stroke out. He had the whole throbbing-vein-on-the-side-of-his-face thing going on.”

Dominic winced, laughing softly. “Those boys are something else. I guess that’s why Derrick said in his last e-mail that he’d been up to his knees in shit.”

“Trust me, he meant that literally.” Meredith shuddered. “We’d been meaning to have the carpet taken out and install hardwoods so that project got a major jump start.”

“How old are your boys?” Gwen asked, enjoying the easy banter between Dominic and his sister. It was obvious that he loved his nephews a lot and took great interest in their lives.

“Caleb is eight, and Jacob is six. Derrick’s holding down the fort while I’m gone, but hopefully he hasn’t set them out on the side of the road by now.”

Dominic smirked at his sister, saying, “I can’t believe you haven’t figured out how Derrick keeps the kids under control when you’re away. I mean, have you never noticed those muzzles in the hall closet?”

Meredith laughed, pointing her finger at her brother. “Hey, I’m smart enough not to question what happens when Mom’s away. As long as they are in one piece when I get home and Derrick’s not handing me divorce papers, I let it go.” Turning to Gwen, she added, “In case you’re wondering, my hubby’s a veterinarian.” Fanning herself she said, “The damn sexiest one you’ll ever meet. He has nerves of steel and a body for sin. I’m a very lucky girl!”

Dominic made a choking gesture at his sister’s words. “Can we please not turn this into an hour of talking about your husband’s . . . attributes. I feel like I know the man’s body much better than I should. Let’s leave it at ‘he’s a hell of a guy’ and deserves some kind of gold medal for all that he does.”

Meredith raised her glass of wine, smiling fondly as she said, “Here, here. No complaints there. So, Gwen, what type of work do you do?”

“I work at Danvers International as a senior accountant.” With a rueful grin, she admitted, “I’m a numbers nerd; I always have been.”

Giving her a look hot enough to melt the clothing from her body, Dominic growled, “You’re the sexiest nerd I’ve ever met.”

Meredith grabbed her wineglass, taking a gulp. “You do remember I’m here, right?”

Dominic looked at her as if surprised. He actually seemed to have forgotten that there was anyone else in the room other than the two of them. “It’s not like I haven’t heard worse from you,” he tossed back. Gwen could see a telltale blush on his face that was totally adorable. She loved that he could get so caught up in her that he blanked out the rest of the world. Again, that was something that had never happened to her with another man and it felt far too good.

As if just remembering Gwen’s earlier words, Meredith snapped her fingers, saying, “Hey, your office is at Danvers as well, right, Dom? Is that how you two met?”

Before thinking better of it, Gwen answered first. “Nope, we live in the same apartment.” Then realizing how that sounded, she was quick to clarify. “I mean we live in the same complex, but a few doors away. I noticed him there a long time before we actually crossed paths at Danvers.”