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He winced and lifted his hands in surrender "Wrong word Uh his hair "Shit, Angel I guess I was hoping that if I could avoid telling you about ot here and you saw theet upset" He exhaled "It was a duo in with h et past it "Don’t ever do that to ain, okay?" I finally said "I don’t like surprises, let alone being blindsided"

"I won’t I swear"

He looked so dao ed my sweater down and my jeans up as alked up to the house For the first tilad that I had hardly any boobs at all At least I could et by with just "skanky" instead of "skanky whore"

"Wait," I said "Do your parents know about ht have mentioned you to thee would I have to live up to?

Marcus gave ranite paving stones around to the back yard A huh a heavy iron gate I plastered a smile on my face and hoped that I looked more friendly than manic At first I didn’t think there were as inally suspected It certainly didn’t seem crowded But then it sank in just how enorer than the house and front yard and driveway couised how huge it was, so had interspersed hedges, garden plots, and fountains to form areas for people to wander, or sit and talk with at least the illusion of privacy I counted three gazebos, two koi ponds, and half a dozen outdoor heaters--useful since there was a bit of a nip in the air Oh, and at least forty people

A "couple of people" ht I recognized, and I had another rude jolt when I realized it was because they were politicians A couple were clearly local, such as the Sheriff and the mayor of Tucker Point But I was almost positive one of the men was a US Senator He’d been involved in a sex scandal a few years back, and his picture had been all over the news

Pietro is rich as hell and has a ton of connections and influence Yeah, no reason at all to be nervous

I didn’t have long to wait before the frenzy of attention started Well, frenzy wasn’t really the best word, though I definitely felt like a tasty juicy fishy in a school of sharks Did sharks have schools? Or was it so sized up Every person in the backyard seeave everyone he saw nods and srip on my hand as he steered azebos They looked up as we approached, and it was clear froht on their faces that these were his parents One look at Marcus was enough to confirm it He looked like the perfect coged good looks frorey eyes, and a friendly, easy s over Marcus’s dad

And, for that matter, if I was into older women I’d have done the same for his mom Marcus’s dark hair and eyes had clearly co short of stunning She had to have been in her fifties, but she carried her years with effortless ease

Marcus greeted theel, these are ave el! Marcus has told us a bit about you"

I wanted to give Marcus a panicked What the fuck have you told thee I didn’t think he’d regale the addiction, my felony record,personality?

I ed to keep my own smile in place "Nice to ht? God, I sucked at this

"Marcus says he met you at work," his dad said "Are you a cop also?"

"She works for the coroner’s office," Marcus explained, saving et to see each other over dead bodies" He grinned "Roht?"

His h," she said with a wink

"Um, I dunno about that," I said "More likely I’retted it Nice, I thought with an inward cringe Just co a whacko

But the Ivanovs seeenerous sense of humor "Then you’re probably perfect for Marcus!" his dad announced