Amy shot upright in her seat and risked a look out of the window, seeing Vince standing there looking grim and narrow-eyed. He raised an eyebrow when she went bright red and pointed one finger to the ground in front of him, indicating that he wanted her standing there right now.
Amy gulped and reached for the door handle, looking at Mark in confusion when he grabbed her hand and stopped her. "What did I tell you before? You just wait there," he said, his eyes twinkling as he got out of the car and strode around to her side, not looking intimidated at all by Vince glaring at him.
He opened her door and took her hand to pull her out, sliding his arm around her shoulders when she stood in front of Vince.
"What do you think you're doing?" Vince asked them both, his voice surprisingly calm.
"Nothing," Amy said, her voice really quiet.
"Nothing? It didn't look like nothing. Care to explain yourselves?" he said, glaring at Mark.
Mark grinned at him. "Nope." He watched as Vince's face got even angrier.
"What the hell makes you think you can bring her back here and make out in the car, where anyone can see you?" he said, his voice loud now.
Amy was so embarrassed she wanted to sink through the floor and she couldn't speak. Mark had no such problem. "What the hell gives you the right to question what we do?"
"She's my goddaughter! I have every right to want to protect her!"
"Protect her from what? Me?" Mark yelled back, angry at the way Vince seemed to want to interfere between the two of them.
"Yes, from you! She doesn't know what you're really like, I do, and I will not allow you to treat her in that way!"
Amy was staring open-mouthed as the two men shouted at each other, her face paling at their obvious anger.
"How the hell do you think you're gonna stop me?" Mark asked him, laughing incredulously as he sized the other man up.
"I don't have to stop you, I'll stop her. She can't see you anymore, how's that?"
Neither of the men had even looked at her since they started shouting, so they didn't see her reaction to their words. She was shaking by this point, hating herself for her own cowardice, but scared to death of angry men and with good reason. She didn't notice Linda coming out of the house, hadn't even realised that the older woman was inside, she just stood there shaking as Linda approached her and put her arm around her shoulders, her face a picture of concern.
"Stop it, both of you. Can't you see what you're doing?" Linda said to them sharply and they both stopped and turned to the two women, instantly calming down when they saw the fear on Amy's face.
"Oh God, I'm sorry honey," Mark said, taking a step towards her that she backed away from, an action that shocked him.
"I didn't mean to start a shouting match, I just worry about you..." Vince said, trying to explain himself.
Amy swallowed and took a deep breath, realising how stupid she must seem to all of them. "It's okay," she whispered, talking to Vince but looking at Mark, because he looked sick at having scared her in any way.
"Amy," Mark said, looking uncertain of his next move. Amy put her hand on his arm. "It's okay," she repeated, trying and failing to give him a smile and then turning and walking into the house, needing a few minutes alone to calm down.
Linda followed behind her quickly, glaring at her husband and Mark as she left them. When she got in the house she found Amy standing in the kitchen, leaning on the counter. "You okay sweetie?"
Amy grimaced. "I'm okay, it just freaked me out a bit. I'm such a coward, God they must think I'm dumb." She shook her head and took a deep breath, calming down even as she thought about what had happened.
"They won't think that," Linda assured her, filling the coffee pot as she spoke. "Maybe it'll teach Vince not to stick his nose in where you're concerned."
"I don't think he likes Mark," Amy mused, chewing her lip.
"He likes him well enough, but he doesn't think anyone's good enough for you, that's all. He was that way with Steph too before she put her foot down," Linda replied, thinking about how much her daughters temper matched her husbands. "All you have to do is show Vince that you won't have him interfering in your life. He'll soon back off."
"Oh, I couldn't! He's not really interfering...it's...sort of nice having someone worry about me," she said, shrugging.
"Sort of nice huh? So you going to give Mark his marching orders to please Vince?"
Amy frowned at that thought, then smiled wryly. "I wouldn't want to, I...I really like him. I don't think I'll have to anyway. Mark probably thinks I'm a nut by now," she said quietly, wondering if he had gone home.
"I don't think you're a nut," a deep voice said from behind her and Amy swung around to look at him. "But I do think I'm an asshole." Amy blushed at his words and he gave her a smirk.
"I thought you'd be gone by now," she admitted, vaguely aware of Vince creeping into the room.
"Why would I do that?"
"Because of what Vince said..." she tailed off and looked at her godfather. He rolled his eyes and tried not to look as uncomfortable as he felt.
"I didn't mean what I said, I just didn't expect to come home and get a show in the front drive," he said wryly, giving her a knowing look.
Mark laughed as she blushed. "All we did was kiss," he pointed out to Vince.
"Yeah, right," Vince shot right back, smiling at Mark as he calmed down. "And your hands were on her shoulders right?"
"Thereabouts," Mark said and sent Amy a wicked grin which made her blush deepen even more. "God you're beautiful," he murmured as he moved closer to her. Her eyes shot up to his and just stared at him, amazed that he would ever say that, let alone in front of the others.
He lifted his hand and held her chin in a firm grasp, his other arm going around her shoulders to draw her slowly against him.
Vince looked from one of them to the other and chewed his lip thoughtfully, thinking that he hadn't seen Mark so serious about someone since he had been married. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad having him and Amy together after all, she sure changed when she was around him. He looked down as Linda grabbed his arm, smiling as she ushered him out of the room so they could leave the younger couple alone. "Are you going to let her live her own life?" Linda whispered as they closed the door.
"I am letting her live her own life," Vince said, frowning.
"No you're not. One minute you say you like Mark being in her life, the next you're threatening him and her. I told you before to make your mind up, but you seem incapable of doing that." Linda stared at him and patted his arm. "Don't worry about her so much. Leave her alone and let her do what she needs to do and stop interfering."
"Easy to say," Vince murmured, looking thoughtful.
"Easy to do as well," Linda replied, leading him along the hallway to the main sitting room.
"What if he hurts her, you know what he's been like over the last few months."
"Then we'll be here for her," she replied. "But honestly, I don't think he's going to hurt her, he looks completely smitten to me. We'll take her home with us and then see how they get on being apart. I have a feeling Mark will miss her more than he knows!"
Back in the kitchen Mark bent and planted a quick kiss on Amy's lips, intending to just draw back and then send her off to change so she was ready to go out. But as soon as his mouth made contact with hers he couldn't pull away and deepened the kiss, picking her up and wrapping her in a bear hug. When he finally stopped kissing her she was hanging limply against him, her mouth swollen and her eyes drowsy. "Wow," she croaked.
"Yeah, wow," he echoed, smiling at her. "You do that really well you know."
"I do?" she asked, staring at his mouth again.
"Oh, yeah, you sure do. And you can get that look off your face, girl, you ain't having it again, not yet," he said, grinning wickedly at her. "Go on and get ready to go out, if you want to change. If you don't, well hell honey, you look gorgeous as you are and we ain't doing nothing but bowling."
Amy looked down at her jeans and T-shirt, chewing her lip. It didn't matter what Mark might say, she wanted to look a little nicer for him and she wasn't comfortable in the shirt so she rushed away to change. She chose a pair of black jeans and a dark green top with a v-neck, staring at her reflection critically. Not too bad, she thought, she at least looked decent in them. She brushed out her hair and then started braiding it so it wouldn't get in her way, making it into a French braid which took her longer than she had anticipated. A small touch of make up that Linda had bought her emphasised her large eyes and full lips and she sighed at herself. Okay, she thought, you don't really ever look any better than that.
Linda knocked and walked into the room just as Amy stood up from the dressing table, ready to join Mark and start their evening.
"Oh, you look lovely, Amy. But you know, there's something missing. Well, two things actually, but I think Mark's going to take care of one of them," Linda said, smiling innocently. She held up a bottle of perfume and beckoned Amy to come closer, giving her a quick spray on the neck and wrists. "There, all set. He'll love that scent."
"It does smell nice," Amy said, taking in the delicate floral fragrance.
"It should, it cost a fortune. Now, go on downstairs. Mark's in the study with Vince."
"They're not arguing again are they?"
"No, they're sharing a beer. Typical men, blow up then have a beer together like nothing ever happened. No wonder they can't understand it when we get in a mood for hours!" Linda shook her head and pushed Amy out of the room.
When she got down to the study and walked into the room, the expression on Mark's face when he saw her made her glad she had neatened herself up. His eyebrows rose up and he got up out of the chair to stand towering over her, absently putting his beer on the desk. "You look real beautiful, darlin'," he drawled, holding his arm out in a gentlemanly fashion and pulling her hand into the crook of it. "You about ready to go?"
She nodded and smiled at Vince as she was pulled out of the room. "Don't bring her back too late," Vince warned Mark as they left, his tone telling him that he may have realised their argument was stupid, but he would still be watching him.
"Yeah, yeah," Mark muttered as he left the house, winking at Linda as they did so.
Mark drove them to the local bowling alley, pulling into a parking spot and turning the engine off before turning to her, his eyes glittering. "You know, that was a waste of time," he said slowly, his eyes fixed on her mouth.
"What was?"
"Putting that lipstick on. It ain't gonna be on there very long."
"It isn't? Are we eating first then?" she asked, wondering why he was staring at her so intently.
"In a way," he murmured as he pulled her across the seat and onto his lap, his mouth coming down over hers so fast she didn't even have time to take a breath.
When he had kissed her senseless, he pulled back and surveyed his handiwork. "See? All gone," he said, his voice deep and husky.
Amy giggled, sounding breathless. "You're terrible."
"Baby, you don't have any idea of how terrible just yet!" he said, leering at her. He got out of the car and then came around to get her out too, holding her in front of him. He reached a hand inside his jacket and pulled out a long velvet box, holding it under her nose expectantly. "What's that?" she asked.
"It's for you. Go on, take it," he urged her, looking a little unsure of himself.
"For me? But..."
"Come on, take it. It's been burning a hole in my pocket all day," he said, smiling crookedly.
"All day?"
"Yeah, well, you know, I wanted to wait for the right time..." he nodded to the gift again and Amy took it from him, opening the lid slowly to gaze with astonishment at what lay within. Nestled amid the white satin interior was a gold necklace, a beautiful emerald teardrop pendant attached to it. "Oh my..." she said breathlessly, touching the jewellery with reverence.
"Do you like it?" he asked her hesitantly, frowning.
"It's beautiful. It's really for me?" she asked breathlessly, her wide eyes shooting up to his.
He reached out one big hand and cupped her face in it, his thumb stroking her chin. "It's really for you. When I saw it in the store it made me think of your eyes and how good it would look on you. I couldn't resist."
"But it's not my birthday or anything and it looks expensive..."
"It doesn't have to be for any special occasion. I bought it because I wanted to see you wearing it, that's all, and I can afford it. It's worth it just to see you smile, too. Come on, let's put it on you," he said, taking the delicate chain out of it's box and turning her around so he could fasten it around her neck. He dropped a kiss on her shoulder and then turned her around, positioning the pendant so it hung in the v of her t shirt. "I knew it would look beautiful on you, sweetheart, and I wasn't wrong."
Amy looked down at the glistening gem and couldn't get rid of the smile on her face or the slight mist of tears in her eyes. "It's so lovely, it's the nicest thing I've ever been given. Thank you so much," she said softly and then bit her lip, wondering how he would react if she just threw her arms around him.
"Go ahead," he said, smiling broadly at her.
"What?"
"You know you want to hug me, so...go ahead," he invited bending down slightly, grinning when she giggled and then launched herself at him, throwing her arms around his neck and hugging him as hard as she could, her feet leaving the floor as he straightened up with her still clinging to him. He groaned in mock pain and made strangled sounds which just made her laugh more, before he pulled her back enough so he could see her face.
"Where's my kiss then?" he said, raising one eyebrow expectantly.
"Oh, okay, if I absolutely have to," she mumbled, pressing her lips to his and kissing him as expertly as she was able. He put her down after a while and then took a deep breath, letting the air whistle out between his teeth.
"Well, I suppose we'd better go inside and start enjoying our evening. Personally I'd enjoy it even more out here, but I guess people would stare." He gave another deep chuckle at how flustered she became whenever he said something even slightly outlandish, then he took her into the building.
The place was only half full of people and they attracted a few stares from those who recognised Mark, but otherwise they were largely ignored, which he was thankful for. He didn't mind fans coming up and asking for autographs, but sometimes it was nice to just relax and be himself, something he could be with Amy.
He booked a lane for two hours time and walked her into one of the bar/restaurants that thrived in this particular bowling alley and ordered them some burgers and a couple of drinks. Amy still had her hand in the crook of his arm after they had left the car because every now and then he put his hand over it, making sure she would stay there. She found it sweet that he obviously wanted to touch her and she had to admit that she loved being close to him.
She found herself sitting next to him at a small corner booth and she smiled thankfully when their drinks arrived, hers being a coke.
"I thought you'd prefer a coke to anything else," Mark said, seeing her smile. He had ordered himself a beer and he sat sipping it slowly, watching her as he did so. "It's a nice place isn't it?"
Amy hadn't really taken much notice of their surroundings, and she quickly scanned the room before returning her gaze to him, her fingers fiddling with the pendant. She hadn't stopped touching it since he gave it to her, almost as if she couldn't believe it was real. "It's very nice," she replied, trying not to sound disinterested, because she was enjoying looking at him, not the restaurant.
He seemed to know that, though, because he slowly started grinning. "Yeah, it is. You like the decor?"
She nodded absently, thinking how handsome he looked when he smiled.
"Really? That being the case, you'd be able to tell me what colour the carpet is without looking," he said, raising one eyebrow and grabbing her chin so she couldn't look down at the floor.
"Er...it's green?"
"Now, ya know, that's the colour of my eyes, and you've been staring at them for some time. But it ain't the colour of the carpet. Want to guess again?"
Her eyes traced his face and he found his breathing starting to deepen at what her eyes were telling him. "Red," she said softly, looking at his hair.
Mark stretched his arm across her shoulders and drew her right up against him, his head bending towards hers. "Wrong answer, now you have to pay the forfeit."
"Forfeit?" she asked, her eyes dropping to his mouth.
"Mmm-hmm, and it could take some time," he replied, kissing her softly, his eyes closing and his brows drawing together as he tasted her again. The sudden arrival of their meal made her jerk back from him in embarrassment, but he just smiled at her antics and thanked the waitress. "Well, I guess we'll have to continue that later on, won't we?"
Amy blushed and tried to ignore him as she started eating, but she was aware of him watching her the whole way through the meal.
He behaved himself for the rest of the time they were in the restaurant and eventually it was time to take their bowling alley. "I've never done this before," Amy admitted. "Is it hard?"
"You're kidding me right? You've never been bowling?" he asked, looking and sounding amazed that she had never done this before.
"Well, no. Is that a bad thing?"
"No, honey, that ain't a bad thing, but your education is sadly lacking if this is the first time you've been in a bowling alley. Come on, we'll get you started!"
He picked a bowling ball for her which she thought was incredibly heavy, until he told her to try lifting his one. "It's a joke one, isn't it? It's glued down!" she gasped, trying to lift it and then staring open-mouthed as he lifted it up as though it were made of cardboard.
"Right, now watch what I do and then try and copy it okay?" he told her, and she watched carefully as he threw the ball down towards the pins, making them all scatter in one hit.
It looked easy, she thought. But she found that all she could do was make it go in the gutter. After her fourth try she was getting frustrated and Mark laughed, earning a glare from her. "Whoa, okay, don't kill me with a deadly look! Here, let me help," he said, still laughing as he stood behind her and wrapped his arms around her, making her stop breathing briefly at his proximity. "Hold the ball like this," he told her, his breath moving over her ear, his voice deepening as he pulled her back so she was flush against him. "Then swing back like this, then forward, move like this," he instructed, all the time moving her body in front of him and not letting an inch of space get between them. "Now just let go of the ball, like this," he continued, his hand linking with her fingers when the ball shot down the alley.
"Hey, leave her alone you big pervert!" A deep voice came booming from behind them.
Mark didn't even turn around, instead groaning in her ear.
"Oh God, just when we were having fun," he murmured, chuckling when he looked at her flushed face. "Hey, Glenn," he said, turning around and taking her with him.
Amy saw Glenn making his way towards them, his large hand wrapped possessively around Tammy's waist. The blonde girl was blushing but had a big smile on her face as she looked at Amy, moving away from Glenn so she could talk to her.
"Hi! I'm so glad you're here," Tammy said in a quiet voice. "I thought you'd be at the hotel, that's where we had dinner."
"I know, I thought we were going to eat there too, but Mark brought me here." Amy looked over at Glenn who was smiling and chatting to Mark. "You two seem to be getting along well."
"Oh we are, he's so...nice, but..." she broke off and frowned.
"What?" Amy asked, looking over at Glenn again and noticing that both men were looking in their direction.
"Overwhelming! That's why I'm so glad you're here, we'll be able to break the tension a little bit. I get the feeling he wants to lock me in his hotel room and...you know..." she giggled.
"Judging by the way he's looking at you, you could be right. But you know, if you don't want to do anything, you only have to say no."
"That's just the problem. He keeps kissing me and when he does I can't even think straight, let alone speak. He could pretty much do anything he wants and I'd let him. I guess that makes me sound weak, huh?" Tammy grimaced.
"Not really, I know exactly how you feel," Amy said, her eyes meeting Mark's and seeing his sparkle as they fixed on her, and her hand lifted to her gift again. "I'm not sure I could say no either."
Tammy looked at Mark, looking at the way he was watching Amy. "I'm not sure he'd let you. What's that?" she asked, reaching out and lifting the pendant and chain to admire it. "It's lovely! Where did you get it?"
"Mark gave it to me," Amy admitted, blushing with pleasure.
"Really? I think someone's in love with you," Tammy said in a goofy sickly voice, laughing when Amy frowned at her. "Come on, let's have a drink and do some bowling. You don't mind if we join you, do you? I don't want to get in the way of anything."
Amy smiled. "It's okay, I'd like you to join us, it'll be fun. You can watch how well I can throw the ball in the gutter. Mark was just trying to teach me how to do it properly when you came in."
"Yeah, I noticed how well he was teaching you," Tammy said, laughing when Amy blushed. "God, we're as bad as each other. I know for a fact I won't have to wear any blusher for the next week or so, my cheeks are never going to be the right colour again!"
"What are you two lovely ladies talking about?" Glenn said as he walked up behind them, one hand snaking around the back of Tammy's neck and tugging her closer to him.
"Just...er...bowling," she said, staring the long way up at him as he put his other arm around her waist.
"Oh yeah? Has Scarlet told you how good she is?" Mark said, pulling Amy back against his warm body.
"At what?" Glenn asked, raising one eyebrow and giving Mark a mocking smile.
"Lay off, buddy, or would you prefer to eat a bowling ball?" Mark returned, glaring at the younger man but smiling all the same.
"Okay, fair enough," Glenn said, reaching for the ball Mark had been using. "I sort of like bowling with them, rather than eating them. So come on, who's going first? Me? OK then," he said, ignoring everyone and beginning the game, Tammy laughing as he completely messed up his shot, then squealing when he chased her to the seats to get retribution.
They spent the next couple of hours joking about and laughing and Amy found herself coming more and more out of her shell. Mark was attentive and charming, ragging her a bit whenever she threw the ball in the gutter, but then going back to teaching her how to do it properly. She loved the feel of him behind her, how it made her feel safe and protected, and she missed a couple of shots on purpose so he would stay with her. Eventually he looked at his watch and sighed. "I guess we'd better call it a day," he said reluctantly, pleased to see that Amy looked disappointed. "Vince will probably have me beheaded if I get you back too late."
"Hey, it's only ten, that isn't exactly late, you know," Glenn moaned, then looked at Mark and grinned. "Oh I see." he said, understanding the strange look on Mark's face.
"What?" Amy asked, looking from one of them to another.
"Nothing darlin', come on, let's go," Mark murmured, making his goodbyes to Glenn and Tammy and then leading her out of the building and over to the car.
