One Unforgettable Kiss. A.C. Arthur
“That’s exactly what he said,” Morgan added. “Harper, won’t you join us?”
She was already shaking her head. Garrek hadn’t expected anything less.
“No, thanks,” Harper said. “I have a lot to do this morning. Want to get the shiplap up in the den. Craig has Roy and Pete upstairs working double time on the nursery, per Gray’s request. And Marlon’s working on the playroom and the extra bathroom that was added to the plans last week. So I’ll have to stick around to make sure the rest of the staff stays on schedule down here.”
Morgan stared at Harper for a moment before giving a little nod. “Okay, I understand. Maybe Sunday dinner next week?”
“Maybe,” Harper said, and then turned to walk away.
She’d taken a couple of steps before she turned back and added, “It was nice meeting you, Garrek. Welcome home.”
Home.
Garrek was still thinking about that word as he sat in the dining room of Gray and Morgan’s house. He could refer to this place as just that because as he’d walked through, he’d noted how much the interior of the house had changed from when he lived there as a child. The living room, which was still under construction, now had larger front windows, and the floor was a darker wood than Garrek had remembered. He’d spotted a sitting room on the opposite side of the foyer, but Morgan had continued straight to the back of the house, so he’d followed her there.
They’d made a stop in the kitchen, which had a very homely feel, with the same almond-toned wood floors as the living room and sage-green cabinets. Morgan had instructed him to pick up the trays that were on the island. Garrek had been so busy looking around he’d bumped his head on one of the copper pots hanging from the large rack above the island. The sound of snickering pulled his gaze to the other side of the room, where a little boy stood with a smudge of what looked like grape jelly on his cheek.
The boy made Garrek smile, and he winked at him as he picked up the tray of bacon and the other one of sausage patties and links. He walked them into the dining room and set them on the long oak table.
Things were different in here as well. The bottom half of the walls were covered in wood that appeared to have been painted and then scraped. It was an odd look, but taking it in with the upper half of the walls, painted the color of churned butter, and the rest of the wood furniture that boasted the same distressed look, it all kind of made sense.
When he’d lived here, this room had been painted a very light brown. The table was large enough to accommodate twelve, just like this one, and heavy mustard-yellow drapes had hung from the windows. There was a large bay window where sunlight was allowed to pour into the uncovered windows, giving this space a much more cheerful look.
“Do you like biscuits and jelly?”
Garrek turned away from the window to see that the little boy had followed him.
“As a matter of fact, I do,” Garrek replied and then went to grab a napkin from the table that had been neatly set for six. “But when I used to sneak some from the kitchen, I remembered to wipe the evidence from my face.”
The little boy’s eyes grew bigger, and he hurriedly grabbed the napkin from Garrek to wipe both of his cheeks.
Garrek smiled once more. “Good job.”
“Speaking of jobs,” Morgan said as she came into the dining room carrying a pitcher of orange juice in one hand and a plate stacked with French toast in the other, “why are you messing with Harper’s schedule? She knows what she’s doing and so far has remained on schedule.” She nodded at Garrek, who had moved closer to take both the orange juice and French toast from her and set them on the table.
Gray came out of the kitchen seconds later carrying the tray of his only mildly overcooked scrambled eggs and a basket of biscuits. “But after your last doctor’s appointment, I’m not so sure those two you’re carrying are going to stay on schedule,” he stated.
Once he sat, they were all at the table, except for the pretty little girl Garrek spied holding on to Gray’s leg. Since he’d already met Jack, Garrek was sure this had to be Lily, the girl who had really captured Gray’s heart. On the short ride over, his brother had been unable to talk about anything else but these twins he was now responsible for. He loved them. That had been clear to Garrek. His brother, the cool and aloof businessman, had fallen in love with two adorable children and their charming mother.
Home. Wife. Kids. The perfect storm, Garrek thought.
At one point in his life he’d thought he might want that. And then he’d thought better of the silly notion. His life was his career; that’s what he’d always planned.
“Nonsense,” Morgan said after she’d taken a few seconds to ease into the chair across from Gray. “I’m due September 1, and that’s the perfect day for these babies to be born. It won’t be in the sticky and stifling heat of the summer, but knocking on the door to fall.”
She was rubbing her stomach as she spoke, and Garrek couldn’t help but stare.
“I hope they’re not girls,” Jack said as he shifted in the seat next to Garrek.
“There’s nothing wrong with girls,” Gray replied while lifting Lily and placing her into the seat beside him. “They’re sugar and spice and everything nice.”
The kiss he planted on Lily’s cheek was loud and resulted in the girl smiling as she practically beamed at him.
Yes, they are, Garrek thought and then shook his head to clear his mind.
“Harper works for you?” he asked Gray after the blessing had been said and everyone was busy putting food onto their plates.
“Harper owns Presley Construction. Her cousins Craig and Marlon work with the construction crew, and Harper manages the project,” Gray told him.
“She’s really good at what she does,” Morgan added. “And she’s a nice girl. So you should definitely take her out on that date you paid for.”
“How much do you pay for dates?” Jack asked.
“Usually men don’t pay for dates,” Gray answered quickly. “But my brother wanted to make a donation to a worthy cause. Isn’t that right, Garrek?”
“Ah, yeah, that’s right,” Garrek answered. He figured now was definitely not the right time to bring up the fact that he hadn’t known he was doing any of that. He’d just been enjoying his drink. Maybe that had been a sign that he’d had enough to drink for the night.
“I think they should go to a movie and have dinner at the diner,” Morgan said. “Something casual.”
“I want to see Beauty and the Beast,” Lily replied quietly.
“I don’t really want to go on a date,” Garrek announced.
The words had been rolling over and over in his mind since Morgan had brought it up on the porch. He hadn’t come to Temptation to date anyone. He’d had enough of that back in Washington. Garrek was here to get his thoughts together, to figure out what his next step in life was, and that did not involve Harper, the prettiest construction worker he’d ever laid eyes on.
“I mean, that’s not why I came to Temptation,” he corrected when he noticed Morgan and Gray’s questioning gazes were on him.
“Why aren’t you flying planes?” Lily asked. “Daddy says you like to fly planes all the time.”
Another mistake in what was beginning to seem like a stream of them. Garrek lifted his glass and took a gulp of orange juice.
“I do like to fly planes, but I’m on leave... I mean, I’m on a vacation for a while,” he corrected when he thought Lily might not understand that Garrek’s commander had authorized an emergency leave chit for Garrek. So his vacation had been both impromptu and nonnegotiable. He was