Tempted by Love: Jack Jock Steele (The Steeles at Silver Island Book 1)

by Melissa Foster

  “Get a room!” Jules’s voice rang out, and they turned to find the rest of their families standing in the doorway with a nurse, who shrugged and winked at Archer.

  Jock laughed and said, “Welcome to our new life.”

  “I’ll take it.” She pulled him into another kiss, while everyone cheered them on.

  “Seriously, dude?” Archer teased. “What are you doing? Going for Man of the Year?”

  Jock broke their kiss on a laugh, locked eyes with his beautiful fiancée, and said, “Not even close. My girl deserves the Man of the Century.”

  Chapter Thirty

  DAPHNE SAT ON a lounge chair in her parents’ backyard with Renee and Jock’s sisters, watching Hadley and Joey chase bubbles as fast as Levi and Jock could blow them. When the bubbles floated too high, Archer and Sean scooped the girls up to reach them. They were celebrating Hadley’s birthday, which they’d put off for a week. Hadley had torn through all of her presents, and the minute she was done, she snagged the gift Sutton had given her—three bottles of bubbles with different-sized wands—and ran into the yard to play.

  It had been twelve days since the accident, eight days since Daphne had gotten out of the hospital and she and Hadley had moved in with Jock at the cottage in Bayside. Daphne could hardly believe how helpful everyone had been. Not only had Rick, Jett, Dean, and Drake shown up to help Jock move them in, but so had Archer and Levi. They’d set up Hadley’s bedroom exactly as it had been in their apartment, with the addition of a framed photo of the house she’d fallen in love with on the island. Hadley was thrilled that Mine and Dock’s house—the Bayside cottage—had truly become theirs, at least temporarily. Jock had taken incredible care of both Daphne and Hadley while Daphne was in the hospital. He’d spent most days entertaining her, talking, or just lying next to her in the hospital bed, and he’d taken advantage of her naps, using the time to write. Every night like clockwork, he’d returned to his parents’ house to put Hadley to bed.

  Daphne looked around, feeling blessed. She couldn’t imagine her life getting any better. Her father and Steve were chatting in the shade of a large tree, watching the guys play with the kids, and her mother’s voice floated out the open patio door, where she and Shelley were cleaning up from lunch with Lenore. They’d become close while Daphne had been in the hospital. Though her father had needed to return to work the next day, her mother had stayed at Jock’s parents’ house with Hadley and Jock, and she’d even become part of the famed Bra Brigade. Daphne tried not to think about her mother parading around in her bra, but Lenore had already warned her that once her cast was off, they were indoctrinating her into the Brigade, too.

  “Scoot over and stop drooling over our brother. We need to talk,” Leni said as she sat beside Daphne’s casted leg.

  Her cast now boasted colorful get-well wishes from her and Jock’s families and all of their Bayside friends. Daphne’s two favorite messages were from Hadley—wild pink scribbles—and Jock, who had staked a bold claim down the side of her cast in black letters, WORLD’S HOTTEST FIANCÉE. BACK OFF, BOYS, SHE’S TAKEN. Every time she looked at her ring, and about a hundred other times during the day, she fell even deeper in love with him.

  Jules waved her hand and said, “Go ahead and drool. I love seeing you two so happy.”

  “He is very drool-worthy.” Daphne couldn’t help teasing Renee and said, “Just ask my sister.”

  Renee laughed. “It’s true. I will forever be known as the sister who wanted to hit on my future brother-in-law. But in all fairness, that was before I knew he was going after Daphne. If I’d known that, I would never have tried.” She waved at Daphne and said, “Just look at her. Would you want to compete with all that?”

  Daphne blushed as the girls gushed about her being sweet, pretty, and sexy. She wasn’t sure she believed that she was all that, but she had no doubt that the man lifting a giggling Hadley onto his shoulders across the yard thought her to be all those things and a whole lot more.

  “Daph, have you and Jock talked about a wedding date?” Sutton asked. “I want to be sure I arrange for time off.”

  “I know the perfect venue,” Shelley said as she came outside with Lenore and Daphne’s mother.

  “It’s free and on a beautiful island,” Lenore said as she and Shelley joined the girls at the table.

  Daphne’s mother kissed the top of her head as she went to sit at the table and said, “I can’t wait to shop for your wedding gown with you.”

  “There’s a gorgeous dress shop on the island,” Sutton said. “Maybe we can make a girls’ weekend out of it and all shop together.”

  Emotions bubbled up inside Daphne. “I would love that.”

  “You’ll be such a beautiful bride. Do you have a date yet?” Jules urged.

  “Sort of. I’d marry him tomorrow if my knee and ankle weren’t injured. This is my last wedding, and I really want to walk down the aisle to Jock and not limp down it,” Daphne said a little dreamily, imagining how she’d feel at that moment and the love she’d see in his eyes. “We’re thinking about a smallish winter wedding, just family and close friends. Shelley, I’m glad you offered, because we’d love to get married at the winery.”

  Shelley threw her hands up in the air and exclaimed, “Yes!”

  Everyone laughed.

  “Thank you. And, Renee, I know you’re crazy busy and everything, but would you be my maid of honor?”

  “Really, Dee? Not Sean or Chloe? You told Sean you loved Jock before you told me, and I know how close you and Chloe are. She arranged to have your book club meeting in the hospital for you. I’d understand if you want one of them instead.”

  Chloe had brought all the local girls to the island hospital for the book club meeting, and Jules had come with Tara and Bellamy. They’d had a great time.

  “I love Sean and Chloe, but I want you by my side. You knew when I got my first everything, and you made sure I was okay afterward. You’ve always been there, taking care of me and cheering me on. You’re the person who taught me to love myself for who I am. I want you by my side on my big day.”

  “You’re going to make me cry, and I never cry.” Renee got up and hugged her. “I would be honored. Thank you.” She wiped her eyes, and then she stood on the edge of the patio and yelled, “Hey, Sean! I’m going to be Daphne’s maid of honor!”

  “Oh boy, here we go,” her mother said.

  “Seriously?” Sean held his palms up to the sky. “I’m your twin, Dee!”

  “Glad it’s not just my kids who do that kind of thing,” Shelley said.

  “Dude, you’d look awful in a dress.” Archer leered at Renee and said, “But your sister? Mm-mm. She’ll make a fine maid of honor.”

  Renee put her hand on her hip and said, “Damn right I will.”

  Sean stalked over to Archer and dragged him farther from the girls, his angry voice muffled by the distance.

  Renee laughed. “I like a man with an attitude.”

  “Do you own a whip?” Lenore asked, and all the girls cracked up.

  Jock’s eyes locked on Daphne’s, and he blew her a kiss.

  She looked at him, standing there all handsome and happy, feeling grateful for a second chance. They’d both been so scared when she’d gotten hit by the car, they had a whole new appreciation for living in the now. They decided not to wait for some mythical right time to go after their dreams. With Jock’s encouragement, Daphne had already put the wheels in motion toward achieving one of hers. When they’d celebrated Hadley’s birthday with their friends at Bayside a few days ago, she’d told her bosses that this would probably be her last season working at the resort. She was returning to work tomorrow, and once her leg healed, she was going to start looking for a job in event planning. They hadn’t been surprised, and they’d said they were her friends above all else and had known they were lucky she’d stayed for so long.

  “Can I get you anything, angel?” Jock called out to her. He had been waiting on her hand and foot since she’d go
tten out of the hospital.

  Daphne looked around the table at the friendly faces of the women who had become her family, listening to the banter of the guys and kids in the yard, and said, “What more could I possibly want?”

  Jock winked and said, “I have a few ideas, but they’re a little inappropriate for our girl’s birthday party.”

  As the girls laughed, Daphne felt her cheeks burn, and she loved it. She hoped Jock never stopped trying to make her blush.

  Sean glowered at Jock and said, “Dude, that’s my sister.”

  “Hi, Mama!” Hadley waved from her perch atop Jock’s shoulders. She leaned forward, hugging his head, and rested her cheek on top of it as she said, “Got Daddy Dock!”

  Her insides turned to a puddle of goo when Hadley did things like that. Her little girl had always been happy, but now she smiled almost all the time.

  “I see that. You’re a lucky girl,” Daphne said. “We both are.”

  Sean lifted Joey onto his shoulders, and Levi and Archer started chasing him and Jock and Hadley around.

  “One glance at the sexy Steele siblings tells me that you have great genes,” Renee said. “So tell me. Does the ability to be such a good boyfriend run in the family, too?”

  “Sure, we’ll pretend that’s the case,” Leni said with a laugh as the guys, and their fathers, headed for the table.

  Levi and Archer jogged toward the side of the house, and Leni yelled, “Where are you escaping to?”

  “Be right back,” they hollered, and disappeared around the corner.

  “Someone wants to open her last present,” Jock said as he lifted Hadley from his shoulders and set her on the ground beside Daphne’s chair.

  Daphne looked at him with a silent question in her eyes, and he shrugged. She touched Hadley’s hand and said, “You already opened them all, sweetie.”

  “I got nothah.” Hadley looked up at Dock and said, “Wight?”

  “That’s right.” Jock patted her head.

  Archer hollered, “Where’s the birthday girl?” as he and Levi came around the house carrying a dollhouse replica of the house on the island that Hadley had fallen in love with.

  Hadley’s eyes widened as Levi and Archer set the house down in front of her. “My house! Mama, my house!”

  As her daughter squatted to look inside the dollhouse, and everyone else gathered around to check it out, Daphne reached for Jock’s hand and said, “Who is that from?”

  He sat on the edge of her chair and said, “Me.”

  “Where did you get it? It’s just like the house on the island.”

  “While you were in the hospital, I built it with my father and Archer at night after Hadley was asleep.”

  Her heart was going to explode. “You built it? I didn’t even know you could build things.”

  He slipped his hand to the base of her neck and said, “There’s nothing I can’t do for you and Hadley.” He leaned forward and kissed her. “Today is your special day, too, because you’re the mommy who birthed our beautiful girl.”

  Tears welled in her eyes.

  His father gave him a set of papers, and Jock set his loving eyes on Daphne as he handed them to her. She scanned them and realized it was a contract for a house with both of their names listed as the buyers. Tears slipped down her cheeks. “Jock…?”

  “You said you wanted to buy a house for Hadley with a backyard she could play in and friends her age nearby. The Bluffs has all of that on an island we all love, and the house has four bedrooms. Plenty of room for more kids. You’ve already told the guys at Bayside that this is your last season. All you have to do is sign on the dotted line and we can close on the property and move in next month.”

  “That was a dream.”

  “That’s the idea, baby. I told you I’m going to make all of yours and Hadley’s dreams come true, and I meant it.”

  Her heart was beating so hard, her words came out rushed. “But I don’t have a job there. How can I help pay the mortgage?”

  “Good Lord, woman,” Archer interjected. “Don’t you know you’re marrying Mr. Moneybags? You don’t have to work another day in your life.”

  “Archer,” Shelley said sharply. “Daphne is used to taking care of herself and Hadley.” She turned her vivacious smile on Daphne and said, “And since we love to hire family, we’re hoping our future daughter-in-law would like to join the family business as our event planner.”

  A sob burst from Daphne’s lips, and she covered her mouth. “But you said you weren’t sure if you were going to do it.”

  “That was before I knew of Jock’s plans, honey,” Shelley said.

  “With you at the helm, we can’t go wrong, Daphne,” Steve added.

  Shelley reached for Daphne’s mother’s hand and both of them grinned at her as Shelley said, “With you there, we’re hoping our new friends will come visit a lot more often.”

  Daphne looked at her parents, who were both nodding their blessings.

  “Maybe my butthead brother and I can pound out a few rounds in the ring again, too.” Archer cocked an arrogant grin and said, “I’ll whip his ass, but—shit. Shoot. I meant butt.” He scrubbed a hand down his face as everyone laughed, and he said, “This is going to be tough with Squirt around all the time.”

  Daphne looked at the man holding her hand, the man who owned her daughter’s heart and her own, and fresh tears slipped from her eyes as she said, “A lifetime with you in our beautiful house on the island is more than we could ever want, but just so you know, your endless love is all that Hadley and I will ever need.”

  As she put her arms around him and pressed her lips to his, Hadley crawled onto the lounge chair and put her little arms around them, too, drawing sounds of hearts melting all around them.

  Their hug was interrupted by the sounds of fire engines. Hadley climbed down and ran to Daphne’s father, throwing her arms up in the air. “Fi-yah twuck, Pop Pop! Gwampa! Come on!”

  Hadley had been waiting all day for this moment. When Daphne had said she’d ride on the truck with her, her bright-eyed, newly smiling three-year-old had insisted she was a big guul and could ride by huself with both of her gwampas!

  “Better get my crutches,” Daphne said.

  As her father scooped up Hadley, Jock lifted Daphne into his arms and kissed her, earning catcalls and get a rooms from their siblings.

  “He’s like one of your romance heroes!” Renee said.

  Daphne wrapped her arms around his neck and said, “He’s even better, because he’s mine.”

  Chapter Thirty-One

  FALL EASED GRACEFULLY onto Silver Island, bringing colorful foliage and crisp, chilly nights perfect for cuddling by a warm fire in Daphne and Jock’s new home. They’d moved into their cozy four-bedroom home two weeks ago with the help of their families and friends. They adored their new community as much as they loved their new life together. Nothing compared to waking up with Daphne in his arms and Hadley’s sweet voice chattering away about this or that. They’d had fun furnishing their house together, picking out things they liked as a family, making their house a home.

  Not a day had passed when Jock didn’t count his blessings. Daphne’s injuries had healed, and she had dived headfirst into planning their wedding for the week after Christmas and working with his mother to coordinate events for the winery, which would begin after the New Year. Today they were decorating their front yard for Halloween, which was right around the corner. They’d gone all out for their first holiday in their new home, decorating inside and out. Jock was perched on a ladder, positioning a stuffed zombie to look like it was climbing out the window. They’d made ghosts out of torn sheets and ribbons with Hadley earlier that morning, which now dangled from limbs of trees and peeked out from thorny bushes. Joey, Levi, and Hadley were setting up a graveyard in the grass with headstones and skeletons climbing out of the graves, and Grant was hanging up spiderwebs and gigantic spiders on the porch.

  Jock looked at Hadley as he climbed down the
ladder. She was carrying a plastic hand with fake blood on it and chattering about how scawy their gwaveyad was going to be. She wasn’t afraid of anything, which Daphne said she got from her Daddy Dock. He’d never tire of hearing his little princess call him that, just as he’d never get enough of her beautiful mommy, who was carrying a stuffed zombie out of the house, looking at him like he was the best muffin she’d ever seen and she was ravenous.

  “Look, Mama!” Hadley waved the fake hand.

  “What are you going to do with that?” Daphne asked.

  “Scawe Witchie,” Hadley said. Ritchie was the four-year-old boy who lived next door with his uncle. They were out for the afternoon, and Jock knew that the minute they returned, Hadley would make a beeline for her new best friend. She had made several friends in the neighborhood and had settled into her new preschool without any issues.

  More blessings to count.

  “She was meant to be yours, all right,” Grant said as he hung a web between the balusters. “She’s got the prank thing down pat.”

  Jules had been right about Grant needing him now more than ever. He was definitely struggling, blocking everyone out as best he could. But Jock wasn’t going to let that happen if he could help it. He’d dragged Grant’s ass out of the house to help them today, and he was glad he had. Jock was taking all that he’d learned and trying to use it to help Grant avoid the same mistakes he’d made.

  “You’re going to have to change her last name to Steele,” Levi said as Jock moved the ladder to the next window.

  “We are. Don’t worry.” They’d already spoken with an attorney about Jock adopting Hadley after they were married. Jock reached for Daphne’s hand and said, “Right, angel?”

  “We wouldn’t have it any other way,” she said. “Hadley Steele has a nice ring to it.”