by A. C. Arthur
“Yep,” Gray replied with a chuckle. “Welcome to Temptation!”
* * *
Welcome to Temptation was exactly what Garrek was thinking fifteen minutes later when he stepped onto the wraparound porch of the house on Peach Tree Lane.
He’d been looking around at the place that was obviously undergoing renovations when something to the right caught and held his attention. That something was perfectly shaped and tempting. His mouth had immediately watered at the sight, his body tensing. Of course, it wasn’t the first time he’d glimpsed a female behind, and at thirty years old he was pretty sure it wouldn’t be the last. But there was something about the way the worn denim outlined these particular curves.
She was bending over, counting slats of wood that had been piled toward the far end of the porch. And he was drawn to her. That’s about all he could say to describe why he let Gray go on into the house while he walked closer to where she stood. There was a familiarity that Garrek attributed to the jolts of lust spearing quickly throughout his body. He hadn’t come to this town to meet or sleep with another woman—in fact, that was the last thing he should be thinking of—yet he continued to walk until she stood up straight.
The long swaying end of sandy-brown hair pulled into a ponytail swished over the back of a light blue T-shirt that was tucked snugly into the waist of those enticing jeans. Garrek’s breath caught seconds before she turned to face him because he knew...he didn’t know how, but he did, and when her shocked expression met his and held, he acknowledged that he was in trouble.
Big, delectable trouble.
Chapter 3
“Oh!”
Her lips formed a perfect O shape as she released the one syllable, her eyes growing wider.
Cute. That’s the first word that came to Garrek’s mind as he looked at her. She was cute. And cute normally wasn’t his thing. Except when the sprinkle of brown freckles that marched boldly from one cheek across the bridge of her nose to the other cheek held his gaze. There were gold studs in her ears, and her eyes were a dark brown, which made an instant contrast to her cappuccino complexion.
“Good morning,” he said when it seemed the silence between them was going to stretch too long.
“Mornin’,” she replied and then tried to walk around him.
Their arms touched, skin to skin, and they both looked down at the contact. She yanked her arm away first, rubbing her hand up and down the spot where they’d just touched.
“Well, I see you two have met. Again,” a very cheerful voice said.
Garrek looked up to see a short and very pregnant woman making her way toward them. This had to be his sister-in-law. He smiled and extended his hand to her.
“You must be Morgan. I’m Garrek. It’s really nice to meet you.”
Once she was close enough, Morgan pushed Garrek’s extended arm out of the way and stepped in, her arms going immediately around his waist. Garrek joined in the hug, which was tight on her part and cordial on his.
“We don’t welcome family with a handshake around here,” Morgan was saying as she pulled away.
Garrek smiled down at her. She had a friendly face and quick, assessing eyes. Without missing a beat, Morgan reached out and grabbed Harper’s arm just as she was trying to slip away.
“Harper, I hear you and Garrek met last night at the dance. Have you decided where you’re going on your date?” Morgan asked.
Garrek hadn’t thought about the date he’d paid for, even though Harper’s leery gaze had stuck with him throughout the night.
“I apologized for that already,” Harper said. “I didn’t know they were going to do it.”
“Nonsense,” Morgan said and let her hand slide down Harper’s arm until she was lacing their fingers together. “I think you going out with Garrek is a great idea. You can show him around Temptation, since he’s been away from town for a while.”
“I didn’t know he was your in-law, either.” Harper shook her head. “I would never want things to be awkward. You know I’m serious about my business and trying to be professional, Morgan.”
She continued to speak only to Morgan, not so much as glancing in Garrek’s direction. He thought about that even as his fingers itched to move the strands of hair that had escaped her ponytail away from her face. It was a picture-perfect summer day in this quaint little town. He’d noted the colorful storefronts on Main Street leading the way to tree-lined streets, perfectly manicured sprawling lawns and large family homes on the ride over with Gray. It was exactly as he remembered from all those years ago. And Garrek had felt the same way he had back then—like he didn’t belong.
“There’s nothing wrong with having a social life,” Morgan was saying when Garrek stopped his momentary trek down memory lane and gave his attention to their conversation once more.
The smile Harper offered Morgan was conciliatory and didn’t touch her eyes.
“Let’s start with breakfast,” Morgan continued. “Coffee’s hot, French toast is sweet and Gray’s probably in there burning the eggs.”
Garrek chuckled at that. “He never could cook eggs. That was always Gemma’s specialty.”
“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 still pissed about that fact, but he had no intention of letting Gray or his family know about it.
“We’re on vacation, too,” Jack chimed in. “For the whole summer! We’ve got days and days to just play and sleep.”
“We have to help Mama get ready for the new babies,” Lily corrected her brother.
“But we can still play, too. The babies aren’t coming till the fall. That’s what Aunt Wendy said,” Jack argued.
“Eat, both of you,” Morgan stated firmly. “Granny’s coming to get you at noon to go to the playground.”
That was enough to silence Jack for the rest of the meal, and while Lily obeyed her mother, she continued to send questioning gazes toward Garrek. She was a pretty little girl with her black hair separated down the middle into two ponytails, the way Garrek’s mother used to style his sisters’ when they were young.
Olivia Taylor had loved the sextuplets she’d prayed for. Bringing the six babies—Grayson, Garrek, Gemma, Genevieve, Gage and Gia—home from the hospital thirty years ago had been the light of her life. Having a town that was just as excited about the first multiple births as they were about the revenue from the reality show the Taylor family starred in, was a joy as well. Until seven years later when it all spiraled out of control.
The constant invasion into their privacy, coupled with the scandal Theodor created by having an affair had proved to be too much for Olivia to endure. She moved her children to Pensacola. When each of them graduated, they’d all gone their separate ways, with no intention of ever returning to this small town. But look at him now.
After breakfast Gray announced that he and Garrek would clean the dishes while Morgan took Jack and Lily upstairs to get them ready for the day with their great-grandmother. Garrek had planned to spend the bulk of the day going over the papers in his room and doing more research, but he had to admit that Gray stopping by and bringing him to meet his family had been a pleasant distraction.
“You’ve got a great family, Gray. I’m really happy for you,” Garrek said as he brought in the last of the dishes from the dining room.
Gray was at the sink scraping the remnants of the plates into the garbage disposal.
“Thanks, Garrek,” he said over his shoulder. “I didn’t think it was possible, but here it is.”
“Yeah,” Garrek said and nodded. “Life’s funny that way.”
He walked over to the back door and stared out the windows to a porch that was in progress and the large backyard where Garrek remembered them playing as kids.
“Life is what you decide to make of it,” Gray said.
Garrek nodded. “Dad said that at our graduation.”
“He did.”
“I didn’t think you were listening to him. You never made it a secret that you hated him,” Garrek replied without turning to look at his brother.
“I didn’t hate him,” Gray answered. “I hated what he did to us.”
“The affair or leaving?” Garrek asked, because their father had done both. He
’d had an affair with one of the production assistants from the Taylors of Temptation reality show, which their entire family had starred in from the time Garrek was born until he was seven years old.
“It doesn’t matter,” Gray said. “He’s gone. Mom’s gone. All of that happened a long time ago.”
Garrek agreed with that, but still, he couldn’t help but wonder if some mistakes were hereditary.
“I opened a new account and transferred the money under my name,” Garrek told Gray. “If my commanders found out I had an offshore account, it could be a problem.”
That had been his reason for taking the money that his father had apparently saved for him. Theodor Taylor had left his wife and six children for a younger woman, but he’d never stopped taking care of his family. That was obvious by the child support payments their mother always received on time, the gifts their father routinely provided for them as they were growing up and the money he’d put into accounts on Grand Cayman Island for each of his children. Money that Garrek had no idea what he was going to do with.
“It’s yours to do with as you please,” Gray said. “That’s why I sent everyone the account information.”
Gray had sent that information, along with a sealed envelope that Garrek had just opened two days ago.
“How long are you planning to stay?” Gray asked him.
Garrek turned to see his brother loading the dishwasher. He moved to the counter and picked up a damp white cloth. Without another thought, he went to the island and began to wipe it clean.
“I don’t know,” he answered finally. “This wasn’t a planned trip, but I’ve got a lot of thinking to do about that stuff you sent me, so I’m going to take my time with that.”
“Is that okay with your commander?” Gray asked. “Gen and I have been talking about how hard you work and how you’re rising in the ranks. You sure you can be away now?”
Garrek paused and lifted his head to look at Gray, who was now standing on the other side of the island.
“Yeah, it’s cool. I just want to take care of a few things before accepting my next post.”