Demanding His Brother's Heirs

by Michelle Celmer

  Jason opened his mouth to reply but was interrupted by very firm and insistent pounding on his office door. It was so loud that Lewis heard it over the phone.

  “What the heck is that?” he asked Jason.

  Before he could respond the door swung open and Holly barged right in uninvited. And she was not happy.

  She glared at him, hands propped on what little she had in the way of hips, her ponytail still slightly askew, looking pretty damned adorable. “What the hell did you do?”

  “I hate to say this,” Lewis said, sounding amused. “But I think she knows.”

  “Astute observation,” Jason said, his tone oozing sarcasm as he watched Holly stomp across the room to his desk. “I have to let you go.”

  Lewis chuckled. “I’ll see you later. If you live that long.”

  “Thanks for the vote of confidence. I’ll see you.” Jason hung up, and in an attempt to diffuse the situation, gestured to the chair opposite his desk and said, “Have a seat.”

  She ignored the chair and propped both hands on the desktop, looking as if she might launch over it and strangle him to death. He had to bite down on his lip to keep from smiling. She looked about as threatening as a field mouse.

  “I got an interesting message from my financial guy,” she said.

  He didn’t realize she had a financial guy. That would have been good to know. “Did you?”

  “Yes, he was supposed to help me figure out a way to consolidate all my debt. Needless to say he was a little confused when he discovered that I have no debt.”

  She was furious, and all Jason could think about was pulling her down onto the surface of his desk and kissing that frown off those delicious lips.

  Delicious lips? Seriously?

  What was wrong with him? This was his sister-in-law he was lusting after. His brother’s wife. It was the one thing he swore he wouldn’t do. “It must be a relief not to have that hanging over your head,” he said.

  “Of course it is!” she said, bristling with outrage. “That’s not the point.”

  He liked this bolder, saucier side. He wondered what else she was hiding under that demure outer shell. “Maybe it should be,” he said, thinking how sexy she looked when she was angry. “Maybe you should try shelving the pride for five minutes and let someone help you.”

  “Is that what you think this is about? My pride?”

  “It’s not?”

  She fisted her hands and he wondered if she would take a swing at him. “I asked you specifically not to get involved in my finances, and you said you wouldn’t. Then you went behind my back and did it anyway.”

  He rose from his chair and walked around his desk. He thought about putting his hands on her shoulders the way he had that morning, just to calm her down, but she looked so beside herself with anger that he was afraid he might pull back two bloody stumps. “Holly, I only did what I knew was best for you. And the boys.”

  “What you knew was best?” She looked at him as though he was a moron. “Don’t you get it? You lied to me, Jason. Right to my face. Without batting an eyelash.”

  She didn’t come right out and compare him to his brother, but the implication was clear. The worst part was that she was right. No matter the reason for it, or his misguided good intentions, he had lied to her.

  The women he usually kept company with would let a lie or two slide if it was materialistically advantageous. Which spoke volumes about his skewed attitude toward the opposite sex, he supposed. But Holly was unlike any woman he’d ever known. Strong and resilient and unwilling to compromise her principles, even if it meant putting herself through undue hardship.

  And too damned sweet to be around someone like him.

  “You’re right,” he said, angry with himself for thinking that after all she had been through she could be so easily manipulated. Or that he even had the right to try. Who was he to decide what was best for someone he’d known barely four days?

  He’d always swore that no matter what his net worth, he wouldn’t let money change him or give him a false sense of entitlement. He had officially become his own worst nightmare.

  He really was a moron.

  “I was wrong to go behind your back,” he told her. “I hope you’ll accept my apology and my promise that it will never happen again.”

  She took a few seconds to think about it, and he started to wonder if maybe he’d blown it, if she would pack up and leave and deny him the privilege of knowing his nephews. And could he blame her if she did?

  “Apology accepted,” she finally said.

  She was giving him a second chance, and he’d be damned if he was going to screw it up. His relationship with his nephews depended on it. Besides, he could still take care of them, all three of them. He would just have to be a bit more subtle about it.

  “Now that we have that settled, I have something that I need to say to you,” Holly told him in an unsteady voice, as if she might burst out crying.

  Uh-oh, this couldn’t be good.

  Making an effort not to wince and bracing himself for the worst, he said, “Let’s have it.”

  “Thank you.” She threw herself into his arms nearly knocking him backward. “Thank you so much, Jason.”

  Wait. Now she was thanking him? As long as he lived he would never understand women, and though he knew it was probably a bad idea, he slipped his arms around her, gently rubbing her back as he held her. Holly clung to him, her face pressed against his shirt. She may have been skin and bones, but she was still soft and warm in all the right places. And being a red-blooded single man, it was difficult not to let his mind wander. Or his hands for that matter. She smelled so good, he wanted to bury his nose in the softness of her hair and just breathe her in. He wanted to fist the silky soft locks, pull her head back and taste her lips.

  She hung on tighter and he realized that she was trembling. He tried to see her face but she kept it tucked firmly in the crook of his neck. “Hey, are you okay?”

  She nodded, but he could feel her tears soaking through his shirt.

  “Then why are you crying?”

  She held him even harder. “The past few months have been s-so hard. I was nervous and s-scared all the time. It feels as if the weight of the world has been lifted from my shoulders. I feel like I can breathe again. Like there’s hope for me and the boys. I don’t know how I’ll ever repay you—”

  “You don’t owe me anything.”

  “Yes, I do.”

  Well, if she really thought so...

  “Stay here with me. You and the boys,” he said, the words leaping out before he could think better of it. She went still and silent, and he winced, wondering if he could have picked a worse time to spring this on her. What the hell was wrong with him? In the business world he was a shark, but this sweet, nurturing woman had him chasing his own tail.

  Her words muffled a little by his shirt, she finally said, “You really want us to stay here? With you?”

  “Just until you get back on your feet.”

  She abruptly let go of him and stepped back, sniffling and wiping the tears from her cheeks. “I can get by on my own. I have for a very long time.”

  Stubborn to a fault.

  “I don’t doubt that for a second,” he said, then he pulled out the big guns. “But don’t the boys deserve better than just getting by?”

  Six

  Ouch.

  Talk about hitting below the belt. Holly couldn’t deny that Jason was right: her boys did deserve better than just getting by. And frankly, so did she.

  “I owe this to Jeremy,” Jason said, and the pain and loss that flashed deep in his eyes made her heart ache. How could she tell him no when he looked at her that way, with so much sincerity and hurt? This might be just as good for him as it was for her and the boys. I
t might bring him closure.

  “Okay,” she said.

  He blinked, as if he wasn’t sure he heard her correctly, “Okay?”

  “I’m proud, but I’m not stupid. Even without all that debt hanging over my head, getting by in the city is going to be next to impossible. I have nothing tying me to New York and living in the country, in a small town, has always been a dream of mine. And here the boys will have family.”

  “And so will I.”

  Something in his tone pinched her heart. Until just now it hadn’t occurred to her that maybe he was lonely, but she could see it in his eyes. Could it be that he needed them just as much as they needed him? Her foster mother used to tell her and her foster siblings when the budget was especially tight that they should not be fooled into believing that money could buy happiness. It looked as if she’d been right.

  “I do have a few conditions,” Holly told Jason and his left brow spiked. “When it comes to the twins, I decide what’s best for them. And this is non-negotiable.”

  “I just want to help.”

  “I know, but there’s a fine line between helping someone and trying to control them.”

  His expression said he knew she was right. “You’re in charge. Got it. What else?”

  She sat on the edge of his desk, which was so clean she doubted she would find even a speck of dust. In that way he and Jeremy were nothing alike. Since the day she’d moved in with Jeremy, until the day he died, Holly had always been picking up after him. Shoes and socks on the living room floor. Dirty clothes and wet towels in the bathroom. He left soiled dishes all over the place when an empty dishwasher sat just steps away in the kitchen. She was tidy by nature, so his slovenly ways used to drive her crazy.

  She looked up at Jeremy and realized he was watching her expectantly. Conditions, right.

  How about no more touching each other? That would be a good one, because pressing herself against all that rock solid male heat had been a really stupid move. She’d been fine, right up to the second when she realized how good it felt. She was a new mother, but she was also a woman. One who hadn’t had any sort of sexual contact with a man since the fifth month of her pregnancy. But if she was going to stay here they needed to have a strict hands-off rule.

  But how was she supposed to say that without tipping Jason off to the fact that she wanted to put her hands on him? All over him.

  Eye contact was a tough one, as well, but she couldn’t tell him not to look at her. It wasn’t his fault that she practically melted when those intense blue eyes locked on hers. And his voice? The low, deep pitch thrummed across her nerves and sent shivers up her spine. But she couldn’t tell him not to talk to her.

  Oh man, she was in trouble.

  “I guess that’s it,” she told him.

  Looking mildly amused, he said, “You drive a hard bargain.”

  With herself, maybe. But what else was new?

  “You’re sure there’s nothing else?” he asked her.

  She nodded, thinking to herself, Liar. “If anything unexpected arises—” Arises? Honey, don’t even go there. “—we can sort it out then.”

  “Sounds fair enough.” Jason held his hand out and said, “So, we have a deal.”

  So much for her no-touching rule.

  She accepted his gesture, watched as his much bigger hand swallowed up hers. And when he didn’t let go immediately, she looked up, her eyes snagging on his. She was instantly mesmerized.

  Damn it. Another rule down the drain. She really sucked at this.

  He held on several seconds longer and then let her hand slip from his. Slowly, like a caress. Was he doing it on purpose, or did he just naturally radiate this intense sexual energy? Honestly, she wasn’t sure which was worse.

  She caught her gaze drifting lower and wondered if he and his brother were truly identical...

  She blushed at the depraved direction her thoughts had taken, but thankfully her face was already red and splotchy from crying. Which was another thing she never did, especially in front of other people. So what the heck was wrong with her? She certainly wasn’t acting like herself. Maybe she didn’t know who that person was anymore. Maybe the events of the past year had irrevocably changed her. So what would it take to change back?

  Did she even want to?

  “Would it be all right if I brought a few things here from my apartment?” she asked him. “The rest can go in storage.”

  “Holly, this is your home now. You can bring anything you’d like. I want you to feel comfortable here.”

  Weirdly enough, she sort of did already, as if she was meant to be here. Which she knew was ridiculous. Maybe she was just really, really relieved.

  “I’ll make the arrangements to have your things moved,” he said.

  “Thank you, but I can handle that myself.”

  He opened his mouth—she assumed to argue—then caught himself. “Of course. But if it becomes financially prohibitive—”

  “You’ll be the first one to know,” she assured him.

  “And if there’s anything else you need, anything at all—”

  “I promise you will be the first one to know.”

  He chuckled and shook his head. “I’m sorry. You’ll have to be patient with me.”

  “Lucky for you I have loads of patience.” She had the feeling she would need it.

  “By the way, we’re going to—” Jason stopped abruptly, cursed under his breath and then started over. “What I meant to say is that we’ve been invited to dine with some friends of mine. I wondered if you would like to go. They’re excited to meet you and the boys.”

  “That sounds like fun.” She liked the idea of meeting his friends, getting to know more about his life. And she liked the fact that he had asked her instead of issuing an order. “I’d love to go.”

  If she suspected he was bringing her along just to be nice, his smile told a different story. It said he was genuinely happy that she’d accepted. She wasn’t sure why that surprised her, but it did. She just hoped she didn’t make a fool of herself. That she didn’t say something stupid and embarrass him. Or stare dumbfounded the entire time, lost in his incredibly blue eyes.

  The way she was right now.

  And even worse, he was looking at her the same way.

  What would he do if she reached up and touched his smooth face, if she traced his lips with her finger? Or her tongue...?

  “What’s going on in here?”

  Holly stepped back guiltily, though technically she hadn’t done anything wrong, and spun around to see Faye standing in the doorway to Jason’s office. Talk about perfect timing. Faye’s presence may have just stopped her from doing something monumentally stupid.

  The older woman looked back and forth between Holly and Jason, brow furrowed, and said, “Is everything okay? I heard shouting.”

  Yikes, had Holly really been so loud that Faye had heard her all the way in the kitchen?

  “And why is Holly crying?” she demanded, shooting Jason an accusing look.

  He held his arms up in defense. “We were just negotiating.”

  She narrowed her eyes at him. “Negotiating what?”

  He leaned close to Holly and said under his breath, “Did I mention that Faye can be a little nosy?”

  “I heard that,” she said, crossing her skinny arms, and tossing her short graying hair, looking pretty tough for someone so tiny. And Jason’s wry grin said he loved to tease her. They interacted more like family than employee and employer. After so many years it probably felt as if they were related.

  “I am not nosy,” Faye said. “I’m curious. And concerned. There is a difference.”

  “I’ve asked Holly and the boys to stay here,” Jason said. “And she’s accepted.”

  Faye gasped and clapped her
hands together, eyes wide. “Oh, that’s wonderful!”

  Her enthusiasm surprised Holly a little, but she sure did feel welcome, as if she really was home.

  “For how long?” Faye asked her.

  “That part is still up in the air. Long enough to get back on my feet. But I don’t want to be a burden.”

  Faye waved away the words as if they were a pesky insect. “There is no way that you and those beautiful little angels could ever be a burden. Taking care of people is what I do. And these days Jason doesn’t need much care. We need some new life breathed into this old place.”

  “Still, I’d like you to give me a list of things I can do around the house. Any way I can help out. I want to pull my weight.”

  “I’ll see what I can come up with,” Faye said. “Now, come have breakfast, you two, before it’s cold.”

  “We’ll be right there,” Jason told her, and when she was gone, said to Holly, “I never imagined it would be this easy.”

  “What?”

  “Convincing you to stay. I assumed kneepads and groveling would be involved. Especially after you found out what I did.”

  She couldn’t imagine Jason ever groveling or ever needing to. He was so dynamic and charismatic, and he oozed authority. Obviously she had trouble telling him no.

  Which had her wondering, as he grinned down at her with that mesmerizing smile, looking sexy as hell without even trying, what the heck she had just gotten herself into.

  Seven

  “Jason, wake up!”

  Jason heard the plea through the fog of sleep, felt a hand shaking him and peeled open his eyes. The room was dark, but he could see Holly’s silhouette beside his bed. She was holding one of the twins.

  He sat up and switched on the lamp, squinting against the sudden bright light. It was a good thing he’d elected to start wearing pajamas to bed while they were here, or he would have some serious explaining to do. “What time is it?”

  “Almost two,” Holly said. “I’m so sorry to wake you.” She wore an oversize T-shirt that hung to her knees and her ponytail was lopsided. “Marshall is sick.”