by Sam Ayers
SAM AYERS
Copyright © 2015 Sam Ayers
All rights reserved. This book contains material protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without express written permission from the author/publisher.
The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.
First Edition
Cover image by: © Geber86 | istockphoto.com
This dedication is split in 5 ways:
To my Parents
For making me believe everything is possible. For making my dreams a reality.
To my lovely Grandmother
For making me realize the world of books is much vivid than our own. For being the awesomest Grandmother in the world!
To caffeine, my bestie and my friends
Who were my companions through endless days and nights of writing.
And to my younger self
Because I deserve a dedication too!
Hi Papa!
*Waves*
It’s just for one day.
Harley Evans sighed. She had no clue how she ended up volunteering to pick up her future brother-in-law from the airport. And the fact that she didn’t know what he looked like was just driving her crazy.
“Sweetheart, you don’t have to,” her mother-in-law had said. “I’m sure he will get a cab. What worries me is that he doesn’t know the place well. He’s bad with directions and addresses. My poor baby.”
Seeing her mother-in-law in distress, Harley decided to help her out. “It’s okay. I’m not really busy. I’ll go pick him up.”
Mrs. Taylor gave her a big smile. “Great! Then you should take this with you. Thank you so much, dear girl.” She pushed a paper in her hand that had two words on it: Connor Taylor. Harley sighed and walked towards the garage to take her car out. Oh yes, she wasn’t busy at all . . . but it didn’t change the fact that she was going to walk down the aisle in two weeks. She was the freaking bride . . . who was acting like a chauffeur now.
Harley’s fiancé, Carter, was the son of her parents’ best friends; thus this marriage. She met Carter at a party; he was polite, charming and awfully handsome . . . but that didn’t mean she had to marry him! Unfortunately, there was no way to back out of it. Emotional blackmail was a skill her folks had mastered a long time ago. And now that she was going to marry him, she had to pick the little brother up. Carter loved his parents, but he never spoke about his own brother; assuming Connor was a teenager, Harley parked the car and walked into the terminal, waiting to see a teen there. With that stupid paper clutched in her hand, she saw that the flight from Seattle had landed.
Harley was expecting to see a teen wearing neatly ironed clothes in mostly dark shades like his brother, but no teen came. She had been waiting for another ten minutes when she felt someone tap her shoulder. Turning around, she saw the most unruly yet gorgeous sight in front of her. A guy around her age smiled at her. He was wearing a red t-shirt and dark blue ripped jeans with a motorcycle jacket. Oh, he wouldn’t need a jacket in the Californian heat.
He gave her a smirk before he spoke, “Hi there!”
“Hey,” Harley smiled and turned away. Oh no! She was engaged, and mentally undressing this man with her eyes wasn’t right!
The guy tapped her shoulder again and she turned around, getting lost in those deep blue eyes again. “Yes?” she asked, rather politely.
“Umm . . . I was just wondering why you were holding that,” he said, pointing towards the paper in her hand.
“Oh, this? I’m waiting for someone. Looks like his flight landed, but he isn’t here yet,” Harley replied, still looking around. “Why the hell is he late?” she muttered under her breath.
“He isn’t late,” the guy said, still smiling.
“Oh, really? And how do you know that?” Harley rolled her eyes.
“Because he’s in front of you.”
“Wait, what? You are Connor?” Harley’s eyes widened in surprise. This hot guy, whom she was having inappropriate thoughts about, was her brother-in-law? Future brother-in-law, but still . . . This was not right.
“You think you can fool me?” Harley challenged. “You want a free ride, so you decided to pretend to be Connor Taylor. There are taxis outside, but they don’t give free rides.”
The guy sighed before pulling out his wallet; he took out a driver’s license and showed it to her. Harley freaked out. This was Connor Taylor. Oh, she messed up. Big time.
“I’m so sorry! I didn’t know how you looked.” She gave an apologetic smile.
“It’s okay. I would like to go now,” Connor said, walking out. Harley followed him and saw him looking at the cabs. “You can go wherever you want. I’ll catch a cab and pay for it.”
Harley lowered her face; she must have hurt him pretty bad. Poor Connor’s ego must’ve taken a bad blow. “Look, your mother asked me to pick you up. I can’t leave you here now. I’m sorry for saying those things.”
“Hmm . . .” Connor placed his fingers on his chin and rubbed it lightly. “Let’s see . . . if you go home without me, my mom will be mad at you?”
Harley nodded. Connor gave her a wicked grin and said, “Okay, I’ll forgive you.”
She smiled, but it faded as soon as he spoke, “Under one condition. Have coffee with me.”
Harley hesitated; Connor was hot, but she was engaged to his brother. And coffee with him might be a bad idea. But who the hell cares? She gave him a small smile and said yes. “By the way, I’m Harley.”
“Hey, Harley. Nice to meet you. I’m Connor.” He smiled and shook her hand. “Let’s go, shall we?”
“Yeah, this way,” she said, leading him towards her car. Connor let out a whistle when he saw the red Audi convertible.
“Audi A5 Cabriolet! Nice!” He kept his bags in the back and hopped in. “Audi is truly the best!”
Harley smiled. She loved her car, too. She started the car once Connor got in, and around 15 minutes later, they stopped at a café so they could grab some lattes. Connor insisted on paying for the coffees even when Harley told him she would pay.
“Your treat next time.” He winked.
“And how do you know there will be a next time?” Harley raised her eyebrow, starting the car again.
“Oh, baby, there will be a next time for sure,” Connor said as he looked at the cars passing by. “This place truly has changed.”
Harley looked at him in surprise, “When was the last time you were here?”
“Umm . . . I think it’s been almost 5 years.” Connor sighed. “I moved to Vancouver a long time ago.”
“Oh yeah? Washington?”
“No, British Columbia.” Connor smiled. “It’s a nice place. I had a stopover at Seattle. For my friend’s wedding.”
“How is Canada?” Harley asked. She was really interested in knowing about the life there.
“Oh, it’s great, really good. It’s home.” Connor smiled cheerfully.
By the time they reached home, it was already noon. Mrs. Taylor stood in the driveway, waiting impatiently for her son. Connor grinned as he jumped out of the car and walked over to meet her.
“My baby! My cuddly poo! Sweet munchkin! My snugglebunny!” Mrs. Taylor cooed as Connor’s face turned seven shades of red.
“Mom, NO!” He groaned as she pulled him into a big hug.
“Oh, my darling baby boy, look at you! You are so thin! Are you dieting? You better not be,” she said as she pinched
his cheeks, making them redder. Harley burst out laughing and Connor mock-glared at her.
“Munchkin, let me introduce you to Harley,” Mrs. Taylor said, patting her son’s cheek lovingly.
“Oh, we met, Mom.” Connor smiled. “Nice driver, though. By the way, how much do you pay her?”
Mrs. Taylor’s shrieked and mock-slapped her son’s shoulder. “Connor, you do not speak about your sister-in-law in that way!”
“Wha . . . wait, what?” Connor looked at Harley in shock. “You are Carter’s fiancée?”
“Harley Evans. Nice to meet you.” She smiled, but Connor didn’t return the smile. He turned around to face his mother instead.
“Mom, I’m really tired. I think I’ll go and rest for a while.”
“Of course, Doodle-bug. I know how tired you must be. Go upstairs and sleep for a while. Mommy is making all your favorite dishes for dinner.”
Connor pecked her cheek and dashed upstairs. Cuddly poo. Munchkin. Snugglebunny. Doodle-bug. Oh yes, life was going to be very interesting for the next two weeks.
Later that evening, Harley was seated in the living room reading a book Carter had presented her two months ago.
“Harley, dear!” She heard Mrs. Taylor call her name from the kitchen. Harley placed the book on the table and walked towards the kitchen. Mrs. Taylor was making a feast for her son, who was snoring upstairs. Harley’s parents, who were also the Taylors’ neighbors, were out of town and she had to stay at the Taylors’ place till they returned home.
“Yes, Mrs. Taylor?” Harley smiled as she walked in.
“Oh, dear. How many times do I have to tell you? Call me Mom!” Mrs. Taylor grinned. “Could you help me, please?”
“Sure,” Harley said. “You need some help with cooking?”
“No, I was just wondering if you could go upstairs and ask Connor to come down? His father will be arriving soon and my poor child must be starving.”
“Okay, I’ll wake him up,” Harley said, walking away. She went upstairs and walked towards the room that was rarely occupied and saw the door was slightly open.
She was about to knock on the door when she heard a voice coming from inside. “Daddy loves you, Pads. Uncle Brandon will bring you to Daddy soon.”
Daddy? Oh my, he has a kid! Harley thought. She couldn’t resist peeping inside. She could clearly see Connor cooing and talking to someone on FaceTime. But then, he had a kid! And no one knew?
Harley pushed the door open a little and walked inside. Connor was engrossed in the video chat; a little bark came from the screen and Harley jumped. Connor turned around abruptly to see Harley standing near the door.
“Oh, Evans, come in,” he called. “Come meet Padfoot.”
“Padfoot?” Harley asked, walking in. “You have a kid called Padfoot? Seriously?”
“Ha-ha, Sirius-ly.” Connor winked. “Pads, say hi to Harley.”
Another short bark came from the screen and this time Harley noticed who was on the other side of this conversation. There was no kid as she had thought; it was a puppy.
“Is that your puppy? And you call him Padfoot?” Harley grinned.
“Huge fan of Sirius Black. You can’t blame me, right, Pads?” Connor looked at his puppy, who howled and rolled on his back. “Daddy misses you, too, Pads. I promise you will see me in few days. I’ll buy you lots of treats, and you can play on the beach.”
Harley couldn’t help but smile. Connor was behaving like a caring father to the golden retriever puppy, which did a lot of tricks when Connor asked him.
“Come on, Padfoot. Jump high!” Connor grinned as Padfoot did what he asked.
“Smart puppy you have there,” Harley said. Connor grinned again and nodded.
“Okay, Pads. Daddy has to go now. Daddy will see you soon.” Padfoot whined and plopped down; it looked like he was crying. Suddenly, someone took him in their arms and rubbed his head.
“Oh God! What do you feed him?” a man asked Connor, “Is he really just two months old?”
“Uncle Brand, he’s a baby!” Connor groaned. “Don’t call him fat. He gets hurt.”
“Right. I’ll bring your ‘baby’ next week. Hope everything is good there. Any problem? Just give me a call.”
Harley moved away and let Connor talk to his uncle. When he finally said goodbye, Harley told him that his mother was calling him downstairs.
“I’ll be right down, Evans,” Connor said, closing his laptop.
“Hey, why do you call me Evans?” Harley asked, confused.
He shrugged as he rummaged through his bag and pulled out a small t-shirt that would never fit him. “Because that’s your name.”
“How’s this?” he asked Harley, showing her the t-shirt. It’s always cloudy in Seattle was written over it.
“It’s nice,” Harley said, choosing her words carefully, “but isn’t it too small for you?”
Connor grinned and kept the t-shirt back in his bag. “Of course it’s nice! And that’s not mine. I’ve one which is bigger; this one is for Pads.”
“Your dog wears t-shirts?” Harley raised her eyebrow in surprise.
“Hey! No. Don’t call him a dog. He’s a pup, who is so innocent and sensitive. You can’t hurt his feelings like that. Poor Padfoot!”
Harley sighed and shook her head. She walked out of the door and urged him to come down. Connor nodded and followed her.
“So, how long have you had Padfoot?” Harley asked as they walked down the stairs.
“Two months. Padfoot’s mom is my friend’s dog and one day they had seven extra puppies. I knew it would be hard to take care of all of them, so I decided to adopt one, and my friends adopted three. Every week I take Pads to see his parents and his siblings. But he likes it when I say I’m his daddy.”
“Aw! That’s so sweet. And why didn’t you bring him with you?”
“Because I was going to Seattle first and the hotel I was staying at didn’t allow pets. My uncle and aunt offered to take care of him and bring him along when they come over next week.”
By this time they had reached the living room and Mr. Taylor was seated on the couch, smiling at his son.
“Hey Dad,” Connor called, walking towards him slowly. Mr. Taylor gave him a hug and smiled. “Nice to see you here, Slugger.”
“Gosh! No! Stop with the nicknames,” Connor whined and plopped onto the couch. “Dad, did you get the new pictures of Padfoot I sent last week? He’s a bit taller now. He’s growing so fast!”
Connor pulled out his phone, opened the gallery and showed the pictures to his dad. Harley couldn’t resist seeing them. Padfoot was in almost every picture, his tongue hanging out and making it look like he was grinning.
“Oh, he’s adorable,” Mr. Taylor said, “but son, don’t you think it’s time for you to think about having real kids?”
Connor raised his eyebrow and shook his head. “Dad, Pads is enough for me. I don’t want to talk about human kids now, please.”
Mr. Taylor chuckled and let it go.
“Buggie-boo, you’re up?” came a voice from the kitchen. Connor hid his face under the cushions on the couch.
Mrs. Taylor walked out to see him like that. “Why are you hiding, baby boy?”
“Mom,” Connor groaned. “Please stop! There are people here!”
“Of course there are. Your dad and Harley are family, and they don’t mind at all. Now come on, Mommy made your favorite Chicken pie, Chicken Stroganoff and Vanilla Pudding. Oh, not to forget, there’s also Butterbeer,” she added with a twinkle in her eyes.
Connor gulped and stood up to give his mother a big hug. Harley, who was looking at him carefully, saw how he wiped some tears and walked towards the dining room with his mother. Why did it feel like he wasn’t used to all this love, and he wanted it badly?
Just as they were heading towards the dining room, the front door opened, and Carter walked in. He smiled when he saw Harley. Placing his laptop bag on the couch, he walked towards her. “Hello,” he said, bendi
ng down and kissing her cheek lightly. Harley tried not to flinch. She smiled and said hi.
Carter’s smile was wiped right off his face when he saw Connor sitting at the dining table, their mother pampering him.
“What the hell is he doing here?” Carter demanded rudely.
“Oh hello, dear brother, I see you haven’t changed much,” Connor smirked. “As grumpy as ever. And rude!”
“Connor Taylor, mind your tone!” Carter raised his voice.
“Or what?” Connor shot back.
“Okay, boys! Stop!” Mrs. Taylor said. “Carter, behave. Your brother has come for your wedding, and you will be polite with him.”
“I didn’t invite him,” Carter glared as he sat right in front of Connor.
Connor gave his brother a disinterested expression and turned away. “I didn’t come here for you,” he muttered.
“What did you say?”
“I said, I DIDN’T COME HERE FOR YOU!” Connor’s voice went up several decibels.
“How dare you!” Carter was glaring now. Harley froze in her chair when she saw the hatred in his eyes. The kind, polite Carter was long gone. “You light-blinded fool! You were kicked out of this house. Guess you have no shame at all now that you stepped foot in this house again. Why did you return? For money? Broke, are we?”
Connor didn’t look up; he placed his napkin on the table and stood up. “Excuse me,” he said and walked away.
“Connor?” Mrs. Taylor called after him.
Harley sat next to Carter silently, wondering why she was going to marry this man: someone who couldn’t love and respect his own brother. Would he respect her?
They finished their dinner in silence. Carter left as soon as he finished eating. When Mrs. Taylor went upstairs to check on Connor, they found that he was gone. Harley didn’t want to face Carter, so she politely excused herself and went next door to her home. Now she knew why Connor hadn’t returned for years.