A Very Special Delivery

by Brenda Harlen

  “You’re not worried that they’ll disapprove?”

  “No,” he said simply. “I’m thirty-four years old—long past the age where I look to my big brothers for approval.”

  She poked at her cinnamon bun with a fork, peeling off layers of pastry. Luke had polished off one of the pastries and was halfway through the second before he realized that she hadn’t taken a single bite.

  “What else is on your mind?” he finally asked her.

  She picked up her glass of juice, sipped. “Last night,” she admitted. “It wasn’t quite what I expected.”

  “Disappointed?” He didn’t mind teasing her with the question because he knew very well that she had not been. “Because I promise you, I can do better.”

  “I wasn’t disappointed,” she said, and the color that flooded her cheeks confirmed it. “More like…overwhelmed.”

  “Why do you say that as if it’s a bad thing?”

  “Because I had no intention of getting involved with you. Because I thought—I’d hoped—the attraction was purely a hormonal thing.”

  “An itch that would go away once it was scratched?”

  “I wouldn’t have put it in such crude terms but, okay, yes.”

  “And now?”

  She shook her head. “It’s not just the way you made me feel last night. It’s how you make me feel all the time. I’ve been happy here with you. Happier than I could have imagined.”

  He actually felt his heart swell inside his chest. “I’m glad,” he said. “Because you make me happy, too. I care about you, Julie. You and Caden both.”

  Her eyes filled with tears. “I told you—I’m not going to let myself fall in love with you.”

  “I’m just asking you to give us a chance.”

  “A chance for what?”

  He shrugged. “For whatever might happen.”

  “You make it sound so simple.”

  “I don’t see any reason to complicate the situation unnecessarily.”

  “So you think we can keep this simple?” she asked hopefully.

  “As simple as you want.” He lied without compunction because he knew that the truth would send her back to Springfield before the words I love you were out of his mouth.

  He couldn’t have pinpointed when it happened. The revelation hadn’t come to him like a bolt of lightning out of the sky, but he didn’t doubt for a moment that it was true. What had started out as attraction had developed into affection that, over the past few weeks, had deepened and intensified. He loved her.

  But he knew that even hinting at that would induce a panic. Instead, he gestured to her plate with his fork and said, “Are you going to eat that or dissect it?”

  * * *

  After breakfast, Lukas tidied up the kitchen while Julie nursed Caden and tried to convince herself that her relationship with the sexy veterinarian wasn’t getting more complicated by the day.

  When she’d put the baby down in the cradle, she checked her email and found a message from her parents. They’d been in regular contact over the past few weeks and their messages were always rich with details about excursions they’d taken, places they’d seen and people they’d met. In every word she read, Julie could tell that they were having a fabulous time, and she was happy for them. Because as much as she missed her family, she realized that she was happy, too. Being here with Lukas made her happy. Happier than she could ever remember being. So why did that scare her?

  After things had gone so wrong with Elliott, she hadn’t been able to imagine being with another man. How could she trust anyone when her judgment had been so wrong? Maybe she was confusing sex with love. Maybe her mind was still clouded from the incredible orgasms Lukas had given her the night before.

  She wanted to believe that was the answer—that what she was feeling for him was lust and gratitude and nothing more. But she knew that what she was feeling was about so much more than the phenomenal lovemaking they’d shared. In fact, if she was being honest with herself, she would admit that she’d probably fallen in love with Lukas before he’d ever kissed her.

  Yeah, she could tell him she wouldn’t fall in love with him, but those words didn’t actually give her power over her heart. And the fact was, she loved who he was and everything about him.

  The past few weeks with him had been absolutely fabulous, but as much as she enjoyed being with him, she didn’t belong here. She lived and worked in Springfield. And Evangeline was expecting her back at The Grayson Gallery at the beginning of February.

  She didn’t need to work, and she certainly wasn’t working for the money. Being a part-time curator was never going to make her rich. True, there was a certain amount of prestige associated with her position, but that had never mattered to Julie. She’d taken the job because she’d needed the sense of purpose that it gave her, the independent identity. Something that separated her from Elliott, goals and ambitions that were entirely her own.

  Except that, sometime during the past few months, those goals and ambitions had changed. Or maybe it was having Caden that changed everything. Now her career didn’t matter to her nearly as much as being a good mother to her son. And she didn’t want to go back to Springfield nearly as much as she wanted to stay with Lukas.

  She’d never imagined herself living in a town like Pinehurst—but only because she’d never known that towns like it existed. She’d never thought of settling anywhere outside of Springfield because everything she needed and everyone she loved was there. Four years at college aside, she’d never lived anywhere else. She’d taken plenty of trips—educational jaunts to various destinations in Europe and Asia, vacations to sandy beaches in the Caribbean and exotic ports of call on the Mediterranean.

  Her trip across the United States probably represented the most significant journey in her twenty-three years. Not just because she’d seen so much of the country and met so many interesting people, but because she’d learned so much about herself. And her favorite part of the journey was this unscheduled and extended layover in Pinehurst.

  She felt as if she belonged here, in this town, with Lukas. She loved his house—the history and character of it; she adored Einstein—despite the prime rib incident; she was even starting to develop warm feelings toward Daphne—although she wasn’t entirely sure the cat reciprocated. And she loved Lukas.

  Her mind was still spinning with that realization when she walked into the bedroom and found him on her bed. He was lounging against a pile of pillows, reading a book. Or maybe just pretending to read while he waited for her, because as soon as she stepped through the doorway, he closed the cover and set the novel aside.

  He rose to his feet and reached for her, drawing her into his arms and covering her lips in a slow, mind-numbing kiss.

  “Are you okay? After last night, I mean.”

  Of course he would ask. And of course, the fact that he did made her heart go all soft and gooey. “Yes, I’m okay. Better than okay,” she admitted.

  “Good.” He smiled and drew her closer.

  “Lukas—” She tried to wriggle out of his embrace. “It’s the middle of the day.”

  “And?”

  “And I have to get dressed.”

  “Why would you bother putting clothes on when I’m just going to take them off of you again?” he asked logically.

  Because she wasn’t quite sure how to respond to that, she folded her arms over her chest. “Just because I let you seduce me last night, doesn’t mean I’m going to get naked with you—”

  With one quick tug, he had the belt of her robe unfastened. She sucked in a breath as the cool air caressed her bare skin, then released it on a sigh when he cupped her breasts in his palms.

  “You were saying?” he prompted.

  She didn’t see any point in fighting with him when the truth was, she wanted the same thing he did. She reached for the hem of his sweatshirt. “I was saying that you have far too many clothes on.”

  “I can remedy that.”

  * * * />
  The night before Jack and Kelly’s wedding, Matt and Luke decided to take their brother out for an impromptu bachelor party. In other words, wings and beer at DeMarco’s.

  “Tomorrow night’s the big night,” Matt said, pouring draught from the pitcher into three frosty mugs.

  Jack’s smile was wide as he accepted the first glass. “The biggest.”

  “Well, I guess I don’t have to ask if you’re having second thoughts.”

  “Not a one,” his brother agreed.

  “I’m glad,” Lukas said. “Because I’m not sure whose side I’d be on if something went wrong.”

  “Nothing’s going to go wrong,” the groom-to-be said confidently. “In fact, for the first time in my life, I feel as if everything is exactly the way it should be.”

  “You’re a lucky guy—she’s an incredible woman.”

  “I know it.”

  “And though I wouldn’t usually admit this, I think she’s pretty lucky, too.”

  “Undoubtedly.” Jack grinned again.

  “It’s a second trip down the aisle for Jack, and I’ve done it twice myself,” Matt noted, turning to Luke. “When are you going to take your first?”

  “When I find the woman who makes me believe that the first will also be the last,” Lukas told them.

  “You don’t think you’ve already found her?” Jack prompted.

  “Maybe I have.”

  “So why are you hesitating?”

  “It’s…complicated.”

  “It’s always complicated,” Jack noted.

  “You mean because she has a child with another man?” Matt guessed.

  “I don’t want to go through what you went through,” Lukas told him.

  “It’s not even close to being the same situation,” his brother pointed out. “Lindsay lied to me. For three years, she let me believe that I was Liam’s father. I don’t think you’re under any similar illusions about Caden.”

  He wasn’t, of course. And the paternity of Julie’s son wasn’t an issue for him—except when he thought about what his brother had gone through. “And when Liam’s father came back into the picture, you lost your wife and your child.”

  “Is that what you’re afraid of?” Matt prompted. “That Julie will go back to Caden’s father?”

  “No. She’s been clear about the fact that he’s not part of her life anymore.”

  “But he could be part of Caden’s,” Jack reminded him.

  Luke nodded.

  “So what?” Matt challenged.

  “So what?” he echoed.

  “Maybe Caden’s biological father will be part of his life,” his brother acknowledged. “So what? I know it isn’t an ideal situation, but at least you’d be with the woman you love.”

  “I never said I loved her,” Luke said, just a little defensively.

  “If you don’t, then why are we even having this conversation?” Jack wanted to know.

  “Okay—I do love Julie. And Caden. And the idea of being without either one of them…” He shook his head. “I don’t even want to think about it.”

  Matt clapped a hand on his shoulder. “Then I guess you’d better convince her to stay.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  While the Garrett brothers were drinking beer at DeMarco’s, the women were eating chocolate fondue at Kelly’s house. It was a girls’ night in under the guise of a bachelorette party.

  Ava hung out with them for a while, more for the chocolate than the conversation, and when she’d had her fill of both, she retreated to her room to study for a history test. Georgia had earlier sent the twins to the basement to play video games and since that was about as much privacy as they were going to get in a house full of kids, she took advantage of the moment to ask Julie, “So, how long have you been sleeping with Lukas?”

  Julie paused with a chunk of chocolate-covered banana over her plate and glanced over at Jack’s fiancee.

  Kelly held up her hands. “I didn’t tell her.”

  “She didn’t tell me,” Georgia confirmed, then turned to scowl at her soon-to-be sister-in-law. “You knew and didn’t tell me?”

  “Well, it’s not as if I had a chance,” Kelly admitted. “This is the first time I’ve seen you since Thanksgiving.”

  “So how did you know?” Julie asked Georgia.

  “I’m not sure,” the other woman admitted. “It wasn’t anything obvious, but you seem…different. More relaxed and contented.”

  “One of the benefits of mind-blowing sex,” Kelly agreed.

  Georgia kept her gaze on Julie. “So…is it?”

  She felt her cheeks flush, but she couldn’t stop her lips from curving in a slow and very satisfied smile.

  “That good, huh?”

  “I don’t know if it’s hormones or Lukas,” she admitted. “But I’ve never experienced anything like what I’ve experienced with him.”

  “So why are you not dancing on the ceiling?” Kelly asked.

  “Because there are too many reasons why a relationship between us would never work.”

  “From where I’m sitting, I’d say that you already have a relationship,” Georgia noted. “And it seems to be working just fine.”

  “I’m going back to Springfield after the wedding.”

  Kelly frowned. “Does Lukas know?”

  “Of course he knows. We both knew, from the beginning, that this was only a temporary arrangement. My family, my job, my life are in Springfield.” But the most important factor, from her perspective, was that Lukas hadn’t asked her to stay.

  “You’re going back to work?” Georgia asked.

  “I have to.” Well, financially she didn’t have to—she had a trust fund from her maternal grandmother and significant savings of her own that she didn’t need to worry about where she’d find the money for rent, but she’d promised Evangeline that she would come back.

  “When?” Kelly asked.

  “In a couple of months.”

  “Who’s going to look after Caden while you’re working?”

  “I haven’t had a chance to make those arrangements just yet.”

  “When I was living in New York City, if you weren’t on a waiting list before you were pregnant, you weren’t going to get a spot in any reputable daycare before your child’s third birthday,” Georgia told her.

  “Springfield isn’t Manhattan.”

  “I did the single-working-mother thing,” Kelly told her. “And I lucked out in finding an absolutely wonderful woman who looked after Ava while I was working. But I promise you, if I’d had any other choice, I would have done things differently, and I’d have spent every possible minute with my child.”

  “I don’t have any other choice,” Julie insisted.

  The other woman’s pithy one-word reply made her blink.

  “If you think you don’t have any other choice, it’s because you don’t want to see the opportunity that’s right in front of you.”

  “Kelly,” Georgia admonished. “Julie was always clear about her plans to go back to Springfield.”

  “Then she shouldn’t have let Lukas fall in love with her.”

  “He’s not in love with me,” Julie denied.

  Kelly scowled at her. “Do you really not see it?”

  Julie refused to argue with the bride-to-be on the night before her wedding. “How did we get on this topic, anyway? Aren’t we supposed to be celebrating one of your last nights as a single woman?”

  Kelly stabbed a strawberry with her fondue fork, a little more viciously than necessary. “I just have one more question.”

  “Okay,” Julie said cautiously.

  “Do you feel anything for him?”

  She couldn’t lie, not to Kelly and Georgia, and not about this. “I feel everything for him.”

  Georgia’s brows drew together. “Then why are you leaving?”

  “Because he hasn’t asked me to stay.”

  Kelly blew out a breath. “The man truly is an idiot.”

  “But ev
en if he did,” Julie said, “I wouldn’t want to stay so that Lukas could take care of me and my son.”

  “No one’s suggesting that,” Georgia told her.

  “You should stay here with Lukas because it’s where you want to be,” Kelly said. “Because he’s who you want to be with.”

  Julie wondered if it could be that simple, because she had no doubt that it was true.

  * * *

  Later that night, when Julie and Lukas were snuggled together after lovemaking, he said, “I’ve been thinking about what Quinn said on Thanksgiving—about us getting married so that I can be Caden’s father.”

  “He also said that Finn and Fred should marry Puss and Boots so that they could have ‘pup-tens.’”

  “I think the former idea is a little more valid and definitely worth considering,” he insisted.

  “I’m not surprised that you’d be thinking about marriage when your brother’s getting married tomorrow. But to think about marrying a woman you’ve only known a few weeks is crazy.”

  “I am crazy about you, Julie.”

  Her heart felt as though it was going to leap right out of her chest. But someone needed to be rational, and it obviously wasn’t going to be him. “This entire conversation is insane.”

  “I’m starting to get the hang of this daddy thing,” he told her. “And if we got married, it would alleviate a lot of questions and speculation about Caden’s paternity.”

  “Do you really think anyone would believe that story about the two of us having a torrid affair in the spring?”

  He shrugged.

  “And even if they did, that’s hardly a valid reason to get married.”

  “Okay, how about the fact that I want to spend every day—and every night—for the rest of my life with you?”

  Her heart leaped again, but she knew she couldn’t accept his offer. He’d said that he was crazy about her, that he wanted to spend his life with her and be a father to her son, but he hadn’t said anything about loving her.

  “I’m flattered, Lukas,” she said, because she was. “But when I gave Elliott back his ring, I promised myself that I wouldn’t ever get married for the wrong reasons.”