One Unforgettable Kiss

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 (#uff9aac95-d2bc-598b-80a5-bdc4d79285fc)

“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.