One Unforgettable Kiss

“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.