A.C. Arthur - One Unforgettable Kiss

Could this week possibly get any worse?

* * *

“Welcome home!” Gray said the minute Garrek opened the door.

His older brother didn’t wait for a return greeting or an invitation to come in, but instead pushed past Garrek until he was completely inside the little room Garrek had rented at the Sunnydale Bed-and-Breakfast.

It had been eight years since Garrek had seen Gray in person. The last time he’d actually laid eyes on his brother was via a Skype call, at the reading of their father’s will, nine months ago.

“Hello, Gray,” Garrek said as he closed the door and walked to where his brother stood next to a dark green sofa that faced the oak television stand.

He’d been up for the last hour reading and hadn’t yet decided when he was going to pay his brother and his new family a visit. It seemed he no longer needed to contemplate that act.

“It’s good to see you, man,” Gray said and then stepped closer to pull Garrek into a hug.

Garrek and Gray were the same height, six feet even, but Gray had a broader frame and a penchant for expensive clothes, while Garrek was much more understated in his dark blue Levi’s and black Maryland Terps T-shirt.

“It’s good seeing you,” Garrek admitted as they pulled apart. “Congratulations are in order.”

Gray took a seat on the couch, and Garrek noted his brother wasn’t wearing the tailored suits an international businessman, like him, would. Today he wore khaki pants, a white button-down Polo shirt and brown leather shoes that Garrek was certain had cost a small fortune. As the CEO of his own electronics company, Gray was a wealthy man. In fact, all of the Taylor sextuplets were wealthy, after Gray discovered the money their father had left them a few months ago.

“Marriage, new house and a baby on the way,” Garrek continued. “Just like old times—Grayson Taylor does it big or he doesn’t do it at all.”

Gray smiled and Garrek chuckled as he sat on the other end of the couch. That was one of the things he admired most about his brother—his ability to get whatever it was he wanted done, and in grand fashion. Garrek was much too introverted to be the type of go-getter Gray was.

“Two babies on the way,” Gray added. “You didn’t get my last letter that said Morgan is carrying twins?”

Garrek shook his head. The letter was probably in the huge stack of mail he’d dumped into the bottom of his suitcase when he began packing for this trip. He’d taken some things out to read this morning, but it was information that Gray had sent him a while ago.

“Wow, twins!” Garrek stated and extended a hand to Gray. “Like I said, you always go big.”

Gray accepted his brother’s handshake and shrugged. “But I don’t know that this was all on me. You know she already has a set of six-year-old twins.”

“Right, Gemma told me about them. Jack and Lily, right?”

Gray nodded. “Yeah, they’re the best things that have ever happened to me. All of them, and coming back here. I can’t imagine my life without them now.”

Garrek didn’t know how those words made him feel. Gray had always been about his business and traveling the country. He’d never planned to settle down beyond his penthouse in Miami and his always-fueled personal jet. Hearing him talk about this woman and these children who had somehow changed him amazed Garrek.

“So tell me what brings you here. And why didn’t you call me to let me know you were coming? Morgan and I would have gotten a room ready for you at the house.”

“Nah,” Garrek told him with a shake of his head. “This was a last-minute decision, and I don’t want to put you out in any way.”

“Don’t be silly, man. You’re my brother—you couldn’t put me out. Especially not in that big house. I know you remember there are five bedrooms in that place.”

Garrek did remember. Gray was living in their childhood home on Peach Tree Lane.

“Yeah, I remember. But you’ve got your family there now. It’s your house.” Garrek leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, and shook his head, because he was still trying to grasp all the changes that had happened in the past few months. The ones with Gray and the other Taylor sextuplets, and the ones with him personally.

“You’re welcome to stay there, but I’m not gonna push. Morgan will do enough of that when she sees you today. So come on—she was about to start cooking breakfast when I left the house. Her exact words were ‘bring him home to eat with us.’”

“Ah, no. I’m just going to hang out here for a while and catch up on some reading. I’ll try to stop by later or maybe tomorrow.”

Gray shook his head. “Look, Garrek, I know how you like to stay to yourself. I remember we used to give you hell about that growing up. But I get it, you want your space. Joining the navy and flying planes gave you lots of distance from our family and all that came with it. Unfortunately, you’re back in Temptation now. The place where there are no secrets, no privacy, and people who act like you’re related even though there’s no blood connection.”

Garrek had known that when he came here. He’d known, and yet he hadn’t thought to go anyplace else.

“I hadn’t planned to stay long enough for anyone to even know I was here. I mean, I was gonna call you, of course. But I don’t know anyone in this town, and they definitely don’t know me.”

“That’s where you’re wrong,” Gray said as he stood. “It’s almost ten a.m. By this time everybody in Temptation knows that Garrek Taylor is back in town.”

Garrek stood, too, staring at Gray with confusion. “How would they know that? I just got here last night.”

“And you paid twenty-five hundred dollars to take the town tomboy on a date. Bright and early this morning, that check you wrote landed on the desk of Shirley Hampstead, town comptroller, who plays bingo with Joya Martina, Georgia Sanford and Millie Randall. Millie’s the director of Temptation’s Chamber of Commerce, and her office is right down the hall from Shirley’s. Joya volunteers at the hospital on Monday mornings, and after Shirley told Millie, Millie called Joya, who saw Wendy, Morgan’s sister, in the hallway on her way to work and told her. Wendy called Morgan and now,” he finished with a shrug and a smile, “I’m here to bring you back to the house for breakfast.”

“Wow” was all Garrek could offer in response.

“Yep,” Gray replied with a chuckle. “Welcome to Temptation!”

* * *

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.