A bid on passion

All navy pilot Garrek Taylor ever wanted was to fly far from his family’s notorious past. But now, with his wings temporarily clipped, the famous sextuplet is back in his Virginia hometown to live down a scandal and unload his family’s historical antebellum mansion. His plan is sidetracked when he becomes the winning bidder at an auction for a date with Temptation’s most reluctant and gorgeous bachelorette.

The only child of a retired army colonel, Harper Presley is haunted by the secret that forced her return to the comfort of her Southern town. The unconventional house restorer is mortified to be paired off with an infamous Taylor—until desire blindsides them. As a slow burn of passion heats to a combustible connection, Garrek confronts a mistake that could end his military career. Can Harper help them both rebuild their lives...and build an everlasting future?

A.C. ARTHUR is an award-winning author who lives in Baltimore, Maryland, with her husband and three children. An active imagination and a love for reading encouraged her to begin writing in high school, and she hasn’t stopped since.

Also By A.C. Arthur

Defying Desire

Full House Seduction

Summer Heat

Sing Your Pleasure

Touch of Fate

Winter Kisses

Desire a Donovan

Surrender to a Donovan

Decadent Dreams

Eve of Passion

One Mistletoe Wish

To Marry a Prince

Loving the Princess

Prince Ever After

One Unforgettable Kiss

Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk

One Unforgettable Kiss

A.C. Arthur

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ISBN: 978-1-474-08277-8

ONE UNFORGETTABLE KISS

© 2018 Artist Arthur

Published in Great Britain 2018

by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF

All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.

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She looked so small under the thirty-foot-high—minimum—roof and rafters. But he now knew that she was fierce and determined. She was also the sexiest woman he’d ever seen.

“I know we haven’t been on a real date,” he said as he closed the distance between them. “But that doesn’t mean a damn thing.”

She was standing with her arms at her sides, the tips of her fingers barely reaching the hem of that sexy little black dress. There were red roses on the dress as well—one at her left shoulder, and the other on the right side of the skirt. She reached up and pushed her hair back from her face, tucking the curled strands behind her ears.

“I’m not sure I know what any of this means,” she stated quietly.

“I want you, Harper,” Garrek said. “I don’t know why, because that’s not what I came here for. I just know that since that first night when I saw you standing on that stage, I’ve been drawn to you. I can’t seem to keep my hands off you.”

With those words he lifted his hand, tracing his fingers along the line of her jaw.

Dear Reader,

I’m so excited to be back in Temptation! This time it’s to see Garrek Taylor find his happily-ever-after.

Although, like his siblings, Garrek doesn’t know he’s looking for happiness when he comes back to his hometown, he finds it not long after he arrives. The independent and defensive Harper Presley was just the woman to break through Garrek’s determined exterior. I love this couple because they both believed they knew what was best for their lives and their future, without even considering that the answer might actually mean they should be together.

The citizens of Temptation are also back and nosier than ever as they wait to see if yet another Taylor finds love in their tight-knit town. I am so in love with this series and these families. I cannot wait for you to visit with them and fall in love one more time.

Happy reading,

A.C.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

About the Author

Booklist

Title Page

Copyright

Introduction

Dear Reader

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Extract

About the Publisher

Chapter 1

“We have another bid! Going once. Going twice. Going...three times, and it’s gone! Sir, you’re our lucky winner!”

Garrek heard the applause behind him and turned to see what was going on. The room wasn’t large—it included a dance floor in the center and a homemade bar setup in the corner, where he’d quickly found a seat. But Garrek was not comfortable at this moment, as he noticed the gaze of every person in the room was now on him.

“Come on up here and claim your prize!” a short man with his hair parted and gelled down to the side announced into the microphone he was holding.

The crowd clapped and cheered, stepping aside until a walkway had been formed, starting where Garrek sat at the bar and ending at the two steps that led to the stage.

“Come on. Don’t be shy. Your prize is waiting!” the man continued.

Garrek had no idea what he’d won, because he hadn’t entered any contest. All he’d done was follow the crowd that had been heading into this old building because they’d looked excited about coming in here. And when he’d seen the sign on the door that read Cash Bar, Garrek had felt a wave of relief. He’d needed a drink. He didn’t want one, because each time he swallowed his favorite rum, he remembered the night that he knew would haunt him for the rest of his life. But he needed it. That was a simple fact.

It had been a long week, one he was still wondering how he’d survived. His career was on the line, and after two Cuba libres, his mouth was still dry. He’d just held up his hand to signal the bartender when the man on the stage began to speak.

“He’s a handsome one, too,” a woman said. She had pushed through the crowd and stopped right in front of him. “Nice body and everything.”

The last was said as she lifted small hands and pressed them firmly, front and center, on his chest.

“Harper, you let me know if you need any help with this one.” The woman spoke over her shoulder, as her hands squeezed his pectorals.

Garrek was wearing a white T-shirt that fit him snugly, a fact that the woman who looked to be in her midsixties seemed to enjoy.

“I’m Connie, and I’d be happy to escort your fine self up to the stage.”

Before Garrek could decline her offer, Connie, with her cap of silver hair and no more than five-foot stature, was right beside him, lacing her arm through his and holding on tight. She wore a pale-green-and-white polka-dot dress, and a huge white flower was pinned close to her left shoulder. Her grin was wide as she looked up at Garrek, and when he continued to stare down at her, she winked.

Before Garrek could react, she was taking a step, and he found himself quickly slipping off the wobbly stool he’d been perched on to follow her lead. They moved down the path that reminded Garrek of the old Soul Train line, sans music. He hadn’t purchased anything but drinks since he’d arrived not even a half hour ago, so he doubted he’d won a raffle.

The people on the outskirts clapped as they walked by, and Connie nodded as if she were in her element being the center of attention. When they came to the two steps that led up onto the stage, Garrek had to hold Connie steady as her knees wobbled with each step up. A quick flash of memory had him thinking back to his late teenage years in Pensacola, the years when his mother’s condition was getting worse.

“Here we go,” the man said as he touched the younger woman standing next to him on the shoulder. “Now, you can thank us later, Harper. But this is what the lovely ladies of the Magnolia Guild wanted to give to you.”

She looked frightened.

That’s the first thought that came to Garrek’s mind as he gazed at the young woman standing next to the other man, who was doing all the talking.

Garrek was a navy pilot, but he’d been trained as a pilot first. His instinct to protect was strong and quick.

“That’s right, Beuford,” Connie said as she stepped away from Garrek to grab the microphone from the man’s hand.

Beuford frowned down at her, but Connie didn’t notice, because she’d already turned her attention to the other woman.

“Now, Harper, us ladies at the guild have known you since you were a little thing running around town with scraped knees and dirt smudges on your face. Haven’t we, ladies?” Connie asked and looked out to the crowd.

A group of six women wearing the same white corsage as Connie stood close to the stage, nodding their agreement.

“So don’t be shy. We had this auction just for you ’cause we knew we’d get you a good man that way. Good men always step up to the plate,” Connie continued.

The woman—the one Connie had called Harper—didn’t move. She was wearing a long black-and-white skirt and a sleeveless white blouse. Her hair was pulled back from her face, so Garrek couldn’t tell how long it was.

“You were the highest bidder, coming in at two thousand twenty-five dollars,” Beuford said, stepping around to clap a hand on Garrek’s shoulder.

“Woo-wee, over two thousand dollars for a date with our little Harper!” Connie yelled.

She grabbed Harper by the hand and pulled her closer to where Garrek stood, shocked speechless by what was happening. He’d been in Temptation for a little over an hour, and already he was the center of attention. Again.

To be fair, he was sharing the attention with the strangely quiet Harper, just as years ago he’d shared the spotlight with his five siblings. Wait, had they just said he was the highest bidder? Meaning he was paying for a date?

The thought was almost laughable, because the last thing in this world Garrek wanted right now was a date, and he certainly wouldn’t be paying for one if he did. Clapping resumed, and music started to play as Connie pushed Harper’s hand into Garrek’s. He’d be lying if he said he didn’t feel the little spike of heat at the contact. But he instantly brushed it aside. Garrek had grown really good at ignoring things he didn’t want to deal with.

“Well, say something, Harper,” Connie insisted and put the microphone in front of the woman.

Without thinking twice, Garrek took the microphone and spoke into it. “Harper and I want to thank you for coming out tonight. We’d also like to announce that the money raised here tonight will be donated to—” He paused.

Then he looked over to Harper. Garrek was six feet even. Harper was a tall woman, her shoulder only a couple inches shorter than his.

“The Veterans Fund,” she said after staring at him questioningly for a few seconds. “The two thousand and twenty-five dollars will go to Temptation’s Veterans Fund and provide support for those who fought hard to protect us and this country.”

Garrek’s first thought was, how had she known who he was?

Connie snatched the microphone at that point. “No. No. That’s not the plan for the money. It’s going to the Guild, because we planned this little event. We’re getting a sign to hang over the doorway to our headquarters. It’ll be real classy, and that way everyone will know where to find us.”

Connie nodded as she spoke, as if everyone was naturally going to agree with her. The six women whom Garrek suspected were also from the Guild mimicked Connie’s movements, and there were some murmurs from the crowd that said they were confused. Well, they could join the club, Garrek thought.

Then he spoke again, without the need for a microphone. He was loud enough that they could hear him across the room where the bar was. He knew this by the shocked look he received from the bartender after he announced, “My check will be written to the Veterans Fund. Any other proceeds from this event can be used for whatever purpose the Guild decides.”

Connie gasped and clamped her thin lips closed, her facial expression clearly annoyed. Garrek doubted she was thinking about touching his pecs again at this moment. Beuford looked from Garrek to Connie and back to Garrek again without saying a word. The once-clapping crowd had now fallen quiet, some of them with mouths open in surprise, others whispering to the person next to them. All of them staring at Garrek.

How the hell had this happened?

He’d come here to get away from people looking at him in question. Now, it seemed he’d walked right into yet another sticky situation with a woman. He wanted to curse, or possibly even run as far from this place as he’d just run from Washington. Instead, Garrek made his way off the stage, slowly pulling the woman named Harper along with him.

* * *

Harper was done!

The only reason she’d put on a skirt and come to the Sadie Hawkins dance was for business. What better way to promote Presley Construction—a company owned and operated by a woman—than to come to a dance where the women were supposedly liberated enough to ask the men out? Yet these same women apparently thought Harper needed help finding a man, when the truth was Harper wasn’t even sure she ever wanted a man permanently in her life. She certainly wasn’t on a personal crusade to find one who would take precedence over everything else in her life.

Coming here tonight had seemed like a good idea when she’d first thought of it. This dance was an annual event, like so many others in Temptation. Up until tonight, it had been one that Harper had proudly stated she’d never attended.

She shouldn’t have broken the streak.

If she’d known what the Magnolia Guild had secretly planned for tonight, she wouldn’t have come. In fact, she might have left town completely. How embarrassing. How totally and utterly humiliating, to stand on that stage and be auctioned off like cattle. But she’d been trapped. Running off the stage and out of the hall would have definitely made her the butt of the whole town’s jokes for the foreseeable future. Forget trying to get anyone to hire her to do construction work—they’d be too busy laughing at poor little Harper who’d had to be auctioned off to a man instead of being able to get a date on her own.

So she’d stood there, frozen to that spot, staring at one of the columns in the center of the room that had been wrapped in pink and blue streamers. Everyone was staring at her, she knew. They were talking about her again. Some things never changed, especially not in Temptation.

“Who will bid two hundred and fifty dollars to take Harper out on a date?” Beuford Danforth had asked after Connie had not very politely dragged Harper onto the stage.

Beuford was the unofficial host of just about every event in Temptation, since he’d been a radio personality for twenty-five years before retiring. When there wasn’t some type of town get-together, Beuford could be found on the wraparound front porch of his lime green–shingled house, putting together one of his Lego creations. He was seventy-two years old and still fascinated with the toys.

Harper’s cheeks had burned, not only at the question, but at the complete and utter silence that fell over the room like a tent. She’d clasped her hands in front of her and clenched her fingers until she worried she might actually pull off skin. Her heart beat wildly and her shoulders had begun to shake.

All reactions she’d had before and ones she’d sworn she would never have again.

She’d tuned out everything by that point—everything except the man touching her hand. At that moment a jolt brought her back to reality, and she’d looked up into warm brown eyes. He wasn’t from Temptation; that was her first coherent thought as he held her hand tightly in his. There was no man in Temptation who looked like this. Harper would remember if there was.

He was taller than her, with an athletic build—a very toned and alluring athletic build. His hands were large and engulfed her long fingers. His light complexion was a perfect backdrop to the dark hair of his goatee and thick eyebrows. He was wearing simple dark slacks and a white T-shirt, yet he still managed to look like a movie star—perfect enough to be on the big screen seducing women across the world.

Women like her.

No, never her, she’d reminded herself just in time to reply to the question he’d asked.

“The Veterans Fund,” she’d said after taking what she hoped was a mind-clearing deep breath and releasing it. “The two thousand and twenty-five dollars will go to Temptation’s Veterans Fund and provide support for those who fought hard to protect us and this country.”

Her grandfather and her father and all the other brave men like them.

Connie hadn’t liked that one bit, a fact Harper knew she’d hear about in town for the next week. When Constance Gensen was upset, everyone in Temptation heard about it. This time, as was the case too often in the past, Harper would be involuntarily entrenched in Connie’s discontent.

“Do you need a ride home?”

His voice was deep and had the effect of a good shot of whiskey—grabbing her immediate attention and making her shiver all over.

“Ah, no,” Harper replied and then cleared her throat. “I drove my car.”

“Because you didn’t have a date.”

“I didn’t need one,” she replied quickly and with certainty.

“Yeah, I know how that feels,” he said and then looked away.

“You’re not from around here,” Harper stated. “Are you visiting someone?”

He didn’t reply, but he did look at her again. Then, as if just remembering, he looked down at her hand. The one he was still holding. Harper’s cheeks warmed again and she attempted to pull away, but he held tight.

The Freedom Hall—now called the Gloria Ramsey Place—was part of the old shoe warehouse that had gone out of business ten years ago. The building had been purchased by Kittinger Hale, a retired schoolteacher who had hit the lottery and found his birth mother in the same week. Gloria Ramsey had been on the run from her abusive husband when she’d stopped in Temptation to give birth to the son she would leave at All Saints Hospital the next morning. Buying the building and slapping Gloria’s name across the front window was—Harper figured—Kittinger’s tribute to Gloria. To the citizens of Temptation, it hadn’t meant nearly as much. The building would always be called the Freedom Hall, after Freedom-brand shoes, which had been manufactured there for fifty years before the company went out of business.

The building was on the corner of Maple and Grove Streets. There was a black streetlamp still sporting the multicolored spring fling banner just a few feet away from them. The light was excruciatingly bright, bringing even more attention to the fact that they were holding hands.

“I shouldn’t be here,” he said. Harper stopped looking around to see if anyone was outside at the moment, and stared at him.

“Neither should I,” she replied.

He was rubbing his thumb over the back of her hand at this moment. Attempting to pull away again was certainly an option, except that Harper didn’t want to break the contact. The warmth from his hand was comforting, his strong grip protective and the heated spikes moving quickly throughout her body foreign, but not unpleasant.

“I should go,” he said.

“Me too,” she replied.

Yet neither of them moved.

There was space between them, even though their hands were connected. His body wasn’t touching hers, and while she felt as if she were being physically drawn to him, Harper hadn’t moved an inch.

So why did it suddenly seem warmer?

“Thanks for agreeing to donate to the veterans,” she said because she didn’t know what else to say.

“It’s no problem,” he replied.

Then, finally, after more silent moments, Harper figured this situation was absolutely ridiculous. She yanked her hand away from his—not realizing he’d lightened his grip so that her extra effort made her look even more preposterous.

“I’ll also apologize for what just happened back there. I don’t know what they were thinking, but getting a tourist roped into their shenanigans probably wasn’t the plan.”

“I’m not a tourist,” he told her in a very exacting way. He didn’t sound like he was offended, but that he wanted her to know this for certain. It was odd, but then, wasn’t this entire situation?

“Fine. Well, I apologize. Good night.”

“I’ll walk you to your car.”

“It’s not—” Her words trailed off as he once again took her hand.

“Which way?” he asked.

“Down here on the corner,” she replied.

Now she was walking down the street with a guy she didn’t know. This was strange. And it was dangerous. And she should know better.

“Well, good night, again,” Harper said when they reached the car. She kept her back to the driver’s door and her eyes on him.

He was standing with his legs slightly spread, hands tucked into the front pockets of his slacks. Again, Harper noted how attractive he was and how that thought exacerbated the unsettled feeling in the pit of her stomach.

“Good night, Harper,” he said.

Once again neither of them moved.

It was confusing, because just fifteen minutes ago Harper had wanted nothing more than to run out of the hall and to her car. She lived on her grandfather’s farm, on the outskirts of town about twenty minutes from the hall. Tonight was Sunday, which meant that Pops and her dad were sitting in front of the television watching whatever sport they could find. Uncle Giff and Aunt Laura would be at their house a little closer to town, probably sitting in front of their television, too. There wasn’t much else to do in Temptation on a Sunday night, except maybe stand around with a strange—yet undoubtedly sexy—guy.

He came straight toward her, stopping only a breath away. A breath that Harper immediately sucked in when he closed his eyes and shook his head. Before Harper could make another move, he was gone. He moved even faster than he had before, because by the time Harper found her breath and let it out slowly, a hand going to her thumping heart, he had disappeared around a corner.

What the hell had just happened?

Harper had no clue. What she did know was that she wasn’t going to forget her first and only Sadie Hawkins dance, or the undeniable arousal that her highest bidder had awakened.

Chapter 2

He was undressing in front of her. Slowly unbuttoning the three buttons at the top of his shirt before pulling it up and over his head. His body was magnificent—bulging muscles, ripped abs, narrow waist. It was like a Playgirl centerfold.

When his strong fingers touched the button of his pants, Harper sucked in a breath. He was actually getting naked. The tightening of her nipples at that thought drew her gaze down her own body. She was already naked. Lying on her bed, legs spread wide in open invitation.

Had she invited him to her place? Her room? Her...

He stepped closer to the bed now, his pants unbuttoned, his chest bare. His gaze was hot, sending heated glares down her body until every inch of her exposed skin felt as if it were on fire.

“Show me what you want,” he said, his voice thick with desire. “Show me how to please you, Harper.”

What?

No, she couldn’t.

It was wrong. Wasn’t it?

She lay back against the pillows then, heart beating wildly as her throat tightened and the heavy fog of anxiety began to settle in. She was a healthy twenty-nine-year-old woman who had a right to know what she wanted and to ask for it. No, to demand it. She deserved that, didn’t she?

Especially after all that Harper had been through, all the humiliation and embarrassment she’d endured over the years. And not just in Temptation, but even during the four years she’d spent in Virginia. She’d been a trouper, as her father would have said. She’d stood strong in the face of adversity each and every time.

So, yes, dammit, she deserved something for herself. For once in her life, she deserved pleasure that she so often dreamed of. And tonight, she was going to take it.

With that resolution in mind, Harper opened her mouth to speak. She let one hand fall down to cup her breast while the other moved farther down to rest on her cleanly shaved mound. She was going to show and tell him what she wanted. He’d bid and donated a good chunk of money on her behalf tonight, and he wanted her. She wanted him, too, so much that she was ready to take the biggest risk of her life. She was about to invite him to make her...

Harper’s eyes popped open at that moment. She sat straight up in her bed. Her bedroom was empty, but her heart was still beating fast, and between her legs moisture still pooled as a reminder of her arousal. But he wasn’t there. She’d been dreaming about a man she didn’t even know. Fantasizing about someone she would never have.

Some things never changed.

* * *

“I told Mama it wasn’t going to work. You’re just not interested in men. Don’t know why you’re still trying to keep that a secret.”

Harper picked up the to-go cup of coffee and considered tossing the hot liquid into Leah Gensen’s perfectly pretty face. Then Harper thought better of that act, knowing it would draw too much attention to them. Ignoring Leah’s snide comment was the next option. Harper had made a habit of doing just that since she and Leah were in second grade. But Harper wasn’t seven years old anymore, and she couldn’t help it if Leah hadn’t figured that out yet.

“No secrets to be kept,” Harper said as she used her free hand to retrieve three dollars from the back pocket of her jeans. “But the next time your mother wants to play matchmaker, she should take note of the fact that you’re available. Especially since your third divorce was finalized last month.”

Leah’s pert, glossy, red-painted lips turned upward into a smirk as she narrowed her gaze at Harper.

“At least I’ve had a man,” Leah snapped.

“And I’ve got a college degree and own a business, while you’re serving coffee at your aunt’s coffee shop. You want to continue keeping score of who’s doing what, go right ahead, but I’ve got work to do.”

Harper dropped the money for her daily large coffee and plain bagel on the counter and turned to leave.

“That’s my girl,” Smitty Hallern said as Harper passed the table near the front window where he always sat.

“Hi, Mr. Hallern,” Harper said after mustering a smile.

Smitty played poker with Harper’s grandfather on Saturday nights. He had enlisted in the army the same time as her grandfather but had received a medical discharge when he’d suffered a severe asthma attack.

“Don’t let ’em get to you today,” Smitty said with a nod toward the front counter, where Leah and the other customers stood. “They always need something or somebody to talk about. Tomorrow they’ll be on to a different story.”

Harper shrugged. “It’s their life. They can live it how they please.”

It was an awful life, Harper thought—sitting around a café all day talking about people and what they did or didn’t like about them. Pitiful, really.

“That’s true,” Smitty continued. “But it ain’t good for you or people like you to hear all that negative talk. That’s what happened to Teddy and Olivia’s marriage. People kept talking about them and what they were doing with those TV folks. It got right messy around here with the rumors flying around. People got hurt, and then Olivia packed her kids up and left.”

Smitty went off on tangents often. Normally, it was something about the “good ol’ days,” as he and her grandfather called them. To which Harper would simply listen and smile. It was nice to hear their memories, and sometimes she even managed to learn a little about how the world was sixty years ago.

This morning, however, she had a headache. She’d been up for hours already, after waking from the disturbing dream. She was tired and cranky, and Leah hadn’t helped the situation at all.

“Right, I’ll keep that in mind, Mr. Hallern,” she said and pressed her back to the front door of the shop.

“Yeah, gossip can cause lots of pain,” he continued with a nod. There was a newspaper spread out on the table in front of him, a half-full cup of coffee and crumbs from what looked like a muffin he’d already eaten on the small plate to his left. “But it looks like the kids are coming around,” he said, rubbing a hand over the tight black-and-gray curls at his chin. “First the oldest boy came on home, and now I hear you ran into one of the other sons last night.”

That caught Harper’s full attention.

“Last night?” she asked. “Who did I run into last night?”

“Garrek Taylor. He’s the one who placed the winning bid on you. At least that’s the news going around this morning. Connie was in here about an hour ago whining about the check he wrote to the Veterans Fund instead of to her group of cackling hens.”

He shook his head then, and Harper swallowed. Her throat was suddenly dry.

“That was Garrek Taylor?”

“Yep,” Smitty said. “The navy pilot. Millie came in right behind Connie, and those two got to talking. Millie thinks she knows all there is to know about the Taylors. Probably ’cause she used to be spitting jealous of Olivia for marrying Teddy. Crazy, that’s what womenfolk can be sometimes.”

Harper was still trying to wrap her mind around what he’d just told her. Garrek Taylor, one of the infamous Taylor sextuplets, was back in Temptation. The story was that his mother had packed up her six children who were seven years old at the time, and moved to Florida. She’d left behind their family reality show and her cheating husband. Now, not only was Garrek the second of the Taylor sextuplets to return to town, but he’d bid on a date with her. He’d also invaded her dreams, bringing her to a fevered point she’d never been to before—in real life or a fantasy.

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.

Big, delectable trouble.

Chapter 3

“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.

“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.

“Yeah, it’s cool. I just want to take care of a few things before accepting my next post.”

Gray stared at him for a few seconds before nodding. “Well, like I said, you’re welcome to stay here.”

When Garrek opened his mouth to reply, Gray held up both hands.

“But it’s cool if you don’t. I understand. It wasn’t easy for me when I first came back here, either. I do, however, want you to come over for Sunday dinners and to spend time with us. We’re family, Garrek. I know we haven’t acted like it in the last ten years, but I think it’s past time we started living up to what Mom always wanted.”

Olivia had been proud of Garrek when he’d decided to enroll in the Naval Academy. She’d visited him in Annapolis and beamed at him in his dress uniform. Garrek could still hear the last words she’d spoken to him that day at the airport.

You’re going to be a fine pilot and an extraordinary man, Garrek. I know it here in my heart.

The memory almost brought tears to his eyes as Garrek thought about the past few weeks and how the choices he’d made would have been such a letdown to his mother.

“Ah, I will,” Garrek said and cleared his throat. “I’m going to head back to the B&B now. I’ll catch up with you later.”

He moved quickly, afraid that if he had to stand in that charming kitchen staring at his brother, now a father and a husband, a moment longer, he would crack. He did not want to break down, and least of all in front of Gray. So Garrek moved quickly out of the house, so fast that he almost stepped off the curb before spotting the tractor-trailer speeding down the street.

He did, however, look up in enough time to see that Harper was carrying two huge bags of something over her shoulder in a way that blocked her view of the tractor-trailer and its fast trek toward her. Garrek ran into the street and pushed Harper out of the way. They landed on the other side of the street, the bags going one way, Harper flat on her back and Garrek on top of her.

Time seemed to stand still. Everything and everyone around them also disappeared. Or rather, Garrek tuned it all out as he looked down at her. Yes, her body was soft and his was definitely responding quickly to the new physical arrangement. But it was her eyes that reached out and grabbed him, holding every part of his body completely still. It was fear, stark and bold in the depths of her eyes. He couldn’t look away. Not from the orbs that resembled drops of root beer.

“I’m okay now,” she said in a breathy whisper.

She pushed at him, her palms moving between them to flatten on his chest. The blood that had been pooling in his groin heated, and his erection pressed painfully against the zipper of his jeans.

“Garrek,” she started once more.

He liked the sound of his name on her lips and dragged his gaze from her eyes to watch her lips move. Bare lips that were shaped like those of the heavily made-up women he saw in magazine ads. Her nose was long, straight and peppered with freckles. It wasn’t a usual feature he saw on women, but damn, on her it was more than a little arousing.

“What happened?” a male voice asked.

“Are you all right, Harper?” came another.

It was then that Garrek realized a few things. One, they were not alone, and two, he was still on top of her. And he was enjoying being on top of her, much more than he ever would have anticipated.

“I’m okay,” she said and pushed at him hard enough this time that he moved.

As he came to stand, Garrek took her by both hands and helped her up. When she was standing, she immediately pulled her hands from his grip.

“What the hell was that?” A tall guy dressed in cargo pants and a T-shirt came over to move between Garrek and Harper. “Are you all right?”

“I’m good,” Harper told him, but he didn’t seem convinced. “Really, Marlon, I’m okay.”

Garrek looked at the guy differently now. At first he’d been wondering if it were her boyfriend or something like that. But he remembered hearing her say the name before, and Morgan saying that Marlon and Craig were her cousins who worked for her. So he relaxed a little when he replied, “A tractor-trailer going way too fast in this residential area.”

Marlon turned to stare at him. He was a young guy, maybe midtwenties, with a bush of curly dark hair and a beard.

“And you are?” Marlon asked.

Garrek extended his hand and answered, “I’m Garrek Taylor.”

It wasn’t until he said Taylor that Marlon’s stance eased and he shook Garrek’s hand. Garrek could totally understand protective cousins.

“We need to get back to work,” Harper said, and the others who had gathered around them began to scatter.

Garrek didn’t move, and neither did Marlon.

“Thanks, Garrek,” she said as she looked over to him. “I should have been paying more attention.”

After that Harper walked away with Marlon following her. Garrek figured the guy still wasn’t a hundred percent certain about him. Perhaps because of the way he’d been lying comfortably—or at least pleasurably—on top of Harper. But Garrek wasn’t concerned with Marlon or his perception of him at the moment. He was mesmerized, once again, by the way Harper’s jeans fit her and how her long legs carried her gracefully across the street. When she squatted to pick up one of the bags she’d been carrying, Garrek continued to watch her, noting the strength in her arms and the independence in her spirit as she refused Marlon’s help.

He stared at her for much longer than was probably proper, and when he finally decided to turn away and started walking down the street, he was still thinking of her. With everything else he had going on in his life, the very last thing he needed was to have another woman on his mind. But she was there, her face apparently permanently etched in his mind, the feel of her beneath him emblazoned on his body. Even the air he breathed seemed to smell just like her—an earthy, floral mixture that was driving him crazy.

When he finally arrived at the B&B Garrek went straight to his room and dropped down into a chair. He ran his hands over his face and shook his head in an attempt to erase the current thoughts. Harper Presley was not what Garrek needed to be thinking about right now. He already had one woman wreaking havoc in his life. He definitely did not need another one.

Chapter 4

He was hard.

Strong...she meant.

And hard.

And the memory of him stuck in her mind like rocks in cement.

It had been about seven hours since Garrek Taylor had saved her life—from the idiot tractor-trailer driver who had been illegally speeding down a residential street. Almost twenty-four hours since he’d saved her from the Magnolia Guild and further humiliation in front of a small portion of the town’s population. And a little less than that since he’d invaded her dreams with his sexy voice and that knowing glare.

Truth be told, Harper wasn’t overly worried about what the townspeople thought about her. They’d been thinking the same thing all her life—that Harper Lane Presley was an incorrigible tomboy who’d rather swallow flies than wear a dress and makeup. They were partially right. Harper did not like makeup. She’d tried it once and her stubborn freckles had poked right through, like tenacious weeds growing in a garden year after year. And dresses did not work well with climbing trees or playing softball and sliding into home to score the winning run, which was the ultimate act to show off in front of her cousins.

But she was not incorrigible. In fact, when Harper had left Temptation to attend Virginia Varsity University, where she’d studied building construction, she’d actually made a concerted effort to try to act like the other girls. That hadn’t ended well, and Harper decided then that she simply was who she was, and whoever had a problem with that just didn’t matter.

Garrek Taylor didn’t seem to have a problem with her. He’d shown that with his twenty-five-hundred-dollar bid. Did that make him an ass? Bidding on a woman like she was a piece of property instead of doing the sociable thing and asking for a date like an ordinary man? Or did that mean he’d liked what he’d seen as she stood on that stage in one of the few skirts she owned, praying for a way to escape? She didn’t know, and she shouldn’t even be worrying about it. She couldn’t go on a date with Garrek Taylor.

She did, however, if she were totally truthful with herself, want to feel his hard body against hers once more. Sure, he had done it to save her life, but Harper had immediately realized that there were worse scenarios than having a man who looked—and oh, yes, smelled—like Garrek lying on top of her. His cologne was a bold musk fragrance that screamed strength and confidence even louder than his stance and actions. She’d picked up his scent last night as he’d walked beside her. Had dreamed about it last night and almost swooned over it when he’d been standing right behind her on the porch this morning. By the time he was on top of her, she’d been ready to rip his clothes off and press them to her nose. Damn, she was pitiful.

“There you are. I’ve been looking for you. We’ve got company.”

Harper startled at the sound of her father’s voice. She’d been standing at the railing on the back porch of her family farm, staring out at the miles of grass that led down to the barn.

“Oh, Daddy, I’m not in the mood for guests—” Her words were lost as Harper moved away from the railing and turned to see the company her father was referring to.

“Garrek here says you two met last night. Then Craig and Marlon told me about the incident at the Taylor house this afternoon. Why didn’t you tell me?”

Arnold Presley was a retired marine colonel. He was six feet three inches tall and almost as wide as a doorway. He kept his bulky frame in good physical condition by doing all the lifting and hauling around the farm. And according to him, he exercised his brain by watching an even mix of CNN and Sanford and Son reruns. His gray hair was cut close, while his keen sense for people ran rampant all day long.

“Last night was ridiculous and not worth talking about. Except that Mr., ah... Garrek Taylor...he um, made a great contribution to the Veterans Fund. So that was the highlight,” she said, managing to keep her gaze from falling on Garrek, who stood just behind her father.

He’d changed clothes. Earlier he’d worn jeans and a T-shirt. Tonight, he had on blue slacks and a gray button-down shirt. From laid-back to business casual, he looked like a model. Everything fit just the right way, and he appeared perfect in everything. It would have been sickening—if it wasn’t so alluring.

“Well, I would expect nothing less of a military man,” Arnold continued.

He was smiling—which her father rarely did—when he reached over to slap his brawny hand on Garrek’s shoulder. If that action caused Garrek any pain or discomfort, he was an expert at not showing his emotions, because he only smiled at Arnold and then returned his inquisitive gaze to her.

“You’re in the service?” she asked.

“Navy,” he replied.

“He’s a navy pilot!” Arnold added. “I’ll excuse him for choosing the navy over the FRS.”

Arnold thought everybody who even considered a career in the military should select the marines. How many debates had she witnessed between her father and her grandfather about which was better, the marines or the army? Too many to count.

“I didn’t know that,” she said, folding her arms across her chest. “Well, I’m sure my father will keep you entertained with talk about the war or the service, or both. I’ve got a few things to check, so I’ll just get out of your way.”

She made it all the way into the living room before she was stopped.

“Never seen you run from anybody before.”

“What?” she asked and spun around to see her grandfather sitting in his favorite recliner.

Harper hated that chair. The dingy brown floral pattern was straight out of the ’60s, and it creaked every time Pops leaned back to recline in it. But two Christmases ago when she’d bought him a new motorized leather recliner, he’d thanked her kindly but flat out refused to sit in it, declaring there was nothing wrong with his old one. The new recliner made its way into her father’s bedroom, and Harper wisely never broached the subject of Pops’s favorite seat in the house again.

“Oh, Pops, you scared me,” she replied.

“Only reason somebody would be frightened in their own house is if they were doing something they shouldn’t be doing,” he quipped.

He was sitting back in that chair, legs crossed at the ankles and pouring tobacco into his pipe, while his wire-framed glasses slipped slightly down his nose.

“Who’s frightened? I’m heading to the barn to make sure Craig stacked all the boxes of tile along the side like I asked him to. Aunt Laura called him and Marlon home right after we finished up today, so he said he’d bring the tile by after the special dinner she had planned.”

Pops nodded and took the first puff of his pipe. He’d been lighting it while she talked. That’s how she’d known she’d been rambling, because he hadn’t looked up once.

“Laura celebrates everything. I think Giff said it was the anniversary of the day they moved into that house. That’s why she was having a big ol’ dinner. Your father told Giff we already had our dinner on the stove when he called. That way we wouldn’t have to go.”

Harper frowned. “We had smoked sausage and fried potatoes for dinner tonight, and Daddy didn’t start cooking that until after I was home and showered.”

“Yep,” Pops said and gave his wide, toothy smile. “You’re right about that.”

Harper smiled in return, because her grandfather’s bug eyes, those glasses and his grin always made her feel happy inside.

“Right. So I’m just going to go out and get a count. I might load them in my truck so I’ll be ready to leave early tomorrow.”

“Sure. Sure. Take all the time you need,” Pops said. “I’m sure that nice navy fella will be gone by the time you’re done.”

Harper knew exactly what he was trying to say. But he was wrong anyway—she wasn’t running from Garrek Taylor. There was no reason to run from a man who meant nothing to her, but who still managed to set every inch of her traitorous body on fire with one gaze.

“He didn’t come to see me, Pops. So it’s fine if I leave,” she said and moved closer to the door.

“Guess you’re right. He came all the way out here to meet two old duds like me and your dad.”

Harper kept going, muttering once more, “He didn’t come to see me,” before opening and closing the front door behind her.

* * *

Garrek had driven out to the Presley farm to make sure that Harper was all right. After the near accident this morning, he’d just wanted to make sure he hadn’t hurt her with his impromptu save-the-day act. She was a lot thinner than his two hundred and thirty pounds.

He also wanted to get his mind off the many papers he’d read while he enjoyed the room service meal earlier this evening. A stout woman with tightly curled, frosted gray hair had welcomed him back when he arrived at the B&B after leaving Gray’s house. She’d introduced herself as Mrs. Louisa Reed, but insisted Garrek call her Nana Lou and apologized profusely for any bad things he might have heard about her son, Harry—who was now in jail—and Gray’s wife. Nana Lou felt the need to cater to him personally, even though there was another man at the front desk when he’d come in. His name was Otis, and the old herringbone cap he wore had definitely seen better days.

Garrek had found the scene to be homely and welcoming, a stark contrast from life on the base, or flying out at a moment’s notice for secret flight exercises. It made him think once more about the life he’d chosen, the one he’d thought he wanted more than anything else.

A few hours later, Nana Lou had sent up a large bowl of beef stew with two thick chunks of warm homemade bread and a pitcher of lemonade. It was a humid June day, and yet the hearty stew and bread had hit the spot as an early dinner in the quaint air-conditioned room. While he enjoyed the stew, Garrek read through everything in the two envelopes that Gray had sent him months ago. After the meal, he sat in the high-backed chair near the window and thought about everything that had been in those envelopes. When he finally felt a bit overwhelmed with it all, the idea to check on Harper hit him. And Otis had been the one to provide her address when Garrek inquired.

He’d hoped the ride would clear his mind, but it only gave him more time to contemplate what was happening in his life. First: a house.

In addition to the three million dollars, Theodor Taylor had also left something called the Adberry house to his second son. After receiving Gray’s packages six months ago, Garrek had decided to deal with the money first. Once the new accounts were open, he’d also put copies of the paperwork from all the accounts, and the letter from Gray detailing how he’d found the money their father had left to each of them, in a safe-deposit box. Garrek had never been stationed out of the country so there was no reason for him to have an account in Grand Cayman. Sure, it was an inheritance and having an offshore account didn’t necessarily equate to wrongdoing, but after being linked to a family with one national scandal in his lifetime Garrek had no desire to tempt fate. He’d never had a blemish on his record with the military and he didn’t want to take the chance of his commanding officers finding out and getting the wrong idea.

That had been easy enough to deal with. As for this house, he wasn’t quite sure about that one yet, especially since he’d been on the fence about Gray selling their father’s other properties in Temptation.

So by the time Garrek had arrived at the farm, he was more than ready to see Harper’s pretty face again. There was something about her that he had yet to figure out that made him want—no, need—to see her. It was the oddest thing. He had come to Temptation to get away from one woman, only to have another one plague his thoughts. And this one, unlike the woman he’d left in Washington, didn’t want his attention at all.

Linus and Arnold Presley were nice enough men who were more than eager to talk about their respective military careers. But since Garrek wasn’t sure he was going to have a military career in the upcoming weeks, he didn’t welcome the topic of conversation. The only other thing that captivated the men’s attention was when he said, “I came to make sure Harper was all right.”

They’d each perked up at that comment, which had surprised Garrek.

“Oh, yeah, she seemed fine at dinner,” Arnold said. “My nephew Marlon called to tell us about the incident.”

“And I immediately called Sherriff Duncan and told him to get his butt in gear. Tractor-trailers aren’t supposed to be on residential streets. Highways and main thoroughfares is what the town ordinance says,” Linus added.

“Well, I’m just glad it turned out the way it did,” Garrek replied. “She seems to have vanished, though, before I could really talk to her.”

“Oh, no, I know just where you can find her,” Linus announced as he puffed on his pipe.

That’s how Garrek ended up walking about fifteen feet from the main house and around the side of a huge barn. It was already getting dark, but he moved about, ignoring the sound of whichever animals were kept on this farm. He found her when he rounded the last corner that would have taken him into a complete circle. She was loading the back of a pickup truck with heavy-looking boxes, bending over so that he once again had an unfettered view of her shapely bottom.

“Here, let me do that,” he said, coming up behind her and attempting to take the box she’d just lifted.

“What? Oh, no. I have it.” She held on to the box.

He pulled on his end. “I said I’ll do it for you. These are heavy.”

She huffed and gave another tug. “I can handle it. It’s my job, and I don’t need any help.”

Garrek did not move, but held her irritated gaze. “There’s no need for us to argue. I’m just trying to be nice.”

“I don’t need you to be nice to me. I’m perfectly capable of moving out of the way when a truck speeds toward me. And I’ve been lifting heavy boxes on construction sites since I was ten years old,” she said and tugged on the box once more. “And furthermore, I’m also perfectly capable of getting my own date! Thank you very much!”

At those last words, Garrek let go of the box. Apparently she wasn’t holding on as tightly as he’d thought, because his actions forced her back a step until she hit the edge of the open truck bed. The box slipped from her hands and fell to the ground with a thump.

“What did you just say?” he asked.

She was slightly winded, her chest moving up and down quickly, strands of hair that had been pulled back when he approached now touching the sides of her face.

“I...I, um, I said I don’t need your help with the boxes,” she told him.

Garrek took a step closer to her. He should have been moving in the other direction. In fact, he shouldn’t have come out here in the first place. It was apparent that she was just fine. She’d looked more than fine when she’d walked away from him earlier today. She’d looked stubborn, independent and beautiful.

“No, the other thing you said,” he stated, his voice going lower.

She licked her lips, and Garrek bit back a moan.

“I already thanked you for saving my life,” she said. “You didn’t have to come all the way out here. Isn’t that like stalking?”

He was closer now, so close that she tried to back up but ended up sitting on the edge of the truck bed. He moved quickly then, because if he gave himself one moment to think about what he was doing, he would turn and run as far as he could get from this farm. This was crazy and ridiculous. It was reckless and stupid in light of all he’d been through in the past few months. At the same time, Garrek knew that nothing short of lightning striking at that truck was going to stop what was about to happen.

“You said something else,” he whispered. “About getting a date for yourself.”

“I can,” she insisted and tried to scoot back farther onto the truck.

Boxes already stacked in the truck bed hindered her progress, and Garrek pushed her knees apart to stand between them. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled so that she slid snugly up against him. Her hands slapped against his chest and she pushed at him. It was a light, unconvincing push; otherwise he would have been forced to back away.

“I didn’t need you to pay to go out with me,” she said.

“I didn’t,” he replied. “At least I didn’t know that was what was going on at the time.”

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