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“I am Lily, and this is my Uncle Gage. I have another uncle—his name’s Garrek—but he’s away flying planes right now.”
“Oh, that sounds cool. These cookies smell amazing, Lily. Do you think I could try one?” Ava asked.
“Sure. Mommy won’t let me and Jack have more than one for dessert. But Jack doesn’t like to share, so you should take yours now.”
“Hey, guys, Morgan is calling us in for dinner,” Harper said as she joined them. “Oh. Hi,” she added to Ava.
“Hello,” Ava replied. “I’m Ava Cannon. I’m in town for a writing retreat and was told to deliver these cookies.”
“And she’s Uncle Gage’s friend,” Lily added.
Gage didn’t know what to say. Hence the reason he’d been standing there watching the exchange between his niece and his ex-boss-slash-one-night-stand.
“Hi, Ava. I’m Harper Presley.”
“Oh, it’s a pleasure to meet you, Harper. I met your cousin Craig when I was checking in to the B and B. He gave me your card.”
“Really?” Harper asked. “Do you have a house that needs to be renovated?”
“No,” Gage replied quickly. “She’s just here to write.”
Harper, with her sandy-brown hair pulled back from her face, arched a brow as she looked at him.
“You two know each other?” she asked.
Before Gage could answer, his legs almost buckled once more as a laughing seven-year-old ran into him.
“Come on, Uncle Gage, you’re gonna make us lose,” Jack said.
“You already lost. He fell, and the lady got the ball. That means the girls win. Right, Aunt Harper?” Lily asked.
“I’m calling interference,” Gage told Jack. “We’ll need a rematch.”
Lily pouted, and to Gage’s chagrin, Ava knelt down until she was face-to-face with his niece.
“Boys always try to cheat. I think he fell on purpose so he could ask for a rematch,” she said.
A mutinous Lily nodded her agreement. “I think so, too.”
Harper chuckled. “Okay, we’ll have a rematch, but Morgan has dinner ready. You two run along and wash your face and hands so we can eat.”
Thankful to Harper for getting rid of the children, Gage turned his attention back to Ava. It was close to six o’clock in the evening, and the sun was beginning to set; still, the last fading rays cast Ava’s creamed-coffee-toned skin in a golden hue that looked surreal. Or maybe it was because this was the first time he’d seen her outside of the sultry dreams that plagued him each night in the last few weeks.
“Why don’t you join us for dinner, Ava? Gray and Morgan always cook a ton, and since you’re a friend of Gage’s, you should definitely be here to help us celebrate his homecoming,” Harper said.
The gratitude Gage had just felt toward his soon-to-be sister-in-law dissipated as he turned from Ava to look at Harper with a frown.
“I’d love to,” Ava happily replied.
“Great, Gage will bring you up to the house,” Harper said. “I’ll just go and tell Gray and Morgan to set another place at the table.”
When Harper was about to walk away, Ava spoke again. “I really appreciate the offer. I’ve been traveling all day, and I don’t even know if my room at the bed-and-breakfast is ready yet. I just dropped my bags off and came straight here.”
Gage touched her elbow to stop her from following behind Harper.
“Why would you come here? How did you know where here was?” he asked, because no matter how his body was reacting to seeing her again, his mind was still suspicious.
Old habits were hard to break.
A breeze swept by, and Ava eased her arm from his grasp. She pushed her blowing hair behind her ears. And Gage thought he’d never seen anyone as pretty as she was at this moment.
“Small towns are great for writing retreats. Meeting Craig at the B and B and Mr. Otis having cookies that needed to be delivered were coincidences,” she said.
Gage watched her lips moving as she spoke and listened to the slightly husky timbre of her voice. Not only did he listen, but he felt as if that voice, her words, somehow touched a part of him. It was ridiculous, he knew, yet...he decided to believe her. It wasn’t that big of a deal. She could go wherever she wanted without needing his permission. Just because she ended up here, at the same time he was, didn’t mean anything. He needed to stop being so suspicious all the time.
“I would have never expected you to be here,” he replied.
“It’s work,” she said. “Everything I do is about my work.”
Gage could definitely relate to that. In contrast to her writing retreat, however, he had been taking the last couple of days to think about things other than his career. She was one of those things, even though he’d called himself a thousand fools for thinking about a one-time fling weeks later.
“But I can go if it’s weird for you,” she continued.
Was it weird for him?
Considering he hadn’t expected to see her again until it was time to start shooting the second season of the show, maybe. Realizing that his body had already begun reacting to seeing her—via the beginning of an erection as his gaze dipped from her big brown eyes to the unmistakable curve of her full breasts in that tight blouse—hell no, this wasn’t weird at all.
“It’s cool,” he replied. “But we’d better get going. From what I understand, my sister-in-law, Morgan, does everything based on a schedule these days. Something about having a set of twins in elementary school in addition to a set of newborn twins and coveting any sleep she can get.”
“Two sets of twins?” Ava asked with an incredulous look on her face.
Gage nodded and smiled. He ignored the burst of pride that spread throughout his chest as he looked toward the house and the back porch, where his family had begun to assemble at the table to eat the celebratory meal. Gage never talked about his family to anyone because he liked to believe they belonged to only him. Not a part of the world, the way his father had tried to make the sextuplets.
“Yes,” he continued and began walking toward the house. “My older brother Gray is married to Morgan, an elementary school teacher. They have a boy and a girl, Jack and Lily, who you just met. Ryan and Emma are the new babies. Do you like babies, Ava?”
She shrugged as she walked beside him.
“I never thought about it,” she said and then looked at him with a sinfully delicious smile. “I like how babies are made, though.”
The semi-erection that Gage had been trying to ignore grew instantly as he recalled her smiling up at him that night he’d moved between her legs and thrust his length deep inside of her. She’d told him how much she liked it that night, and Gage would swear that the smile she was giving him now was meant as a reminder.
“Yeah,” he said grinning back at her. “So do I.”
Chapter 3 (#ulink_ff9987aa-e338-5e9d-b2fb-f070c6b2a7f7)
“Gage was working on a television show,” Gray said for the second time as they all sat around the light oak dining table on the covered back porch.
His incredulous tone was not lost on Gage, or anyone else at the table, for that matter. Gage sat back in his chair trying not to address the unspoken questions that loomed over them.
“He was a great help to the show,” Ava answered. “I’m certain we wouldn’t have been renewed for a second season without his expertise. Comments about the show’s authenticity were constantly in the reviews.”
Gage hadn’t read any of the reviews for the show. He enjoyed looking over the scripts and meeting with the writers—that part made him feel useful.
“I’ve seen the show,” Morgan said as she returned to the table.
Ryan had been fussing while they ate dinner, so Morgan excused herself the minute Jack and Lily were finished. She took the older twins into the house with her while she tended to the new baby. In the days since he’d been here, Gage had concluded that Morgan was a good mother who adored her children. She also loved his brother, almost as much as Gage suspected Gray loved her. That realization had been a shock to Gage. His brother had found love and happiness, two things Gage knew would never surface in his own life.
“I love to watch procedurals,” Morgan continued once she was seated. “And I thought the idea of one being set in an OB-GYN clinic on Staten Island was a fresh take compared to most of the drama series on television these days.”
“I don’t watch a lot of current television shows, but Corbin Yancy also has a show on the home improvement network. He and his wife are redecorating their house in Palm Beach,” Harper added.
Ava nodded. She’d just finished taking a sip from her glass of lemonade. Gage watched her small hand with the neatly trimmed nails as it slipped from the glass and rested on the table.
“Corbin is great and his wife’s a sweetheart,” Ava told them. “He loves the show and worked really well with Gage to make the character he played come to life on screen.”
“Wow,” Morgan said. “So Corbin Yancy as Dr. Steven Renfield is actually Gage Taylor, my brother-in-law. I feel like I’m related to a celebrity now.”
“I’m not a celebrity,” Gage quickly replied.
The comment came in a sharper tone than he’d anticipated. The questioning and concerned looks coming from Harper and Morgan irritated him. For the two days that he’d been here, Gage had been successful in simply enjoying these new members of his family, and not thinking too much about the other family members who had let him down.
“I know some things that can help make the show work, but that’s all I do,” he said, trying for a lighter tone this time.
“Never thought my brother would be in show business,” Gray said blandly.
Gage knew what Gray was thinking. From the moment he’d walked up onto the porch and introduced Ava, he’d been sure what Gray’s reaction to who she was, and how Gage knew her, was going to be. Which was precisely why, when he’d first arrived in Temptation and Gray had asked what he’d been doing with himself, Gage had left out the part where he was working on a successful television show.
“Why is that? If you don’t mind my asking,” Ava said.
In addition to being a very good-looking woman, Ava Cannon was candid and real. Traits Gage hadn’t thought Hollywood types could have. He’d watched her on the set with the crew and the cast, and each time he’d noted how sincere she was in whatever she was saying or doing. Whether correcting something in the script, or expressing her concerns to the director, or simply accepting a meal from one of the vendors, she always made eye contact and made everyone feel as if they were on the same level. Gage had admired that about her.
“Our family doesn’t have a good history in the television business,” Gray answered.
“But we don’t need to talk about that right now,” Morgan hurried to say. “It’s just so nice to have Gage here visiting, and then for you to show up, too, Ava, is wonderful. I feel like we’re celebrating so much these days.”
“Almost too much,” Gage said quietly.
When he looked up to see that Ava was now staring at him, Gage thought it was time to shift gears.
“So, Harper, when does Garrek think he’ll be back for a visit?” he asked. “It would be great to see him while I’m here.”
“Not until Christmas,” Harper replied.
She was a nice woman—intelligent and talented, as he’d seen by the work she’d done on the old Victorian. She was not at all the type he’d thought Garrek would settle down with, but after talking to her and meeting her family, Gage could see the appeal. In fact, he was surprised at how it made him feel that his brothers had found really nice women. The Taylors didn’t believe in happy-ever-after, because that wasn’t how it had worked out for their family. All the happiness they’d once known had come crumbling down, and in the aftermath, each of the sextuplets had been left to figure out not only their place in the world, but what type of life they would have as a result.
Gage opted for work and family. Seeking emotional ties with anyone else was futile and doomed to end disastrously. It was that simple.
“That’s too bad,” Morgan replied with a frown.
“Still, it’s enough time for you to visit the hospital with me to check on the progress of the new wing,” Gray reminded Gage.
Gray was working on the Taylor Generational Wing at All Saints Hospital in Temptation. He wanted Gage’s input on the obstetrics and gynecology department and research program that was set up in their mother’s name. Even though he’d vowed not to think about work while he was here, there was no way Gage was going to refuse to help his brother.
“Absolutely,” Gage replied to Gray. He needed to meet with both his brothers, but for now, Gray would have to do.
“How long are you planning to stay, Gage?” Morgan asked. “With the holidays coming up, I was hoping to get all the Taylors to come for dinner. I know it’s been a long time since all of you were together, but that needs to change.”
Morgan was petite, friendly and just a little bit bossy, which Gage concluded was exactly what Gray needed in a woman.
“That’s a great idea,” Harper added.
“I should have a few more rooms at the house completed by Thanksgiving, so whoever doesn’t stay here can come out there with Garrek and me.”
“Oh, a big family Christmas sounds amazing,” Ava said.
She looked at Morgan and Harper with an expression that matched the women’s excitement.
Unsure what to make of that, Gage replied, “I don’t know if I’ll be able to get away again that soon. And I only have three weeks to stay this time.”
Silence fell around him, and Gage felt uncomfortable with the thought that he was spoiling their plans. He was even more uncomfortable about Ava being here, with his family, making plans for the holidays.
“Well, I think I should be going now,” Ava said and pushed her chair back from the table. “I apologize for interrupting your family celebration. But I do thank you so much for your hospitality, Morgan and Gray.”
“Don’t mention it,” Morgan said before leaning over to nudge her husband.
“Ah, she’s right. It was a pleasure having you, Ava,” Gray told her.
“We’re all set for our meeting tomorrow,” Harper added.
Ava nodded. “That’s right, we are. I’m really looking forward to hearing your ideas about tiny homes. I’ve been thinking about having one built for a while, just haven’t had the time.”
“Well, you’re in Temptation now,” Morgan continued. “We take life at a slower pace here than in Los Angeles. I hope you get lots of writing done while you’re here. And please feel free to stop by whenever you get tired of sitting at your computer. You’re welcome here anytime.”
Gage tried not to frown at that statement. He’d taken Harper’s offer to stay at the house she was renovating for her and Garrek.
“Thanks. I’m just going to head back now. I’ll be seeing you all soon, I suppose,” Ava said as she stood this time.
Gage stood, too. He didn’t know why, but he did.
“I’m going to head out, as well. I’ll see Ava back to the B and B,” he said.
“That’s an excellent idea,” Morgan added with a smile.
“I’ll meet you for breakfast at the hospital in the morning,” Gray said.
“I’ll be there,” he replied.
Gage moved around the table to hug and kiss Morgan and Harper good-night. He shook Gray’s hand and then went to stand beside Ava. She was looking at him with a smile, and Gage wondered what she was thinking. He wondered what she’d thought about that night after they’d been together in her trailer. And he wondered if she’d thought about him at all since that time.
