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“Jeez, she’s practically family.”
He turned to Adam. “Don’t say that.”
“She’s been like a sis—”
“I really wish you wouldn’t say that.” Nolan cut him off, pushing aside his desire for another shot. He instead went for a beer and got two more for his brothers. They looked as if they needed them.
“What in the world made you pick her?” Bryant asked, matching his tone to Adam’s. “Of all people?”
“I didn’t exactly pick—we sort of ran into—hell, she was in costume,” Nolan growled. “So was I. She was drinking. I was drinking. It was late. It was dark—”
“Spare us the details.”
“I didn’t know—she didn’t know. It wasn’t until the next morning we realized what happened.”
“How could you not know?” Adam demanded.
Before Nolan could explain anything else, there was commotion at the entryway. Devlin and Tanya came into the room, loaded down with suitcases and presents, surprising everyone.
Thankful for the interruption, Nolan swallowed half his beer as his folks welcomed home another of their wayward sons. Soon, Tanya joined Fay and Laurie just as they were about to start opening the gifts.
Devlin spotted his brothers and headed their way, but stopped to give Katie a big hug.
A flash of something hot filled Nolan’s gut. Don’t be stupid!
Still, the burn didn’t fade, especially when his brother left a lingering kiss on Katie’s cheek.
“Hey, guys, surprised to see me?” Devlin asked with a big smile when he joined them.
“Believe it or not, you showing up isn’t the biggest surprise today.” Adam shot Nolan a hard glare. “It’s good to have you home.”
“You back to stay?” Nolan asked. He got his brother a cold root beer, as close as Dev got to the real thing since getting sober over a decade ago. “For good?”
“Sure are. Tanya finished up her schooling early and we wanted to be here for Thanksgiving.” Devlin nodded his thanks for the drink. “When we heard about today, we hoped to make it back in time.” He held out his hand to Adam. “Congrats again, Daddy.”
Adam returned his handshake.
Devlin repeated the gesture with Bryant. “You, too, Pops. Geesh, two more rug rats to add to the family. So, what else is new around here?”
Nolan stared at Adam, knowing what he’d told him and Bryant was about to be shared with another brother.
Needing more privacy, he gestured to the leather couches in a nearby alcove. His brothers followed and got comfortable. The laughter and feminine chatter were muted now even with the sliding pocket doors remaining open.
“What’s going on?” Devlin asked. “Did someone die?”
“Not yet.”
Nolan sighed and ignored Adam’s veiled threat. He laid out what had happened two weeks ago between him and Katie, keeping the details light for both her sake and his.
“Dude...” Devlin flopped back against the cushions. “Even I didn’t go there. Not that the thought didn’t cross my mind, but still. She’s practically family.”
Nolan braced his elbows on his knees, his eyes locked on the beer bottle hanging from his clenched fingers. “Would you guys please stop saying that?”
“I guess this explains why every time we called from London you were working out of your home office instead of here,” Dev continued, jerking his head toward the rooms connected with the family business farther down the hall.
“And why our office manager’s been quieter than usual,” Bryant added. “Laurie said she thought Katie might still be hurting from her breakup with the deputy.”
“That was months ago.” Nolan hated the idea she might still be hung up on Jake. “She’s over him.”
He waited for his brothers to argue that fact, but silence filled the air for a long moment. Nolan let it go on, knowing he’d given everyone a shock.
Hell, if any of them had made this same announcement he’d be pissed, too. More so. Not that he had a right to be.
“So, what’s next?”
He looked up when Bryant spoke and found three sets of eyes all mirroring that same question. “Nothing. We...decided things would go on the same. Like before.”
“Good.”
Nolan turned to Adam, not liking the steely glint in his eyes. “Good?”
“She’s been through enough in the last few months.”
“I know that. What happened was a—” Mistake. Nolan held back the word, the taste of it sour in his mouth. “A surprise. To both of us. And yeah, things are a little awkward, but it’ll go back to normal. Eventually.”
Because that’s what they’d agreed upon. What they wanted.
“It’s the right...answer,” Nolan said.
“Is it?” Devlin asked. “If she’s interested and you’re interested—”
“I’m not. Never have been.” Nolan cut him off, ignoring the way his heart pounded in his chest. Li-ar. Li-ar. It didn’t matter. The last thing any of them needed was for his stupidity to wreak havoc with the family and the family business.
He cringed at the F word again. “Katie’s always been...just Katie.”
“Until now.” Adam set his beer on the table with a thud. “You changed that. Changed everything.”
“Not on purpose,” Nolan replied. He could see his brother wasn’t going to let this go.
“Well, you better purposely find a way to fix things with her. Fast. Before we lose—” Adam stopped, his gaze intense. “What?”
Nolan pulled in a deep breath. “She offered to quit. That morning.” His brothers started to protest, and he made a slashing motion, cutting them off. “I told her to forget it. She’s too valuable to the company.”
“Damn straight.”
“Look, neither one of us wants to make anything of this. She’d be mad as hell if she finds out I said anything. Keep your mouths shut. Okay?”
His brothers nodded in agreement, Adam going last.
Nolan set his beer on the table, not interested in it anymore. “It’s going to take time. To get beyond...whatever this is. Sorry if I cast a gloom on the baby-making pride you guys got going on.”
“Not all of us,” Devlin pointed out, reaching into his jacket for a small velvet box. “I’m not at the baby stage yet. I’m still trying to wrap my brain around this.”
“What—what the hell is that—are you serious?”
Nolan’s words overlapped Adam’s and Bryant’s when Devlin shared the diamond ring he’d found in a store in London and his plan to surprise Tanya with a Thanksgiving Day proposal.
“And don’t tell the folks,” Devlin warned, stowing the box away. “About this, or that Liam is planning to bring Missy and Casey back for Christmas. He tagged along on the ring shopping, so Missy should be sporting a sparkler on her finger when they arrive.”
“Well, it seems Mom’s going be surrounded by babies and weddings next year,” Bryant said. “She’ll be over the moon.”
“And pestering you and Liam for more grandchildren not long after the I dos,” Adam added before glancing back at Nolan. “Guess this makes you and Ric the last single Murphy brothers.”
“That’s fine with me.” Nolan leaned back, more relaxed now than he’d been all day, glad the topic of conversation had moved away from him and Katie. “Don’t forget, I did my part already by providing the first round of grandchildren.”
Besides, he’d decided a long time ago he and marriage weren’t a good fit. Not after those unhappy years with his ex-wife in Boston.
Now there was a union that never should’ve happened. And probably wouldn’t have if there hadn’t been a need for a hasty wedding.
He didn’t regret his marriage entirely because of Abby, Luke and Logan, but fatherhood was a far better fit than being a husband.
“So, three and out?” Devlin asked.
“That’s right. Messy diapers and 3:00 a.m. feedings are in my rearview mirror.” Nolan grinned. “I’m busy enough with work, and while I’m not happy with the arguing, at least my kids can feed themselves. I’ll leave the happily-ever-afters and babies to you guys.”
* * *
Katie bit hard on her bottom lip and hurried back to the party on tiptoes.
She’d slipped out to her office to hunt up a couple of notepads and pens to keep track of who gave what gift to the mommies-to-be.
Overhearing Devlin sharing with his brothers his plans to propose to Tanya stopped her in her tracks.
She was genuinely happy for the two of them. If anyone deserved to find true love and happiness, it was Devlin. He’d gone through a tough time recently. A helicopter he’d been piloting had crashed, stranding him and Adam in the forest with Devlin badly hurt. It’d taken him a long time to get better, and Tanya had been a big part of his recovery.
And hearing Nolan’s familiar I’m-happy-the-way-I-am mantra wasn’t surprising.
Not really.
Listening to him say aloud what he’d often said in the past, in one way or another, reaffirmed what she’d always known.
He considered his life complete.
Lead architect in his family’s successful business. With five brothers he loved and who were his best friends. Single dad to three great kids.
A happy bachelor.
Her long-held, silent crush on the guy wasn’t heading anywhere. No matter how attracted she might be to him—and had been from the moment they met—there would never be anything between them.
Well, nothing more than one stolen night of passion.
Girl, get over it!
Another familiar refrain, one she’d repeated daily to herself over the last few weeks. Getting back to normal—whatever that might be—was harder than she’d thought it’d be.
That morning after Nolan left, she’d cleaned up the room and hurried home, determined to live up to the agreement they made. To make sure everything stayed the same. Between her and Nolan. Her and the Murphys. Her and the job she loved so much.
Easier said than done.
Yes, her actions had been dumb that night. Not just dumb, but careless, too.
Hey, it wasn’t the first time she’d been stupid in her never-ending search for—
Nope, don’t use the L word.
What happened that night had been a combination of lust, booze and foolishness. She’d been lucky the man she’d fallen into bed with had been someone like Nolan.
To think one night of amazing sex would lead to something was crazy. He’d made his feelings clear. They should go on with their lives as if nothing happened.
So being in the same room with him today—even with fifty-plus other people—should be easy. Easy to continue with her pleasant but business-is-business demeanor. It’d worked at the office. Mainly because he’d holed up in his place next door, working from there most of the time, instead of at the main house.
Like that wasn’t a big enough hint he meant what he’d said.
Katie handed off the writing implements and took a load of opened gifts to display on the dining room table. Peggy joined her, holding up an infant’s one-piece pajama covered with puppies in green and yellow.
“Boy, it’s getting hard to remember Curtis ever being this small.”
Katie smiled. “I thought you said Curtis was never that small.”
“True.” Peggy refolded the outfit. “That boy arrived at almost eleven pounds and went straight into the three-to-six-month size. He’s been a handful ever since.”
“And you love it.”
“I do. Even if it meant us sharing a nasty flu bug for the last couple of weeks. Thank goodness that’s over. This is the first time either of us has been out of the house since Halloween.”
“I’m glad you’re feeling better.”
“Me, too. I appreciate the Crock-Pot meals you left for us on the front porch.” Peggy moved closer. “We haven’t had the chance to chat lately, and this isn’t the time or place for any girl talk, but are you okay?”
Katie tightened her grip on the fluffy teddy bears she’d saved from toppling to the floor. “I’m fine.” She returned the animals to the table. “Why do you ask?”
“You seem a bit—”
“Frazzled? Well, work’s been crazy, despite the upcoming holidays.” She hoped her smile didn’t appear forced. “Poor Elise, breaking her arm. I was glad to step in and help pull today together for the...for everyone.”
“I know they appreciate your efforts. Fay gushed about you when she stopped in the flower shop last week to go over some business stuff.” Peggy laid a hand on her arm. “No, what I was going to say is you seem a bit sad.”
“Sad?” Katie kept her gaze lowered. “Really?”
