His lips felt every bit as good as she’d imagined they would. That thought had come to Harper just as her tongue moved languidly against his for what felt like the billionth time. She was drifting, floating on a fluffy cloud of pleasure. At least that’s what this kiss felt like.
He held her so tightly against him, his mouth moving masterfully over hers. Harper sighed into the kiss, letting her hands move upward to cup the back of his head and hold him to her. He’d wrapped her legs around him just as she had imagined it.
Last night she’d imagined all sorts of things about Garrek Taylor. But she would have never conjured the way he had so dominantly taken her on the bed of her truck. Now she knew that it would be emblazoned in her memory forever.
She was drowning. Harper was sure of it. Drowning in the delicious taste of him as surely as he was feasting on her. His moans told the story. He was enjoying this kiss just as much as she was. She didn’t know what to think of that.
Correction, she couldn’t think. Not right now. Because if she did...
The memory was quick and ferocious, flashing through her mind like a lightning bolt. On her next inhale, the pain spread through her chest so that she was immediately turning her head away from Garrek, effectively severing the connection of their lips. She gasped and tried to take in as much oxygen as she could. The effort only caused more pain, until she was heaving and panting so loudly that he moved back. His hands were on her arms now, shaking her gently until she looked up at him.
“Harper? Are you all right?”
He was speaking. She could hear him, but her vision had gone blurry and her body began to shake. She wasn’t all right. After all this time, she still wasn’t all right.
“I have to go,” Harper finally managed to say.
She pushed at his arms and eased off the truck when he dropped his hands from her and took a step back.
“Harper,” he said. “I’m sorry.”
She was already walking away from him when she heard the words. There’d never been an apology before. She would have liked one, but it never came.
“Good night, Garrek,” she said and walked as fast as she could—refusing to run again—until she was at the house.
There, she took the front steps two at a time and quickly crossed the wood-plank porch until she reached the screen door. Inside, she ran. Straight upstairs to the room that had belonged to her since she was five years old. Once there, Harper closed the door and fell back against it. She stuffed her fist into her mouth to stifle the cry of pain and sorrow, and, yes, of regret. Because no matter how hard she tried, no matter how hard she worked, Harper knew she would never get over her past. And as long as she couldn’t get over her past, dreaming about doing more with a man like Garrek was not a possibility.
* * *
A week had passed since Harper had spoken to Garrek. She’d seen him, because she worked at his brother’s house five days a week and because Temptation was a very small town. Especially when there was someone to be avoided.
She should be used to it by now—the flaming feeling surfacing in her cheeks and the sweaty palms. She was a mess and was smart enough to admit that, at least to herself. But she didn’t have to show it.
All week long, Harper had gone to work and focused solely on her job. From the time she was thirteen years old and spent the day at her uncle Giff’s lumberyard, she knew she’d found her refuge. She gained a feeling of accomplishment from building something new. Planning how it would look and then working with her hands to see that it came to fruition.
It was that summer when she’d followed her uncle from one end of the lumberyard to the other, riding with him as he delivered pieces of furniture he made, or shipments of lumber that went to construction sites in neighboring towns, that she’d decided what her future would be. At that moment, she’d committed herself to learning everything about the construction business so that one day she could build on her own. New homes, renovations, upgrades—all of it had been her goal. And finally, that day had come.
The Taylor house was the biggest project for her two-year-old company to date. And Harper knew that having this job turn out well and gaining a recommendation from Gray Taylor was going to put her into the big league. With Gray’s connections around the world, she was sure to pick up more jobs in the Virginia area, and for Harper, that meant everything. Even Morgan’s word carried weight in this town. Most of the women had already adored Morgan as she taught their children at the elementary school. As for the men, they’d come to rally behind Morgan some months back when she and Gray had uncovered the connection between Harry Reed and Gray’s former assistant, Kym Hutchins. Those two had been arrested for burning down the community center.
Harper had always liked Morgan’s friendly nature. She enjoyed Morgan’s sister, Wendy, as well, and had often sat with the ladies at town meetings and church functions because nobody seemed to bother them. That was most likely because Ida Mae Bonet was known for protecting her granddaughters like a regal mother hen. Harper loved Ms. Ida, especially since she’d grown up without the benefit of her own mother or grandmother.
Jaclyn Presley had died from complications of pneumonia when Harper was just four years old. And since her father was stationed overseas at the time, Harper had been taken in by her uncle Giff and aunt Laura, who were still living in the farmhouse her grandparents had bought thirty years before. When her aunt and uncle finally found their own home, Harper hadn’t wanted to leave the farm, and rather than cause her any more distress, Linus Presley had announced that she would live right there with him.
Harper had grown to love that big rambling house that sat on sixty-four acres of land. She’d also enjoyed being out at the farm, away from all the whispers and stares of the townspeople. That was when she was young; now that she was an adult, Harper recognized the need to hold her head up high and conduct herself with the highest level of professionalism and integrity, even if most of the time she felt like slapping every one of the busybodies who commented on her single status and so-called boyish appearance.
“Mama says we have to be careful not to get the white dirty,” a small girl’s voice spoke.
It was a pleasant sound that effectively interrupted Harper’s thoughts.
“Oh, but I used a washable paint, so things like fingerprints and smudges can be easily wiped off,” Harper told Lily, who had quietly come out onto the back porch where she was working today.
Morgan wanted an enclosed porch that would provide an outdoor space her family could enjoy no matter the weather. So Harper followed the original slanted roofline, repairing all the existing shingles and then adding new, more supportive beams to the entire structure. French doors led down the double-wide stairs into the backyard. The furniture—a complete living room set and six-foot table with benches—would be delivered tomorrow. Royal blue and yellow would be the accent colors out here.
“Jack’s messy when he paints,” Lily added as she held her doll close.
The little girl wore pale green shorts and a white shirt with green-and-yellow polka dots. She was only five years old but had a mature way about her that reminded Harper of herself when she was younger. Only for Harper, there had been no playing with dolls or dressing up. She’d had nobody to do that with, since her cousins were boys.
“It’ll be fine,” Harper told her. “I’m sure you’ll teach him how to be neat.”
Lily nodded and walked to the other end of the porch. She was adorable, her little hands lightly touching the knob on one of the French doors. Harper had just finished inspecting the floors. They’d decided on wooden planks with a worn look that would continue the rustic-chic decor that Morgan had implemented throughout the house. Because they were on a tight schedule, yesterday’s installation had been done during hours of thunderstorms and humidity. Today, Harper wanted to make sure there was no buckling.
“Boys are hard to teach,” Lily announced.
Harper couldn’t help but smile at the comment. “You might be right about that.”
“Oh, I don’t know. I think I learn pretty quickly.”
Harper spun around so fast at that voice, she stumbled back against the corner wall where she’d been standing.
“Uncle Garrek!” Lily exclaimed before running across the floor to jump up into his arms.
He lifted her high above his head, and she giggled. Harper righted herself and swallowed. She had to get herself together, or Garrek Taylor was sure to think she was as flighty as they came in this town.
“Ready for our picnic?” Garrek asked Lily when he’d settled her on his hip.
Harper tried to go on with her work, moving to another corner and then pulling out her tape measure to be sure the table that Morgan had insisted on was going to fit on this side of the porch.
“Yup. I’m ready,” Lily replied.
Harper was leaning over slightly to read the measurements on the tape when she suddenly felt warm.
“Are you ready, Harper?” he asked about two seconds before she quickly stood upright and found her backside flush against his front.
“Whoa,” Garrek said with a chuckle as his arm wrapped easily around her waist, holding her to him. “Be careful. Wouldn’t want you to hurt yourself.”
He’d whispered those last words in her ear, and Harper had immediately moved out of his reach as the warmth traveled quickly down her side. Where was Lily? Hadn’t Garrek just been holding her in his arms? If so, how could he now be standing so close...too close to her?
Harper spotted Lily standing a few feet away from them and quickly cleared her throat before speaking, “Ah, I’m...um, yes, I’m ready to finish up my work here. I also have to check in on the progress of the playroom and...”
“You gotta eat like the rest of the staff,” Lily stated. “That’s what Uncle Garrek said.”
Harper looked to Garrek, who had glanced from his niece and back to Harper with a sheepish grin.
“We’ll fix a nice lunch and take it down to the lake,” he said.
“She won’t say no because she usually eats when the rest of the staff does.” The child even attempted to mimic her uncle’s voice as she spoke.
Harper might have smiled at that if Lily’s diatribe didn’t give away Garrek’s duplicity.
“Did I get it right, Uncle Garrek?” Lily finished, looking up at Garrek earnestly when the silence stretched on.
Garrek chuckled and then nodded to his niece. “You got it just right, pretty girl.”
“I don’t understand,” Harper said, even though she thought she was close to figuring it out.
Garrek was going to ask her to lunch. The question now was, would she go?
“We want you to come have lunch with us,” Lily announced.
If Harper wasn’t feeling so uneasy, she might have been amused by the slightly exasperated look Lily was now giving her.
“Oh, no, I have too much work to do, Lily. But it’s a lovely day, so you two should go ahead and enjoy yourselves,” Harper told her quickly.
What was he trying to do? Was this his way of getting the date he’d paid for?
“All work and no play makes Harper—” Garrek started before being interrupted by Jack, who came running out onto the porch with a baseball bat in one hand, a ball in the other.
“I’m ready, Uncle Garrek! Had to get my baseball stuff. My dad says I’m getting good at hitting,” Jack told Garrek as he looked up at him with admiration.
Lily shook her head, as if Jack’s words made no sense at all. “Dads are supposed to say nice things to their children,” she told him.
The look Jack shot her over his shoulder was filled with just enough annoyance that Harper finally grinned. She could easily recall how often she’d solicited that very look from Craig and Marlon when they were younger.
“Shall we get going before another world war starts?” Garrek asked her.
He was also grinning, probably remembering his interactions with his siblings when they were younger as well. That thought had Harper wondering what type of child Garrek had been. As an adult, he struck her as being serious and self-assured. Today, he was also devilishly handsome in his khaki shorts and Orioles baseball jersey. But that definitely wasn’t something Harper should be thinking about.
“I’m really busy,” she began, but he was already shaking his head.
“It’s just lunch, Harper. And the children will be with us, so you have nothing to worry about.”
As if she was worried about being alone with him.
Except that she was. Kinda.
“Fine,” she finally replied with a huff. “Picnic lunch it is. But we’re taking my truck down to the lake.”
She wanted at least that much control over this situation that had seemed to sneak up on her.
* * *
Garrek didn’t remember the lake.
In the last week, he realized there was a lot about Temptation that he hadn’t remembered. This town had once been his home, but now it seemed like a totally different place. One he’d never imagined himself in again. Yet here he was. He hadn’t thought too much about why in the last few days, but had focused instead on the current matters at hand. He had a house and an inheritance. A niece and nephew, and two more on the way. His brother, whom he hadn’t spent time with in years, and a sister-in-law who was just as spirited and remarkable as his sisters.
He also had a woman whom he hadn’t been able to stop thinking about, no matter how hard he tried. At this moment, that woman was instructing Jack on how to properly swing a bat.
“Ready for the first pitch?” Garrek asked from about ten feet away.
Jack had on his helmet and was standing with his small legs spread, his elbows slightly lifted as he did exactly what Harper told him. To Garrek’s right, still sitting on the blanket where they’d had their lunch twenty minutes ago, Lily sat playing with the doll she’d brought along. The doll—Susie—was being stubborn and wouldn’t finish her carrots. “Children need their vegetables,” Lily said patiently to Susie.
“They sure do,” Harper said before picking up one of the baby carrots from the plastic bowl and popping it into her mouth.
This made Lily smile and take a carrot herself. She put it into her mouth and chewed while looking at Harper and nodding.
“Ready!” Harper yelled to him and, thankful for the blast of reality, Garrek readied himself to toss the ball.
Jack looked serious, biting on his lower lip as he made eye contact with Garrek. He was concentrating, just like Harper had told him. Watching the pitcher, preparing himself for when the ball left Garrek’s hand. Knowing all this, Garrek wanted another couple of seconds before tossing the ball. Not too fast and not too slow, straight toward his nephew’s bat. Jack took the swing and tapped the ball so that it soared a whopping two feet in front of him. He dropped the bat at that point and jumped up and down, his cheers of joy causing an infectious reaction as Garrek lifted his own arms in victory as well. Harper clapped and leaned down with her hand up to meet Jack’s for a high five.
“I did it! I did it!” Jack was yelling when Garrek came to stand close to him. “I hit the ball, Uncle Garrek! Ms. Harper showed me how!”
“You sure did, buddy,” Garrek said as he too gave Jack a high five. “Good job!”
“I get to have cookies now,” Jack exclaimed and immediately took off to join his sister on the blanket, where he grabbed the plastic bowl filled with cookies.
Harper was smiling when Garrek turned from Jack to her. The gentle breeze lifted the edges of her hair, rays from the sun causing her brown eyes to look a bit lighter today.
“You like to play sports?” he asked.
It wasn’t the smoothest or most logical question to ask, but for whatever reason, she always managed to make him forget the way he usually acted around women.
She shrugged and lifted a hand to tuck the flyaway strands of hair behind her ear. “I grew up with my grandfather, uncle and two male cousins. I had to like sports.”
Garrek knew that Harper’s mother had died when she was young and that her grandfather, uncle and aunt had raised her. He also knew that the town considered her a hopeless tomboy who would eventually turn into an old spinster, hence the reason the Magnolia Guild had attempted to find her a date.
“I liked planes,” he replied.
“That’s why you became a pilot?”
She remembered what he did for a living. Garrek would take that as a point in his favor, considering she was the first woman to ever hyperventilate and then run away from his kiss.
“It’s all I ever wanted to do,” he said.
“Like I wanted to build things. It’s good to have a dream and be able to realize it,” she said and stuffed her hands into the front pockets of her jeans.
He’d never known a woman could look so sexy and enticing in something as simple as worn jeans and a T-shirt. But Harper did. Each day he’d watched her work or simply walk from the house to her truck, climb up on a ladder or stand with clipboard in hand instructing her staff. She always looked good. That fact no longer amazed him; it aroused him. Every time.
“Dreams are what life is made of,” he said. “My mother used to tell us that.”
“Your mother was a very smart and dear woman. That’s what I heard. I didn’t know her, but my aunt Laura did.”
Garrek nodded. He’d been bumping into a lot of people in town who had known his mother and the rest of their family. They knew about his father’s rumored affair and the demise of the Taylor family’s reality show. What they didn’t seem to know was that the Taylor sextuplets had thrived after they were no longer on television. Despite all that they’d been through, they’d made it past the turmoil and were now happy, healthy, successful adults. At least that’s what Garrek had been telling himself all these years.
“She was a great mother and an even better friend,” he replied.
Harper nodded. “You miss her.”
“I do,” he admitted.
“Is that why you came back to Temptation?”
“No” was his quick reply.
She tilted her head to stare at him, her questioning look clear. She wanted to know why, but she wouldn’t push. He liked that. He liked her. Much more than he should.
“I came back to claim the house my father left to me. I’d like your help in doing that,” he said, once again surprising himself—and from the look on Harper’s face, her, too.