Chapter Eight #2
Laughing, Harper turned her attention to Linc for the first time. And what she saw had her heart suddenly beating faster and her legs feeling like Jell-O.
The expression on his face could only be described as feral. He looked as if he was two seconds away from pouncing on her.
Harper felt herself blush, but she couldn’t tear her gaze away from his. She had a feeling if it was just the two of them, they might not even make it to the wedding. That’s how intensely he was staring at her.
Or maybe it was her imagination? Maybe she was projecting what she wanted to see on his face right now.
“Mom looks good, doesn’t she?” Kash asked innocently, breaking whatever trance the adults were in.
“She looks amazing, Bud,” Linc said, in a voice that seemed deeper than usual. More husky.
“You clean up pretty darn well too, Linc,” Harper told him. And he did. He had on a pair of dark slacks and his own button-down. But his was a deep-maroon color. Between the three of them, they embodied the colors of Christmas. And he was also wearing a bow tie.
When Harper stepped closer, drawn to him like a cat to a bowl of cream, she saw it had tiny red lobsters all over it. She smiled.
“Lobsters.”
Linc chuckled. “I had to do it. Their wedding is at Lobster Cove, after all.”
“Yeah.”
“Oh, you know what else we bought?” Kash said, sounding almost giddy with excitement.
“What’s that?” Harper asked, forcing herself to look away from Linc.
She wanted nothing more than to press herself against him and ask him to take her upstairs, but that would be inappropriate as hell, not to mention they didn’t have time—and Linc hadn’t given any indication that he wanted to repeat the gentle kiss he’d given her three weeks ago.
Not until today, that was. Not until he saw her in something other than the day-to-day jeans and sweats she usually wore.
She liked knowing she could affect him. That she could surprise him by not always looking like the harried single mother he’d probably gotten used to, the one who worked too hard and stressed too much.
“Little lobsters!” Kash crowed, as he held up a bag full of teensy plastic lobsters.
Harper frowned. “What are those for?”
“We’re going to go into Britt and Chad’s house and hide them everywhere while they’re on their honeymoon in Portland. There’s two hundred and fifty of them in here. We even numbered them all, so they can keep track of how many they find. It’s going to be so much fun!”
Harper looked back at Linc in surprise. “That’s . . . um . . . kind of mean?”
“Naw, it’s all in good fun. I’ve seen it done with ducks or frogs mostly, but you know . . . when in Maine . . .”
“What about the baby? Won’t he or she choke on them?”
“We’ll mostly put them up high. You know, on top of picture frames, inside cabinets, in their silverware drawer.
They’ll have found most of them by the time the baby comes anyway.
But I’m hoping there will be some hanging around for years.
Chad’ll find one and roll his eyes and think of his oldest brother. ”
“I can’t wait!” Kash gushed. “I’ve been watching videos online of other people who’ve done something like this, to get some good ideas about where to hide them. And I’ve got some great ones!”
“Well, count me out. I don’t want Britt to think I had anything to do with it.”
“No worries, she’ll know it was all me and Kash. Right, Bud?” Linc held up his hand to high-five the boy, and they both grinned like lunatics.
It was in that moment that Harper felt herself falling completely for the man.
He’d not only gone out of his way to take her son shopping, but he’d also ordered him a custom bow tie, and now he was including him in his shenanigans with his brothers.
Kash had never looked so happy and carefree. Had never had a chance until now.
It was a bittersweet moment. Both because of her son—knowing she, alone, hadn’t been able to give him the life he had now—and because she had no idea what to do about her intense attraction to Lincoln.
She wasn’t the kind of woman who could have a no-strings-attached affair.
Never had been. If she gave in to her attraction to Linc, it would hurt like hell when things ended.
And she had no doubt that things would end. She was only a temporary houseguest. Eventually, he’d want his house back. Would want to return to his quiet, private life, the one where he didn’t have to constantly watch over and entertain someone else’s kid.
As much as she respected and admired the man—and wanted him physically—she couldn’t have him. Not if she thought it might end in her heartbreak . . . and especially not in Kash’s.
With that thought running through her mind, she took a deep breath and turned away from the temptation that was Lincoln Young. “Ready to go, Kash?”
“Yup!”
“You need to be on your best behavior today,” she warned.
“Mooooom, of course I will be.”
“All right, I’m just saying, this is an important day for Britt and Chad, and we want to do whatever we can for it to go perfectly.”
“There’s no such thing as perfect,” Kash said.
Harper let out a little huff of laughter. Figured her son would choose that moment to parrot back to her words she’d said to him more than once.
“Right. As perfect as it can be then.”
“Do you think we’ll be able to sneak away to do the lobster attack before the ceremony?” Kash asked Linc as he headed for the door.
“Doubt it. Don’t worry, we’ll figure out a time. Even if we have to pretend to leave, then sneak back around to the house in the dark.”
“Ooooh! A covert operation! Yes! Let’s do that.”
Harper couldn’t help but chuckle. Leave it to the former badass Air Force fighter pilot to want to sneak around in the cold dark night and break into the home of his brother—the former Army sniper—to plant hundreds of plastic lobsters anywhere and everywhere.
All right, breaking in was a stretch, as Harper knew for a fact Chad had given each of his brothers a key to the house for emergencies.
The drive to Lobster Cove was uneventful, but the closer they got, the more anxious Harper became.
What was she even doing here? She wasn’t a part of the Young family.
No matter how much she might want to be.
Yes, her father was invited, but he would most likely come over right at the time the ceremony was set to start and leave right after, if he showed at all.
By the time Linc parked, she was a nervous wreck.
“I’m leaving the lobsters in here so no one figures out what’s up,” Kash said, before opening the back door and hopping out. Thankfully the weather was cooperating, and no one had to wear boots. It wasn’t exactly sunny, but it wasn’t raining or snowing either.
She reached for her own door handle, but Linc stopped her by putting a hand on her arm.
“Wait a sec, Harper.”
Even the simple touch of his hand on her arm made tingles shoot through her body, settling between her legs. This was a problem. A big one. She wasn’t sure she’d be able to handle being around this man much longer without seeing where their amazing chemistry went.
She looked at him expectantly.
“You look beautiful.”
She blinked. That wasn’t what she thought he was going to say at all.
But the surprise morphed into pleasure immediately.
He thought she was beautiful. Harper had heard people talking about her looks in a positive way all her life.
Especially while attempting to get into the modeling scene in New York.
But hearing Linc say it? Nothing made her feel better.
“Thanks. You look great too.”
They stared at each other for a long moment.
“You’ve been working really hard lately, I hope you can relax a little today. Enjoy the day.”
Had he moved closer? Or had she? Harper wasn’t sure, but they were definitely a little closer together than they had been when they’d first pulled up.
“I’ll try. You too. You’ve been a huge help with Kash, and I know you’re still working extremely hard on the house. And not getting enough sleep in the process.”
His gaze was alternating between meeting her own and flicking down to her lips.
His hand moved on her arm, caressing upward, his thumb gently moving back and forth on her bare skin.
The dress had short sleeves, probably inappropriate for December, but since it fit so well and Harper loved it, she hadn’t cared.
She was doubly grateful now that her arms weren’t covered, so she could feel the calluses on Linc’s hands. Hands that had controlled multimillion-dollar jets, had toiled attempting to remodel his house, and had high-fived her son over something as silly as a bag full of plastic lobsters.
He was a multifaceted man, and Harper had never met anyone like him. He also wholeheartedly and unashamedly loved his family, and he wasn’t afraid to voice that love.
“This isn’t the time or place, but fuck it,” he muttered—then he closed the scant distance between them.
His hand tightened on her arm, as if he was afraid she was going to bolt. But Harper wasn’t going anywhere. No way. She wanted this. Wanted to see if the taste she’d had of his lips three weeks ago was as good as she remembered, or if she’d blown the encounter out of proportion in her mind.
The second his lips closed over hers, Harper realized she hadn’t blown anything out of proportion. And he didn’t hesitate this time, simply took what he wanted.
Harper gave it to him, because she wanted the same thing.
A small moan left her throat as he devoured her.
Taking control of the kiss. His tongue surged into her mouth, tangling with hers as he tasted her properly for the first time.
After a moment, the desperation between them lessened a bit, and the kiss gentled.
Became more erotic for it. Linc’s hand slipped under the sleeve of her dress, and Harper could feel her nipples harden at his touch.
The console was between them, and the angle was awkward, but she’d never been more turned on than she was right this second.