Just a Kiss in the Moonlight: Georgia Moon Romance Book 2 (5 page)

“Jillian!” Mrs. Bradford scolded softly. “Where are your manners?”

“Sorry, ma’am.”

Luke laughed. “It’s okay. I’ve been told that a few times since moving here.”

“These are my grandchildren. Jillian and Christopher.” Mrs. Bradford touched her granddaughter on the head. “Say hello to Mr. Luke.”

“Hi,” the kids said in unison.

“It’s nice to meet you both,” Luke said.

Christopher glanced at his sister before returning his gaze to Luke. “Do you have any kids we can play with?”

A familiar ache pinched inside his chest. The child had no way of knowing how much Luke longed for children of his own. Smiling, he shook his head. “No, Christopher. I’m sorry but it’s just me.”

“That’s okay,” Jillian said. “We don’t have a daddy and our mama was too sad to take care of us, so we live with Nana.”

Mrs. Bradford blew out a big breath. “All right now, that’s enough. Y’all run on inside and I’ll be in shortly.”

The kids didn’t hesitate and hurried back into the house. As soon as the door closed, Mrs. Bradford met Luke’s eyes. “I reckon you didn’t want to know all of that.” She sighed heavily. “My daughter got pregnant with the twins in college. She didn’t know who the father was and had no intention of raising two babies. She left them with her daddy and me just before their second birthday. That was four years ago and I haven’t heard from her since.”

“I’m sorry.” Luke knew the words were trite, but he didn’t know what else to say.

She lifted one shoulder up. “It’s been difficult, especially when my husband passed away last year, but I love them.”

Life was hard some times, and this woman had had her share of difficulties. “I’m sorry for your loss.”

Her eyes were bright with unshed tears. “God is good. I’m healthy and Henry worked hard to give us a good life and left me financially stable.”

Jillian appeared on the porch. “Nana, Christopher won’t let me watch my show.”

“Okay, sugar. Let me get the groceries and I’ll be right in.” She smiled at Luke. “Do you like pecan pie?”

“Yes, ma’am.” Luke’s stomach growled just thinking about the delicious dessert.

“Good. I’ll bring one over as soon as you move in.”

“Thank you.” He pointed to her car. “And in return, let me help you with the groceries.”

Iris’s smile broadened. “I won’t say no.”

Luke carried the groceries inside and left ten minutes later with a fishing buddy. Christopher used to fish with his Papa and was eager to go with Luke. Iris was so grateful that she issued him an invitation for supper.

The entire evening, Luke didn’t think about Taylin once, but when he returned to his hotel room, he saw the questionnaire she’d given him earlier. Thoughts about the beautiful blonde plagued him for the rest of the night.

He answered all of the questions the best he could, feeling a little self-conscious revealing this much of himself to Taylin. But there was one question he couldn’t answer, and it wasn’t even on the questionnaire. What was he going to do about this attraction for Taylin Nichols?

T
aylin glanced at her boyfriend
, knowing he regretted his offer to come to Walmart with her. He still felt bad about his behavior the night before and wanted to make it up to her. She figured dragging him to Walmart to look through scrapbooking supplies would be a good enough penance, but having him along was more of a punishment to her.

The bulletin board was almost done. Luke had emailed her his answers late last night, and Taylin had printed them off. She just wanted to mount them to some cute paper so the display didn’t look sterile and boring.

Taylin didn’t want to find Luke intriguing, but her stupid brain wasn’t cooperating. Maybe once she finished the bulletin board with fun facts about the new guy, she could forget about him.

Luke’s answers had told her a lot about him. Like he loved his family, loved riding his Harley, and loved fishing. He also loved Montana, the mountains and would rather be outdoors.

Jared swore under his breath, and Taylin cut him a glare. He missed her irritated look because he was completely engrossed in some stupid game on his phone.

Turning back to the display, she selected a book with a variety of different themed paper. She also grabbed a couple of packages of cutouts related to Luke’s answers. Adding those to her cart, she pushed it further down the aisle to get glue sticks and double-sided tape.

It didn’t surprise her that Jared didn’t follow her. He was really into his game and probably wouldn’t even know if she left the store—something she was extremely tempted to do if she had driven her own car.

Needing to stop by the toy department to pick up a gift for one of her nephews, she left Jared with his phone. If he realized she was gone, he could call her on her cell. Otherwise, she would probably find him rooted to the same spot.

She pushed her cart slowly, pausing to look down each aisle to look for the superheroes. Her nephew was into Captain America and she told her sister she would buy him a costume. While the front of the store had superhero Halloween costumes, they weren’t as well made as the ones she could find in the toy department.

As she passed by the Disney princess aisle, the last person she expected to see was Luke McKay. He stood there, holding up a princess dress in front of him, a perplexed look furrowing his brow.

For a second she thought about offering to help him, especially since he’d gallantly changed her flat tire, even after she told him he wasn’t her type. Unfortunately, now that she knew a little more about him, she knew he was exactly her type. He was into his family and liked the outdoors. He hadn’t mentioned anything about Xbox or PlayStation, which she hoped meant he wasn’t obsessed with video games. He also looked great in his jeans and snug-fitting T-shirt that accentuated cut muscles.

Before she could move on, he glanced up and his eyes widened. Although it was difficult to tell with the dark shadow of whiskers covering his jaw, she was pretty sure she detected a tinge of red color his face.

“I don’t think that’ll fit you,” she teased. “Besides, aren’t you a little old to go trick-or-treating?”

The corner of his mouth lifted slightly. “My mother told me as long as I dressed up so nobody recognized me, I could trick-or-treat for as long as I wanted.”

“I guess that dress might work, then.” She pushed her cart closer. “Although, even with a bigger size, I’d probably still recognize you so don’t come to my house.”

He chuckled and shook his head. “The dress is for my niece. Her birthday is next week.”

“That’s really sweet,” Taylin said, genuinely impressed. “How old will she be?”

“Four.” His eyes crinkled at the corners. “She loves that movie
Frozen
. I think I watched it with her a dozen times before I moved.”

His confession was so cute. “And you said you didn’t have a favorite movie. I think I need to amend the answer you gave me.”

“Hey, I never said it was my favorite movie, just Eliza’s.”

Taylin smiled, unable to pull her gaze away from his gray eyes. Was he flirting with her, or did he feel safe being playful since she’d claimed he wasn’t her type?

“Maybe you can help me.” He held up the small replica of Queen Elsa’s dress. “This says size two to four. I texted my sister to find out if this is the right size, but I haven’t heard back from her.”

It wasn’t necessary for Taylin to move closer to him, but she did anyway, instantly catching the masculine scent of his cologne. “Is she tall for her age?” she asked, taking the dress from him.

He shrugged. “I have no idea. Both her parents are tall.”

“Then I’d go with the next size up.” She handed him the dress back, and their fingers touched in the process. The mere contact sent a bolt of heated awareness through her.

He didn’t move, and she glanced up to find him studying her, his brow slightly furrowed again.

“Babe, what’re you doing?” Jared said, coming up behind her.

Taylin blinked and took a step away from Luke. “I ran into a friend from work.” She glanced at Luke. “He needed help with what size of dress to buy for his niece.”

The two men eyed each other before Luke stuck out his hand. “Hi, I’m Luke McKay.”

“Jared Wood.” He shook hands with Luke, then snaked an arm around Taylin’s waist. “Taylin’s boyfriend.”

His possessive tone grated on her nerves. She barely held back an eye roll. “I hope that works for Eliza,” she said to Luke.

“I think it will. Thanks again for your help.” His eyes held a hint of mischief when he smiled and said, “See you at work.”

Jared’s arm tightened around her waist, but Taylin escaped and moved to her cart. “See you.”

“What was that all about?” Jared asked when he caught up to her.

“I already told you.”

He snorted a sarcastic laugh. “He didn’t need your help, he was just hitting on you.”

“He was not.” But a little voice inside Taylin’s head wondered the same thing.

Jared might have argued further if not for a group message from his buddies inviting them to join the group at Gracie’s Haven. Taylin’s brother and his band, Chasing Dreams, used to play at the exclusive bar, but she and Ashlee were never allowed to go see him since they were underage.

She knew the music was always good, as well as the food, but the atmosphere wasn’t something she liked. Ashlee didn’t mind that kind of scene, but Taylin preferred a nice quiet, romantic dinner at a more upscale restaurant.

One look at Jared’s face told her if she told him no, he’d spend the rest of the night pouting.

“Why don’t you go ahead and go? I’ve gotta finish this by tonight.”

He tried to act like he didn’t want to do that, but she could see the excitement in his eyes. “Are you sure, babe? I won’t go if you don’t want me to.”

“Yeah, I’m sure.” She still needed to get her nephew’s present, but she could do that tomorrow.

Jared dropped her off at home. Literally. He didn’t even get out to walk her to the door. As she watched him drive away, she felt nothing but relief. She stood there a little longer, kind of sick inside to think she’d become one of those girls who hung onto a boyfriend so she wasn’t alone.

The realization stung. She’d never been one to conform to peer pressure.

Not sure what she would do about Jared, she went inside to find the house empty. Ashlee was out on another date with the cute guy from her office. Her parents should be home, but must have changed their minds and gone out.

Taylin went into the kitchen and found a half eaten pan of cornbread on the counter. She cut a thick slice and warmed it up in the microwave before covering it with honey butter. Taking her snack with her, she grabbed the bag of scrapbook supplies and went upstairs to her room to finish working on her project.

Before digging into her work, she opened up her music app and tapped on the newest album from Philip Jacobs she’d downloaded. The popular country artist had two songs written by her brother, Chase, on this latest release.

At one time, Taylin and Ashlee had both been madly in love with Philip Jacobs. Chase had become good friends with the singer when he sold him the song he’d written for his wife, Addie.
Make Believe
was the number-one downloaded song in iTunes the first week it was released. When Philip had a concert in Atlanta over the holidays, Chase invited him to a family Christmas party, and much to everyone’s surprise, he’d showed up.

Philip was not only incredibly sexy, he was also a really nice guy. He’d teased Chase about dating his younger sisters, and of course, their overprotective brother let him know that the twelve-year age difference was not okay.

Ashlee never listened to Chase, and flirted with Philip all night, but before he left, Philip had singled out Taylin and told her if she were a little older, he would definitely be calling her. Secretly, Taylin still harbored a crush. Unfortunately, now that she was a little older, Philip was taken. A year ago, he’d surprised everyone by marrying a beautiful singer turned actress.

Turning up the volume on her speaker, she took a bite of her cornbread and then started in on her project. She tried not to think about Luke as she pasted the printed questions and answers to the cute paper, but it was kind of hard not to think about how hot he was when she finished up the collage by adding the picture of him Margaret gave her.

Those eyes of his were such a unique color. Even in a picture, they sucked her in and made her pulse jump.

“Whoa, who’s the hottie?” Ashlee said from behind Taylin.

Startled, Taylin placed a hand over her heart. “I wish you wouldn’t do that.”

“Sorry.” Ashlee plopped down on Taylin’s bed. “So who is he?”

“Luke McKay. He’s a new nurse anesthetist at work.”

“Nice.” Ashlee kicked off her shoes. Actually, they were Taylin’s shoes. “So give me details. Is he single? Where’s he from? Are you dumping Jared to date him?”

Taylin picked up the collage and joined her sister on the queen size bed. They both scooted up against the headboard, just like they’d done when they’d shared a room.

“He is cute, isn’t he?” she said, unable to pretend disinterest.

She and Ashlee didn’t have any secrets. They also had a rule between them about guys. If Taylin met someone first, he was off-limits, and vice versa with Ashlee. They’d never had any fights over boys, even though there had been times when they’d both liked the same one.

Ashlee read the small bio about him out loud. When she read the part about him being from Montana, she laughed. “Chase and Addie will be happy if y’all get married and move out West. Isn’t Montana close to Idaho?”

“They border each other, but I’m not marrying him.” She sighed and leaned back against the headboard. “Even if I did, we wouldn’t live in Montana. His ex-wife lives there.”

“He was married?”

“Yeah.” Taylin filled her sister in on everything she’d learned. “I know his wife cheated on him, and that’s why he moved away, but I keep thinking about my college roommate Jessica and how her fiancé dumped her a few weeks before the wedding to get back together with his ex-wife.”

“I still say Jessica should’ve seen that one coming.” Ashlee narrowed her eyes. “I mean, Jessica knew the guy was still friends with his ex-wife.”

“True.” If Luke had any hopes of winning back his ex-wife, he wouldn’t have moved away from Montana, especially since he appeared to love his family so much. “But remember he still has a rule about not dating co-workers.”

As usual, Ashlee didn’t see a problem with any of it.

“Who cares what he said? Rules are always meant to be broken.”

“No they’re not.” She nudged Ashlee in the shoulder. “Unless you’re sayin’ you want to go after him.”

“He’s hot, but Grayson is hotter, and
such
a good kisser.” She moaned and closed her eyes, probably reliving the goodnight kiss she’d received from her date. “I think I’m in love,” Ashlee said dreamily.

“Really?” Taylin tried not to sound skeptical, but her sister fell in love on a regular basis.

“Yeah.” Ashlee looked over at Taylin. “I know I’ve said it before, but he’s the first guy that’s made me actually forget about Beau.”

Poor Ashlee. Beau Jacobson was their brother’s best friend and had been the drummer in Chase’s band before they disbanded and went their separate ways. Ashlee had been in love with him for as long as Taylin could remember. When Chase married Addie six years ago and moved to Idaho, Beau had left his architect firm and joined the army.

His leaving had crushed Ashlee, especially when he’d extended his four-year commitment another two years. Even though Beau was ten years older, she’d been sure once she graduated from high school, he’d finally see her as a woman, and not Chase’s little sister.

“You know Beau’s tour is almost up?” Taylin said.

“I know.”

“And you heard Chase say he’s comin’ back to Mitchel Creek to work at his firm again?”

“Yeah, but I think I’ve finally given up on ever gettin’ him to not think of me as his little sister.” Her eyes dimmed. “I’ve emailed him almost every week and every reply I get back sounds like he’s my big brother.”

“Ash, he’s thirty-four. I think he is too old for you.”

“How old is Luke?” she asked, slightly defensive.

Taylin lifted one shoulder up. “I don’t know. Probably around thirty?”

“Do you think he’s too old for you?” The tone in her voice said she wasn’t as over Beau as she claimed.

“No, but I’m not dating him.”

“But would you if he asked?”

Having never lied to her sister about a guy before, Taylin answered honestly. “Yeah, if he asked I’d say yes.”

Ashlee grinned. “I knew it!” She held up the poster board so they both could look at Luke’s picture. “Now, when are you going to dump Jared?”