A Man 0f His Word (Round-The-Clock Brides Book 4)

by Sandra Steffen

  April thought about warning Cole that her mother-in-law was a force to be reckoned with. She was helpful, forward, kind and often said exactly what she was thinking. But Cole was a grown man, strong and capable of handling himself.

  They walked to the patio together, their shadows gliding across the grass ahead of them. Their shoulders didn’t brush, their elbows didn’t touch, and yet she felt a connection. She didn’t know what she was going to do about it, and panicked a little when she thought about doing anything, but it was there, a soft thrum, a steady lure out of the darkness.

  Several guests had started gathering up their children and dishes and coolers. Every one of them stopped to watch Cole meet Jay’s mother. It was a wonder they couldn’t see April’s heart beating as she stopped next to the table where JoAnn Avery was sitting.

  “Mother,” April said. “This is—”

  “I’ve got it, honey.” With that, her mother-in-law rose fluidly to her feet and faced Cole. “You’ve probably noticed we don’t stand on ceremony around here. I’m JoAnn. It’s nice to meet my son’s dearest friend.”

  Everyone expected her to kiss his cheek, but nobody expected to hear her whisper, “My granddaughters tell me you sleep in the buff. A man after my own heart.” Jay’s mother had a whisper that could penetrate steel.

  April’s mouth dropped open. “What she meant was—”

  But her mother-in-law interrupted. “For heaven’s sakes, there’s nothing wrong with sleeping in the nude. It’s my sleeping attire of choice.”

  Jay’s sisters gasped as if that was more information than they needed about their parents; a couple of the guys chuckled and Lacey laughed out loud. Cole’s only concession to surprise in JoAnn Avery’s extremely personal topic was the slight lift of one eyebrow and a slow, beguiling grin. “I wasn’t expecting company, ma’am.”

  April peered at Gracie and Violet, who stood on either side of their grandmother like twin angels. “Girls, did you tell anyone else?”

  Their eyes were large, but they stood mute, the equivalent of them taking the fifth.

  “They might have mentioned it to me,” Lacey admitted.

  “And me,” Jay’s father said.

  “And us,” two of April’s sisters-in-law said.

  April floundered. “I’m sure nobody means... That is, the girls and I didn’t intend to invade your privacy, Cole...”

  Jay’s mother patted Cole’s cheek. “You don’t feel invaded, do you?” With a wink, she said, “Isn’t this better than me blubbering all over you? Just between you and me, the only thing better than sleeping nude is swimming that way.”

  And that started a round of gasps and exclamations from JoAnn’s daughters. JoAnn waved them away as if she were swatting at a bothersome mosquito.

  “At least three of your neighbors can see your pool from their houses. They would be able to see you swimming without any clothes on, Mom,” Jay’s sister Elizabeth pointed out.

  “No one your dad and I know has night vision, honey.”

  “You and Dad?” one sister said.

  “Then at least this was at night?” the other one added.

  “Sometimes, dear.”

  As blonde and pretty as her sister, Regan clamped her mouth shut as any horrified daughter would. “I’m not going to tell Ryan about this,” she said. “His dream is to swim at nude beaches.”

  “Tell me what?”

  “That it’s time to go,” Regan replied as her husband snaked his arm around her shoulder. “Where are the kids?”

  “We should be going, too,” Jay’s mother said, turning to April. Several other guests got up. “I’m afraid I’m clearing the room, dear.”

  The lines that had formed beside JoAnn Avery’s eyes and mouth this past year irked her to no end. She wore her sadness, bore it, but she wouldn’t allow it to own her. April admired her more than she could say.

  Giving her a hug, she said, “You’re something else, do you know that? Love you.”

  “I know you do.” JoAnn smiled serenely at April and touched Cole’s arm. “I’m glad you could join us tonight, young man. Jay was friendly to most everyone, but only a select few were his chosen friends. Now I’ve gone and gotten something in my eye.”

  Everyone who heard her suddenly had something in his or her eye, too.

  JoAnn glanced around the yard. “It looks like Jim’s ready. Will and Kristy are packing up the kids and the coolers, too. Good night, everybody.”

  The yard cleared out quickly after that, for most of the adults had to work in the morning. A lost shoe was found, children were gathered, hugs given, trash thrown away, a Frisbee rescued from the garage roof, chairs folded up and hauled out by whoever had brought them.

  And then, suddenly, Cole was the only one left. It was nearly nine-thirty and Gracie and Violet were crouched together, their heads touching as they studied a cicada crawling in the grass. It would be dark soon, but April was in no hurry to lure them from their discovery.

  Cole stood watching them. And April watched him.

  His shoulders were back, his weight on his right leg, his eyes on the girls. The lingering sunlight cast him in silhouette, cottonwood fluff from a neighbor’s tree drifting weightlessly on the air all around him.

  He was undeniably handsome, his nose straight, his chin strong and his chest broad. Cole was all sharp angles and hard planes, his back straight, his shirt tucked neatly in.

  He turned as if he’d felt her looking at him, and started toward her without so much as a hint of a smile on his face.

  “You made a liar out of me tonight,” she said.

  He did a double take, and she hurried to explain.

  “Before you arrived, Jay’s mom asked me what you’re like, and I told her you’re determined and decent but don’t smile readily, and yet you laughed out loud with her. Who knew she and Jay’s dad go skinny-dipping?”

  “She told me that to put me at ease,” he said.

  April wondered what her mother-in-law’s secret was, because Cole definitely was not at ease now. If she didn’t do something in the next few seconds, he was going to flee. And she didn’t want him to leave yet.

  “Would you come in for a few minutes?” Sensing his hesitation, she added, “I’m curious about those changes you said Jay’s brothers made to your blueprint.”

  Her ploy worked. As she led the way into the house, she thought her beguiling mother-in-law wasn’t the only one with a few tricks up her sleeve.

  * * *

  Cole wasn’t sure how it had happened. He’d been about to take his leave, and now he was explaining the Averys’ somewhat confusing suggestions for her floor plan. They held the sheet of paper together, their heads almost as close as Gracie’s and Violet’s were as they studied the bug.

  She listened closely as he pointed out each of the penciled lines drawn by various members of her extended family. There was a larger closet here, another doorway there, an entirely different location for the enormous bathroom. Evidently, his explanation was making sense. How was a mystery, because all he could think about was how feminine April looked in yellow, how soft her hair felt where it brushed his arm, and how much he wished—

  No, he wouldn’t allow the thought to fully form.

  She’d secured her hair away from her face on one side. The style bared her ear, the length of her neck and the delicate edge of her collarbone. He lost his train of thought as he imagined pressing his lips to each of those places. Again, he consciously reeled his wayward thoughts to safer territory.

  Thankfully, she went to the door and called, “Girls, it’s getting dark out. It’s time to come inside. Leave the bug alone now. He’s tired and wants to go to bed.”

  The twins jumped up from their squatting positions and raced to the house. “It’s already dead,” Gracie said.

  “Because you squished it,” Violet g
rumbled, letting the door slam behind her and her sister. In the kitchen now, she wrinkled her nose up at Cole. “She always squishes bugs. Gross.”

  Though Cole’s laugh sounded rusty, it released some of the pent-up tension that had become lodged below his ribs. April was right. He wasn’t prone to smiles; he laughed even less.

  She sent the girls to wash their hands and put on their pajamas, and asked him if he would like anything. “Decaf, pop, a beer, water, leftovers?”

  He eyed the pan of brownies longingly, but said, “I don’t need anything, thanks.”

  She put two brownies on a small plate anyway, added a clean fork and handed it all to him. “There’s milk in the fridge. Help yourself to anything else.” With that, she left the room.

  He heard a drawer closing and water running; she was helping Violet and Gracie get ready for bed. Eyeing the plate on the table, he forked a bite into his mouth. The brownies were gooey and laced with chunks of fudge and swirls of cream cheese. He finished both, and since he didn’t see a dishwasher, he piled the plate on top of the other dishes stacked in the sink.

  In the bathroom, April was instructing the girls to brush their teeth. Cole shook his head because they did more talking than brushing. Leaving the floor plan on the table, he tied the trash bag and carried it out to the garage. Back inside, he wandered to a bookcase in the living room and picked up a framed photo of April dressed in white, Jay in a dark suit and tie.

  He stared until their faces blurred and the ache in his chest grew so heavy he couldn’t breathe. Next, he looked at pictures of Gracie and Violet at various ages. There was also an old photo of an attractive couple and two young girls who had to be April and her sister, and other framed photos of people he’d met today.

  He could hear prayers being said in a room down the hall. There was of a lot of God blessing, and other bits of conversation he couldn’t quite hear. And then April came to the doorway. “They’d like you to tell them good night in private.”

  He’d never tucked a child in, and wasn’t sure where to begin. Beneath the glow of a star-shaped night-light, he was careful not to step on the toys on the floor, and went to Gracie’s bed first. She looked up and gave him a sleepy smile.

  “Good night,” he said for lack of a better idea.

  Evidently it was enough. Her eyes already drifting closed, she tucked a tattered stuffed rabbit under her chin and murmured, “’Night, Cole.”

  He moved to the edge of Violet’s bed next. He’d barely sat down before she said, “Mama says if I take off my pajamas I can’t wear my princess dress for a week. I wish I had a puppy like Maddie’s. Mama says maybe, but that always means no. Would you ask her? I’d take care of her all by myself. I’d name her Jasmine. Or Belle, or Arielle, or maybe Beu—”

  Her voice trailed away and the list of potential names went unfinished. That quickly, she’d fallen asleep, too.

  He found April in the kitchen washing dishes, and watched her from the doorway for a moment. She’d brushed her hair, an odd thing to notice, but he saw details like that. Every inch of her countertops was covered with leftovers and empty serving dishes and silverware and pitchers and more. He wondered if he should offer to help. What was the protocol here?

  “You know,” he said, entering the room. “Violet looks like you, but I’ll bet Jay’s mother was a lot like her as a child.”

  He’d expected April to laugh or smile or at least nod, but she simply continued washing dishes.

  “Just a heads-up, she isn’t giving up on her wish for a puppy.” He came to stand near the dish drainer on the counter. “She’s already choosing a name.”

  April sighed.

  “You don’t like dogs?”

  “Oh, I love dogs. My sister and I had one when we were kids. Marilee named her Lady Godiva, but our parents made her shorten it to Lady.” She sighed again.

  “Long day?” he asked.

  She shrugged one shoulder. “How were the fudge brownies?”

  “Good. Really good.”

  “Lacey made them. They’re called Better Than Sex Brownies. That’s the honest to God truth. She showed me the recipe on her phone.”

  “I said they were good,” he said. “But I wouldn’t go that far.”

  Again, he was surprised April didn’t even crack a smile. It was dark outside, and he could see her reflection in the window over the sink. He considered bringing up Jay. Was she missing him? Was that it? Did being with his family make her miss him more? Or was spending time with Cole responsible for that?

  “Is everything okay?” he asked.

  Her nod wasn’t convincing.

  He eased closer and touched her shoulder, his gaze following the delicate stitching around the neckline of her dress. How many times must he force his eyes elsewhere?

  “What’s wrong, April?”

  “What makes you ask?”

  “You’ve washed that glass three times.”

  She finally looked up at him, but she didn’t give him so much as a hint about what was bothering her. Instead, from out of the blue she kissed him.

  Her lips touched his lightly, little more than a brush of air, so soft that the sweetness of it made it impossible for him to pull away. His eyes slammed shut and his breath caught.

  She must have gone up on her tiptoes, for he was tall and she wasn’t. Her body rested lightly against his, fitting him perfectly. She was lithe, warm and so incredibly brave. He was drowning in her scent, in her kiss, in her beauty and in her.

  Her touch was a connection, a meeting of lips, a melding of desires and sensations. Warmth swirled all around him, circling like an echo, more vibration than sound, more magic than he’d known in a long time.

  She tilted her face slightly; her hands fluttered to his shoulders, her body soft as only a woman could be. Desire churned inside him as his hands found their way around her back, his fingers threading through the loose, silken curls in her hair. From far in the distance a clock struck ten. The wind sighed and night insects chirruped, but April made no sound. There was no groan deep in her throat, no whimper, no request, certainly no demand for anything other than this breathy connection.

  On and on it went, his heart hammering in his chest, his lips opening over hers. His senses spun in ten directions at once, but each and every one of them circled back to where his mouth covered hers.

  He loved touching her hair, relished the smooth soft texture of her skin. Her curves were lush, her thighs braced between his. He hadn’t expected this, hadn’t been prepared for it. He’d dreamed of it, though, of kissing her and holding her and learning her by heart. His dreams hadn’t done this justice.

  That thought took root inside his skull, unfurling until it broke through the clouds in his mind. He’d dreamed of this a long time ago, and he’d always felt guilty as sin about it.

  The realization had him dragging his mouth from hers.

  Her eyes fluttered open, pools of gold. Her cheeks were pink, her lips wet and parted, as if in wonder. If he laid his fingertip over the vein pulsing at the base of her neck, he knew her heartbeat would match his.

  Desire and honor warred within him. He wanted to kiss her again, to breathe her in, to draw her up and lay her down. He wanted to press himself over her and lose himself in her.

  “April.”

  “I know. I shouldn’t have done that.”

  He shouldn’t have done that. He’d told himself just this afternoon he wouldn’t. He’d promised. And not just himself.

  He should have stopped her before it began. He sure as hell shouldn’t have encouraged her, but he knew there was nothing he could have done to keep from responding.

  He reeled himself back a step, then two. Now that he was too far away to touch her, maybe he would be able to think.

  She was lonely. That was all this was. Acute loneliness. He understood loneliness. But he couldn�
�t lead her on in any way.

  “You could be married for all I know,” she said. “Jay said you weren’t, but that was fourteen months ago. If you are, I’m so sorry. I wouldn’t have kissed you if I’d known. I should have asked before I did.”

  “I’m not married, April.”

  “Fourteen months,” she said as if he hadn’t spoken. “Jay’s only been gone fourteen months. I told myself maybe in fourteen years. But not now.”

  “You’re right. Not now,” he said, his voice gravelly. He could still see the effects of their shared passion in her eyes, on her lips, and the buds of her breasts her clothing couldn’t conceal.

  “That was what I told myself all evening,” she said. “It’s too soon. But then you dove to your knees out of sheer instinct and dodged those water balloons, and you placed your hand in Jay’s father’s. Do you have any idea what a gift you gave him by doing that? And you let Jay’s brothers shake your hand and his sisters kiss your cheek, and you smiled for Jay’s mom. Each time, something inside me shifted. And I wanted to feel my hand in yours. I wanted to look into your eyes up close. I wanted to see you smile at me and I wanted to experience your kiss.”

  “April, I shouldn’t have—I never intended—”

  “I’m not asking you to kiss me again, Cole.”

  He released the breath he’d been holding. Okay then, this was just something she’d needed to experience once. Now they could move on. His promise was safe after all—

  “But I wish you would.”

  He must have heard wrong. It was a miracle he could hear anything over the roaring in his ears. But he hadn’t been mistaken. She wanted another kiss. It was in the gold-flecked brown eyes looking at him, in her chin as she raised it, in the soft smile on her lips.

  He was across the kitchen in three strides, but instead of wrapping his arms around her and hauling her against him like in some overwritten movie script, he placed a hand on either side of her face and brought his mouth to hers.

  Her breath caught; his deepened. He swayed closer; she sighed. He held her face in his hands, her hair silky beneath his fingers; her mouth opened beneath his. Kissing her changed the very air he breathed and the rhythm of his heart. He wanted this, wanted her, more than he’d ever wanted anything in his life.