by AS Teague
Mrs. Reed winked at her oldest son. “Lemon pound cake with vanilla glaze, just for my baby boy.”
Hampton scoffed, “Hey! What am I?”
“You’re Daddy’s favorite, duh,” Georgia piped up. “Not sure where that leaves me, though,” she finished, her eyes twinkling.
“Georgia Rose, quit with that nonsense. You know I don’t like any of you kids,” Mr. Reed grumbled, leaning back in his chair and rubbing a meaty hand over his large belly.
I laughed as Georgia crossed her arms over her chest, a fake pout on her face. She knew she was her daddy’s princess. And for as much complaining as he did, Mr. Reed was happiest when he was surrounded by all of his kids.
Mrs. Reed returned from the kitchen with a still-warm pound cake in her hands and after setting it down, began to cut and plate the cake.
Georgia took a bite and moaned, “Jesus, this is better than sex.”
Mr. Reed choked on his water, his face turning red and thundered, “For God’s sake!”
“Oh, Daddy, please. We are all adults here. I’m pretty sure all of us are having sex.” Her eyes narrowed in my direction. “If not sex, I know we’re all going out on dates, aren’t we, Piper?” She cocked her head to the side and shifted her gaze. “Lawson?”
Hampton wasted no time pouncing. “Yeah, Law. Have you told Mama about your date with Piper Friday night?”
“Thanks a lot, Georgia!” I snapped at the same moment that Lawson choked on his piece of cake.
“What’s this?” Mr. Reed rumbled. Waving a fork between the two of us, he asked, “You two went out on a date? With each other?”
My cheeks felt like they were on fire as Lawson answered, “Don’t make a big deal out of it. It was just dinner.”
Mrs. Reed ignored her son as she clapped her hands together and brought them to her chest. “It is a big deal, son! How was it? Will there be a second?” Her watery eyes darted between us.
“I hope so,” I answered quietly.
I glanced over to see Lawson shooting daggers at his sister, a flush creeping up his neck. He pulled his murderous gaze away from Georgia and looked at me. When our eyes met, the irritation disappeared.
He leaned toward me, and with his lips at my ear whispered, “Hell yes, there’s going to be a second.”
When he pulled away, his face was intense and it caused my heart to flip. We hadn’t seen much of each other in the last two days since our amazing dinner. He’d been locked away in his office, and every time I’d wandered down the hall to see him, I’d either heard his fingers flying over the keyboard furiously or him on the phone barking orders about stuff I didn’t understand.
But I hadn’t been lying when I’d told him it was the best first date I’d ever been on. And not just because he’d given me an incredible gift. We’d spent the entire evening laughing and talking and trying not to toss our cookies every time we tried one of the dishes I’d ordered. They were all horrible, and we’d ended up hitting the Taco Bell drive through on the way home.
Through all the laughter of that night, I’d seen something in him I’d never seen before. The way he watched me as I rambled on about school, his whiskey eyes intent on my face, really listening to what I was saying. He’d stop and ask me questions when he didn’t understand something, showing a genuine interest in what I was talking about. It was refreshing.
And when we talked about our childhood, it amazed me how much he knew or remembered. I still couldn’t believe the boy who had always ignored me, or looked bored anytime he’d been forced to spend time with me, was the same one who could recall events I barely remembered.
“Smith, how’s the play going?” Lawson asked, finally tearing his gaze from mine. His voice was firm, making it clear he was no longer interested in talking about our date.
Relief coursed through me. It wasn’t the first time I’d worried that dating Lawson was going to make things complicated. And while I thought I could handle things being weird between us, I couldn’t stomach the fear of losing my second parents.
He pinned Smith with a glare, and not for the first time, I wondered why he had such an issue with him. He’d never even given him a chance. Smith didn’t seem to notice, though. He’d sat beside Hampton quietly throughout dinner, and even though we’d all tried to engage him in conversation, the answers he’d given to our questions had been short. His usually charming persona was toned down tonight, and his comment about dinner was the first thing he’d said unprompted all night long. He’d seemed distracted and antsy even. And judging by the way Lawson glared at him, Smith’s unease was something he’d picked up on.
He wiped his mouth with his napkin and responded, “Not good. The funding hasn’t come through yet, so production is at a bit of a standstill. We haven’t been able to secure any good backing. It’s been nothing but empty promises.”
His eyes darted around the room, never landing on anyone’s face for longer than a second.
Hampton sat beside him, his hand resting on his shoulder, and smiled. “The funding will come through, Smith. Just have faith.”
I nodded along with him. “Yeah, things have a way of working themselves out. My last year in college, there was a glitch with the financial aid. I was going to have to miss the entire semester, but at the last minute a scholarship came through and paid for tuition, books, and left me with money to live on.” I shook my head at the memory. I’d been so overwhelmed and devastated that I wasn’t going to graduate on time. It had nearly cost me my admission into medical school.
“What was the scholarship for?” Smith asked.
I shrugged. “It was ridiculous. It was a scholarship for Irish women in medicine. I think I only got it because my last name is Kelley.”
Georgia’s fork clattered to her plate and I glanced up, my brow wrinkled. Her lips were pressed tight together, trying desperately to cover humor. Hampton, however, wasn’t even trying to conceal his amusement as his belly laughter shook the table.
“Okay…” I drawled. “What’s so funny?”
“Hell, that wasn’t a scholarship, Piper.” Mr. Reed rumbled from the head of the table. “Ow!” he yelped. “What the hell, Peg?” he barked, his face red as he looked at his wife.
“What?” I looked around the table, trying to figure out just what was going on. Hampton and Georgia continued to snicker. Lawson, on the other hand, wasn’t laughing at all. His eyes were wide and his throat bobbed as he swallowed hard.
“Nothing, honey,” Mrs. Reed replied, still glaring at her husband. “How’s the cake, everyone?”
“I don’t understand what just happened,” I murmured, still staring at Lawson. He was glaring at his father.
“You mean you never told her that you paid for that semester of school for her?” Mr. Reed declared. It was less of a question and more of an accusation.
My head whipped back to Lawson. “What is he talking about? What the hell is going on?”
Georgia gave up on trying to suppress her humor and began to giggle. “Daddy, you just sold your son out.”
“Well, hell, how was I supposed to know he hadn’t told her? They’re a couple now, figured he would have told her all his secrets,” he rumbled again.
“We aren’t a couple.” I protested weakly, still staring at Lawson.
“Dad…” Lawson drawled, his head turned in my direction, but his eyes were everywhere but my face.
Turning his attention back to me, Mr. Reed asked, “You really thought you’d been awarded a scholarship for Irish women in medicine? Girl, you know I love you, but I’m beginning to wonder if you’re qualified to take care of people’s lives.”
“Walt!” Mrs. Reed snapped. “I think you’ve said enough.”
I’d always wondered how the hell that scholarship had appeared out of the blue, but it had solved my problem and I’d just been grateful to not have to miss my last semester of school. Now, however, it was all beginning to click into place. My face heated from embarrassment. It wasn’t the first time I�
�d been laughed at by the Reeds. Hell, usually I was laughing at one of them. But it was the first time I’d felt like a fool in front of them.
I pushed my chair away from the table, forcing Lawson’s arm to fall away, and jumped to my feet. “Living room. Now,” I snapped before marching away.
His chair scraped the floor as he pushed away from the table. “Thanks a lot, Dad,” he grumbled as he followed me into the next room.
I whirled in his direction. “You paid for my school?”
I was in shock.
“Well?” I prompted, becoming impatient.
He still didn’t speak, just lifted a shoulder in a half shrug.
“Argh!” I let out a frustrated sigh and threw my hands in the air. “Say something! Why would you do that? It was almost six thousand dollars!” It didn’t make any sense. And honestly, nothing seemed to make sense these days when it came to Lawson.
His voice was even when he finally said, “I did it because you couldn’t miss your last semester of school. You wouldn’t have graduated on time.”
“Yeah, but that’s a lot of money to just give someone you barely even liked.” I threw my arms out to the sides and spun away from him. “I hadn’t heard from you in four years at that point! How did you even know I needed the money?”
I could hear his footsteps getting closer behind me, so I turned back to face him.
“I may not have been talking to you, but that didn’t mean I didn’t keep up with what was going on in your life.” A lopsided grin formed on his face. “Besides, if I had needed”— he paused, scanning me from head to toe—“socks, you would have given me one of your pairs.” He reached out and tucked a stray strand of hair behind my ear. My skin hummed where his fingers made contact.
I crossed my arms over my chest and smirked. “I may have parted with one pair of socks for you, but not five thousand!” I looked over his shoulder for a moment and then back at him. “You know, I’m not so sure I would have given up even my least favorite pair.”
He laughed, the low rumble sending a shiver down my spine. He had an amazing laugh, something I hadn’t really paid attention to before. But now that I was hearing it from him more often, I realized it was the kind of laugh you wanted to be the reason for.
I studied his face, wondering what other secrets he held behind those eyes. Clearing my throat, I tried to shake the feelings brewing inside me and teased, “So, you, like stalked me then?”
He rubbed the back of his neck and smiled. “I guess if you want to call it that.”
The embarrassment I’d been feeling only moments ago dissipated, replaced by a warmth in my chest. I would have never in a million years guess that Lawson was responsible for me graduating college, yet here we were.
“So, you’re a hacker. And a stalker. What else are you that I don’t know?”
He lifted a shoulder in a half-hearted shrug, but his eyes were blazing as they roved over my face.
When the scrutiny became awkward, I changed the subject. “What else have you done for me that I don’t know about?”
His head dropped and he pushed a hand through his messy hair. “I dunno. I’m sure there have been some other things.”
I stepped toward him and his head came up, his eyes meeting mine. “Like what?”
He gave a brisk shake of his head. “I think I’ve confessed enough for one night.”
When it became apparent that I wasn’t going to get anything else out of him, I took a step back and cleared my throat. “I’m still a little bit peeved at you.”
A slow smile spread across his face. “No, you’re not.”
My mouth fell open at his cockiness. “Uh, yes, I am.”
When his chin tipped up and he let out a ‘mmm-hmm’ I grumbled, “God, you’re impossible.” Throwing my hands in the air, I complained, “You let me think I won some stupid scholarship.” I waved a hand toward the direction of the dining room. “Apparently, everyone was in on the joke but me.”
“It wasn’t a joke, Pippie. And besides, you weren’t supposed to find out.”
I crossed my arms over my chest. “Well, I did.”
“I’m sorry I never told you that I paid your tuition.” He pinned me with a stare and smirked. “But if I had known your pout was this damn cute, I would have told you a long time ago.” With his thumb and forefinger, he pinched my bottom lip.
I turned my head and his hand fell away from my face. “You’re an ass, Lawson,” I mumbled. I wanted to frown, but my cheeks had a mind of their own and my lips tipped up in a grin instead.
Lawson threw an arm around my shoulders and pulled me into his side, pressing his lips to my hair. We hadn’t kissed since I’d kissed him last Wednesday, not even at the end of our date. But he’d started giving me light kisses on the head, the forehead, the hand. And I liked it almost as much as I liked the way it felt to have his arm around my shoulders. “Come on, Pippie.”
I leaned into him, surprised at how natural it felt to be tucked into his side. “Where are we going?”
His lips at my ear, he whispered, “I haven’t had your lips in almost a week. I thought I could wait till after dinner, but I was wrong.”
I shivered as his fingers trailed down my arm and threaded through mine. He dragged me down the short hall to the guest bedroom. He didn’t turn the knob to open the door, though. Instead, he pressed my back against the frame and got so close that his body was flush with mine.
“You forgive me for helping you out, right?” he asked, his whiskey eyes blazing just a moment before his lips ghosted across my neck.
I wove my fingers through his hair as his tongue licked the hollow behind my ear. “I’m going to pay you back,” I murmured.
“The hell you will,” he growled, pulling my earlobe between his teeth. My nipples peaked as his teeth clamped down.
“You have to let me.” I tried to argue, but his lips crashing into my own stopped me from protesting any further.
Lawson finally turned the knob on the door and we stumbled in before he kicked it shut behind us. One hand on the small of my back, the other was holding my head in place by my hair when he abruptly pulled away from me.
“What the fuck are you doing in here?” he barked, the hand in my hair flexing.
I whirled around and came face-to-face with Smith. Immediately, my cheeks heated, knowing he had just laid witness to what was going on between Lawson and me.
“Smith, uh…” I said lamely, unable to formulate an intelligent sentence. I wasn’t sure if it was because Lawson’s tongue had just been working my mouth so expertly or if it was the shock of being caught in the act.
Smith’s own cheeks were red, his eyes wide. “I’m sorry, I was just trying to find the bathroom,” he mumbled, his eyes darting between where I stood still wrapped in Lawson’s arms and the door.
“The bathroom?” Lawson growled. “How long does it take you to figure out that most bathrooms don’t have king-sized beds in them?”
My head whipped back in his direction. “Lawson!” I squawked. “You don’t have to be a jerk.”
Turning back to where Smith still stood frozen, I stepped out of Lawson’s grasp. “There’s a bathroom attached to the bedroom actually.” I pointed at one of the doors in the far corner of the room.
Smith let out an audible breath and then dipped forward at the waist. “Sorry to, uh, have been an interruption.” He didn’t say anything more, just quickly darted through the door that led to the bathroom, closing it soundly behind him.
The moment between Lawson and I was ruined, no matter how badly I wanted to continue kissing him, so I groaned. “Guess we should get back to dessert.” I whined and turned into him.
It was when I tipped my head back that I noticed his expression. “What is it?”
He didn’t meet my gaze as he scanned the room. “Something about that wasn’t right.”
I tilted my head to one side, trying to get a read on him. “Something about what?”
“Smith’s b
een here before. He should have known this wasn’t a bathroom.” He finally stopped scanning the room like 007 and his line of vision landed on the bed where my purse was lying, along with Georgia’s ridiculously oversized purse. Her hat that was probably not intended for Sunday dinner, but instead the Kentucky derby was lying off to one side. The man purse Hampton insisted was a book bag was strewn haphazardly across the hat.
I pulled on Lawson’s shirt hem and stood on my toes, nuzzling my nose against his. “Give Smith a break. You’re too hard on him.”
His head jerked back as his mouth twisted in a grimace. “You’re telling me to give him a break?”
I pressed my lips together and nodded. “Trust me, no one was more shocked and upset than I was when Ham announced he’d married the guy. But they’re good together. Smith is good for him.” I shrugged away the twinge of sadness that I’d been replaced. “Hampton deserves that, don’t you think?”
“I don’t know if Smith is good for him. But you’re right. My kid brother does deserve to finally find some happiness.”
I wrapped my arms around his waist. “How do you feel right now?”
His brow creased and I elaborated. “What do you feel like inside, with my arms around you and my lips only centimeters from yours?”
His breath was hot against my lips as he answered, “Pretty damn good.”
I nodded. “That’s how Hampton feels too, I bet. And, don’t you want him to be happy that you feel that way?”
His lips pursed together as understanding dawned on him. “You’re too clever for your own good. You know that, don’t you?”
I whispered my lips across his, and then tipping my head back, looked directly into his soft eyes. “I’m right is what I am. Let’s go have dessert so we can finish this at home.”
Lawson let the word die from my lips and then he crashed his mouth to mine in an all too brief kiss. “I don’t need pound cake when I have you.”
A laugh erupted from my throat. “Smooth, Lawson Reed.” I pressed my chest to his. “So very smooth.”
26
Lawson
