Cook Brothers: The Whole Flipping Family

by BJ Harvey

  I lay there with April in my arms with crystal clear clarity as to just how far I’ve come in a short time, and how important everything I’m doing right now is to my future. I want the girl, I want her family, and I want to be the best man I can be for them, but I also want it for me. If I didn’t know it before, I know I’ll bleed myself dry to get there. I had a goal; now it’s my mission. I’m going to make April Williams fall in love with me, and I’m going to prove that I can provide a life for us.

  And I can’t wait to get there.

  18

  Jamie

  Four weeks to go before our ninety-day flip deadline. We’re meeting at the house for our progress meeting because there isn’t time to spare. We’re still in catch-up mode from those lost days for the basement repairs.

  Ezra walks into the now open-plan living area with a bag of food hanging from his fingers, Jase bringing up the rear with three take-out coffee cups.

  “If you two were my type, I could totally kiss you right now,” I announce, reaching for the drink as soon as Jase is close enough.

  Jase laughs. “Well, there was this one time, at—”

  “Please don’t finish that sentence,” Ez says with a groan. “It may well ruin my opinion of you, and I’d like to keep this professional relationship going.”

  Jase and I just look at each other and burst out laughing. Ezra soon joins in.

  “Right,” he says, after handing out breakfast burritos. “Now that you’ve got food and caffeine let’s get down to it since we’re closely approaching the business end of this little—”

  I snort, which earns me a smirk.

  “Okay, not-so-little project.” Ezra looks around the room. “It’s looking good with the drywall up now. The kitchen though…”

  “That’s one of the big delays. The carpenters couldn’t come in last week as scheduled. It had to be put off till this coming Monday,” I explain.

  “That sucks,” Jase says. “But I don’t think we’re that far behind, all things considered.”

  “Tell that to my blood pressure,” I mutter, taking a swig of coffee. “I had to rebook the tilers as well, which pushed back completion of the bathrooms, which has had an effect on when the guys and I can get stuck into the painting.”

  Ezra sighs, turning to me. “I know you want to do as much as you could yourself to reduce spending, but I don’t want you working yourself into the ground.”

  “We don’t really have the wiggle room left to not do as much work as we can ourselves now, and the twins are coming over next weekend to start the front yard too.”

  “So, it’s full-steam ahead then?” he asks.

  “Pretty much. I can sleep when I’m dead,” I add with a grin which is the opposite to how my stress levels are inside.

  “And as far as construction is concerned?” Ezra asks, switching to Jase.

  “We’ll be back on schedule this week. Jamie just needs to approve the guys working OT on Saturday,” Jase adds.

  If I’d thought the coffee and food were helping my tension, that announcement just negated them.

  I reach my hand up and wrap it around the back of my neck, rubbing back and forth as if it’s going to magically make time—and money—appear out of nowhere. “Is it stuff I can do, or…?”

  Jase shakes his head, and I can see the regret in his eyes. “We’ll do as much as we can as quick as we can, but things like replacing the rotten framing in the garage and then knocking out the back deck next weekend, need more hands than just yours. Matt and I have already agreed we’ll do any finishing touches you want on our own time, but I can’t squeeze the guys much further without OT.”

  This is one of the reasons I work with friends. I trust them implicitly.

  “Okay. But you can use me as one of the guys if you need me to. If you think it’s something I can do, then I’m your man,” I say.

  He nods, but I don’t miss Ezra’s pinched features as he watches our conversation. He did warn me before I bought the house that it could consume me if I let it. He also promised he’d call me out if he saw that happening.

  “Do we need to take a look around then? It sounds like you’re on top of everything, but I’d hate to let my trusty clipboard go to waste,” Ezra says, thankfully changing the subject.

  “You and your paperwork,” Jase mutters.

  Both Ezra and I snort. “You’re the king of fucking paperwork,” I add.

  “Ooh, add two dollars to the swear jar,” Ezra says with a big grin. I roll my eyes and look at the ground, a chuckle rumbling in my chest.

  “Not you too.” I shake my head and look at Axel’s—well, my—swear jar, sitting on the window frame, now at least half full with dollar bills since it’s become a “site rule.”

  Ez holds his hands up. “Hey. Who am I to deny the kid his college fund? It’s pretty damn smart to switch it from his mother to you.”

  “He knew he’d get more bang for his buck this way,” Jase says. “Besides, maybe he’s getting in early. Imagine how much he’ll rake in when you become his new dad.”

  I choke on my coffee, thankfully swallowing down my mouthful before I’m forced to lean onto the edge of the makeshift kitchen table. I cough and splutter as I try to recover. I glare up at my two friends who are both laughing their asses off. Ezra pulls out his wallet and puts money in Jase’s palm. “Knew I should’ve bet against him.”

  That gets my attention. “What?”

  “Jase bet he could freak you out about dating a single mom.”

  “I’m not freaking out,” I protest. Both men’s brows lift in unison. “I’m not. You just caught me by surprise.”

  “Uh-huh,” Ez mutters.

  “April could have ten kids, and it wouldn’t faze me.”

  Jase’s eyes widen, and he clamps his mouth shut, his lips twitching as he remains fixated on the far side of the big room.

  My head snaps to see a giggling April leaning a hip against the doorway.

  “Ten kids? Really?” She pushes off the wood frame and crosses the room to stand at my side. “I’d say I want five more just to freak you out, but I kind of like it when you’re not annoyed at me.”

  I send a half-hearted scowl down at her as she fits herself to my side, grinning up at me. “But you like it when I rile you up?” she says.

  Gagging noises break the mood. Ezra holds his hand over his mouth as he fakes throwing up. “God that was awful, Jamie. April, I think you’re with the wrong single man in the room. A woman should have options,” he says, waggling his brows at her.

  I growl and narrow my eyes at him, tightening my arm around April’s waist at the same time. “Ez, if you like certain body parts where they are, you’ll stop macking on my girlfriend.”

  April goes still, and the room goes deathly quiet. I jerk my eyes back to hers. “I mean, you are my girlfriend, right?”

  When she just stares at me with her mouth agape, I power on. “Adults don’t do the whole ‘wanna go steady’ thing.” I drop my voice low when I say it.

  I can tell she’s trying hard to make me work for it. Her face is impassive until I spot her lips twitching just as her shoulders shake. She buries her laughter in my chest, and the guys soon join her.

  I look up at the ceiling, rolling my eyes. “God, it’s like I’m surrounded by children.”

  “Are there ten of them?” Jase asks, serving to set them all off again.

  “Hey,” Ezra says. “I’ll be godfather to a couple, but I draw my limit at eight.”

  “I think my wallet will draw the limit at ten,” I reply, not even realizing what I’ve said until the female giggle goes quiet.

  “And that might be our cue to go,” Ez murmurs. He shoots me a “you got this” look. I nod, and within moments, Jase is waving goodbye as he shuts the front door behind them.

  I turn April to face me, running my fingers over her head, threading them through her hair. “It’s just us now.”

  She tilts her head and meets my eyes, the soft wonder I find
in them almost enough to take my breath away. “This is going to last longer than just the house flip, isn’t it?”

  “I damn well hope so.”

  “I’m a lot to take on,” she says quietly.

  “You’re a handful alright. Axel and Betty are bonuses. They’re the easy part of the package deal.”

  Her eyes fill with tears, her hands quickly lifting to wipe them away.

  “You like that I think that, don’t you?”

  “No,” she says. “I love it. And brace yourself, Jamie, because if ten kids didn’t freak you out, then this probably will.” She swallows and runs her hands up my body to cup my jaw. “I’m falling in love with you, and that should scare me, but I feel so safe with you. It’s like letting myself go and knowing you’ll catch me.”

  “Fuck,” I spit out, tightening my grip on her hair, tilting her head and slamming my mouth down on hers. This is a woman who not only gets me, but she gets me. She has seen me drunk and idiotic, grumpy and surly, she can give as good as she gets, and she hasn’t—not once—let me get away with anything. She works hard to provide for her family, yet she lets her guard down for me and trusts I’ve got her back. I was with my ex for three years, and she didn’t have as much faith in me as April does, and fuck, that feels so damn good.

  When we finally come up for air, her face is so bright it damn near blinds me.

  “You know you owe Axel another dollar now, right?” April says with a sexy smirk.

  “Fuck it.” I reluctantly step back, shove my hand in my pocket, and pull out my wallet. Grabbing a one-hundred-dollar bill, I drop it onto the table, stalk over to the swear jar, and stuff the money inside. I spin around and lock eyes on my prey, her eyes widening as I stride back to her.

  Before she can move, I bend down and throw her over my shoulder. She slaps my ass and shrieks as I stalk down the hallway.

  “You paid too much,” she breathes as I walk through my bedroom door and slam it shut behind me with my foot. I ease her to the ground, sliding her down my body so she can feel every achingly hard inch of me. Then I wrap my arms around her hips and drag my hands down to her ass. Dipping my head, I run my lips along her jaw to her ear.

  “For the record, I’m already gone for you,” I say, and I work my way down to her neck. “And the money was to put us in credit because after I take you to my bed, you’ll be in so much debt, you’ll be thanking me.”

  Before she can argue, I drop down onto the mattress and get my money’s worth, one “oh my fucking God” and “holy shit” at a time.

  19

  April

  Saturday morning and I’m lying on my back, still wrapped in a sheet. Jamie’s idea of a morning wake-up call is my favorite way to spend my day off. I’d sent him a text two hours earlier when Betty had taken Axel for his swimming lesson, telling me to sleep in. Of course, with my hot boyfriend next door and the house to myself, the last thing I wanted to do was sleep. I didn’t go six years without sex to find a man like Jamie and not have my way with him—or more like let him have his delicious way with me—at every chance available.

  I lie there in my post-sex haze. His naked body cloaks my side, his hands lazily gliding over my back.

  “I’ve gotta go soon,” he says softly, not sounding like he wants to go at all. “Jax and Bry are helping me with the front yard. We’ve got to remove the old pavers, dig a new path, and frame it up for the cement to be poured first thing Monday.”

  “I can help,” I offer on the back of a huge yawn.

  He chuckles, pressing his lips to the back of my neck and sending a ripple of goosebumps across my skin.

  “Axel might want to join you. He never likes missing a chance to work,” I murmur, my lids closing as he teases me with feather-light kisses and barely-there brushes.

  “He’s more than welcome. I might even buy him a little shovel to dig with.”

  “He’d love that. Every time he helps you, you’d think you were the stars, and you’d hung the moon.”

  “He’s a good kid. An extortionist in training, but he’s definitely a character.”

  My mind goes blank. Those two orgasms must have numbed my brain cells. “You’re good at this dad thing,” I blurt out.

  His hand freezes in the small of my back before he must catch himself and try to hide it. Too late for that. That’s enough to snap me out of my post-climatic haze.

  I lift up on my elbows and scramble to sit, bringing the sheet with me, feeling suddenly and overwhelmingly exposed. My eyes meet his guarded ones. I open my mouth to backpedal, to say something—anything—to take the words back, but I don’t get the chance, because Jamie is reaching out and brushing his thumb over the apple of my cheek.

  “I didn’t mean that,” I say.

  “You don’t think I’ll be a good father one day?” he asks, his brows bunched together.

  “I’ve only known you for nine weeks.”

  “And would you normally let anyone meet your son after nine weeks?”

  “If a man had impressed me enough to get past the first date and was still around and full of promise after nine weeks, then sure,” I say with a shrug.

  Then, in a move quicker than the Flash, I’m flat on my back, and Jamie is lying on top of me. His forearms frame my head, his face filling my vision. “So, I ticked all your boxes after that first date?”

  “Well, you were planning future dates before we even started our first date.”

  “Oh, we’d started. We started the minute you barged into the house and rescued me.”

  I roll my eyes but can’t stop myself from watching his gorgeous face transform, his knowing grin and amused gaze confirming what I already knew. He had my agitation and attention the moment I first scolded him. But I’ve never—not once—wanted any man I got involved with to think I was searching for a new baby daddy. Axel has done fine without a father for the past six years, and he could do fine without one for another six. My interest in Jamie has purely been for me, and only me. The fact that he has won over Ax has served to endear him to me even more.

  “Whatever happens between us is separate to what I’ve got with Ax,” He says, his gaze firm, his body unyielding as it holds me in place.

  “Yeah, I know… I didn’t…” I stutter.

  “We’re both old enough and experienced enough to know you don’t get involved with someone in the way we’re involved with each other without wanting it to go somewhere. Me asking you out had nothing to do with me wanting just what we have in this bed. It was about wanting everything you were willing to give me. Axel is a bonus, and if you already think I’ll make a good father one day, then I can’t wait to see me rocking it when I get more experience.”

  Damn it. “That’s a really fucking good answer,” I whisper, my voice cracking as my eyes fill with tears. His gaze softens before falling to my mouth, then intensifies in the split second before he drops his lips to mine. His tongue spears inside. He swallows my guttural moan as he rests his full weight against me, making me feel anchored and safe, and so damn hot.

  That’s all we say for the next twenty minutes because the second I hook my arms around his back and my ankles behind his hips, Jamie loses his self-control and starts riling me in a completely enjoyable way. If I thought I was having trouble thinking straight before, afterward, when Jamie rolls out of my bed, gets dressed, then brushes his lips against my temple with a murmured, “See you later, lovely,” I barely have the energy to lift my head, let alone talk.

  “By the way,” he says, stopping in the doorway, “send Ax over after he’s had lunch, and tell him if he’s late, I’ll dock his pay.”

  I rally enough to lift a brow. “You don’t pay him.”

  Then he winks at me. “Yeah, but he doesn’t know that.”

  Best. Morning. Ever.

  “You called me over, telling me I had to come visit, and now we’re just sitting on your front porch? What gives, April?”

  “Just wait…” I murmur, lifting my wine glass to my lips. R
onnie is beside me, Betty beside her. My best friend arrived five minutes ago, and the second she stepped inside, I was ushering her back outside to take a seat and prepare for the show.

  “Wait for what? You’re acting very strange,” Ronnie says with a frown.

  “You won’t be complaining soon enough,” Betty murmurs, her eyes glued to the yard next door.

  “So, how’s Jamie?” Ronnie asks me, still not sounding convinced that Betty and I are of right mind.

  I turn my head to face her. “He’s awesome,” I reply, a wry smile on my lips, the same lips still tingling from just a few hours earlier when Jamie paid them—and the rest of my body—a whole lot of much-appreciated attention.

  Her soft gasp fills the air, her eyes pinned on something behind me. I slowly spin back around to see Jamie walk out from the side of the house, a faded Cubs baseball cap turned backward on his head, a white wife-beater clinging to his chest, his shorts hugging his muscular thighs, and planks of timber slung over his shoulder. He’s soon followed by a shirtless Jax carrying the other end of the wood in a similar fashion, Bryant and Axel coming behind them with shovels in their hands.

  “Mmhmm,” I hum, instinctively licking my lips at the sight before us. My eyes are glued to Jamie who glances over toward us, a knowing smirk twisting his lips.

  “Ladies,” he calls out, his smile widening. I lift my hand to wave just as Axel sees us and returns the gesture with enthusiastic muster.

  “Aunt Ronnie!” he cries out, jumping up and down excitedly before looking up at Bryant, tugging his tee. “That’s my Aunt Ronnie. She’s awesome. She buys me LEGO.”

  Bryant shoots my son a grin before looking over at the three of us ladies at the same time as Jamie and Jax lower the timber to the ground. Jax lifts his arm and swipes it over his forehead, the breathless sigh escaping Ronnie’s lips making me giggle.