the annoyed
words escaping before he could think it through.
“Looking for Kelly. What are
you
doing?” She perched her hands on her hips, demanding an answer.
Wasn’t it obvious? Nash shook his head and
swallowed a groan. The kid was the biggest wiseass he’d ever come
across.
“You found me,” Kelly said, sounding calmer
than he did.
Like that kiss hadn’t affected her at all. A
look at her told him that unless she was one hell of an actress, it
hadn’t. She appeared completely unflustered, while he was snapping
at Tess because the hunger Kelly inspired continued to gnaw at
him.
“Ethan and Faith want to talk to you,” Tess
muttered in a sulking tone.
Obviously she didn’t like what she’d seen
between him and her sister. Unlike Nash, who’d liked it a lot.
Too much, in fact.
From the pissed-off look on Tess’s face,
kissing Kelly and biting Tess’s head off had resulted in a huge
setback in trying to create any kind of relationship with his new
sister. And to think, if asked, he’d have said things between them
couldn’t get any worse.
“Why don’t you go tell them I’ll be right
there?” Kelly said patiently to Tess.
The teenager now folded her arms across her
chest. “How about not?”
Kelly raised an eyebrow. “How about I’m the
one in charge while Ethan’s on his honeymoon and if you don’t want
to find yourself grounded and in your room for the next two weeks,
you’ll start listening now.”
With a roll of her eyes and a deliberate
stomp of her foot, which wasn’t impressive considering she was
wearing a deep purple dress and mini-heels from her walk down the
aisle, Tess stormed away.
“Well done,” he said to Kelly, admiring how
she’d gotten Tess to listen without yelling or sniping back.
“Yeah, I did a better job than you.” She
shot him an amused glance. “But I can’t take any credit. You saw
what she was like before Ethan took over. This change is due to his
influence, not mine.” Her expression saddened at the fact that
she’d been unable to accomplish helping Tess on her own.
He knew the feeling. “Don’t remind me about
Saint Ethan.”
She raised her eyebrow. “There’s always
tension between you and Ethan. Why is that?” she asked.
He definitely didn’t want to talk about his
brother or his past. “Is asking about my life your way of avoiding
discussing the kiss?” He deliberately threw a question back at her
as a distraction.
An unexpected smile caught hold of her lips.
“Why would I want to avoid discussing it when it was so much fun?”
she asked, and grabbed hold of his tie once more.
Her moist lips shimmered, beckoning to him
as did her renewed interest, and he shoved his hands into his pants
pockets. Easier to keep them to himself that way.
“Kelly! We’re waiting!” Tess called
impatiently, interrupting them again and reminding him of why he
had to keep his distance from Kelly from now on.
“Coming!” Kelly called over her shoulder,
before meeting Nash’s gaze. “Looks like you got a reprieve.” A
mischievous twinkle lit her gaze.
A sparkle he found infectious. She had
spunk, confidence, and an independent spirit he admired. His
ex-wife had been as opposite of Kelly as he could imagine, more
sweet and in need of being taken care of. Kelly could obviously
hold her own.
And Nash didn’t plan on giving her the upper
hand. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he lied.
She patted his cheek. “Keep telling yourself
that.”
He would. For as long as it took to convince
himself this woman would only cause him and his need to have a
relationship with Tess boatloads of trouble.
*
Kelly Moss stood at the bottom of the
circular stairs in the house that was nothing short of a mansion
and yelled up at her sister. “Tess, let’s go! If you want to have
time for breakfast before school, get yourself downstairs now!” It
was the third time she’d called up in the last five minutes.
“I said I’m coming!” came
words escaping before he could think it through.
“Looking for Kelly. What are
you
doing?” She perched her hands on her hips, demanding an answer.
Wasn’t it obvious? Nash shook his head and
swallowed a groan. The kid was the biggest wiseass he’d ever come
across.
“You found me,” Kelly said, sounding calmer
than he did.
Like that kiss hadn’t affected her at all. A
look at her told him that unless she was one hell of an actress, it
hadn’t. She appeared completely unflustered, while he was snapping
at Tess because the hunger Kelly inspired continued to gnaw at
him.
“Ethan and Faith want to talk to you,” Tess
muttered in a sulking tone.
Obviously she didn’t like what she’d seen
between him and her sister. Unlike Nash, who’d liked it a lot.
Too much, in fact.
From the pissed-off look on Tess’s face,
kissing Kelly and biting Tess’s head off had resulted in a huge
setback in trying to create any kind of relationship with his new
sister. And to think, if asked, he’d have said things between them
couldn’t get any worse.
“Why don’t you go tell them I’ll be right
there?” Kelly said patiently to Tess.
The teenager now folded her arms across her
chest. “How about not?”
Kelly raised an eyebrow. “How about I’m the
one in charge while Ethan’s on his honeymoon and if you don’t want
to find yourself grounded and in your room for the next two weeks,
you’ll start listening now.”
With a roll of her eyes and a deliberate
stomp of her foot, which wasn’t impressive considering she was
wearing a deep purple dress and mini-heels from her walk down the
aisle, Tess stormed away.
“Well done,” he said to Kelly, admiring how
she’d gotten Tess to listen without yelling or sniping back.
“Yeah, I did a better job than you.” She
shot him an amused glance. “But I can’t take any credit. You saw
what she was like before Ethan took over. This change is due to his
influence, not mine.” Her expression saddened at the fact that
she’d been unable to accomplish helping Tess on her own.
He knew the feeling. “Don’t remind me about
Saint Ethan.”
She raised her eyebrow. “There’s always
tension between you and Ethan. Why is that?” she asked.
He definitely didn’t want to talk about his
brother or his past. “Is asking about my life your way of avoiding
discussing the kiss?” He deliberately threw a question back at her
as a distraction.
An unexpected smile caught hold of her lips.
“Why would I want to avoid discussing it when it was so much fun?”
she asked, and grabbed hold of his tie once more.
Her moist lips shimmered, beckoning to him
as did her renewed interest, and he shoved his hands into his pants
pockets. Easier to keep them to himself that way.
“Kelly! We’re waiting!” Tess called
impatiently, interrupting them again and reminding him of why he
had to keep his distance from Kelly from now on.
“Coming!” Kelly called over her shoulder,
before meeting Nash’s gaze. “Looks like you got a reprieve.” A
mischievous twinkle lit her gaze.
A sparkle he found infectious. She had
spunk, confidence, and an independent spirit he admired. His
ex-wife had been as opposite of Kelly as he could imagine, more
sweet and in need of being taken care of. Kelly could obviously
hold her own.
And Nash didn’t plan on giving her the upper
hand. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he lied.
She patted his cheek. “Keep telling yourself
that.”
He would. For as long as it took to convince
himself this woman would only cause him and his need to have a
relationship with Tess boatloads of trouble.
*
Kelly Moss stood at the bottom of the
circular stairs in the house that was nothing short of a mansion
and yelled up at her sister. “Tess, let’s go! If you want to have
time for breakfast before school, get yourself downstairs now!” It
was the third time she’d called up in the last five minutes.
“I said I’m coming!” came
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