He was dressed in gray dress slacks that hung perfectly on his trim hips and a crisp white button down with a burgundy power tie. His light brown hair was short and professional, but his face wasn’t pampered and pretty like Andrew’s .
Mike’s hobby fit him to a T .
He might dress for success but, he was ruggedly handsome. The lines of his face were etched and defined, and his skin tanned by the sun and his hands weren’t softer than hers either. No, they were strong because he worked with them. His muscles, while she’d seen him working out, weren’t manufactured in a gym. The beauty he’d given to his home was through his own sweat and hard work.
Her jaw slowly opened as he closed the space between them once again. This time though, she was well aware of it. The tug at his mouth felt predatory, but there was a twinkle of mischief in his eyes that kept him from coming across as a man who was out for just one thing.
“Here you go,” he said.
Taryn took the glass of iced tea as he winked at her and nodded. “It’s beautiful, Mike. You’ve done an amazing job keeping with the architectural integrity of the original design.”
The smile spread instantly across his face. “Thanks, sugar. That means a lot coming from you.”
Turning back to the mantel, she pointed to the large picture in the middle. “Is this you and your brothers?”
“Yeah. That’s Sam. He’s the middle child—and trust me…he’s the epitome of the joke. That’s Carter, the youngest, and that’s his wife, Molly.”
“Her wedding dress is beautiful, but so is she.”
“She’s a sweetheart. You two would get along great. Those are his two best friends, Jesse and that’s Eli.”
“You can tell which three of you are brothers.”
“Oh yeah?”
“The eyes are a dead giveaway.”
“I’ve never heard that before.”
“You haven’t?”
“I’m kidding.” He winked again. “These are our parents.”
“Wow…you look just like your father. You and Carter both, Sam, though…he’s got the same ice-blue eyes, but he looks more like your mom.”
“Sure does. And these are my babies.”
“Oh my God. Mike, they’re gorgeous. Twins?”
“Sure are. That’s Alexandra, Alex for short and that little man is Jackson or Jack. They’re Molly and Carter’s. God, I miss them.”
He pulled in a deep breath as he stared at the various pictures he had of the twins across his mantel. Her heart went out to him. With her free hand, she ran her fingers over his forearm. It was damn near impossible to miss the muscles hidden by his shirt sleeve, but she forced herself to put off thinking about that for later. Like at bedtime. “Carter is your brother who lives in Pennsylvania, right? I got him and Sam confused. So I take it you don’t get to see them as often as you’d like?”
“No. Carter and I’ve always been close, but between his career and mine it was already hard. Throw in a few states separating us these days and I don’t get to see them nearly as much as I liked to. Especially now with the twins running around.”
“How old are they?”
“I can’t believe it, but six. Time is flying by I swear.” He blinked multiple times and glanced at her. “Wow. I’m sorry. I got sidetracked. So where were we?”
“It’s okay. I’m glad you’re so close to your family. It’s sweet.”
“So…you never really say much about your own family. You have two brothers as well. Are the three of you close?”
Taryn took a long look at the wedding picture in the middle. Mike and the rest of the men surrounded Molly, all with wide, laughing smiles. She shook her head, “No…not like you all.”
~~~
She turned on her heel and Mike had no choice but to follow her into his kitchen. The sadness washed over her so quickly she hadn’t been able to disguise it. He’d noticed on more than one occasion during their late night phones calls she was quick to steer their conversations away from any mention of her
Mike’s hobby fit him to a T .
He might dress for success but, he was ruggedly handsome. The lines of his face were etched and defined, and his skin tanned by the sun and his hands weren’t softer than hers either. No, they were strong because he worked with them. His muscles, while she’d seen him working out, weren’t manufactured in a gym. The beauty he’d given to his home was through his own sweat and hard work.
Her jaw slowly opened as he closed the space between them once again. This time though, she was well aware of it. The tug at his mouth felt predatory, but there was a twinkle of mischief in his eyes that kept him from coming across as a man who was out for just one thing.
“Here you go,” he said.
Taryn took the glass of iced tea as he winked at her and nodded. “It’s beautiful, Mike. You’ve done an amazing job keeping with the architectural integrity of the original design.”
The smile spread instantly across his face. “Thanks, sugar. That means a lot coming from you.”
Turning back to the mantel, she pointed to the large picture in the middle. “Is this you and your brothers?”
“Yeah. That’s Sam. He’s the middle child—and trust me…he’s the epitome of the joke. That’s Carter, the youngest, and that’s his wife, Molly.”
“Her wedding dress is beautiful, but so is she.”
“She’s a sweetheart. You two would get along great. Those are his two best friends, Jesse and that’s Eli.”
“You can tell which three of you are brothers.”
“Oh yeah?”
“The eyes are a dead giveaway.”
“I’ve never heard that before.”
“You haven’t?”
“I’m kidding.” He winked again. “These are our parents.”
“Wow…you look just like your father. You and Carter both, Sam, though…he’s got the same ice-blue eyes, but he looks more like your mom.”
“Sure does. And these are my babies.”
“Oh my God. Mike, they’re gorgeous. Twins?”
“Sure are. That’s Alexandra, Alex for short and that little man is Jackson or Jack. They’re Molly and Carter’s. God, I miss them.”
He pulled in a deep breath as he stared at the various pictures he had of the twins across his mantel. Her heart went out to him. With her free hand, she ran her fingers over his forearm. It was damn near impossible to miss the muscles hidden by his shirt sleeve, but she forced herself to put off thinking about that for later. Like at bedtime. “Carter is your brother who lives in Pennsylvania, right? I got him and Sam confused. So I take it you don’t get to see them as often as you’d like?”
“No. Carter and I’ve always been close, but between his career and mine it was already hard. Throw in a few states separating us these days and I don’t get to see them nearly as much as I liked to. Especially now with the twins running around.”
“How old are they?”
“I can’t believe it, but six. Time is flying by I swear.” He blinked multiple times and glanced at her. “Wow. I’m sorry. I got sidetracked. So where were we?”
“It’s okay. I’m glad you’re so close to your family. It’s sweet.”
“So…you never really say much about your own family. You have two brothers as well. Are the three of you close?”
Taryn took a long look at the wedding picture in the middle. Mike and the rest of the men surrounded Molly, all with wide, laughing smiles. She shook her head, “No…not like you all.”
~~~
She turned on her heel and Mike had no choice but to follow her into his kitchen. The sadness washed over her so quickly she hadn’t been able to disguise it. He’d noticed on more than one occasion during their late night phones calls she was quick to steer their conversations away from any mention of her
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