Page 18 of Double Take

“Unfortunately, I think he’s one of those dicks who’ll cause problems just to be an ass. So, we need to expect that he’ll go all in to make her life miserable.”

“Damn short penis complexes.”

Neither of us has to know the man to understand that he has a complex for some reason–short, tiny dick, abused by his parents, de-pants in the school hallway when he was 13. Whatever the reason, he’s taking his anger out on her, and it’s time to stop it once and for all.

“I’ve also hired Truman Security for a deep dive into him and his parents. He has carte blanche to follow whatever trail he needs to go down. No matter what the expense is. I won’t stop until we know every piece of dirt the man possesses.”

Oliver smirks. “You’ve been busy.”

“I had to do something constructive while you and Sunny put up the tree and holiday decorations.”

Rylee steps out of her room, and her mouth drops open. The expression on her face as she searches from one side of the room to the other makes my heart thunder in my chest. She loves it.

“Wow.” Her hand clutches her chest. “This is amazing. Thank you.”

Her eyes shine with disbelief and awe. I’ve never put the full-court press on a woman before because there was never one that spoke to my heart the way she does. But that doesn’t mean I haven’t been taking notes on how to woo a girl.

And I’m not going to lie. We’re kind of kicking ass at the whole thing. “I’m speechless.”

“Momma!” Sunny runs toward her, and how she climbs up Rylee and wraps her arms and legs around her makes me want to weep. “Better?”

“Yes, momma feels much better, but she’s overwhelmed by these two unbelievably generous men who are doing way too much.” She kisses Sunny’s temple and ruffles her hair.

“Toe.”

“What?” Rylee frowns as her eyebrows crinkle.

“Toe.” She points above their heads to the mistletoe hung from the ceiling fan above her head.

“Oh.” Her eyes dance with laughter. “That’s mistletoe, baby.”

“Kiss.” She puckers her lips and waits until Rylee gives her a loud, smacking kiss, and a wave of disappointment rolls over me.

I’m not mad at her four-year-old daughter, but any amount of surprise we could’ve used to manipulate our own kisses is out the window. It’s not like she’ll continue standing under the mistletoe until we’ve each given her a toe-curling kiss; especially when Sunny is awake and in the room.

“I’ve made you some soup. I know you must be exhausted after running a fever off and on. You need to recoup your strength.” I step toward the kitchen.

“Kiss.” Sunny pokes her bottom lip out. God, she’s a doll.

“Baby.” Rylee rolls her eyes. “I already gave you a kiss.”

“No.” Her eyes squint into lines. “Axel and Oliver kissed my cheek, and you gave me kiss. Now, they need to give you kiss.”

“Oh.” Her eyes widen as her cheeks brighten with color. “They don’t have to.”

“It’s the rule.” I reach her side in two strides because I’m not giving up the opportunity Sunny so graciously tossed into our laps.

I cup her face, stare into her eyes, and brush my thumb over her cheek. “A kiss for a gorgeous woman.”

When my lips land against hers with a soft caress, and she sighs while leaning into me, the world tilts on its axis. I expected her toes to curl, not mine. I thread my fingers through her still-damp hair and brush my tongue along the seam of her lips.

She whimpers, giving me access to sweep past her lips and lazily tease her tongue until she’s almost vibrating. So responsive. So damned responsive. But she has Sunny on her hip.

I rock back onto my heels. Tonight is not the night. I give her a quick kiss and step back. “Happy holidays.”

“Happy holidays.” Her eyes jerk nervously to Oliver, and some of my worry disappears. There’s no question she enjoyed my kiss, but she’s just as intrigued by the thought of my brother’s mouth on hers.

“Oliver, I believe it’s your turn to fulfill the rules of the mistletoe.” I wink and waggle my eyebrows as her face flames with heat.

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