Page 67 of Renewal After Dark

At any other time, he would’ve enjoyed the helicopter ride. But there was nothing cool about this. As they lifted off, he was terrified of where this journey might take them.

While he watched the island disappear from sight, he prayed they’d return with four healthy baby boys.

McKenzie worean olive-green tank top and cut-off denim shorts that put miles of creamy white skin on display that made Duke want to swallow his tongue. He’d love to put the most stunning flowers on her gorgeous skin, not that she needed any enhancements. But he couldn’t look at skin like hers and not dream of the art he could create on such a perfect canvas.

And then she smiled.

Was it possible to swallow a tongue?

They hadn’t gotten around to her looking at his QuickBooks yet, but she’d promised to do it as soon as she could. She’d spent the afternoon completing a questionnaire Mac had dropped off to outline her wishes for the cabin reconstruction.

Her dark hair was piled on top of her head, and she’d done something with her brown eyes that made them stand out even more than they usually did.

She was drop-dead gorgeous, and he was suddenly concerned about taking her to an event where she’d meet other guys better suited for someone like her than he’d ever be.

“Duke? Is everything all right?”

“Uh, yeah, all good.”

“Are you sure you want us to go with you? Wouldn’t you rather hang with your friends without having to worry about us?”

“No, not at all. I want you to come. If you’re up for it, that is.”

“I’d love to.”

“All right, then.”

“All right, then. You’re sure you’re okay?”

He was about to say what she wanted to hear so they could get on with their outing, but when he opened his mouth, the truth came spilling out. “I was okay until I saw you all…” He waved his hand in her direction. “You look beautiful, and you took my breath away for a second. Or two.”

She stared at him long enough that he wasn’t sure if he’d made a huge mistake telling her the truth. “That’s very sweet of you to say.”

“It’s the truth. You’re gorgeous, and the last thing I want to do is prove your mother right about anything…”

She came over to him and placed a hand on his chest.

Her touching him that way nearly stopped his heart.

Then she went a step further by going up on tiptoes to kiss his cheek. “You’re nothing like the kind of men my mother described, and for what it’s worth, I think you’re rather beautiful yourself.”

He snorted with laughter and embarrassment. “Sure, I am. I’m a freaking wildebeest next to you.”

“You’re beautiful inside and out, and I don’t want you saying mean things about my friend Duke. Do you hear me?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Her smile… Goddamn if it didn’t turn him inside out, especially when she directed the full force of it in his direction.

While she gathered sweatshirts for herself and Jax, he stood perfectly still, overwhelmed by the last five minutes in which it seemed like everything in his life had changed for the better. She thought he was beautiful—inside and out. What did that mean? How should he proceed from here?

He felt less certain of himself with her than he had with any other woman he’d ever spent time with. He’d had his share of girlfriends, dates and hookups, but no other woman had ever left him as dazzled as she did, even the one he’d thought he might marry.

As he carried Jax in his car seat down the stairs to the truck, he was as tongue-tied and flummoxed as he’d been in years. His heart hammered in his chest, his mouth had gone dry, and his palms were sweaty.

Christ have mercy.He was a grown man in the throes of the deepest crush of his life, and if he wasn’t careful, he’d scare her away by being a weirdo.

While she secured Jax to the base of the child seat, he got in the driver’s side to wait for her to be ready to go.

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