Page 55 of Just One More Temptation

They walked into the house, the noise coming from the large kitchen where everyone had gathered. She put her gift on a table, as did Noah, and they went to greet the family.

Liam met her gaze first, a charming smile on his handsome face. Simon nodded at her in greeting. He was more serious than Liam, less so than Noah. Fallon might prefer Noah’s fuller features but there was no doubt the brothers were a good-looking trio.

She lifted her hand as a hello and left Noah with his siblings as she stopped to talk to his mother who was as warm and welcoming as the first time Fallon had met her.

“Daddy! Fallon!” The twins came running into the room, their excitement tangible, no doubt because they’d been with their mom for most of the week.

“Hi, girls!”

“Guess where we went? To the place where we learned all about dinosaurs. There was a trampoline and we tried to jump as high as the tallest dino. And there was a dig site just like where Mom works! And a drawing part where we made our own dinosaur pictures!” Dakota exclaimed, finally seeming to run out of breath.

Dylan was calmer than her sister.

“That sounds amazing!” Fallon smiled at both girls.

“They definitely had fun,” a pretty woman with shoulder-length dark hair said. “I’m Charlie,” the girls’ mother said.

Considering the twins had mixed them up from behind, she must have gotten it cut recently and the shape accentuated her attractive features.

“Hi. I’m Fallon. But you know that already.” She met the other woman’s gaze and there was no doubt she was sizing Fallon up the same way Fallon had just done to her.

Dylan and Dakota drifted toward the counter with their grandmother’s chocolate chip cookies just waiting for them, leaving Fallon alone with Charlie.

“I’ve heard so much about you,” she said. “The girls can’t stop raving about all the adventures they had with you while you watched them for Noah.” She sounded warm and sincere, and the butterflies in Fallon’s stomach receded a bit.

“I tried to keep things fun and educational. They’re wonderful girls.”

“Thank you. I miss them so much. But I committed to the length of the excavation and I really am loving it.”

Fallon understood being torn. “If it’s any consolation, the girls seem enthralled with what you’re doing. Well, mostly Dakota, but they talk about your job with awe and pride.”

Charlie tipped her head and her expression softened. “That’s so nice of you to say. Mom guilt. It’s a bitch,” she said, laughing. “So, they tell me you paint?”

“Is everything okay here?” Noah drew up beside them, joining the conversation, and not-so-discreetly slipping a protective arm around Fallon’s shoulders.

“Go away, Noah. We’re getting to know each other,” Charlie said lightly.

Fallon chuckled. “She’s right. Everything is fine.”

“I’m glad. I want you two to like one another.”

“No worries there,” Charlie said. “I can tell how much Fallon cares about the girls. That’s what matters to me. Plus, you’re nice.” Charlie winked.

Fallon grinned, liking how she read Noah and wasn’t afraid to let him know what she was thinking. No wonder they were such good co-parents.

Noah picked a pretzel from a bowl on the counter and took a bite. “Then I suppose I’m not needed here.”

“Exactly what I said when you walked over. I’m not going to bite. And, for what it’s worth, I approve, not that you need that from me.”

Fallon released a breath she hadn’t been aware of holding. “We may not need it but I respect you as the twins’ mom too much not to care. So thank you. That means a lot.”

Noah pressed a kiss to Fallon’s cheek. “Anyone want a soda? Water?”

Both Fallon and Charlie gave him their preference, Diet Coke for Charlie and club soda for Fallon, and he strode away to play bartender.

The rest of the day passed with the same flow and dynamic, Fallon feeling comfortable with his family, and for that she was grateful. The twins conned her and Charlie into playing a game of Twister in the family room, which they did. With an audience.

They ate burgers and hot dogs, Liam’s choice for his birthday lunch, like a kid, and after they finished, Nina asked Noah to help her reach something in the hall closet which she used as a pantry. And Fallon found herself talking to Simon about how he and Liam became angel investors.

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