Page 43 of Unexpected Kisses

I turn to look at her, our lips mere inches apart. Her eyes drop to my mouth and I’m tempted to lean forward and close the distance. But our first proper kiss will not be in front of her family at a child’s birthday party, so I refrain. “I know. It all looks so delicious, and I couldn’t decide where to start, so I figured I’d have everything.”

Conversation flows easily around the table and I’m happy to sit back and observe the family dynamics. This is obviously a family who are close and enjoy being in each other’s company. Not once have I heard anyone shush the kids or remind them of their place, which is a stark contrast to my upbringing and the expectations at our family get-togethers.

Once everyone’s finished eating, Theo rises and collects the empty dishes. I stand to help and so does Max. We make several trips back and forth from the table to the kitchen until everything is cleared away. Theo works on packing away the leftovers and I decide to start washing the dishes. Max moves beside me to dry the dishes as I place them on the rack. My muscles tense as I wait for him to strike up the conversation he wanted to have earlier.

He clears his throat. “So, about my question. You want to explain to me why you would offer to get my sister pregnant?”

Theo laughs and I glance at him over my shoulder. “You had to expect this question from her brother.” He focuses his attention on Max. “I asked him the same thing when we spent the afternoon at the beach.”

“Where the fuck was our invitation to the beach?”

“It was the day after your wedding. I’m assuming you were occupied with your wife.” Theo raises his brows in humor.

Max’s body relaxes. “Oh right.” A smirk tips up on one side of his mouth.

I turn back to my task. “I’ll tell you what I told Theo, but it has to stay between us. I don’t want to ruin what Sarah and I are only now beginning to build.” He raises his eyebrows but gives me a stiff nod. “I saw her when a friend and I were atClub Rumors. Not gonna lie, I thought she was stunning.” I think I’ll leave out the part about her curves. No brother wants to know some guy finds his sister hot. “When I overheard her speaking with her friend about wanting a baby, I thought I’d take the opportunity to speak with her about it. I know she’s way out of my league and I’m pretty sure she wouldn’t look twice at me if it weren’t for my…” I wave my hand in the general area of my dick. “I helped my sister and her wife get pregnant, so I knew I could help her.” His body relaxes slightly and his eyes become softer, less like he wants to strangle the life out of me. “I’m hoping if Sarah spends enough time with me, she’ll get to know me and want to stick around. I don’t want to only get her pregnant, Max. I want to be around for all of it. But I’m having a hard time getting through her fortress. She keeps a damn wall between us.” I stand stock still waiting for his response.

He glances at Theo for a long moment, seeming to have a silent discussion. Theo raises his eyebrows and tilts his head to the side without saying a word. Max’s head begins to move up and down slowly, his eyes coming back to me.

“A word of warning. You have to move slowly with Sarah. She overthinks and over plans everything. She doesn’t like change, so she doesn’t generally deviate from her plan.”

I blow out a breath and the tension releases from my body. “I figured that much out. That’s why I’m not pushing her or trying to move forward at the pace I would prefer. I don’t want her to bolt.”

He nods again and smiles this time. “Second warning. Don’t fucking hurt my sister.”

I hold my hands up in surrender. “I have zero intention of hurting her. I promise. I would rather eat my own arm than hurt Sarah.”

“Good to hear.”

“How are you guys doing in here? Kenny’s bursting to have her birthday cake,” Sarah says as she steps inside. Thank God she didn’t step through the doorway a couple of minutes earlier.

“We’re almost done. If you want to take out the plates, we’ll be ready in a minute,” Theo tells her.

She glances between Max and me, silently asking me if I’m okay. I nod and she collects the plates, heading back out to the deck.

“You do realize you two are already holding conversations without words, right?” Max asks. “I think she might be coming around, brother.” His hand lands heavily on my shoulder and he squeezes.

Well, at least I seem to have her family on my side. Now to get Sarah on the same page.

We’re all sitting around the table outside when Sarah walks out carrying Kenny’s birthday cake. Kenny squeals with delight as Sarah places it on the table in front of her niece. “Aunty Sarah, it’s beautiful. Thank you so much!”

Cristo and Theo are watching her with loving eyes and clear adoration for the little dynamo. Sarah explained to me that Emma lived in the house next door and that’s how she met Theo and Kenny. Theo’s technically her uncle but became her guardian when he lost his sister to breast cancer. It made me stop and think about Hayley, Lisa, and Colton and how much I love them; how devastating it would be to lose either of them.

We all sing happy birthday to the girl of the moment and the cake is cut and distributed, after Kenny is certain Emma took enough photos so she never forgets what the cake looked like. Sally and John make coffee and tea for the adults and bring them to the table and conversation resumes.

“AJ, what is it you do for work?” John asks.

I wipe my mouth with a napkin. “I’m actually a computer hacker. My friend, Dylan, and I started our company after we finished college. Companies engage us to test their systems for security. We investigate and report any flaws we find and work with them to improve and tighten up their security.”

“Oh, wow. That’s very impressive,” John praises.

“I’m fucking terrible with computers,” Max grumbles.

“Max!” Sally chastises.

“Shit! Sorry,” he mumbles as his shoulders hunch forward, and everyone bursts out laughing.

“Uncle Max, you’re so funny!” Kenny giggles.

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