Part 39 (1/2)
”Oh, G.o.d, anything but that.” Grinning, he kissed her again, gave his father a hard hug, and held the spoon out to Hannah. ”Want some?”
She might have been an only child, but she knew a dare when it was waved under her nose. She took the spoon and gave it a good long lick. ”Mmm, chocolate and what else?”
”Grand Marnier.” Kyle laughed. ”I didn't think you would do it.”
”Luv, I've eaten stewed monkey parts from a communal pot.”
”Yuck.”
”Amen.” Spoon in hand, she turned to Archer. ”Want some?”
”Monkey parts? I'll pa.s.s.”
”Icing.”
He looked at the spoon, then at the dark frosting that clung to the indentation of her upper lip. At that instant he wanted nothing more than to grab her and lick her more thoroughly than any sweet and sticky spoon. His raw, relentless hunger for her infuriated him almost as much as her challenging smile.
”No, thanks,” he said, looking right in her eyes.
The tone of his voice said it wasn't just the icing he was refusing.
Twenty-three.
”Kyle, take Hannah and your mother into the kitchen and feed them some of that icing,” The Donovan said. And it was The Donovan, not Don or Dad, who was speaking.
Susa gave him an approving look, hooked her arm through Hannah's, and pushed Kyle ahead of them. ”Come along, children. I feel an urgent chocolate craving coming on.”
As Archer watched the others walk away, he knew he was going to get the rough edge of his father's tongue. He didn't care. In fact, he was looking forward to it. One of the pleasures of being an adult was going toe to toe with The Donovan and coming out on the other side even closer to him than before.
”You were rude to a guest,” The Donovan said. ”Why?”
”She's not a guest. She's family.”
”The question stands.”
”I don't like chocolate icing.”
The Donovan's V-shaped black eyebrows shot up. ”Since when?”
”Since a minute ago. The lady and I rub each other the wrong way.”
”Bulls.h.i.+t.”
”Okay. We rub each other hot enough to set fire to plaster. That's not enough for me. It's enough for her. Life's a b.i.t.c.h and then you die.”
His father sighed and raked his fingers through his hair in a gesture that was a mirror of his son's. Then he chuckled. ”Giving you a run for your money, is she? Good for her.”
”Thanks. Should I turn around so you can stab me in the back, too?”
His father gave a crack of laughter and hugged his oldest son with one arm. ”I still think you should apologize to her for being rude, but I won't make an issue out of it. The course of true love never ran smooth, remember?”
Archer smiled thinly, hugged his father hard, and kept his mouth shut. Obviously The Donovan wasn't going to let go of his hope that his oldest son was finally going to know the joys of his own home and family.
”How's Faith doing?” Don asked.
Archer leaped on the change of subject with something close to relief. ”Working too hard. Tony keeps dropping by the shop, telling her how he's learned his lesson and it will never happen again.”
”It?”
”Whatever made her tell him to go to h.e.l.l. Given his history, my guess is another woman.”
Don said something scathing and profane under his breath. ”She isn't weakening, is she?”
”I hope not. But I know it's tough on her, seeing her twin with a husband and a kid, and she doesn't have anyone at all.”
”She could marry Tony and still not have anyone,” Don said sardonically.
”She figured that out all by herself. That doesn't make being alone any easier.”
”You ought to know.”
Archer shrugged, but his eyes were the color of steel. ”I've seen too much. Done too much. I'm not a good bet for hearth and home.”
For a moment Don was too surprised to say anything. Then it was too late. Jake was coming down the hall carrying a happily crowing Summer. She was sitting on his broad shoulders with his hand braced behind her back. Her little fists were buried in his dark hair. She was holding on hard enough to make his eyes slant.
”Make way, make way,” Jake said from down the hall. ”Summer the Magnificent is coming through. Closely followed by Lianne the Gigantic.”
Lianne gave Jake a swat on the b.u.t.t as she walked past him. ”Gigantic, huh? Watch it, big guy. I'll dump you on your pride and joy.”
”Not for a few months you won't.”
”I've got a long memory.” She winked at Archer and smiled at The Donovan. ”It's a shame how you got all the looks in the family, Dad.”
He held out his arms and gave her a hug that lifted her right off the floor. ”How's my favorite jade expert?”
”He's in the kitchen making icing, last I heard.”
”I meant you, beautiful, not that tall blond ox you married.”
”I'm fine. Eating for three.”
”I hope they're girls. The world needs more women like you.”
Lianne's whiskey-colored eyes darkened with emotion. The generous acceptance she had found in the Donovan family kept surprising her. Her in-laws truly loved her like a daughter. And she loved them right back. She kissed The Donovan on both cheeks, hugged him hard, and grinned up at him as he set her back on her feet with the easy precision of a man whose lifelong love was fourteen inches and one hundred pounds smaller than he was.
Summer gurgled and bounced and held out her arms toward her grandfather. Don picked her off her father's shoulders and started making gobbling noises against her tummy. Squealing with laughter, Summer grabbed his thick, silver-streaked hair.