Natalie didn’t meet her mother’s eyes, instead staring at her glass of tea and giving a fake half smile. “Yes, he’s a prince for sure.”

  Hmm. Definitely a tone of voice that Mom hadn’t picked up on. Hazel wondered what was going on there. Not that Nat would share anything negative about Sean even if there was something. Still, she hated seeing that look of unhappiness on her sister’s face.

  These were the times she wished she and Nat were closer. But they weren’t, and they were both at fault. Nat knew where to dig the knife in on all of Hazel’s failings, and Hazel didn’t exactly step up to defend herself like she should, which made her resentful.

  Whew. Sibling relationships were complicated. Or at least hers was.

  “We should all go out to dinner,” Linc said. “I’m pretty much done here for the day.”

  “That sounds fun. Paul is out of town at a conference. What about you, Natalie?”

  “Um, I’ll have to check with Sean and see if he’ll watch the kids.”

  Mom gave Nat a critical look. “They’re his children, too, Natalie.”

  “I know that, Mother. But he’s very busy, and tired when he gets home. Excuse me while I go make a call.”

  Hazel rolled her eyes but figured it was wise to keep her opinions to herself since she had neither a husband nor children. But as Nat argued on the phone with Sean in the background, she wondered how bad it really was, and suddenly felt a surge of empathy for her sister. Hazel might have gotten surprised and dumped by her ex, but she hadn’t had children to consider. What the hell was going on with Nat and Sean?

  She exchanged glances with her mother, who shook her head and looked just as clueless as Hazel.

  Linc stood. “I’ll go clean up. Be back shortly.”

  Once he disappeared, Mom inched closer to Hazel, lowering her voice so Natalie couldn’t hear. Not that that would happen since she was currently in a whispered argument with Sean.

  “Do you know anything about that?”

  “About what?” She was going to try her best not to plop herself in the middle of her mother’s need to know everyone’s business and whatever was going on with Nat and her husband.

  “You know what.” She nodded her head toward where Natalie was pacing back and forth, clearly irritated while she continued her phone conversation.

  “Oh. Well, no. It just seems like they’re talking. Why? Do you know something?”

  Mom shook her head. “Nothing. I was under the impression that she was a Disney princess living a perfect life.”

  That pretty much summed up what Nat had always led Hazel to believe.

  They separated when Nat returned.

  Mom shifted in her chair to face Natalie. “All right. Tell us. What’s going on with you and Sean?”

  Natalie lifted her chin. “Nothing’s going on, Mother. We’re fine.”

  “You can try and tell yourself that, but I don’t believe it. I can feel the tension in you. Can’t you, Hazel?”

  Hazel shifted her gaze between her mother and Nat, who gave her a pleading look. “Honestly? I don’t feel a thing. But what would I know anyway? My marriage failed and Nat’s is perfect.”

  “Exactly,” Natalie said.

  Their mother gave them a look that told Hazel she wasn’t buying it. Then her phone rang. “Oh, it’s a client. I need to take this.” And then she wandered off and out the front door.

  “Thank you,” Nat said. “I appreciate you taking the heat off of me.”

  “Anytime. But you know if there’s anything you want to talk about, I’ll always be here for you, Nat.”

  Natalie opened her mouth, no doubt to object and say everything was fine, then sighed. “Things aren’t great between Sean and me. He and I are trying to work it out, but I’m just not sure I want to be the dutiful stay-at-home wife anymore. I want a career, but Sean is very traditional and wants me to be home to take care of the kids.”

  “Natalie. I’m sorry. Have you tried counseling?”

  “We’re doing that now. Sean’s not as enthusiastic about it as I am, but I’m going, so he can either follow suit and go with me or—we’re finished.”

  Hazel knew exactly how devastating it was to end a marriage. “Oh, Nat. I’m sorry.”

  “Thanks. Me, too. Please don’t tell Mom.”

  “Of course not. But I’m serious about having someone to talk to. I’m here for you if you need me. Or to watch the kids.”

  Natalie laughed. “I think you have your hands full right here.”

  “Hey now. Cammie and Christopher love dogs. If you need a break or a babysitter, you bring them here.”

  Nat reached over and squeezed her hand. “Thank you. I appreciate that.”

  And that had been the truest, warmest exchange she’d had with her sister in . . . as long as she could remember. Hopefully, it would continue.

  Linc came back downstairs right as Mom returned from outside. He had put on a camel-colored pair of shorts along with a cream button-down, his hair was slicked back, and he looked utterly gorgeous. How could he dress so casually and look primed for a night out at the same time?

  Linc had some kind of GQ magic in him.

  Now it was her turn to sigh.

  Natalie leaned toward her. “That man is gorgeous.”

  “That he is,” she said.

  “Where would you all like to eat?” he asked. “Hopefully, not a suit-and-tie place, because if so, I’m underdressed.”

  Mom laughed. It might have actually been a giggle. She and Natalie looked at each other.

  “Oh, you choose,” Mom said. “We like everything, don’t we, girls?”

  “Sure,” Nat said.

  “Okay. Do you want to ride with us or—”

  “No, we’ll follow you,” Mom said. “That way we can head home after.”

  They climbed into their separate vehicles and pulled out of the driveway, Mom and Nat behind them as Linc led them out of the subdivision and toward whatever restaurant he was taking them to.

  “Your mom and sister are great,” he said.

  “You think so?”

  “Yeah. Melinda speaks her mind and I appreciate that, and Natalie seems to just go with it.”

  “Yeah, she goes with it, I guess. But, actually, we had a good conversation today. First one we’ve had in . . . a very long time.”

  “That’s good, right?”

  “It’s amazingly good, and a step in the right direction for our relationship. Well, to be honest, we haven’t had much of a relationship at all for a lot of years. We haven’t had much in common. She has her husband and kids, and I—”

  He merged onto the highway, then gave her a quick glance. “You what?”

  “Floundered, I guess. It always seemed as if she had it all together, while I was busy blowing up my life.”

  “First, you didn’t blow up your life. Your ex did. And, second, most people don’t have it all together. They just give the illusion that they do.”

  She laughed. “And you know this how?”

  “Let’s just say I’ve seen plenty of evidence of it. I mean, yeah, some people manage to eke out their little corner of happiness, but a lot of people hide behind this happy facade, when in reality they’re fucking miserable.”

  “Whoa. Where did this come from? I thought you were living your dream?”

  “Oh, I am. But I haven’t always been this way. I had to go through some misery. And I’m not exactly where I want to end up yet.”

  “Is that right? And where do you want to end up?”

  “I don’t know. I just know I’m not there yet.”

  “So . . . you’ll know when you get there, or is it one of those things you figure out as you go along? Because I’d for sure like to know where the hell I’m going to find my peace of mind and happy zen.”

  He took the exit, glancing in his rearview mirror, no doubt to make sure her mom was still behind them. “I don’t honestly know if there’s a perfect happily ever after, Hazel. I just think when you find that peace, that utter happiness? You’ll know it. And you’ll do anything and everything to keep it.”

  She stared out the windshield as the last brightness of the day began to fade under gathering clouds and an orange-hued sunset. “I don’t know if I believe that, Linc. I think you can’t just wait for happiness to fall into your lap, or for your future to come to you. You have to work for it.”

  “I don’t disagree with that.” He pulled into the restaurant parking lot. “But I also believe in destiny, in things happening for a reason.”

  He unbuckled his seat belt and came around to her side of the car, taking her hand to pull her out. “Like you and me and that crazy way we met. Destiny put us together for some reason.” He wound his arm around her waist, tugging her against him. “And I’m damned happy whenever I’m with you, so I try to never second-guess the universe.”

  And then, right in front of her approaching mother and sister, he slipped his hand around her neck and planted a long, hot kiss on her, melting her right to the spot.

  She didn’t know much about destinies and meant to be’s, but she did know about long, toe-curling kisses that made her forget all about her mother and sister standing two feet away.

  And one just didn’t discount those kinds of kisses. Because they meant something.

  What that something was, she didn’t know, but what she did know was that Lincoln Kennedy was someone special.

  And, right now, he was all hers.

  Nat cleared her throat—then coughed, loudly. Linc pulled away and gave her a promising smile.

  Yeah, she planned to hold him to that promise. Later.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  With cabinets and flooring in, the kitchen was starting to take shape. Now was the time Linc got really excited about the direction of a house reno. Appliances had been ordered and should be in this week, which meant he could get to work on lighting, and that should almost wrap up the kitchen. There wasn’t a whole lot left to do in this room.

  He had finished the downstairs bathroom, so it was time to work on the two upstairs. He had planned to start them sooner, but the downstairs projects had taken up more time than he’d planned, so those had to wait. But now he was ready to dive in to the bathrooms. Since they needed to be able to shower, he’d do one at a time. Kind of a pain in the ass and would cut into the timeline, but still doable.

  He hadn’t planned to redo the bathroom floors, but the more he looked at them, the more he thought new tile would complete the look. So today he was removing the old and outdated tile floor in both bathrooms, since the concrete floor would work fine for showering purposes. He’d convinced Hazel to move into his bathroom so he could work on hers first. Hopefully, it would convince her to also move into his bed, since she spent most of her time in it anyway. There was something intimate about her toothbrush sitting near his, her shampoo next to his in the shower. It felt right, like that’s where her things were supposed to be.

  He didn’t know what to make of it, and decided thinking too hard about it was a bad idea, because that sent his brain off into all sorts of wild “what if” scenarios, so instead, he went back to tile removal. It was sweaty, hard work, but he had his dog—wow, Penny was his dog now—to help him. And by “help” he meant she was lying outside the bathroom woefully staring at him.

  He paused to swipe at the sweat dripping down his face. Penny ran off, coming back a minute later with a tennis ball.

  “You think it’s playtime, huh, girl?”

  She dropped the ball on his foot, making her intent clear.

  He picked up the ball and looked down at Penny. “Okay, fine. I need a drink anyway. Let’s go outside.” Based on the breeze blowing the palm fronds outside the window, it was probably cooler out there than it was in here right now. He headed down the stairs and outside, through the pool door and toward the lawn. He tossed the ball to the far side of the grassy area, then made his way to the guesthouse for a drink.

  Huh. He thought maybe Hazel would be in there cooking, but she wasn’t. Maybe she went to the store and didn’t tell him she was leaving—not that she needed to keep him informed of her whereabouts or anything. Then again, it was unusual for her to leave the house while he was working without giving him a heads-up so that he could keep an eye on the pups. He made his way back out to the yard and did a canine head count.

  All the pups were present, including Penny, who had retrieved the ball and was now following him around the yard while he refilled the dogs’ water bowl and checked on each one of them. After determining they were all doing fine, he threw the ball a few times for Penny, who had to wrestle with Lilith for it, even though Lilith couldn’t retrieve the ball because it didn’t fit in her tiny mouth. But Linc gave her points for trying.

  His phone buzzed so he pulled it out of his pocket. It was a text from Hazel.

  With my sister. She’s having some issues. I’m bringing her kids home with me. Hope that’s okay.

  He frowned, worried about Natalie. He hoped she wasn’t hurt or something. He sent a quick text letting Hazel know it was fine to bring the kids to the house, then went and picked up his tools, put them away, and did a quick cleanup, checking the surroundings for dangerous items. Nothing in sight, so he figured it was safe enough to bring children in here, though he had no idea how old Natalie’s kids were.

  Then again, there was a pool, and hopefully they’d like that. He went upstairs and changed into his board shorts along with a sleeveless top, slipped on his sandals and headed back downstairs, walked across to the guesthouse, and peeked inside the fridge, knowing that Hazel typically kept it fully stocked.

  He was right. He sliced up a couple of cheeses and a few different fruits, grabbed some crackers and cookies, and set them all on a tray, hoping it was good enough for the kids.

  He started out the door and then stopped. “Dammit. Drinks. They’ll want juice.” He pivoted and went back to the fridge, grabbed orange and apple juice and a few glasses, and put them on the tray as well, then balanced his way around the pool toward the back porch. Just as he laid the tray on the table, he heard the sounds of kid voices.

  Suddenly, two kids—an exceptionally cute boy and girl—burst through the back door and there was a cacophony of squeals and dogs happily barking. Hazel stepped through the door with an apologetic smile.

  “Sorry about this. Nat had a huge argument with Sean, she’s in meltdown mode, and my mom isn’t available, so I sent her to the spa for the afternoon to unwind.”

  He reached out and grasped her hand. She was no doubt stressed, too. “It’s all going to be fine. Now let’s entertain these kids.”

  He walked over to the two little ones, who were happily playing with the dogs. “My name is Linc. What are your names?”

  * * *

  • • •

  For the past four hours, Hazel had watched in awe as Linc managed to enthrall and entertain two small children as if it were the most natural thing in the world for him to do.

  Camryn was an incredibly intelligent and curious six-year-old girl and asked Linc a million questions. Unfazed, he answered her calmly and honestly, even when Cammie asked about his relationship with Hazel.

  Any normal man would have cut and run. Not Linc. He’d kicked a ball around with three-year-old Christopher, followed by the two of them engaging in a rather in-depth discussion about dinosaurs before Cammie intervened to talk to Linc about her favorite TV unicorn. He’d fed them, played in the pool with them, and let them climb all over him. And not once had Linc tapped out.

  The kids were splashing in the pool at the moment, so Hazel pulled up a spot next to Linc, who was sitting on the side of the pool watching them.

  “You’re so good at this,” she said, watching Cammie laugh as Christopher paddled along on his floating ring, kicking his feet wildly behind him.

  “At what?”

  “This. Kids. You dived right in—literally and figuratively. The kids fell instantly in love with you. How do you do that?”

  He shrugged. “They’re awesome. And easy.”

  Hazel knew from personal experience that Cammie and Christopher were anything but easy. Christopher could be a total hellion and Cammie a pouty diva. And yet they had been well-behaved and enthusiastic around Linc.

  “Linc! Linc! Watch me do a somersault underwater.”

  Linc grinned at Cammie. “I can’t wait. Hit it.”

  Cammie did her best effort at somersaulting, her little feet flailing above the water as she performed the maneuver. She surfaced sputtering and grinning while Linc and Hazel clapped.

  “That was outstanding,” Linc said. “Do it again.”

  “Okay!”

  Christopher just laughed and continued to paddle his way around the pool, occasionally yelling to Linc to watch him splash, which Linc told him was awesome.

  It had never been this easy to entertain the kids.

  “You must have that magical quality,” she said.

  He cocked his head to the side. “No magic. You just gotta like kids and treat them like humans.”

  “I see.” Maybe that was her issue. Not that she didn’t love children. She did. But maybe she had harbored a little jealousy toward Nat and her perfect life and her beautiful children, so it had held her back from forming a bond with Cammie and Christopher. If so, shame on her. Children shouldn’t have to suffer a lack of affection just because the adult had some screwed-up personal issues. She was going to fix that immediately.

  She’d put her swimsuit on as soon as they arrived home because the kids had been so excited about swimming in Auntie Hazel’s pool. So she slid off the side and into the pool, the coolness of the water refreshing her heated body. She swam over to Christopher.

  “What’s up, buddy?”

  “I’m swimming, Auntie Hazel. See my feets?”