Page 43 of The Pilot

The picture captured all the emotions she was feeling at that moment perfectly. Desire, satisfaction, happiness, contentedness.

Her other favorite picture was of her and Kash. They were holding hands and swinging around in a circle as they danced. They were both laughing their heads off, and the joy on her son’s face was priceless to Harper. His hair was mussed, he had a stain on his shirt from where he’d dropped something while he ate, and his bow tie was untied, hanging around his neck.

He was a boy on the cusp of manhood who still had no problem being silly with his mom. She loved that picture so much.

And at the end of the night, after everyone had said bye to Britt and Chad—who were going to spend their wedding night at a B&B in Rockville before heading to Portland—and after Harper, Linc, and Kash had said their own goodbyes, Linc pretended to drive off, but he turned out his lights and pulled into the boat storage yard instead.

Somehow, Harper was convinced to go with the boys to execute Operation Lobster, as they called it. Hiding those tiny lobsters all over the small house Britt and Chad were living in was actually hysterical fun. Finding places to stash the little critters was quite a challenge. Especially two hundred and fifty of the suckers.

By the time they were done, Harper had a feeling the couple would be finding lobsters years from now. It was a harmless and fun prank, she’d decided, and weirdly, she felt honored to have been included.

It was late when they got back to Linc’s house, and Kash was dead on his feet, trying valiantly to keep his eyes open but walking like a zombie into the house and straight up the stairs.

He turned after a few steps and said, “Tonight was awesome. Thanks for the clothes, Linc. And the bow tie. And for including me in Operation Lobster. And Mom, thanks for everything you do for me. You’re the best mom in the world.” Then, without giving either of them a chance to respond, he disappeared up the rest of the stairs.

Then it was just Harper and Linc. She felt shy all of a sudden. She was tired, and she knew he had to be too. There’d been a lot of emotion throughout the day, and she felt weighed down by it all.

“Go to bed, Harper. You look exhausted. You’re working in the afternoon, right?”

“Yeah. Two to ten.”

“Sleep in as long as you can. I’ve got Kash.”

Gratitude and longing hit Harper hard and fast. He was such a good man. She walked over and put her hands on his chest as she leaned into him. She felt his arms go around her, and she rested her forehead against his shoulder. They stood like that for a long moment before she straightened.

“Thanks for sharing your family with us. You have no idea how much it means to me.”

“You’re welcome,” Linc said simply. Then he licked his lips and said quietly, “I’ve wanted to kiss you again all night. Seeing you smile, your happy tears, you laughing with your son, I don’t think I’ve seen anything as beautiful as you in a very long time.”

Pleasure bloomed within Harper. No compliment she’d ever received meant as much as the ones coming from this man’s lips.

“Then kiss me,” she encouraged.

Her hand went to his nape as he leaned forward. This kiss wasn’t as . . . desperate . . . as the one they’d shared in the car. It was easy and affectionate. He kept it short—shorter than Harper would’ve liked.

“Good night, Harper. See you in the morning.”

She didn’t want to drop her hand from his neck, but his words were obviously meant as an ending to the wonderful day they’d shared.

Smiling as she backed away, Harper gave him a dorky little wave, then mentally winced at how stupid she was being. Turning, she headed for the stairs where Kash had disappeared moments earlier. Just like him, she turned after going up only a couple of steps.

“Do you think you’ll be able to sleep tonight? After all the excitement?” She worried about Linc. Kash had told her a little bit about how he had trouble sleeping, but since she usually slept like a rock, she hadn’t caught him awake in the middle of the night.

“Sure,” Linc said with a smile.

He was lying, but Harper didn’t know what she could do about it. Linc was a grown man, and if he wasn’t getting enough sleep, he’d know what to do to fix it. Wouldn’t he?

But Linc didn’t give her a chance to question him, he simply nodded and headed for his bedroom.

Wishing she had the guts to ask him to stay with her, even if just to sleep in his oversize chair again, Britt walked up the stairs toward her room. She took off the dress and kicked off the shoes, making a mental note never to buy shoes from her workplace again, no matter how cute they looked. She put on an oversize T-shirt and padded out to the bathroom.

By the time she got back to bed, she was dead on her feet. She’d planned on staying awake long enough to go over the wonderful memories of the day, especially Linc’s kisses. But as soon as her head hit her pillow, she was out like a light.

Chapter Nine

All was not well in the house.

Linc knew he was a big part of the reason why.