Page 7 of Twice as Tempting

Chapter 4

When Kelly arrived at Mr. and Mrs. Kostas’s house, she noticed that Zack’s Range Rover was already there, and she breathed a sigh of relief. At least if things didn’t go well with Damian, she could count on the support of her best friend.

Kelly had taken great care with her appearance, as she usually did when there was a man involved. Tonight she wore a belted tunic top over a pair of leggings, and a pair of low-heeled ankle boots. Emma had warned her ahead of time not to show too much skin, so Kelly had chosen one of her more conservative outfits.

Alex was the one who opened the front door, and she immediately pulled Kelly in for a hearty hug. “I’m so glad you’re here,” she said with a wink.

Emma was the next one to greet her, and she hugged Kelly too. This is one expressive family!

Gracie careened around the corner and wrapped her arms around Kelly’s legs. “Aunt Kelly’s here,” she announced to the whole room.

Damian had been standing at the picture window with his back to her, and he slowly turned around.

Kelly melted right on the spot. Big, bad Damian cradled his infant niece carefully in his muscular arms and rocked her gently back and forth. Something about the scene made Kelly want to snap a picture, but Emma beat her to it.

“Smile for the camera, Uncle Damian,” Emma teased, and she snapped a couple of pictures with her cell phone.

Kelly followed Emma all the way into the living room and exchanged greetings with Zack and Joe Kostas. Three Kostas men in one room was quite a sight to behold. Kelly had labelled Zack and his brother Greek God numbers one and two, and their father Joe was still handsome in his sixties. What a gene pool!

“What can I get you to drink, Kelly?” Alex asked, relishing her role as hostess as usual.

Kelly noticed that Emma held a glass of wine, so she said, “I’ll have what Emma’s having.”

Zack let out a loud laugh. “Just as long as it’s not rum and Coke.”

Emma scowled at him while he relayed the story of the time Emma got drunk on rum and Cokes at his co-worker’s wedding. By the end of the story, everyone in the room was laughing, including Emma.

Kelly sat back and sipped her wine, and tried not to look at Damian overmuch. Every time she did sneak a peek, he caught her, which meant that he was looking too! He hadn’t said much, but that was to be expected. He was usually content to sit back and let everyone else do the talking. However, when asked a direct question…

“So, Damian, what are your plans now that you’re back?” Kelly ventured.

The room stilled, and all eyes focused in on Damian. Oops…he hates to be the center of attention, but inquiring minds…

Damian handed the baby off to Emma, plopped into the nearest chair, and casually crossed his leg over the opposite knee.

“First off, I need to find a place to live,” he said.

“Son, we already told you. Take as long as you need. You’re not bothering us by staying here,” Joe said.

“Ha! Dad, you should know that it cramps Damian’s style to live with his parents,” Zack teased.

“I’m not living here. This is a temporary solution until I find my own digs.”

Then Emma piped in. “Hey, Kell, aren’t there some apartments available in your complex?”

Now the focus switched to Kelly, and she wanted to crawl into a hole. “Well…yeah…I think so…”

“I don’t know about that,” Damian said.

“Why not? I think it’s an excellent idea,” Zack said, ignoring Emma’s signal to knock it off.

“I might look at some rental houses instead,” Damian said.

“In Clarkston? That’ll probably cost you a small fortune,” Joe said.

Thankfully, Alex came fluttering into the living room and announced that it was time for dinner. Everyone filed out, but Damian stayed back and put a hand on Kelly’s arm to stop her.

“Is that true about there being apartments for rent in your building?”