Smart, Sexy and Secretive (The Reed Brothers 2)

“I’ll be sure he sanitizes,” Emily says. I wrap my arm around her, pulling her into my side. I kiss her, and if we don’t get out of here soon, I’ll have no choice but to take her back behind the curtain and then sanitize.

We follow Friday out the door, and she turns and locks it. “Good night,” she calls to us. It’s still early on a Saturday evening, so I don’t offer to walk her home. She turns away but then spins toward us again. “I’m glad you’re back, Emily,” she says, cupping her hands around her mouth as she yells. Then she walks away.

“She’s something, isn’t she?” Emily asks.

She’s definitely something. We just don’t know what.

“Do you want to go and get something to eat?” she asks. I realize she has her black canvas bag over her shoulder. I take it from her and put it over my own.

“You came prepared, huh?” I ask.

“I had a feeling you wouldn’t send me away.” She grins up at me. I couldn’t send her away even if I wanted to.

“Let’s go home and order a pizza,” I suggest. I look down at my watch. “Hayley will still be up. I’m sure she wants to see you.”

“Take me home,” she says. So I do.

Emily

We step through the door of the apartment Logan shares with his four brothers, and I jump back when they all yell, “Surprise!”

I look up at Logan who shakes his head and signs the word sorry. Then he pulls me to him, wrapping his arms tightly around me, but it’s not for more than a moment. His brothers rush at me. Sam and Pete, the youngest brothers in the family, get to me first. The twins attack me from both sides, squishing me between them like I’m the filling of a sandwich. They squeeze me, and they press their lips against each of my cheeks.

“If you lick me,” I warn. Sam already has his tongue out, but he sucks it back in really quickly and grins at me.

“Welcome home,” Sam says. He steps back, and Pete’s arms fall around me. He squeezes me tightly, clutching my head against his chest as his hands tumble through my hair.

“Would you cut it out?” I grouse, trying to flatten my hair back down. Pete laughs and steps to the side.

“Welcome home,” Paul says before wrapping me up in his arms. He really is a big guy, even bigger than Logan, and I think he could wrap around me twice.

“Thanks,” I murmur against his chest. I can barely breathe, but it’s worth it.

Then there’s Matt. He leans against the kitchen counter with his arms crossed in front of his chest. He doesn’t smile. His eyes are wet, and he blinks really quickly.

“Come here, big guy,” I say, making a come hither motion with my fingers. He pushes off the counter and starts toward me.

“I’m going to kiss your girl, Logan,” he warns. Logan’s eyebrows shoot up, but he doesn’t complain. He smiles and shrugs his shoulders.

Matt stops in front of me and tips my face up to his. He looks directly into my eyes and holds my gaze. “Thank you,” he says.

I gulp past the lump that’s suddenly in my throat and try to sound flippant. “For what?” I ask with a breezy wave. He won’t let me look away though. He holds my face between his palms and stares into my eyes.

“For saving my f**king life,” he says. “Thank you.”

He leans down and kisses me on the cheek with a loud smack.

“Oh, I didn’t do anything,” I start.

He looks down at me, and his gaze is so serious that my insides quiver. “Yes, you did,”

he says. “I’ll never forget it.” He looks over at Logan. “I’m not the only one you saved,” he whispers to me. That lump in my throat grows ten times its size. “You ever need anything at all, you come to me, all right? I’d do anything for you.”

“Could you kill a guy for me?” I ask. He could at least bust Trip’s kneecaps.

His eyebrows scrunch together. “There’s probably a story there. I hope you’ll tell it to me later.”

I nod. “You’re better, right?” I ask. I hold my breath while I wait for the answer.

He smiles. “I’m not dead.”

“Well, there’s a start,” Paul says, jumping in. “We should have written that on the cake.” He takes the top off a small cake box and Welcome Home is written across the icing. “For the guest of honor,” he says with a flourish.

“Can we eat the pizza now?” Sam whines. “Or do we have to keep doing the reunion thing?”

Paul smacks the back of his little brother’s head. “She saved his f**king life, dickwad.”

Pete mimics Sam’s whine. “Can we eat the pizza now?”

I laugh and pick up a piece, shoving it into my mouth.

“Thank God,” Paul moans as he reaches for a piece for himself. He smacks at Sam’s hands as he gets in his way. “I was starving.”

I’m so touched by their impromptu party that I can’t stop smiling. I have this stupid perma-grin on my face, but I’m just so happy to be here. Logan pulls out a chair at the table and motions for me to sit. But I suddenly feel little fingers tugging on the legs of my jeans. I look down at Hayley, who blinks her pretty blue eyes at me. Hayley is three, and we spent some time together when I was here before.

“Welcome home,” she says. I set my pizza on the counter and reach for her. “Oh my goodness,” I breathe as I bend down and pick her up. She wraps herself around me and holds me close. She lets me go and whispers in my ear. “Are you staying for good?” She chews on her finger as she waits.