Switched At Birth Read online

  He kissed her again, a quick one that time. “A walk along the water’s edge will do that for you.”

  “Oh, really? I thought it was kissing you that made all the difference.”

  He faked a thoughtful frown. “We probably should test your theory.”

  “Well, yeah. Just for, you know, science and all that.”

  “All right then. Here’s the plan. This time I won’t walk. I’ll just stand right here, holding you—which feels amazing, FYI.” His feet were numb, but who cared at this point? “Afterward, we’ll decide if the walking made a difference.”

  “Go for it.” She puckered up those beautiful lips at him and squinted her eyes closed.

  He took that gorgeous mouth.

  There was no laughing this time.

  Just the sweet taste of the right woman, all eagerness, so soft and welcoming. He speared his tongue in and she met it. The constant roar of the ocean, the frozen state of his feet, the smell of seaweed and wet sand, it all flew away.

  They might have remained there, kissing into the next morning—if not for the sudden, big wave that came out of nowhere, flinging cold seawater on them, soaking them from the shoulders down.

  She screamed and he let out a bellow. Then they both started laughing again.

  “Look at it this way.” He nudged a string of seaweed off her shoulder and nuzzled her wet, salty neck. “I think that wave washed the beer off your shirt.”

  She dug the fingers of her free hand into his hair and pulled, so he lifted his head to her. “Smart-ass.” And she kissed him, quick and hard. “Okay. Let’s get moving before a bigger wave comes and drags us out to sea.”

  He lowered her feet to the sand and they ran up the beach, away from the untrustworthy waves.

  “Well?” he asked when they reached the little pile of his boots and her shoes. “Walking or kissing? Which is responsible for your attitude adjustment?”

  “Let me see.” She made a show of considering the weighty question, bracing a thumb under her chin and tapping a finger against her cheek. All the while, she was shivering, wet to the ends of her hair. “Scientifically speaking....”

  “Scientifically. Of course.”

  “Kissing. No doubt about it. In fact, I’m thinking that we should do it again in order to keep my spirits up.”

  Now that was an excellent idea. He pulled her close and she lifted her angel’s face to him.

  That kiss was slow and deep and endlessly sweet. He didn’t want it to end. He forgot his frozen feet and their waterlogged clothes.

  But eventually, they came up for air and she started shivering again.

  He bent, grabbed her shoes and handed them to her. “Let’s get you inside before frostbite sets in.”

  Chapter Six

  They dropped their shoes outside the door.

  Sten gestured Madison in ahead of him, pulling the door shut once he was inside. She continued to shiver, feeling glad he was with her, hoping he would stay.

  “Give me your beer,” he said. “And your phone, too.”

  She pulled her phone from her dripping pocket. The screen lit right up when she swiped it, none the worse for getting wet. She handed the phone and the beer over.

  He set them on the table along with his beer, checking his phone as she had hers and then leaving it, too. “Come here.” Those blue eyes of his promised all manner of scary, wonderful things.

  She stepped up close. He took her soggy T-shirt by the hem.

  “Lift your arms.”

  She did and he eased it up and away. And there she was, in her wet bra and her baggy canvas pants, no doubt looking like a drowned rat.

  But he just tipped up her chin and kissed her, short and sweet. “You’re still shivering.” He picked up a remote from a side table and turned on the gas fireplace. “That’ll warm it up in here. How ’bout a shower?”

  “Yes, please.” She had her arms wrapped around herself, but it wasn’t helping much. Her teeth had started chattering.

  “Come on.”

  She followed him into her bedroom and on to the en suite bath.

  It was easy between them, natural and uncomplicated, somehow. Not overtly sexy, just effortless and right. Not like when she used to try to date in LA, and it always felt so fake. Like it was all about being seen and admired, a photo op more than a way to get to know someone.

  With Sten, it just felt real.

  They stripped off everything, leaving it all in a soggy pile near the open door to the bedroom.

  Yeah, she felt a little awkward. She was at home in her body, but she’d never been naked like this before, with just a man that she wanted, the two of them. Alone.

  He turned on the shower and glanced over his shoulder to find her watching him. How could she help it? He was all hard planes and strong angles, his back layered in lean muscles leading down to an amazing rock-hard butt and powerful legs dusted with dark hair.

  She was blushing. She could feel it, her neck and face going hot.

  And then he turned to her fully. He was beautiful all over. She tried not to stare at the proof of his desire for her.

  “Maddy.” Her name on his lips was like a gentle touch, soothing her nervousness, easing her fears. “Words can’t do you justice.” He held out his hand.

  She took it and let him pull her into the shower stall, under the wide rain showerhead so that the wonderful, hot water poured down over them, taking all the chills away. A sense of ease stole through her. She lifted her hands and placed them against his chest, which was as sharply cut as the back of him, with a perfect T of hair across his pectorals, and in a soft trail down the center of him.

  He felt so solid, so strong and male. And she was glad, so glad right then.

  That she had waited.

  That he would be the one.

  She tipped up her chin to him and he took her mouth in a light, easy kiss. She felt the tip of him, hard and hot against her belly.

  But then he stepped back and reached for the soap.

  He bathed her and washed her hair, touching her everywhere, but not lingering, not trying to arouse her, more like soothing her. Pampering her. And getting to know her with his hands.

  She returned the favor, chickening out a little over the naughty bits. He smiled when she skated the soap around his erection and then took over for her whenever she seemed shy.

  A quick mutual rinse-off and they got out together and dried off. He tucked a towel around his hips. “I’ll put our wet clothes in the washer.”

  “Thanks.”

  He gathered them up and left her to blow-dry her hair.

  Once that was done, she put on her favorite cozy terry cloth robe and went looking for him.

  He hadn’t gone far. She found him in the great room sitting by the fire wearing busted-out jeans and a worn T-shirt. He held out his hand and she went to him, pulling his arm across her shoulders, snuggling in good and close.

  “Did you go back to your house to get dressed?” Grinning a little, she pictured him running across the deck in the moonlight wearing only a towel.

  He pressed his lips into her hair. “Uh-uh. There are some boxes of old clothes stored in the attic here.”

  She tipped her head back so she could see his eyes. They were dark blue and endless, sucking her in, making her feel like she wasn’t alone, like her life could be different. Simpler and richer, both at once—and she just had to ask, “Stay with me tonight?”

  He smoothed her hair, guiding it off her shoulders and down her back. “I don’t have condoms with me. But I could go next door and get some.”

  Condoms. Such an unromantic, practical consideration. Still, his mention of them made a glow of happiness all through her.

  Not because of any possible hot, sexy times. But because he really was giving himself up to her the way she’d fanta
sized he might since the day she’d lured him to the cottage to repair the toilet she’d broken on purpose.

  She liked everything about him. He was not only a pure pleasure to look at, he was a good guy, thoughtful. Kind. With a great sense of humor. Someone who took care of his family and tried to do the right thing.

  Even when he pissed her off, she was pretty much all in on Sten.

  How could she not be? He treated her like royalty, ferrying her around wherever she wanted to go, putting up with her silly disguises and her paranoia about the possibility that she might be recognized.

  Too bad he’d also maintained a certain emotional distance between them.

  Until now.

  Until tonight.

  But...condoms?

  Was she ready for that?

  She shook her head. “Just to sleep—or is that too weird?”

  “Not weird in the least.” He was stifling a chuckle, she just knew it. He kissed the end of her nose. “And yeah, I would love to stay.”

  * * *

  A phone was ringing—the landline phone.

  Madison opened her eyes. The light through the curtains told her it was morning. She picked up the handset. “Hullo?”

  “Hey, Madison. It’s Karin. Just wondering if maybe my brother is there?”

  Turning her head slowly on the pillow, Madison met a pair of sleepy blue eyes. They grinned at each other. “Who is it?” he asked.

  “Karin,” she mouthed at him, and then, into the phone, “Yes, he’s right here.” She handed it to him.

  “What?” he grumbled into the mouthpiece. Karin said something that brought a snort from him. “Right... Sure, I’ll ask her.” He covered the speaker with his palm. “My sister says she just happened to notice that my truck was in the garage, but I wasn’t at the house. She’s all smug.”

  “Smug?”

  “She’s been after me to make a move on you since the night you broke the toilet to get my attention.”

  “Really?” Karin was on her side. That pleased her no end.

  “Really. And we’re invited to breakfast in the downstairs kitchen next door. You like blueberry pancakes?”

  “I love them.”

  “We’ll be there,” he said to Karin and then went up on an elbow to reach over Madison and drop the phone back on the base. Once that was done, he showed no inclination to return to his side of the bed. “Good morning.”

  “Morning.”

  He kissed her chin, a quick, sweet little peck, and then they did the eye thing, smiling and staring at each other. “You are gorgeous.”

  She smiled wider, knowing she had bedhead and probably morning breath. “Flattery. I’m all for it.”

  He dipped closer to nuzzle her neck and nip at the collar of the T-shirt she’d worn to sleep in. “But you have too many clothes on.”

  She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek, indulging her imagination, picturing what her life might be, if she could wake up in the same bed with this man every morning for the rest of their lives. “I have two words for you,” she whispered in his ear. “Blueberry. Pancakes.”

  He levered up on an elbow. “Seriously? You’d rather have breakfast than me?”

  “It’s a really difficult choice. However...”

  * * *

  “Uncle Sten, did you have a sleepover at Madison’s?” demanded Coco, who was already at the table with a half-eaten pancake on her plate and syrup on her chin when Madison and Sten entered the downstairs kitchen.

  Karin, at the cooktop flipping pancakes, tried to nip that line of questioning in the bud. “Eat your breakfast, sweetheart.”

  Coco was not deterred. “But I want to have a sleepover with Madison.”

  Chuckling, Otto patted the little girl’s shoulder and dabbed at her chin with his napkin as Madison took the chair Sten pulled out for her.

  Ben, buttering his pancakes with careful, even strokes, remarked, “Grown-ups don’t have sleepovers with kids.”

  “Unless the grown-up is your friend,” argued Coco. “And Madison is my friend, aren’t you, Madison?”

  “Yes, I am,” Madison replied automatically.

  Her blue eyes going big as Cinnabon rolls, Coco amped up the charm factor. “So then, Madison, can we have a sleepover, you and me, at your house, please?”

  Madison knew the proper answer to that one. “We’ll have to talk to your mom about that.”

  Coco turned those big eyes on her mother. “Mommy, Madison says yes. So can we have a sleepover? Please.”

  Karin turned from the cooktop and asked sweetly, “Do you need the answer to that question right now?”

  Coco stuck out her bottom lip.

  Ben turned to Madison and stage-whispered, “That’s Mom’s big move. When she says that, you can’t say yes, or Mom just says, ‘All right then. The answer is no,’ and you don’t get whatever you’re asking for.”

  Coco knew the drill, too. “No, Mommy,” she said with exaggerated politeness. “I don’t need an answer now, but I would ’preciate it if you would think about it.”

  “Fair enough.” Karin flipped a couple of golden-brown pancakes onto a plate. “Madison and I will discuss it and we will let you know.”

  * * *

  That evening, Karin got a rare night to party with friends and Madison, Coco, Sten and Benjamin rolled out sleeping bags on the cottage’s great room floor. They had popcorn and hot chocolate with marshmallows and watched a couple of movies—science fiction for Ben and Mulan for Coco. Later, Sten told them a long ghost story about a demented clown who lived in a cornfield.

  It was well after midnight when the kids finally fell asleep.

  Sten joined Madison in her sleeping bag. They whispered together like a couple of naughty kids and shared more than one smoking hot kiss. Finally, at a little before one, he returned to his own bag and they settled in for the night. Madison drifted off to sleep with a smile on her face.

  She wasn’t sure what woke her. Voices? A car door slamming?

  She sat up in her sleeping bag. It was still dark, past three in the morning according to the digital clock on the stove in the kitchen area.

  Sten sat up and whispered, “What’s wrong?”

  “Don’t know,” she whispered back. “I think I heard something outside.”

  “I’ll check.” He got up. She rose, too. “You stay here,” he instructed.

  “No way. I’m going.” And there it was again—people talking. Arguing, maybe, coming from the cliff side of the house. She put up a hand for silence. But now all was quiet. “Voices, I think.”

  He pointed toward the slider. She followed him on tiptoe, trying not to wake Coco or Ben.

  When they reached the glass door, he pushed it open with agonizing slowness and closed it behind them the same way.

  It was chilly out—and very dark, too, with the moon no longer visible in the overcast sky. They were both barefoot, in sleep pants and long-sleeved T-shirts. Hopefully, they would solve this little mystery quickly, and not be out in the cold for long.

  He whispered, “If there’s anything suspicious going on, I’m sending you back inside and you will go. Understood?”

  She was tempted to argue that he wasn’t the boss of her—but she wanted to find out what was going on at the front of the house more. “Agreed.”

  He led her around to the side deck. They’d just turned the corner when they heard the murmur of voices again. Sten pulled her back against the outer wall of the house, into the shadow of the eaves, where they wouldn’t be spotted. They crept along the wall, stopping before they reached the corner that would lead them around to the front of the cottage where the light by the front door could give them away.

  From the darkness under the eaves, they could see two figures down in the parking turnaround on the cliff side of the house nex
t door. The two stood facing each other by a large, dark-colored SUV. They were somewhat illuminated in the muted glow of the lights on either side of the workshop’s roll-up door.

  A man and a woman.

  “I just can’t,” said the woman in a pleading tone. Her voice was familiar. She turned her head a little and Madison knew for sure. It was Karin.

  The man argued, “It’s been three years. Come on, Karin. You’ve got a right to a life.”

  “Don’t—” she began.

  “Damn it, it’s not—”

  “Liam, keep your voice down.”

  Liam? The man moved just a fraction and the light found his face.

  It was him, all right. Liam Bravo, the third-born brother Madison had met for the first time Thursday night.

  And whatever was going on between him and Karin was obviously none of her business or Sten’s.

  Sten must have come to the same conclusion. He signaled that they should go back. She nodded and led the way, keeping quiet and close to the house, out of sight from down below.

  When they reached the slider, she turned back to him and whispered, “Karin and Liam?”

  He shrugged. “It’s news to me. I mean, they dated for a while in high school.”

  “They did?”

  “Hey. It was high school. It was a long time ago.”

  “Wow.”

  “Karin loved Bud.” He sounded defensive. “Bud was a good guy and he was crazy about her. She was a wreck when he died.”

  “Hey.” She touched his arm. “You don’t have to explain anything to me. I get that it’s none of my business. But I do think Karin’s the best. And what Liam said to her does make sense. She’s single now and she’s got a right to find a little happiness for herself.”

  “True.” He lifted a hand and ghosted a slow touch down the side of her throat, leaving happy, warm shivers in his wake.

  She stepped in closer, wanting somehow to ease him, though he didn’t seem troubled, exactly. “You okay?”