The Trouble With Twins

“Hmm?”

She smiled, a little indulgently, he thought. “Is there a reason we’re standing here staring at each other?”

“Staring?”

“Yes.”

“No.”

“No, we’re not staring?”

“No, we’re not staring for a reason.”

She arched her right brow. “Okay. I’m leaving now. You can do whatever you like.”

No, he couldn’t. ’Cause what he’d like to do was kiss her. Right here. Right this minute.

Shelby headed toward the door, and before he’d moved a muscle to stop her, she was gone.

He sank down on the edge of Jem’s bed. What in hell was going on? This wasn’t like him. Wanting an attractive woman was pretty much s.o.p. And he did find her attractive. The scars didn’t bother him, which actually was something of a surprise. He’d have figured he was too much of a jerk for that. Wonders never ceased.

CHAPTER FOUR

SHELBY WHIRLED, sending the water in her glass flying in the semidark kitchen. “Oh, I didn’t hear you.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to frighten you.”

“I know. You would have said ‘boo’ if you had.”

He grinned that perfect grin of his. God, with that dark stubble of a beard and his tousled hair, Gray looked even sexier. Like that was fair.

“I thought you’d be asleep by now.”

She shrugged, very aware of the shortness of her sleep shirt. If she wasn’t careful to keep it tugged down, he’d see the scars on the backs of her thighs. “I was reading. Then I got thirsty.”

He nodded, shuffled barefoot to the fridge and opened the door. The light from inside illuminated the front of him. Every excellent inch. He wore loose striped pajama bottoms and a white T-shirt. On him, it worked.

“Well, I guess I’ll be heading back.” She was anxious to leave, to be away from his pheromones, or whatever was making her so nuts.

“Don’t. Not yet.”

There wasn’t enough light to see his expression. All he did was confuse her. It was clear he wanted nothing more than to be friends. Temporary friends, at that. Which was fine. Except that she didn’t know if she could be friends with him, even for one night. Every time she saw him her body shifted into sex mode. It was getting rather tiresome.

“Sit with me,” he said, his voice husky, as if he’d been asleep. “Talk to me.”

“About?”

“Anything. Your family. This mother you’re looking for.”

“Ah, a light topic.”

“It brought you a long way. It sounded like it was important to you.”

She had to give him that. It was important. She pulled out a chair and sat while he foraged in the fridge. He ended up with several packages of cold cuts, mustard, cheese, a loaf of bread and a soda.

“So, talk,” he said as he sat across from her and began to prepare his sandwich.

She wasn’t quite sure where to start. “I called my brother Garrett to tell him what I found. He was pretty upset.”

“Aren’t you?”

She nodded. “But not as much as Garrett. He’s determined to get to the bottom of this little mystery. You have to admit, it’s unusual. To leave a child on a doorstep is one thing. To leave four kids is something else entirely.”

“Why? It actually makes more sense to me. Your parents might have been able to handle one. But four? That’s a lot of diapers and bottles.”

“Yes, you’re right. But… You see, two months ago, our mother made contact for the first time. Not directly, though. Through a friend. Megan Maitland. You’ve probably heard of Maitland Maternity in Austin?”

Gray nodded. “The baby on the doorstep thing, right?”

“And not the first baby. That’s where we were left.”

He put a slice of roast beef on his plate and leaned forward. “And your mother got in touch with you now?”

“She sent some items to Megan. Hand-knitted sweaters for me, Michael and Lana, and an old teddy bear for Garrett. She sent a note, too.”

“What did it say?”

Shelby closed her eyes and remembered sitting in Megan’s study, hearing her mother’s words. “‘Dear Mrs. Megan Maitland,’” she began, recalling every word by heart. “‘Thank you for finding my babies a good and loving home all those years ago—I knew you would. The teddy bear was Garrett’s, and these three baby sweaters have the triplets’ names embroidered on them. The only fancywork I ever had time to do. My only wish is for the children to know I loved them. Yours in gratitude.’”

She opened her eyes and gave Gray a small smile. “You can see where it would pique one’s curiosity.”

“No kidding. So tell me again, how did you end up here?”

“My brother Garrett did some research on triplets born in Texas the same year we were abandoned. They weren’t so common then. Not like today with all the fertility drugs. He found five sets of fraternal triplets that could have been us. We decided to look them up, so Garrett and I split up the list.”

“What about Michael and, who is it, Lana?”

She nodded. “Lana just got married, and she has a little one to look after. Michael wasn’t very interested at first, not until he got married last month—”

“Boy, this has been some year for you guys.”

“You have no idea.”

“So who’s left? On the list, I mean.”

“One couple, by the name of Larrimore. We know the husband’s dead, but we have no idea how to contact his wife.”

“So you think she’s the one?”