Reckless (6 page)

Gavin and his children stayed at our house all afternoon. We spent the bulk of the sunny day playing board games in the living room; Hailey cleaned up in Monopoly, my dad
kicked everyone’s butt at Scrabble, and Kellan and I dominated at Pictionary, which sort of surprised me since I had no talent in drawing. Kellan was just an exceptionally good guesser.

By the time evening rolled around, Kellan seemed perfectly at ease with his newfound family, and the earlier incident with Joey was pushed to the back of everyone’s minds. That was when my
burgeoning-with-life sister showed up, baby-daddy in tow.

Without any sort of warning, Kellan’s front door burst open and slammed back against the wall. I jumped off my seat, my heart thudding in my chest. Everyone’s attention snapped to
the entryway. I was positive that we were being attacked, and that a swarm of policemen were about to blaze into the room, weapons drawn.

Standing, Kellan protectively stepped in front of me. That’s when Kellan’s blond jackass of a bassist sauntered through the door. Relaxing when he realized who was here, Kellan
glowered at his band mate. “Griffin? You ever heard of knocking?”

Griffin sniffed and tucked his chin-length hair behind his ears. “We’re family, dude, I don’t need to knock.”

I sighed, not sure if Kellan could argue that point or not—not since Griffin had impregnated my sister. He really was family now. Lord help me.

Kellan opened his mouth to try and argue anyway, but Anna stepped through the door after Griffin and soundly smacked him across the back of the head. “Neanderthal,” she muttered.

Mom and Dad rose from the couch to greet Anna. Dad’s expression darkened as he examined his grandchild’s father. By the way Dad looked at Griffin, I was sure that Kellan was suddenly
perfect in comparison, the “golden” son-in-law who could do no wrong.

Recovering from the shock of Griffin’s surprise entrance, I joined my parents in greeting my sister. Anna was one of the most beautiful women I knew. Her face dropped men to their knees;
her body made boys follow her around like lovesick puppies. Even pregnant, her curvy figure still drew men’s eyes. She had impossibly silky hair that rippled when she walked and eyes that
were so green it was almost hard to stop staring into them. She was a knockout, and growing up with her perfection hadn’t always been easy. But I was starting to be more comfortable in my own
skin, and for once her absurd good looks didn’t send a zing of jealousy up my spine. No, all I felt when I hugged her tight was happiness to see her. Even if she had brought the Neanderthal
with her.

“Hey, sis.” As I pulled back, my eyes roved over the clingy maternity top she was wearing. I wasn’t sure how my sister had managed to find such provocative pregnancy clothes,
but nearly everything she owned was designed to show off her ample cleavage. Griffin must be in hog heaven. God, I really hated having thoughts like that.

Anna was in the adorably cute stage of pregnancy, just rolling into her fourth month. She wasn’t throwing up nearly as much anymore, and her energy level was returning. Not that you would
know that by the way she waddled when she walked; Anna played up her condition whenever she got the chance. But I knew she was more active than she let on. I was pretty sure her evening with
Griffin had been particularly athletic.

Anna looked over to where Gavin and his children were politely waiting. Her brow scrunched in a way that only made her more attractive. “Oh, sorry, I didn’t realize you had
company.”

Kellan met her eyes. “It’s all right. Come on in.”

Dad walked Anna into the living room, holding her by the arm like she would fall if he didn’t help her. Kellan gave her a brief hug and then introduced her to his family. “Hey, Anna,
I didn’t get a chance to introduce you last night. This is Gavin, my . . . biological father.” Scratching his head, he shrugged.

A flash of pride went through me that Kellan had admitted such a profoundly personal thing so easily. He was really getting comfortable with the idea of having a parent in the world again.

Anna’s eyes grew just a bit at Kellan’s admission. She hadn’t known about Kellan’s sordid past. As Anna shook Gavin’s hand, Kellan introduced her to his half
siblings. Her wide eyes opened even more with each addition to his family. Gavin made a space for Anna on the couch, and Dad helped her sit down.

Standing, one arm hooked over Hailey’s shoulder, Kellan told Anna, “Gavin, Riley, and Hails are visiting from back east. Pennsylvania.” His focus shifted to Gavin. “Do I
have any other family there?”

Gavin smiled; the grin was eerily similar to Kellan’s. “My brother and his family live there, and my parents as well.”

Hailey elbowed Kellan in the ribs. “You’ll love Grandma, Kellan. She’s feisty.”

His face wondrous, Kellan looked over at me. “I have grandparents, Kiera.” He looked back to Hailey. “I’ve never had living grandparents, or an uncle either,
actually.” He chuckled, amused and amazed by the information. My heart swelled as Kellan’s family just kept getting bigger and bigger.

Griffin, absorbing the conversation but not understanding any of it, looked around the room. “Wait. Dude, I thought your dad was dead. Who the hell
are
these people?”

Everyone ignored him.

Anna’s gaze lingered on Gavin just as much as Mom’s did. Griffin, either oblivious or indifferent, didn’t notice. Then again, he was still trying to puzzle out who Gavin was. A
pleasant smile on her lips, Anna asked, “So, Gavin, is your wife here as well?”

Gavin looked down at his children sitting on the floor finishing out a board game. “No, I’m not . . . I’m not married.” He looked back to Anna, a sad smile on his lips.
“Widower . . . since Riley was two.” Hailey glanced up at her dad, her expression equally glum.

Anna’s small smile fell. “Oh, I’m sorry.”

There was a moment of silence as everyone reflected on Gavin’s statement. Griffin broke it by walking over to Kellan and whispering, “Dude, seriously, who are these
people?”

Chuckling, Kellan socked Griffin in the shoulder. “Come on, I’ll get you a beer and draw you a diagram.” Laughter eased the tension in the room as Kellan led his bassist into
the kitchen to tell him the truth about his origins. Griffin would be the first band member to officially know that Kellan’s deceased father wasn’t actually his father. Hopefully the
imbecile could grasp the concept.

By the time everyone parted ways, it was late into the night, nearly morning. Anna and Griffin headed off to her apartment to make the most of their limited time together. Gavin and his children
went back to their hotel; they had a flight in the morning. My parents shuffled off to the guest room to spend yet another night on my old, lumpy futon. Dad sighed when Kellan and I waved good
night from the doorway of our bedroom.

Reluctant to waste what little time we had left together sleeping, Kellan and I stayed up the remainder of the night. Still dressed, we cuddled together in bed and talked until the gray, early
morning light filtered through the window. Kellan stroked my hair as I rested my head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat and his soothing voice. The comfort I felt in his arms was palpable.
His embrace cocooned me in a warmth that would hold back the deadliest ice storm, I was sure.

Wishing he didn’t have to leave me in a few hours, I clenched his shirt and hugged him tight. He stopped speaking and kissed my hair. After a moment of silence, he whispered,
“Kiera?”

I peeked up at his face. His eyes were dark in the faded light, but glowed with happiness. A small smile curving his lips, he asked, “Will you marry me?”

My heart raced against my ribcage as I sat up on my elbows. “What?”

His smile widened. “Will you marry me?”

I glanced at the ring on my left hand, then the ring on his. “Didn’t we already get married?”

Kellan’s chest under my arms rumbled as his amusement bubbled up in a deep laugh. “Yes, but I just realized that I never actually proposed to you.” Sighing, he brought his
finger up to tuck a strand of hair behind my ear. When he was finished, he stroked my cheek. “And you deserve a proper proposal.”

After he said that, his face shifted into an expression of contemplation. Before I could answer his question, he gently pushed my body away from him. I tried to pull him back, to eagerly tell
him yes, but he slid out from under me and stood up. Walking around to the other side of the bed, he stared at me for several long seconds. Just as I was about to ask him what he was doing, he let
out a slow, controlled breath, and slowly sank to one knee.

I’m not sure why, but just watching him move to the floor made a sob rise up my throat. My vision hazed and I swiped my fingers under my eyes to clear away the tears. I wanted to see every
part of this.

His eyes glossy in the dim light, Kellan stared up at me. “Kiera Michelle Allen, will you do me the absolute honor of being my wife? Will you marry me?”

I was nodding long before he finished speaking. Reaching down, I grabbed his face. “Yes, of course, yes.” I kissed him over and over as I pulled him back into my arms.

His body settled over mine and we kissed, laughed, and even cried a little, until the faded morning light turned into brightly streaming rays of sunshine. I heard my father exiting the spare
bedroom that had once been the room I’d shared with Denny. Kellan and I paused in kissing each other to stare at our closed bedroom door.

Dad took an inordinately long time about it, but he eventually shuffled downstairs to make some coffee. An ecstatic grin on his face, Kellan looked back at me. Lacing our fingers together, he
whispered, “Why do I feel like I should be hiding in the closet?”

He ground his hips into mine and leaned down to kiss my neck. I closed my eyes and angled my head, perfectly content. Kellan’s attentions started waking my body up. I wrapped my legs
around his, wondering just how quiet Kellan and I could be. Silent sex with him was difficult, but not impossible. As his lips wandered farther down my neck, I murmured, “Mmm . . . because
you’re a villainous boy who is only using me to satisfy his baser instincts.”

Kellan pulled back from kissing me. “Is that really what your dad thinks of me?”

Caught off guard by his abrupt change of pace, I blinked and stammered, “Uh, I don’t . . . no . . . I don’t think so.”

Kellan shifted to the side of me, and I twisted my body to face him. “Yeah, he does. He thinks all I want from you is sex, and that I have a different version of you in every city that I
visit.”

I pursed my lips, trying to think of some tiny falsehood in Kellan’s assessment. Unfortunately, I was pretty sure that was the bulk of Dad’s problem with Kellan. He just didn’t
trust him, not with his lifestyle. I shrugged. “I’m sure he doesn’t think it’s
every
city.”

Kellan frowned, then hopped out of bed again. Sitting up, I let out an exasperated grunt. “Now what are you doing?”

Kellan walked over to his dresser and started stripping. My objection left my lips as his boxers hit the floor. Kellan watched me watching him with a smirk. Slipping on fresh underwear and
jeans, he rummaged for a shirt as I blatantly stared. As enticing as his bare body was, there was something overly erotic about him standing there with his jeans unfastened. Especially with the
intriguing lines of definition on his perfectly sculpted abdomen stretching and flexing as he moved. I really wanted that body lying on top of me again.

Amused by my intense inspection, Kellan found a shirt he liked and slipped it over his head. I smiled as that fabulous body was encased in deep red cotton. Even dressed, he was stunning. Zipping
up his pants, Kellan shook his head as he walked over to me.

“You do know that if I stared at you the way you stare at me, I would get yelled at.”

I gave him a light kiss when he leaned down to me. “I would never yell . . . but yes, I know.” His face was a mixture of amusement and irritation when he pulled away. Giggling, I
told him, “Life is full of unfairness.” I frowned. “Like you leaving me right now. Where are you going?”

Kellan smiled as he ran his fingers through his hair, effortlessly arranging the longer layers into an irresistible mess of bed-head. “I’m going to go show your dad that there is
more to me than he thinks. My
only
interest isn’t sleeping with his daughter.” He winked, then turned to leave. Hand on his doorknob, he twisted back. “Although, that
really is what I would like to be doing right now.” His eyes trailed down my body, igniting me. Kellan sighed as I squirmed under his scrutiny. Meeting my eyes, he added, “See the
sacrifices I make for you?”

He smirked and left the room before I could comment.

I thought of joining Kellan and my father, but decided against it. Dad needed to get to know Kellan one-on-one if he was ever going to bond with him. And besides, I didn’t want to distract
Kellan with my sexy allure. Yeah, right, sexy. Smiling at my own ridiculousness, I hopped out of bed. Kellan was the alluring one in the relationship, which was a perk for me. I was . . . the lucky
one.

I bumped into Mom in the hallway as I made my way to the bathroom. Kellan’s place was a little on the small side. The upstairs only consisted of two modest bedrooms with a bathroom tucked
in between them. Running into people in the hallway was almost unavoidable. It was how I’d first officially met Kellan.

Mom smiled as she listened to her husband having a civil conversation with mine. I gave her a brief hug as I listened as well. Dad was asking Kellan if he could really make any money off his
band “thing.” As Kellan started to explain that he would probably make out “okay,” Mom focused her attention on me. “We should hit some wedding boutiques while
I’m in town. Find you a dress before I head back home.”

I cringed at the idea. “Mom, I really don’t need a big production. I just want to keep it simple.”

Mom swished her hand. “Even simple, you’ll still need a dress.”

I contained the sigh of defeat stirring in my lungs. I really couldn’t argue with that. “Okay, sure thing.”