Lakeside Hero (Men Of Millbrook Lake Book 1) by Lenora Worth

countered.
    Marla saw the bevy of senior-citizen women gathering in the early evening sunshine in her mother’s small backyard. “And tell me again, what kind of meeting did you
suddenly
remember?”
    Joyce eyed the clutter of females bringing their iced-tea glasses and finding seats on the porch furniture. “Well, I took a walk after we got Gabby to bed. When you were on the phone with Alec, I might have mentioned that I made a peach cobbler yesterday and I might have invited several of my closest friends to come by and have some with the homemade ice cream your daddy made this afternoon after he had his nap and now we’re having what we call a ‘sudden supper.’”
    “Mom, we’ve already had supper.”
    “Oh, we just call it that to make it clear that it’s nothing fancy.”
    “Right.” Marla checked her hair in the hallway mirror and then waved cautiously to the half-dozen women giggling and teetering on the porch. “They must really like peach cobbler.”
    “Oh, we all do. With ice cream. I wonder if Alec would like to stay and have a bite?”
    “I think he would,” her dad said from the front door. “I just invited him to come on in since I didn’t think you were ready yet.”
    “Arrgh! What if Gabby wakes up?” Marla hated to grunt like a pirate, but her parents were so obvious a squirrel could guess what they were up to. “I won’t show him off like some prized vegetable,” she said, only to turn around and find Alec smiling at her from just inside the front door.
    “Hi,” she said, thinking this little patio home had just become even smaller. Her dad kept the front door so greased it didn’t squeak or creak enough to warn a person that someone was entering the premises. That could be dangerous.
    Right now, it had become very dangerous. Her heart turned up the beats while her skin turned as pink as her mother’s prized geranium blossoms. She only hoped Gabby didn’t wake up and find him here. She’d planned to meet him outside, but now he was here, inside, and giving her a questioning smile.
    “Hi,” he said back to her, looking good in a black T-shirt and faded jeans. “Somebody mentioned peach cobbler so here I am. Hope you don’t mind.”
    “Of course not,” her dad interjected.
    “Come in,” Joyce called on a sweet note of hospitality. “Good to see you again, Alec.”
    “Good to see you again, Mrs. Reynolds,” he replied, an amused grin making him look way more tempting than cobbler and ice cream.
    “Nice to see you, too,” her mother responded, her eyelashes fluttering like a teenager’s.
    Honestly
.
    Marla wanted to run into her room and slam the door, but since her daughter was asleep in the extra bedroom, that couldn’t happen. She’d just have to make the best of this and remember to never, ever again bring a man into her parents’ home. Ever.
    Alec gave her an appreciative once-over. “If you think peach cobbler will ruin my dinner, I can assure you I’ll be ready to eat again in a little while.”
    “It’s fine,” she said, her own stomach too keyed up to even think about food. “Come on in, but be forewarned—this place is not for the faint of heart.”
    “I think I can handle it,” he said. And then he noticed the women craning their necks at the big window by the Florida room. “Uh, am I interrupting some sort of meeting?”
    “Don’t ask,” Marla said on a long hiss. “Just eat your cobbler and ice cream so we can get out of here.”
    “Will they hurt me?” he whispered against her neck.
    Marla almost forgot her shame and embarrassment. “I’ll stay between them and you, don’t worry.”
    Alec waved to the women, causing them to scatter like a flock of colorful birds. “And here I thought retirement homes were boring.”
    “Never a dull moment around this one,” Marla retorted.
    “Okay, everybody out on the porch,” her father announced, his churn of homemade vanilla ice cream in tow.
    “I am so there,” Alec said to Marla. And