Mail Order Stepbrother by Kira Ward Page A

know you were worried. So I’m happy for you, darling.”
    Melanie smiled, always glad to earn her mother’s approval. Nash came up behind her and slid his arm around her waist as he stole her wine glass from the counter to help himself.
    “I should go, Mom. I’ll text you Friday when I get to the airport.”
    “Okay, darling. Travel safe.”
    Melanie disconnected the call and leaned back against Nash as she tossed her cellphone onto the counter beside the bottle of wine.
    “Rough day?”
    Melanie shrugged. “Not terrible. Just busy.”
    “Yeah, mine too.” He set the glass back down and buried his face against her neck, just breathing in her scent. “Do you really have to go out of town this weekend? I was thinking it might be more fun for us to fly down to Galveston, spend the weekend at this little beach house a friend has there.”
    “Hmm,” Melanie sighed. “That would probably be a lot better than spending the week with my mother and her husband.”
    “Then let’s.”
    “My mother would be terribly disappointed. And you don’t want my mother disappointed.”
    He groaned against her neck before he began to pepper her jaw with soft, sensual kisses. “But I’m not sure I could stand to be away from you for a week.”
    She twisted in his arms and slid her hands up over his face, one thumb hesitating over his bottom lip as the rest of her fingers buried themselves in his hair. And then she kissed him with what she hoped was all the pleasure and hope his words offered her. He pressed her back against the counter, his hands sliding down over her hip, his body promising a repeat performance of last night’s midnight feature.
    Until his phone rang.
    She wasn’t even sure what it was at first. It had never rung in her presence before. Not that she was aware of, anyway. He didn’t break their kiss until he had the phone out of his pocket and was reading the caller ID.
    “Shit,” he mumbled.
    “What?”
    “I have to take this.” He kind of shook his head as he untangled himself from her and accepted the call. “I guess its family night…hello, sis.”
    He glanced back at Melanie and gestured toward the door. Then he slipped out, clearly unwilling to allow her the possibility of overhearing his side of the conversation. Melanie wasn’t sure if she should be offended or not.
    She poured more wine into her glass and went into the living room, curling up on the couch and flipping on the television to see what delights awaited on her DVR. She was behind on almost all her shows, some by four or five episodes. She turned on an episode of The Good Wife and tried not to wonder too much about why Nash couldn’t—or wouldn’t—talk to his sister in front of her.
    “I guess you’re not the only one going out of town, after all,” he said as he lifted her up and pulled her down onto his lap. “My sister has decided that if I don’t come home this weekend, she’s going to completely disown me. And while that would actually be a blessing, I have a niece and a nephew that I kind of like spending time with.”
    “Yeah? How old are they?”
    “Twelve and fourteen.”
    “I didn’t know you liked kids.”
    “Love them.” Nash ran his hand over her thigh. “Someday I’d like to have a couple of my own. I’m just not in a hurry.”
    Melanie settled down in his lap and laid her head on his shoulder. She kissed his neck lightly.
    “When do you leave?”
    “Saturday. But I’m only staying through Sunday, so I’ll be home before you.”
    “Then maybe we can sneak away for a day or two when I get back Thursday night…I have until Monday off, barring any emergencies.”
    “We can do that.” His hand moved from her hip to her belly. “I want to spend a few, uninterrupted days with you.”
    “That sounds nice.”
    He groaned in agreement as he lifted her chin for a long, lingering kiss.
    ***
    Melanie released most of her patients from the hospital and transferred the remaining two to Dr. Jonas’