Read Online Her Unexpected Family by Ruth Logan Herne - Free Book Online Page A

considered weird for a meat eater.”
    â€œI’m not weird. I’m...possibly traumatized.”
    He didn’t mean to laugh because what if she wasn’t kidding? He’d already ticked her off once today. “Trauma by luncheon meat. That’s a new one, Emily. Do ninja salamis chase you in your dreams?”
    She huffed, and he wondered if she was sitting at her desk, tapping a pencil against her mouth the way she did at their first meeting. She lowered her voice as if sharing a secret. “They jiggle.”
    â€œThey what?”
    â€œYou heard me. Cold cuts jiggle. Except hard salami, but if I make an exception for that, the others will think I’ve caved.”
    â€œThis is preposterous, you know.”
    â€œI’ve been told that before. And yet, it’s true, so if you want me to come and hang out with you and those adorable, somewhat naughty children, no cold-cut platter, okay?”
    â€œWhat about pizza?” he asked. “Do you have any qualms about pepperoni or mozzarella cheese?”
    â€œHomemade?”
    â€œMy mother’s recipe.”
    â€œI couldn’t be more ‘in’ if I tried.” She sounded downright excited about the idea of pizza and toddlers. He couldn’t help himself.
    He laughed. “Pizza it is. Sunday, after eleven.”
    â€œYes, and I’ll let you know what Christa says about the dress shopping then, okay?”
    â€œPerfect.” He hung up the phone, still grinning. For a minute, he thought she was going to be a salad kind of woman, and he didn’t remember a day when Serenity wasn’t on his case for his eating habits. He’d laughed then, because at six foot two and two hundred pounds, he liked food. And anyone who got that excited over pizza and kids was okay in his book.
    * * *
    Emily pulled into Grant’s driveway at quarter past eleven on Sunday morning. She grabbed a cloth bag from the passenger seat, got out and surveyed her surroundings.
    Nothing about this house said children lived there. A classic sprawling ranch with arched ceilings and south-facing skylights, impeccable landscaping and hand-laid paver walkways between gardens suggested the grass was not to be walked on. No toys lay scattered around the yard, and no tiny muddy shoes lined the elegant porch. The exterior of the house said appearances mattered, and that surprised her. She rang the bell and waited. And waited. And waited.
    Was he here? Had he forgotten? Had something happened?
    She was just about to ring the bell again, when the garage door started rolling up. “Emily?”
    She moved down the steps and across the walk. “It’s me.” She entered a garage that didn’t look nearly as HGTV pristine and saw Grant at the back door.
    â€œSorry, Timmy built a really cool tower by the front door and I’d have to ruin it or move it to open the door, and either one would probably launch a third world war. I figured we’d wait at least five minutes before we engaged in two-year-old histrionics. I’m glad you came.”
    He sounded delightfully normal and sincere, so she didn’t tell him she’d weighed the invitation for the past twenty-four hours. She’d left the gray-stoned church still unsure, but she’d given her word and here she was. She stepped into a busy kitchen and instantly felt better. “This is more like it.”
    His brow knit, puzzled. “More like what?”
    â€œThe front of the house looks like a no-kid zone. This doesn’t.”
    â€œOh.” He made a face as he shut the door. “The house and yard were from our upscale phase when Serenity was sure children weren’t going to be part of the equation. It’s not exactly a kid-friendly house or location, there’s no one around to play with, but life’s been too busy to think about moving. Although it’s on the list,” he finished.
    Dolly was in the next room, systematically