Read Online The Best Man's Bride by LISA CHILDS - Free Book Online

grass.
    TJ squirmed. “Hey, I want to play. I want to play.”
    And if he played, Buzz would try to keep up with him, no matter how sick the poor kid felt.
    “You were pushing hard,” Nick reminded TJ. He’d no doubt been pushing hard to try to dislodge his brother from the merry-go-round—the boys constantly competed with each other.
    Nick didn’t understand sibling rivalry. His brother had been ten years older. So his only real competition growing up had been Josh, and since his best friend was such a nice guy, he’d never minded losing to him.
    He told TJ, “You need to catch your breath.”
    And Buzz needed to find his. The poor kid still hung like a limp noodle from Nick’s arm. Nick dropped down onto the grass, keeping both boys close. Buzz rolled onto his stomach, resting his head on Nick’s thigh.
    “I wanna play, too,” he muttered weakly, his drool soaking through Nick’s tux pants.
    Nick ran his hand over the little guy’s buzzed head, which was soft and warm—too warm—against Nick’s palm. “I know. You want to play, too.”
    Buzz would never admit defeat to his brother.
    TJ wriggled, trying to loosen Nick’s grip. “C’mon, lemme go. I don’t wanna sit down.”
    “Just for a little while,” Nick promised, and then looked up at Colleen, who joined them carrying a backpack. Yesterday she’d worn a floor-length gown, so he hadn’t noticed how long and sexy her legs were, but now they were bared by brief denim shorts. As she settled onto the grass, she folded her legs beneath her.
    Nick sucked in a breath, surprised by the small butterfly tattoo that adorned the side of one delicate ankle. The bright-colored wings spread wide, as if the butterfly were in midflight.
    “Pretty,” TJ said, reaching out to rub a sticky finger across the tattoo.
    Colleen turned and laughed, and her whole face was illuminated. Jealousy churned Nick’s stomach. Was he really jealous of a four-year-old for touching her and making her laugh? Probably. Damn, he’d never been the possessive type. Not even with the women he’d actually dated. And he really had no intention of dating Colleen McClintock—only prying information out of her. Since her sister couldn’t be trusted, no doubt she couldn’t be, either.
    “Thank you,” she told TJ. “I have a few things in here you guys might like.”
    She definitely had a few things Nick liked.
    “Crackers,” she said, handing a box to Nick to open. “And a book. Would you both like to hear a story?” She drew a picture book from her pack.
    “Is that Lara’s book?” TJ asked, wrinkling his nose in disgust. “I don’t want to read about Barbies or princesses.” Obviously, he was referring to the flower girl, who was Colleen’s houseguest.
    Nick opened his mouth to launch into the lecture on manners that he’d heard often enough while growing up. If he believed his father, he’d been as much of a handful as the twins were. “TJ…”
    “It’s about slaying dragons,” Colleen assured the boys. Actually, it was about a princess who slew her own dragons. But when Colleen read the story, infusing such emotion into the tale as she voiced each character’s part, the boys were enthralled. And quiet and still. Two things Nick hadn’t known they could be. The problem was that he was enthralled, too. Not with the story, but with Colleen McClintock.
    Nick’s reprieve with the boys lasted only until Colleen uttered those fateful words, “The End.” Then Buzz, finally recovered from the merry-go-round, sprang to his feet and pointed. “Look, there’s a puppy. Can we go see the puppy, Uncle Nick?”
    Nick craned his neck in the direction of an old man who was leading a dog that clearly hadn’t been a puppy for a long time. “Wait, boys!”
    Before he could leap to his feet, Colleen’s hand brushed against his thigh. His muscles contracted beneath her palm and he had to catch his breath.
    “It’s okay,” she assured him, as she swept cracker crumbs from