Luke watched as Lyra set a bowl of pasta and a green salad on the table. The girls chattered in their chairs on either side of him, and he had to admit he found it soothing. He’d been on edge since getting news of the near train wreck. Those trains had come within feet of colliding and one man who suffered a heart attack had died later in the hospital.

Lyra’s invitation to pay him back for lunch by cooking dinner had given him a welcome distraction. They’d taken a few short coffee breaks together during the week, each time sitting on either her couch or his.

There hadn’t been a lot of coffee drinking happening, but something else had happened. His mind raced back to the kiss. He’d honest-to-God not known if he remembered how to kiss or not, but there was no stopping that pull when she’d been laughing and looking so damned beautiful curled up next to him.

When he’d put a hand to the back of her head and tilted it back, bringing her mouth to his, it had been like lighting a fire between them. She’d melted against him, hands coming up to his chest, stoking the flames as he delved into her mouth to taste and tease.

He shook himself out of the memory, well aware that another few seconds would leave him embarrassingly hard at the dinner table. That would go over well.

“And at the end,” Alyssa was saying with an excited giggle, “Batman finally tells the Joker that he hates him.” She dissolved into laughter. “Isn’t it funny? Telling someone you hate them isn’t supposed to make them happy. But that’s what the Joker wanted all along.”

Lyra grinned as she took a seat across from Luke and glanced at him. “And if you planned on seeing that movie, now you know the big ending.”

“You should see it.” Alyssa bounced in her seat. “You should watch it with us. We own the movie.”

“He’s not gonna want to watch a kids’ movie, ’Lyss.” Prentiss spoke with all the authority of a four-year-old going on 30. “Grown-ups don’t want to watch kids’ movies.”

“Hey,” Luke turned a raised brow to Prentiss. “Frozen happens to be my favorite movie.”

This brought a lot of giggles from both girls and Lyra grinned at him across the table, shaking her head.

“I’m not kidding you. I know all the words to every one of the songs. It used to drive Naomi nuts when I wouldn’t stop singing them around the house. And don’t get her started about the carpool lane. If one of them came on while we were sitting in the carpool lane, I’d be singing at the top of my lungs while she sank down into her seat, hoping nobody would see me.”

“You’re fibbing!” Alyssa’s accusation came with a finger point and everything.

Luke proved her wrong by tipping back his head and belting out the chorus to Let It Go.

He’d never been embarrassed to sing in public, but even if he had, the laughter his performance brought from Lyra was worth it. It erased any thoughts of the investigation, the narrowly avoided train wreck, and figuring out who was behind making it look like Lyra was involved.

Prentiss crinkled her brow at Luke thoughtfully. “Everyone knows that one.”

Alyssa nodded in agreement with her sister.

Luke grinned at the girls, offering their mother a wink, before beginning his favorite song, In Summer. The song about a snowman dying to see what summer was like always made him laugh. In fact, he and Naomi both cracked up every time they heard the song or watched that part of the movie. Despite wanting to sink into a hole in the ground whenever he sang the songs publicly, she had still loved watching it and singing along with him whenever they did.

The girls dissolved into giggles, appearing suitably impressed with his depth of knowledge.

Luke finished off the song just as he always did, belting the final notes as loudly as he could. Lyra now had tears streaming down her face as she laughed at him, and he was pretty sure he never felt anything as rewarding as making her laugh like that.

“Mom,” Alyssa said. “Can we watch Frozen after dinner with Luke?” She turned wide eyes to him. “We own that one, too.”

“You do? I knew you ladies were trying to steal my heart.”

Prentiss and Alyssa giggled as Lyra shot him the kind of look that asked if he really wanted to stay and watch the movie with the girls? He nodded at her. As if she could think he was faking his love of all things Frozen. He might be a little offended.

“With popcorn?” Prentiss asked, a slight glance shot toward her sister with the question.

“I suppose.” Lyra’s answer brought cheers from the girls.

“After pasta and salad.” Lyra’s attempt at a stern tone was unnecessary. The girls began piling pasta and salad in their mouths at a steady pace.

Lyra looked across at Luke. “I guess they know not to question your word from now on.”

He’d forgotten for a minute that all this was fake. That he was getting close to Lyra for the job.

Luke kept the smile on his face but it felt as cold as if Elsa herself had conjured it there, and he was pretty sure you couldn’t chisel it off with a jackhammer. Because one thing was sure, Lyra definitely couldn’t take him at his word.

* * *

Lyra forced her mind to focus on getting the girls’ teeth brushed and steering them into bed. It was a little hard since her mind kept going back to the man sitting on her couch. It was also hard to keep her thoughts where they needed to be where he was concerned. She should be thinking that he was too good to be true. That there had to be something wrong with a man who looked like him, had no problem engaging with the mindless chatter of two excited four-year-olds, and seemed to think a night of spaghetti and watching Disney movies was the height of entertainment.

He hadn’t been lying about knowing every word to every song. He and the girls had even gotten Lyra to join in with him on their singing after a few rounds of simply watching and laughing. It was hard not to laugh. There was something about watching a man who looked like he could have starred in Rambo twirl around with her girls as they sang about building a snowman or do the funny reindeer voice for the reindeer are better than people song.

“That was fun tonight, mommy,” Prentiss said, in her quieter manner than Alyssa. Alyssa had been bouncing around during the whole nighttime routine, but she’d fallen asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. Prentiss and Lyra often had a few minutes to themselves to chat during tucking in. It was one of the parts of the routine Lyra cherished, knowing it would be all too easy for Prentiss to feel overshadowed.

“It was fun, baby.” She almost said they’d need to do it again sometime the way she would for any activity they’d found that they enjoyed, but she was keenly aware that Luke was only here temporarily. Sure, he lived in New Haven, but she didn’t have any reason to think they’d still see him when the month was out. She wasn’t about to make promises about that to her kids. She leaned over and kissed Prentiss on the forehead, loving the soft feel of the child’s skin. “Get some sleep.”

Butterflies seemed to be putting on a major production of Swan Lake in her stomach as she walked back out to the living room to find Luke waiting. His head was tilted back and his eyes closed. She took a moment to watch him. He took her breath away, the same as he had the first time she’d seen him, and she found her gaze drawn to his mouth. It wasn’t the first time it had distracted her. She didn’t know what it was about his mouth.

It wasn’t like she had a thing for lips, but his just seemed to call to her, made her itch to brush her lips against his. She glanced up to find his eyes open, watching her and the heat in them belied the smirk on his face at having caught her drooling over him.

Lyra felt her cheeks flush, but she stepped forward and sat on the couch, one seat over from him. She tucked a foot up under her and leaned her head on her hand. She couldn’t think of a damned thing to say.

Luke reached out and slid his hand into her hair then let it slide through his fingers. The simple gesture seemed intimate, easy. “You must be exhausted. Those girls are a handful.”

“You were the one that did all the work tonight. In fact, you guys practically put on a show for me. You’ll need to watch out. Alyssa will start to put you in costumes to play your part, if you’re not careful.”

She meant it as a playful warning, but the level of permanency it suggested made her glance away uneasily.

Luke didn’t seem to notice. He laughed it off and leaned back again. “Tell me about the girls. They seem so different at times.”

“They are. Alyssa has been the leader from the get-go, but I’ve come to realize Prentiss is very capable of putting her foot down with her sister when she wants to. I think she simply doesn’t want to.”

“She likes to take things apart?”

“Mm hmm. Anything she can get her hands on. Well, anything I’ll let her pull apart. I’ve finally gotten it through to her that she has to get permission before getting out her toolbox. She gets it from her father, I think.”

“Was he an engineer or a mechanic?” Luke asked.

“No, actually. He was an investigative journalist. But, I can see the same thing in them both. There’s this need to get behind things, to see what’s pushing it inside, how it works. He was never satisfied with simply reporting on a story or the news as it happened. He wanted to dig deep, make connections between things no one else had been able to see. He wanted to get to the heart of things. It’s the same thing with Prentiss only it takes a different form for her.”

“You light up when you talk about him. You loved him a lot.” Luke’s words weren’t a question, but she answered it as one.

“Very much.”

His hand came back to her hair, and even though they were more than a foot apart on the couch, he played with the strands, keeping them connected in a way that felt good. “I’m sorry you lost him.”

The words were sincere and the lump that formed in her throat was one of an old wound that would never go away. “Thank you.”

“How did he die?” His voice was soft, and she got the sense he’d never push her to talk about it if she didn’t want to. At the same time, the fact he didn’t pussyfoot around it and pretend her husband hadn’t died was refreshing.

“He was killed overseas in Iraq. I was six months pregnant with the girls. He almost cancelled the trip, but I told him I’d be fine. Twins can come as early as that, so he was worried I’d go into labor. As it was, I didn’t deliver the girls until I was in my eighth month.”

She paused a minute before going on. “He was there covering the war. They never identified the people who stopped the truck he was riding in. He and his photographer and their escorts were all killed.”

He didn’t offer platitudes. “Are the girls still close to his family? Do they see them often?”

Lyra nodded. “His parents were against our marriage in the beginning. Not in the same way my parents were, but his parents came around the minute the girls were born. And over time, the wounds healed and we’ve grown close. I wanted them to be able to know him through his family. His sister lives a few hours from here so they see her often. His parents are in Nashville, but we see them once a year or more.”

“And your parents?” His hand trailed to her shoulder, his fingers moving in small circles as they talked. He dropped it down to where her hand sat on the couch and held her fingers loosely.

“That rift hasn’t been as easy to heal.”

“No?”

She offered him a sad smile. “There were things said when Caleb and I got married that can’t be taken back and can’t really be forgotten.”

“You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to. I didn’t mean to bring up something . . . ” He let the offer trail off but Lyra shook her head. She’d talked to her friends about this plenty. It hurt knowing her parents’ feelings, but she had dealt with it in her own heart a long time ago.

“When Caleb and I got together, his parents had concerns, but mostly because they knew being in a biracial relationship can be hard. There are people in both our communities who weren’t able to accept us. Their concerns came from a place of love.” She hesitated, thinking about how to explain, and she glanced at the hallway leading to the bedrooms. She never wanted the girls to hear this. “For my parents and grandparents, it was different. My grandfather told me that I was a princess to Caleb. That marrying me would be a gift to him, but I’d have to bear the price of that for the rest of my life. That my kids would be marked with negro features, a wide nose and frizzy hair. My parents didn’t say as much, but I could see they agreed. And they didn’t defend me or Caleb. Didn’t denounce the blatant racism. I’m honestly not sure which was worse. My grandfather who spoke the words or my parents who did nothing to negate them.”

Now Luke’s gaze shot to the hallway, too, and she felt a pang at the protective gleam she could see in his eyes. “Those girls? Those girls are gorgeous.”

Lyra smiled. “Yes, they are. I worry, though. I guess every parent does, but sometimes . . . ” she shook her head and the smile dropped. “I was so naive before I met Caleb. I mean, I knew black Americans faced racism, but I really had no idea how institutionalized and prevalent it was. As a mother, it becomes all too apparent. It’s things you never realize are an issue until you’re faced with it. Did you know, black people are half as likely to be given pain medication as a white person in an emergency room?”

The look on Luke’s face said he was as shocked as she had been when she saw the study. “Why?”

Lyra went palms up. “No one really knows for sure. Some evidence points to a perception that black people are more able to tolerate pain, although there’s absolutely no evidence of that. Others point to a perception of black people as addicts. When someone is perceived as an addict, it’s harder to accept a claim they’re in pain and need opioid medicine to address it. Another study pointed to a general belief that black people have thicker skin than white people.” She shrugged trying to cover just how angry it made her. “Thicker skin, less pain.”

“Wow.”

“I know. Crazy, isn’t it? I mean, I know they’re going to face challenges, but when you begin to examine it, it’s really shocking. For example, in one study in New York City, black girls made up twenty-eight percent of the whole student body, but they made up ninety percent of those expelled from school. Whether the actors behind those numbers realize they’re acting on racial bias or not, you can’t deny the numbers. And, it’s subtle things too. In many stores we shop at, there’s a ‘beauty’ aisle and then there’s the ‘ethnic’ aisle.” She realized she’d gotten on a bit of a soap box. “I’m lecturing you, aren’t I?”

Luke’s expression was fierce when he shook his head. “You’re their mama bear.”

“I am. But I can’t follow them out into the world. I can’t go with them on job interviews or be there when they interact with the outside world. Frankly, my whiteness protects them if we make a trip to the emergency room. I can stand up and make sure they get the pain medicine they need. I can be an advocate for them at school. But someday, I have to let them go.”

Luke chuckled. “Let me tell you, that’s not easy. I worry for Naomi every minute of every day. It’s hard having her so far from home.”

“How’s she doing?” She knew he talked to Naomi every few days, at least.

“Good. She likes her classes, for the most part, and she seems to have made a few good friends. She seems happy when I talk to her.”

Lyra laughed. “And you still want to run up there and check on her, don’t you?”

He grinned. “If she’d gone to school close by, I’d probably accidentally run into her on campus a few times a week. It would have been bad.”

“You’re a good man to admit that would have been a problem.” She was laughing now, too.

“Hey,” he looked chagrined. “I can admit I have a problem. I might not be able to fix it, but I can always admit to the problem.”

She shook her head at him, but as the laughter faded, she realized he was watching her mouth now. Almost as intently as she’d studied his earlier, and a distinct heat sparked between them, weighty in the air.

“Right now, for example,” he leaned closer to her and the air charged again, arousal and the fluttering resettling in her tummy before moving distinctly south, “I’m having a problem resisting your mouth. I’m not going to be able to fix the problem, but I’m well aware of it.”

She had no response, but none was needed as he took her mouth with his. His mouth was soft, but it was firm, too, and there was no hesitation as he moved his lips over hers, easing her lips apart. She didn’t try to fight it. She leaned in, her whole body wanting to be part of what was happening. He made her feel things she wasn’t sure she’d ever felt with another man.

His tongue touched hers and the heat sparked to fire, banking further as his hand threaded through her hair and he pulled her close. She loved when he did that. It made her feel wanted. Desired and desirable because of it. When she wasn’t in his arms, she had occasionally wondered what he’d think of her body. She’d delivered twins, after all, and she’d never completely gotten rid of the tummy bulge that had resulted from that.

But the minute his hands and mouth where on her, that hesitancy was forgotten. There was no analyzing, no worry, no feeling she might not be enough. With every touch, he told her again and again that she was enough.

She didn’t know if he deepened the kiss or if she did, but she didn’t care. It didn’t matter. What mattered was what the kiss was doing to her. It melted her defenses. She’d been cautious about a guy who seemed too good to be true. About getting involved with someone at a time in her life when she simply wasn’t ready to be involved with someone.

Those worries all flew out the window as the touch of his hands on her and his mouth teasing and tantalizing lit up every erogenous zone she seemed to have. He slowed the kiss, drawing it to a close, but so slowly, that the very tempo of it was teasing. As though he knew it would only make her want more. When he finally did end the kiss, he rested his forehead on hers, but kept his arms around her, maintaining the closeness.

“Wow.” He breathed rather than spoke the word, the gruff undertone to his voice evidence of the effect the kiss had had on him.

“Uh huh.” She heard the breathless quality in her own voice but wasn’t surprised at it. The surprise came from the intensity of the kiss. She’d expected kissing him to be incredible, but this was so much more. “Wow.”