Chapter Eight

I know you’re doing great at work. I meant, how are you doing with your life? I heard about your place,” she said sympathetically. Before Amy knew what was happening, she was engulfed in a hug. She found her throat tightening as Esther embraced her.

“Now, don’t be afraid to ask for help once in a while. We’ll be getting to know each other well because this family takes care of the people they love,” she said.

“Thank you, Esther. It’s really nice to have such amazing employers,” Amy finally managed to get out.

“Yes, it was difficult at first for me to retire. I so loved working in the offices with Joseph all those years. I watched all three boys grow up as they ran around the hallways at work. Then I became very close to Katherine. The best part of retirement, though, is they’re my family now, so I don’t lose them; I just get more days I can sleep in.”

“I’m a bit overwhelmed by all of this. I’m not used to people being concerned about me. It feels a bit surreal, like I’m going to wake up at any moment. I really hope that’s not the case,” Amy admitted.

“You can relax, Amy. You’re in good hands now,” Esther promised.

“Amy, I’m so glad you’re here,” Joseph said. “We have much to talk about, but that will come later. I’m sure you’ve noticed all these people milling around.” He had snuck up on them and his enthusiasm caused Amy to jump a bit. He continued speaking before she had a chance to reply.

“Today is my amazing wife’s birthday, and we all come together to celebrate this beautiful woman’s entrance into the world. Come, come, I want you to meet her, along with some other people. I’ve told her all about our newest employee,” he said.

He placed her arm in his, and she had to jog a little to keep up with him. He may have retired from being president, but he’d run the company for many years and was still very much invested.

“Katherine, I’d like you to meet Amy, Lucas’s new executive assistant. She’s doing great things over there. I didn’t think it possible to replace Esther, but we got real lucky on the first try,” Joseph said as he approached an elegant woman, who didn’t look like she could possibly be in her fifties.

Her medium-length white hair was styled perfectly against her slim shoulders. She was about the same height as Amy, though her heels put her at about five-four. Her sparkling brown eyes had small lines around them, making it apparent she smiled a lot.

“It’s wonderful to meet you, Amy. I’ve heard so much about you. I’m so sorry about your circumstances, dear. Don’t you let this crowd overwhelm you too much. I know there’s a lot of testosterone in this room, but all these boys only talk big. When it comes down to it, they’re nothing but gentle giants,” Katherine said as she leaned forward.

Before Amy could speak, Katherine pulled her in for a hug. Amy was realizing the Andersons were an affectionate bunch and that it wasn’t just the boys. Everyone seemed quite comfortable giving hugs, or even kisses, for that matter. As Katherine pulled her in for a tighter squeeze, she held her for a moment longer than was typical and Amy had to fight off tears at the gentle encouragement she felt, and melted into the embrace. Katherine’s sweet cinnamon fragrance filled Amy’s nostrils, solidifying the moment to memory.

Amy’s birth mother had never hugged her. How could she when she was so busy getting her next fix? Holding her family tight was something Amy vowed to do every day when she had her own children. She found herself wanting to savor the continuous flow of acceptance the Andersons offered.

Most of the time she thought she was fine with having no family ties of her own, but seeing the affectionate Andersons all in a room together was making her realize what she was missing. She longed for a similar family bond.

“Thank you for having me at your party,” Amy managed to say when Katherine released her.

“The pleasure’s all mine, dear. I love my birthdays because it’s always wonderful to have my family and friends close. We’ll be seeing a lot of each other with your new job. That’s why Joseph has always been so picky about who he hires in those positions; he knows they’re not only becoming employees, but a part of our family, too.”

Amy didn’t know what to say. She’d been told the Andersons treated their employees very well, but she just couldn’t understand the concept of them bringing people into their home, treating them as equals. No wonder their turnover rate was so low. Amy’s heart swelled with gratitude again for landing her job.

With even more resolve, she knew she had to fight her attraction to Lucas, because she in no way wanted to lose her position with the Anderson Corporation. Even more important than her paycheck, which she desperately needed, she loved the idea of being a part, no matter how remote, of their family.

“I’ll take you to meet more people, Amy,” Joseph said. “There are a lot of executives from the offices you’ll probably recognize, but I know it always takes me a while to learn names. This is a good place to do it. Some of the people here have been retired for some time, but you’ll often see them in the offices helping out the new generation. Once you’re a part of the fast-paced world of business, it’s hard to let go of it, even if you know it’s time to hang up your suit.”

For the next twenty minutes, Joseph led her around the enormous room, making so many introductions she knew she’d never remember everyone.

Even though the people were dressed casually with their crisp polo shirts and newly pressed khakis, she still felt uncomfortable standing among them wearing her old jeans and a sweatshirt. No one was looking at her in disgust, at least not that she’d noticed, but she was still self-conscious about her appearance.

As they made their final rounds, there was a stir in the room. She looked up to see what caused the commotion, when suddenly standing in front of her was another Greek god.

Seriously, did they grow them on trees? She saw the family resemblance and knew that this must be the last brother. Holy smokes, he was sexy as sin in his skin-tight, worn-out Wrangler jeans and black cowboy hat that had seen better days. The grin that stretched across his face completed his devastating look.

Even though his clothes were just about as worn as hers, he pulled it off — and pulled it off incredibly well.

“Hey, boy, what took you so long? You know your mom’s been crying, wondering where her youngest son was. She figured you forgot all about her birthday,” Joseph said, before leaning in and giving his son a hug.

“Ah, Dad...Isabelle was birthing and I had to make sure she was okay. Chad’s with her now, so I hurried on over,” he said sheepishly.

“I suppose we can forgive you. At least you got here before we cut your mother’s cake.”

“Where’s Lucas? I need to talk to him,” Mark asked, before his eyes connected with hers. Dang, he looked like his big brother, but a little more rugged. The three of them together must make women’s knees give out.

“Your brother is across the room, and if I’m not mistaken, he’s shooting you the evil eye,” Joseph said with a wink at Mark that she didn’t understand.

Mark looked over at Lucas, got a huge grin on his face, then turned back to her. She thought her own knees might give out. The guy had unrefined sex appeal written all over him, and she had to admit that it didn’t hurt her eyes to look at him.

Amy had no way of knowing that the look Lucas was giving his brother was clearly telling Mark that Amy wasn’t just his assistant. Lucas was making it clear to him, and all the other men in the room, that Amy was his.

“Who’s this gorgeous woman you have on your arm, Dad? Did Mom finally come to her senses and kick you to the curb?” Mark asked, his eyes holding her own captive.

She immediately turned scarlet, then looked down, not wanting him to notice her embarrassment.

“Mark, quit embarrassing our guest. This is Amy Harper. She’s the newest executive secretary for your worthless brother over there,” Joseph said with a chuckle.

“Well, Ms. Amy, it’s truly a pleasure to meet you. I have a real job opening available if you get sick of working for that stuffed-shirt brother of mine,” he said, adding a flirtatious wink.

Before Amy could blink, she was whisked into his arms and immediately dipped backward, looking into his humor-filled eyes. His lips connected with hers in a chaste kiss before he quickly whipped her back up and threw his arm around her shoulder. “That job offer’s open anytime you want it. You’re one hell of a good kisser,” he said with a wink.

Amy feared her face would remain scarlet the entire time she was around the Anderson men. With their good looks and confidence, she had a feeling they each had a take-the-world-by-storm attitude. She should be offended she’d been kissed by all three of the brothers, but she didn’t feel like complaining. Neither Alex nor Mark had tried to deepen their kisses. Even though she knew it was about getting under their brother’s skin, she could’ve saved them some time and let both of them know nothing was going on between her and Lucas.

As Amy compared the three kisses she’d received from each of the Anderson boys, she was dismayed to find that only Lucas’s touch had caused a burning flash inside her. She wasn’t drawn to Lucas because he was the only eligible man around; she realized she was actually drawn to him. This was an extremely unpleasant epiphany.

She knew Lucas’s brothers were harmlessly flirting, but usually when a woman was kissed by men as suave and downright handsome as both Mark and Alex were, she couldn’t control her body’s natural response. She was pondering what she should do when Lucas approached them.

“Okay, Mark, you can quit putting your hands all over Amy. I’m going to take her to get some food,” Lucas said as he pushed Mark’s arm from her shoulder. She hadn’t even noticed his arm was still around her until Lucas pointed it out.

“By the way, she’s not available,” he finished. With that, she was pulled away from Mark and instantly had Lucas’s arms in the same place. She was beginning to feel like a shiny new toy being passed around the room. She’d definitely have to remember to correct him about telling people her availability. It was none of his business, and certainly not his right to tell anyone about her love life, or more accurately, lack of one.

As his hand rested on her shoulder, his fingers dipping low and rubbing against her collarbone, Amy felt the familiar tug of heat begin sliding through her. His thumb brushed against her neck, and instant goosebumps surfaced on her skin. Why him? Why did it have to be Lucas who seemed to have awakened her sleeping libido?

“I’m sorry about my brother, both of them, for that matter. They’re just trying to get a rise out of me, but they shouldn’t be pawing all over you to do it,” Lucas said as he led her to the food area, where unlimited dishes were set out for the guests to choose from.

“I guess the positive to the whole situation is now I can tell everyone I’ve kissed three out of three of the hottest brothers I’ve ever seen. It will make me seem much more worldly than I am,” she said with a laugh.

Amy figured she had two choices: She could either get irritated or she could find the humor in the situation. It wasn’t every day a girl got kissed by three amazingly hot guys, so she decided she’d take choice number two and laugh.

“You like playing with different men?” he questioned, his voice quiet.

“Your brothers are harmless,” she replied. Lucas glared down at her and she didn’t understand why he was so upset.

“You weren’t laughing when I kissed you.”

Amy was stopped in her tracks by that comment. No, she hadn’t been laughing when he’d kissed her, but then, her body had been on fire the entire time, making her forget where she was. Lucas scared her, made her forget she didn’t want a relationship. She couldn’t kiss him; it was too dangerous.

“Didn’t you say something about food?” she asked, trying to change the subject, hoping he’d just drop it.

He stared at her intensely for a few moments before he resumed walking. She breathed a sigh of relief as he let the matter go. An awkward silence surrounded them as they each reached for a plate.

Amy lost all appetite as she stood next to Lucas, wondering exactly how she was going to continue working for him. If he’d just leave her alone, she was sure she could get over her infatuation with him, but with him touching her, she wasn’t sure she’d last even a month before she was begging him to finish what he’d started in the dark street.

She tried pushing it from her mind as Lucas led her to a table and they sat down. It didn’t take long for others to join them. Soon, they were surrounded and Amy was surprised to find she was enjoying the evening as the party continued long into the night.

Amy let go of her problems and even forgot she was technically homeless for the moment. She relaxed and took the time to get to know other people from the office, even making a few lunch dates later in the month. Everything would work out. It had to, because she was starting to feel secure for the first time in her life.