Nerds on Fire (31 page)

Trixi peeked inside before sending
Katy a knowing look. “You couldn’t decide.”

After a huge sigh, Katy laughed. “Of
course not. Everything looked good.”

“
We compromised,” Leo
added.

“
Yeah, a little of
everything.”

Gran helped herself to a chocolate
chip muffin, and those must have appealed to her granddaughters
because they also selected one. He and Leo chose the buttery
croissants.

They poured more coffee and sat around
the table eating, laughing, talking, and drinking coffee. It was a
great start to the weekend. Except then he remembered they were
working today. “Are you sure we need to move all your old furniture
out of Lauren’s apartment?”

“
Lauren’s apartment?” Katy
darted a quick look at Trixi who explained.

“
Hey that’s great.” Katy
frowned at Leo. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

He shrugged. “I probably forgot.” Busy
selecting a second treat from the box, he didn’t appear to much
care. Katy rolled her eyes. “I saw that,” he said, without lifting
his gaze from the box. Fingers scissoring over the bakery goods, he
took his time selecting the next breakfast item. He settled on a
gooey chocolate doughnut.

“
I can’t believe you forgot
to tell me something so important.”

“
I can.” Trixi wrinkled her
nose at Leo who tried to tap it. She proved too fast for him and
laughed at his efforts.

“
So we’re cleaning out the
apartment?” Katy was obviously the only one capable of staying on
task this morning.

“
Yes. It shouldn’t take too
long, not with four of us.”

Katy nodded. “What about the
guesthouse?” She picked up the uneaten portion of Leo’s doughnut
and took a bite.

“
Hmm, we should probably
clear it out as well. Just in case Mr. Finds-Renters meets someone
else who needs a place.”

“
You have a guesthouse
too?” Leo paused with the remainder of his reclaimed doughnut at
his lips.

“
Yes. Originally we thought
my dad might move in there after he married, but he and his fiancée
broke up and Gran decided to swap houses with him.”

“
So it’s still
empty?”

“
Correct.”

Leo nodded as he polished off the
doughnut. “This is a big place.”

“
Yes. It will be nice to
generate some income. Paying the taxes won’t be as daunting.” She
didn’t look worried, but it must be a huge concern. Taxes alone had
to be debilitating on a property this size.

“
Now that you’ve got three
renters with a potential fourth, you are in good shape.” Gran stole
part of Katy’s cherry turnover.

After sampling Katy’s, Gran chose a
turnover. Mark was amused when Trixi tried Gran’s and then selected
one. These three were so alike... Of course, the Morrisons were
also well known for thinking alike, so he couldn’t point
fingers.

“
When are we leaving
tonight?” Katy asked Leo around cherry pinkened lips.

Leo appeared more interested in her
lips, but he did surprisingly answer her. Maybe because Mark was so
interested in Trixi’s lips he saw his own behavior in everyone
else.

“
You’re going tonight?”
Trixi asked her.

“
Yes, Leo said I had
to.”

Trixi nodded. She sipped her coffee
before her eyes darted to him. “I was given orders as
well.”

Katy turned to him. “You’re making her
go with you?”

“
No, I
asked
her to come along.”

She turned on Leo. “See,
he
asked
her.”

Without missing a beat, Leo leaned
forward and tapped Katy’s nose affectionately. “I’ll be maimed if I
don’t bring you.” He shrugged and dug in the box again. “So you
have to come with me.”

At his easy words, she deflated and
leaned against him to see what he selected. “Not that one, this
one.” Katy pointed to a bear claw.

“
Hey, I forgot about
those.” Leo picked up the sweet and Katy helped herself.

After popping the treat into her
mouth, she sighed. “They’re delicious.”

“
Told you,” Leo mumbled
around his huge bite.

Trixi broke a piece off and
her eyes widened. Her moan was reminiscent of the one she uttered
when he kissed her. His eyes narrowed as hers
opened
—
their gazes
bumped. There was no way she missed the heat in his eyes. It must
have sparked some in hers.

“
Quit that.” Her scold fell
flat since the smile flirting around her lips told him her true
feelings.

He selected a bear claw and broke off
a piece to press it against her lips. When her mouth opened, he fed
it to her. His efforts were rewarded when she moaned again. “It’s
delicious.”

Her eyes smiled up at him and he loved
how they gleamed. Watching this woman never got old. Since he
couldn’t help himself, Mark leaned forward to kiss her.

Trixi didn’t need any further
prompting because she fell into him, wrapped her arms around his
neck, and then her tongue lashed his. He heard someone gasp, but
didn’t particularly care. Instead, he savored the taste of the
confection on Trixi’s tongue. It was now his favorite way to eat a
doughnut.

After they parted, so they could
breathe, Trixi smiled hazily at him and his heart twisted. It was a
quick movement, one not entirely unfamiliar now, what with Trixi a
part of his life. “What was that for?” Her voice was hoarse in that
I’ve-just-been-kissed way he liked.

“
Because you’re beautiful.”
His answer proved just as husky.

Across the table, Leo cleared his
throat. “Want to share with the class there kids?”

Trixi jumped at the sound of his voice
and she whipped her head around to stare guiltily at the
unabashedly curious pair across the table.

Mark slid his arm around her, tugging
her close and smiling when she hid her pink cheeks against him for
a moment. “Trixi and I are dating.”

“
As of Thursday evening.”
Trixi’s eyes anxiously sought Katy’s.

He couldn’t read Katy’s expression,
but he guessed Trixi could because the tenseness in her shoulders
eased.

In fact, Katy smiled and pressed
against Leo, unconsciously. He didn’t seem to mind. Mark scanned
Leo’s expression and was satisfied with what he read there. Leo
wasn’t in the least bit surprised, in fact.

His eyebrow crept up as he stared his
brother down, but Leo didn’t notice. He was too busy wrestling the
remainder of his bear claw from Katy. Once she ripped off a chunk,
she left the remainder of it go. Popping the bounty into her mouth
triumphantly, she also managed to stick her tongue out at
him.

Leo downed the remaining portion and
then stole her coffee. She leaned against him again, and stared at
Trixi with a happy expression. Katy also reached up and took her
coffee back without even looking at Leo. It was as if she knew
exactly where he was and what he was doing.

Mark was certain he and Trixi didn’t
share this pair’s radar. Glancing down at the woman nestled at his
side though, he didn’t think they they needed it. Every time he so
much as looked at Trixi, his heart flipped. The warm-fuzzies
machine fired up and life looked better.

What he and Trixi had didn’t seem like
the raw end of the deal at all.

After breakfast, Katy cornered her and
Gran. “Why didn’t either of you tell me about this new
relationship?”

Gran shrugged. “Because it was Trixi’s
business.”

They both turned on her. Trixi’s
shoulders caved. “I didn’t say anything because I’ve been really
afraid it’s all going to go up in a puff of smoke and disappear.”
Her bottom lip trembled.

Both women grabbed her and held her
tight. “I think I knew that.” Katy sounded resigned. “Why you don’t
believe you deserve a wonderful relationship with a man who treats
you well, I don’t know.”

“
Your sister is right,
baby.” Gran’s hand smoothed over her hair. “You’ve waited a long
time for this relationship. Enjoy it and appreciate what you have.
Don’t go looking for ways to sabotage it because you’re
scared.”

Mark and Leo returned from whatever
they had disappeared to do and Mark immediately extricated her from
the females holding her tight. “It’s okay, they’ve been hugging me
for years.” She grinned because she was so happy to be here, in his
arms.

He leaned down to kiss her nose.
“True. But if you’re going to be in someone’s arms, they can be
mine.” He wiggled his eyebrows at her as he tugged her
closer.

Her heart expanded and she basked in
the resulting indescribable heady feeling.

Mark’s expression revealed he
experienced something similar.

Chapter 30

“
What are we going to do
today?” Rylan asked as she poured him a second cup of
coffee.

“
You know, I haven’t even
thought about it.” Nina finished filling his mug and then her
own.

“
Trixi and Katy have a
commitment tonight, but I’d like to pop over to Trixi’s house at
some point to check on her.”

“
You’re a concerned
father.” Nina’s smile was so sweet he didn’t need sugar in his
coffee.

“
She’s dating him now.” The
words came out flat, not how he intended, but he was her father, he
should be concerned.

“
Dating who?” Nina set her
coffee cup down. He had her undivided attention.

“
Trixi is dating the de
Vosse man who is living with her.”

“
Would that be Leo or
Mark?”

He paused. “Katy and Leo are fast
friends, so it must be Mark.”

She nodded knowingly. “You do know
he’s the catch of the century, right?”

“
He is?”

“
Oh yes.” Nina nodded.
“He’s not only an excellent neurosurgeon, but he’s also friendly,
professional, kind, and easy to get along with. He comes from a
great family as well.” Her glance implied he was being
overprotective.

“
Trixi doesn’t have much
experience when it comes to men.”

“
Neither do either Doctors
de Vosse.”

“
What?” He straightened in
his chair. “Neither man has experience?”

“
Not from what I’ve heard.
They both concentrated on getting through medical school and then
their specialty training. Both of them have been really busy these
last few years.” She took a sip of coffee before continuing.
“Exactly like your daughters.”

“
I keep forgetting how well
you know my girls.”

“
Yes. And I can assure you
the news Trixi is dating Mark de Vosse is going to spread like a
virus. In a good way. She’s well liked and respected throughout the
hospital. And Mark is earning himself the exact same
reputation.”

“
What about Leo de
Vosse?”

“
Rylan, you do know he’s a
pediatrician, right?”

“
I’m not certain I
did.”

“
Leo is probably the most
eligible bachelor at the hospital. The only competition he has now
is his brother.” She played with her fork. “Well, there are some
others, but Leo is probably top of the list, along with
Mark.”

“
What about Trixi?” His
heart beat harder, because like any parent, he wanted the very best
for his daughters.

“
I think she garners a lot
of interest among the eligible males.”

“
Then why didn’t she ever
date?”

Nina’s forehead creased as
she continued to fiddle with the fork. “Perhaps because most of the
men she was interested in overlooked her. Those who saw what a
great catch she is also understood she’s a bit out of their
league.” Nina sat back and looked him in the eye. “This was all
before knowing she was a
Wintermyer
.”

“
You’re going to hold my
heritage against me for the rest of our lives, aren’t
you?”

“
Yes,” she said with a
decisive nod. “I think so.”

Laughing, he cleared the edge of the
table, but with a feminine snicker, Nina erupted from her end and
leapt away with grace and elegance. She thwarted his efforts with
ease, which further proved she was a perfect match for him. He
couldn’t imagine any other women playing like this. Only his wife
had understood him this well.

He lunged, and she couldn’t evade him,
so he took them down to the couch behind her. “Gotcha.” He
whispered it into her ear as his arms closed tightly around
her.

Nina wasn’t laughing now. Instead, she
wriggled her arms free and wrapped them around his neck.

“
Right back at you.” Their
lips met in mutual accord and it felt good. More than that, it felt
right. Like this woman was supposed to be in his arms, kissing him,
in this moment, in this spirit.

It was like being stabbed right
through the heart by Cupid’s arrow. He didn’t resist.