A Double Dose of Happiness by Teri Wilson

Author:Teri Wilson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2022-03-18T23:03:36+00:00

* * *

Rachel was stirring eggs at the stove the following morning when Ian walked into the kitchen dressed for work.

“Good morning,” she said and tried her best not to think about the fact that her lips still tasted like marshmallows and chocolate from their late-night ice cream date. Decadent, delicious and oh-so-sweet.

It was not a date, she reminded herself. More like a happy accident.

The entire episode had been completely innocent. They’d each eaten a towering amount of Rocky Road and shared stories from their respective childhoods while Pepper and Salty snuggled next to their feet underneath the table.

Every so often Pepper nudged Rachel’s foot with her head, angling for a pat. They left the lights in the kitchen off and kept their voices low, so as not to wake the children. And there’d just been something so nice and intimate about exchanging whispers while moonlight streamed in from the skylight. After they parted and Rachel had returned to the carriage house, she’d slept more soundly than she had in as long as she could remember.

You’re safe here, she reminded herself. That’s why you feel so at peace.

But deep down, Rachel knew there was more to her feelings than simple security. More than gratitude. Just...more.

“Good morning.” Ian sent her a secret smile and then greeted Annie and Abby with kisses to the tops of their heads.

Pepper’s tail beat happily against the floor, but she didn’t budge from her spot beside Annie’s chair. Similarly, Salty stayed put beneath Abby’s seat, with his dark tail curled protectively around the leg of her chair.

“You missed your run this morning,” Rachel said as she divided the scrambled eggs into equal-sized servings on the twins’ Angelina Ballerina plates.

“Yeah.” Ian straightened the knot in his tie and began sliding his arms into his suit jacket. “For some reason, I couldn’t quite get out of bed when my alarm went off.”

A warm, fuzzy feeling came over Rachel. So she hadn’t dreamed that midnight ice cream encounter, after all. It had been real.

All of this was real.

Maybe she wouldn’t have to leave Spring Forest as soon as she’d planned. A girl could dream, right? “Funny, I had the exact same problem.”

“Did you, now?” Ian’s eyes met hers, and there it was again—that flood of warmth that made her feel like a cat resting languidly in the sunshine.

Rachel blinked and tried to shake it off. She was at work. This was her job, not the set of an idealized family sitcom.

“Can I make you some eggs?” She gestured toward the stove with the spatula in her hand.

“Thank you, but no. I need to get to the office.” Ian glanced at the fancy silver watch he always wore but made no move to head toward the back door. “What’s on the agenda for you and the girls today? Anything special?”

“We were just talking about that before you walked in.” Rachel aimed her gaze at Annie and Abby. Abby pushed her eggs around her plate with her spoon, while Annie held a bite of her toast between her thumb and forefinger.

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