Nick and Luke both whirled their heads around at the sound of a young girl’s voice. With her curly head of hair and warm brown skin, Tess Marshall looked a lot like her sisters, Stella and Lucy, and she was a champion at throwing shade.
“Tess,” Luke said with a groan. “Didn’t anyone tell you it’s not nice to eavesdrop?”
“I wasn’t eavesdropping,” she said in a huffy tone. “I was heading into the kitchen for a root beer refill when I happened to hear your enlightening conversation.”
Luke made a shooing motion with his hands. “Go get your drink and stay out of grown folk’s conversations.”
Sometimes it boggled Nick’s mind to consider that Tess was Luke’s sister-in-law!
“You sound like two Neanderthals. Women don’t need men to fix them. We are fully capable of managing our own selves, thank you very much,” she retorted, hands on hips. There was no question that Tess was the feistiest member of the Marshall family.
“We?” Nick muttered. Tess was twelve going on forty. She happened to be a pal of Miles’s. Although there were plenty of gossips in Mistletoe, Tess was one of the worst offenders. She took ear hustling to an entirely different level. Nick knew Luke got annoyed from time to time with her precocious manner. There was an incident when she’d engineered a dognapping of Stella’s poodle, Coco Chanel, and made Miles her accomplice by stashing the dog at Nick’s house. On the bright side, her heart had been in the right place and she’d hatched the plot to reunite Luke and Stella. That caper was proof of her mastermind abilities.
“If you really want to impress Harlow, you should start with her mind,” Tess said. She shook her head and made a tutting sound. “You probably don’t know, but the brain is the most erogenous—”
“Tess, don’t you dare finish that sentence!” Stella had appeared out of nowhere and was now standing toe to toe with her little sister. Stella looked as if she was moments away from strangling her.
Tess opened her mouth, then closed it. For a few moments, Tess and Stella engaged in a staring contest with neither one budging. Tess broke eye contact first, looking away and letting out a dramatic sigh. “I’m going to get some root beer,” Tess said before walking away.
“You better eat your Wheaties,” Nick said, looking at Luke. “That type of sassiness might trickle down to Jade.” He had to smother a chuckle at the look on his brother’s face. Luke seemed scared to death. Big bad Navy SEAL taken down by a little girl.
“Stella assures me that Tess broke the mold in that regard,” Luke said. “Right?” Luke looked to his wife, sounding panicky as he awaited an answer.
“Let’s just say that if Jade ever starts acting like Tess, she’s going to be grounded for life,” Stella said.
“That’s what I’m talking about,” Luke said with a growl, pulling his wife by the waist onto his lap. “I love it when you get tough.” He pressed a kiss to her lips.
“So, are you all ready for tonight?” Stella asked Nick.
“Yeah, although it’s pretty much me showing up at Harlow’s place isn’t it? It sounds like a low-key first date.”
Stella frowned. “Well, you don’t want to be too casual about it. What about bringing her flowers or candy? Maybe you can bring dessert or a nice bottle of wine. Those are thoughtful gestures.”
“Stella, don’t mother him. He’s got this.” Luke drew his brows together and turned toward Nick. “You do have this, don’t you?”
Nick rolled his eyes. “I thought I did before the two of you began fussing at me.”
“Sorry,” Luke and Stella said in unison.
“We just care about you, Nick,” Stella added, while Luke jokingly made a heart with his hands.
“Should I be freaking out or something? Because I’m not nervous at all. It’s just dinner and getting to know each other better.” Nick was excited by the idea of exploring all facets of Harlow. He found her to be way more intriguing than most women in Mistletoe. She was witty and stunningly beautiful. She wasn’t the type of woman who would just nod her head and go along in order to get along. Harlow had her own opinions and she held fast to them. She didn’t sugarcoat her dislike of small towns. Her passion for animals affirmed that being a veterinarian was a calling and not simply a job. Maybe part of it was that Harlow wasn’t tied up in his past with Kara. Everything between them would be a blank slate, unlike the women in town he’d been out with. He loved Mistletoe, but everyone in his hometown knew everything—the good, the bad, and the ugly—about one another. Nick wanted to explore a woman and make new discoveries about her each and every day. He wanted to be emotionally and mentally stimulated. According to Harlow, she wasn’t sticking around Mistletoe after her year was up. Was there a part of him that was hoping she might change her mind and stay?
“We know it’s been a while since you went out with someone,” Stella said.
“Not exactly true. I’ve gone on several dates in the past few months,” Nick said, correcting his sister-in-law.
“Not with someone you really like,” Luke added. He sent Nick a pointed look. The truth was, more times than not, Nick had gone out on the date without truly feeling a connection. He’d felt the pressure of everyone’s expectations for him to get back into the dating world. So he had caved and gone out with women he had zero interest in. In the end, doing so hadn’t helped him move forward at all. And he’d disappointed several women who’d deserved better from him.
“Good point,” Nick said after a few moments of thinking his brother’s comment over. “But here’s the thing. Either Harlow and I hit it off or we don’t. We either enjoy spending time together or we nix a second date.” Nick shrugged. “Considering the things I’ve been through in the last few years, it doesn’t seem like a huge deal.”
Nick said his goodbyes and thanked Stella for arranging a sleepover between Miles and Tess. Now that Luke and Stella were married, the two kids considered themselves to be honorary cousins.
Nick went home to change. A quick shower and shave made him feel like a brand-new man. He put on a nice pair of slacks and a dark sweater. “Not bad, Keegan,” he said out loud as he checked himself out in the bathroom mirror. “You clean up well.”
A quick stop at the florist yielded a stunning autumnal bouquet of roses, sunflowers, poms, and eucalyptus, and then he was heading to Harlow’s. Since it was fall, the roads were already shrouded in darkness. He could barely see the lake around him.
When his GPS led him to Harlow’s house, Nick parked out front and walked up her front steps. One quick knock later and Harlow was opening up the door and welcoming Nick inside. Bear gave him a once-over with a sniff test. Harlow wore an oatmeal-colored sweater with a pair of slim-fitting jeans. She looked amazing.
