Page 89 of Her Tempting Protector

“Yes, I do. I went to medical school, there were psychology courses.”

Before they got to the door, Baily and Chelle were inside and greeted by a chorus of ‘hello’s’.

Leo, Nick, and Asher followed with bags and dishes of food.

“They can cook too, I see.”

“Chelle can,” Cullen said. “The grocery bags are probably filled with alcohol, chips, and mixer. That will be Baily’s contribution.”

“A girl after my own heart.”

“Where is she?” Baily called out.

Cullen winced. Seriously, his little sister needed to gain a sense of decorum.

“She’s talking about me, isn’t she?” Carys asked. Cullen heard the first little bit of trepidation in her voice and he was going to kick Baily’s ass.

“Wait, I see her,” Baily grinned as she pushed Baby Nick out of her way.

“Hi, Carys, I brought more Fanta! I also made Mom bake lemon tarts. You’re going to be in heaven.”

Carys looked up at him and blushed. Cullen was immediately in her head and he damn near blushed as well, remembering yesterday evening, last night, and this morning. Dear God, the woman had rocked his world.

Chelle walked up at that point. “Did you tell them about Mom’s lemon tarts?” she asked Baily.

“Yeah, but Cullen started thinking about sex.” Baily rolled her eyes.

“Interesting,” Chelle answered. She gave Cullen a droll look. But he was happy to see that both of his sisters focused on him and weren’t giving Carys a hard time. If they had been, he would have had to knock heads. Gently of course, but still…

“Can I help you unpack anything?”

A.J. materialized out of the crowd. “Did I hear an offer of help? Even better, did I hear about food cooked by Mrs. Lyons? Where is she?”

“Mom and Dad already had plans to go sailing with their friends on the Bay today, otherwise they’d be here. Cullen put in an order for something sweet and fruity,” Chelle explained. “Personally, I thought I was sweet, and Baily was fruity.”

“Ha, ha…not.” Cullen responded as he gathered Carys closer.

“Come on into the kitchen,” A.J. motioned to the girls. “Carys, you better come now, the tarts will be gone before we even put them out on the table.”

Baily put her arm through Carys’, “Yeah, I want to hear how you’re getting along with Aries.”

“Not Cullen?” Carys asked as she started walking away.

“Nah, he’s easy. Aries is the tough one,” Cullen heard his sister saying just before the quartet were out of earshot.

As soon as they were gone, Zed Zaragoza sauntered over to him. He had been happily married for over a year and a half. He oozed contentment.

“You’re just the man I wanted to talk to,” Cullen said.

“And why would that be? Does it have anything to do with the good doctor? The way I hear it, you fell pretty hard while you were in Africa. Seems pretty unbelievable to me.”

Cullen snorted. Thank God he hadn’t taken a sip of his beer. Zed laughed.

“Did you really just say that?”

“We’ve started a club.”

“Finding your woman on a mission and marrying her?”

“That’s the one,” Zed smirked. “Clint’s next in line. He’s finally got Lydia talked into setting a date.”

“Did I hear that right?” Max Hogan said as he butted into the conversation. “Lydia and Clint Archer are finally going to tie the knot? How in the hell did Clint get her to say yes? It’s only been four years.”

“According to Marcia, it was praying over his bed day and night while he was in that coma. It tends to change your perspective,” Zed answered.

“Is he really all right?” Kane entered the conversation.

“He’s getting there,” Zed sighed. “Goddamn injuries.”

“Shut up, you asshole,” Kane growled as he handed Zed some mineral water. “You almost fucking died. I don’t want to hear you bitching about the fact that you get to spend time with your daughter.”

Zed brightened up.

“Yeah, that little girl is growing by leaps and bounds.”

“I’m going to see if I can go steal one of Mom’s desserts before they’re all gone,” Cullen said as he clapped Zed on the back.

“Save one for me,” Max called out as Cullen made his way to the kitchen.