Page 72 of His to Seduce
Chapter 24
Camden
A herd of a thousand elephants rumbled through the house, coupled with shrieks that made me want to cover my ears. A blur of movement rushed around the corner. David was yanked out of my grasp as two little people crashed into his legs and clung to him.
“Oomph,” he grunted, moving back a step.
My eyes wide, I couldn’t decide where to focus first. On David’s smile, lit up like a thousand-watt bulb, or the little hands clamoring at his waist and shouting, “Uncle David! Uncle David! Mom! Uncle David’s here!”
“Yay!” the littler one, who I assumed was Grant Jr., shouted. “What you bing me? What you bing me?”
David laughed and stooped low, wrapping his arms around their shoulders. “Hey guys. Miss me?”
The immediate love pouring off David as he ruffled his niece’s and nephew’s hair stunned me. In Jamaica he’d talked about his family. I had seen the way his eyes lit up. Experiencing it in person was a completely different, enthralling experience.
“Children,” a feminine voice called out. Heels clicked on the tiled floor and one of the most stunning women I’d ever seen came into view. “You’ll have to excuse the kids,” she said, walking up to me with a warm smile. “My grandkids are animals. They get it from their uncle, I’m certain.” She winked.
She was in a light-colored blue and white dress that flared out at her hips and went to her calves, and her brown hair bounced on her shoulders, wisps of gray at her temples. David’s mother was beautiful, with eyes as blue as his and a smile that could beat him in a happiness competition.
“Camden Reed,” I said, holding out my hand for her.
She ignored it and embraced me with a hug. “So lovely to meet you.” I inhaled a quick scent of raspberries before she pulled back, her hands on my shoulders. “Please, call me Betty, and in this house, we hug.”
“Hello,” I said through nervous laughter.
David’s arm wrapped around my waist and he tugged me to him.
“Uncle David! Uncle David! Who is she?” The two little kids were still at his feet, bouncing on their toes, clamoring for his attention. I turned to him and he winked.
“Grant, Leia,” he said, looking at the children. “Tonight, all I brought for you is my friend, Camden. Can you say hello?”
“Hi!” the little girl chirped. “I’m Leia and I’m five. I’m in kindergarten this year but I hate it.” Her little mouth pursed into a pout.
I couldn’t resist her. “Why do you hate it?”
She rolled her eyes as if it were obvious. “Rules.” She groaned and flounced away, long blond curls flipping every which way. A woman, a taller mirror image of the cute girl, came around the corner, wiping her hands on a towel. “Don’t mind her. She takes after her father.”
“I heard that!” a masculine shout echoed from the other room.
“I’m Lindsay,” she said. Before I could say hello, she enfolded me in a hug that mirrored her mom’s and whispered, “Actually, that’s a lie, but I was going to wait to start embarrassing David until dessert. Nice to meet you, Camden. Mom said you were coming.”
She was still talking as she pulled back and pointed a finger down at her son. “Now you and Leia need to go get washed up, and tell your father to stop swiping his fingers on the frosting!”
Her voice rose with every word, and my eyes widened. Did the woman have eyes in the back of her head? She turned back to us. “Cupcakes for the kids for dessert. Pie for the adults.” Her brow wrinkled in an adorable way. “I’m not exactly sure yet which category my husband fits into.”
“Child,” David muttered.
I snickered.
She grinned.
And all the crap of the day evaporated in an instant.
“Damn, woman,” a man grumbled, walking around the corner. “It’s delicious.”
Lindsay’s blond hair swayed back and forth as she shook her head. “That man. Train them early, Camden, or you’ll be fighting them forever.”
“Yeah,” said Grant. He was still sucking frosting from a finger. His grin was as kind as those of the rest of the people swarming the large entry area. With a build that was bulky and large, almost as large as Declan—who looked like he could take down Hulk Hogan with a one-handed push—Grant’s smile was more disarming than menacing as he placed one hand at his wife’s back and held his other hand out for me.
