Page 17 of Her Delta Force Protector

“Really, he has a whole floor?”

“We each do. Parker and Everly have the first floor, Tristan the second, and the third floor is mine. Although Tristan spends most of his nights at Skylar’s downtown loft now.” He slid the glass door open, and then followed her in. Duke raced past them, headed for his water bowl, and ran headfirst into the wall. He backed up and barked at the wall.

Kade shook his head. “That boy’s elevator is stuck between floors.”

“Aw, he just marches to the beat of his own drum. But you have to admit he’s the sweetest dog you’ve ever met.”

“Can’t argue with that.” He was supposed to have Duke for a year, until she returned from the Peace Corps. Was her joining the Corps off now? If so, did that mean she was going to want Duke back? He’d grown attached to the goofball.

At seeing a cat sitting on the kitchen island, she headed straight for it. “You must be Jellybean. Aren’t you a pretty kitty?” The cat bumped his head against her arm.

“He’s Duke’s best friend, and he’s not supposed to be on the counter.”

At hearing his name, Duke came to the island. He lifted, put his front paws on the granite, and edged his face toward the cat. Jellybean boxed Duke’s nose.

“For reasons only he knows, Duke loves getting his nose punched. Come on, let me show you your room.” Leaving Duke to play with his cat friend, he picked up her duffel, slung it over his shoulder, and was halfway through the living room when he realized he’d also taken her hand. He’d done it without thinking, but her hand in his felt right.

“Wow, this room is gorgeous. So many books.”

It was a combination living room and library, and the books had belonged to his aunt. He and his brothers hadn’t been allowed to touch them. One of the first things he and Tristan had done after she’d died was make a pact to read every damn one of them, whether it interested them or not. But he wasn’t going to drag out life with his aunt with Harper.

“You’re going to love this room.” He led her to the room he knew she was going to freak out over.

She came to a sudden stop after taking a step inside. “Holy cow!”

“Pretty cool, huh? Parker designed it.” It looked like one of those old ornate movie theaters, except with rows of leather recliners instead of movie seats. There were even floor-to-ceiling red velvet drapes and crystal chandeliers.

His gaze was on her as she took everything in, and he smiled at the way her eyes lit up. One of their favorite things to do together had been to watch movies, and they’d do some of that while she was here.

“Well, he did an amazing job. Oh, look, a popcorn machine. Can we watch a movie and make popcorn one night?” She fluttered her eyelashes. “Pretty please?”

He laughed. “As often as you want. Let’s go upstairs.” When they reached the foyer, she gasped at seeing the matching curved staircases on each opposite wall and the massive crystal chandelier hanging between them.

“Your home is beautiful, Kade.”

“Thanks to Parker’s success as an artist, we were able to do a lot of work on it after Aunt Francine died.” They wouldn’t have touched a thing in the place while she was alive, not that she would have let them even if they wanted to make improvements.

“Parker and Everly have their rooms down that hall.” He pointed to the hallway between the stairs. “The common rooms belong to all of us, but our bedrooms are off-limits to each other.”

“That probably saves a few arguments.”

“Exactly.” As they were going up the stairs, Andrew came down, carrying a hamper of Kade’s dirty clothes. His eyes widened at seeing Harper, and he stopped a few steps above them.

“Andrew, this is Harper Jansen, a friend of mine. Harper, this is Andrew Shaughnessy. We would be lost without Andrew.” Kade swallowed a smile when Andrew’s cheeks turned pink at the compliment, but it was true.

“It’s very nice to meet you, Andrew,” Harper said. “I imagine it’s a big job to keep three brothers, a little girl, a dog, and a cat organized.”

Andrew’s blush deepened. “I cook for them, too. I can cook for you if you want.”

When Harper darted a glance at him, Kade answered for her. “She’ll be eating dinners with us, so all you have to do is make a little extra.”

Andrew beamed. “I can do that.”

“You’re the man.” Kade hugged the wall to let Andrew pass.

“Thank you, Andrew,” Harper said as she moved next to Kade.

Still blushing, Andrew smiled. “You’re welcome, Miss Jansen.”

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