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“Victoria bought them for me for family pictures. We’re all supposed to match. She has something for you too.”
“Of course she does.”
“Can I take Daisy inside to see Butch?”
“Sure.” She handed off the leash to him and he jetted back up the porch steps. When she walked into the living room, Nick and Clark were changing their shirts, but her gaze locked on Clark’s open flannel, framing a set of washboard abs too pretty to cover up.
“Hey, Sis,” Nick said, jerking her attention away from Clark’s six-pack.
“Hi.” She cleared her throat, afraid to look at Clark again. “Where is Mom?”
“She’s in the back getting changed.”
“Great, thanks.” Merry stole a glance at Clark, wondering what he was thinking. They’d left things up in the air when she’d shut the door on him, but she’d needed time to think about where they went from here. If he wanted her, he was going to have to stop all this back and forth. If he wasn’t all in, then she was out.
“Good morning, Merry,” he said with that warm rumble she loved.
“Hey, Clark.” She hoped her voice was cheery and not a nervous pitch. “Nice to see you.”
“You too.”
Clark’s fingers worked over each button, keeping his gaze on her, and she noticed he’d messed up a few.
“Your shirt’s not lined up,” she said.
He looked down with a laugh. “You’re right. Guess I got distracted.”
He was teasing, his voice laced with seduction and temptation and…
Nope, she wasn’t falling for it. He had more groveling to do.
“Excuse me, I better get dressed.”
“Bye, Merry,” he called after her, but she was already halfway down the hall.
Merry had spent the last year learning her worth, and as much as she liked Clark, he had messed up big time. It was going to take some major effort if he wanted her, and she would not let him back in with anything less. No sexy tone or sweet nothings were going to work. He needed to be open to her, not shut down whenever something got too intense.
She knocked on her mother’s door and it swung open, her mother posing in a red cowl-neck sweater and leggings the same plaid as the men’s shirts.
“Oh good, your clothes are in the bathroom hanging up.”
“Are we all wearing red?”
“No, you and I are wearing red and Holly and Noel are wearing green. And with Jace and Clark, we have equal boys and girls for family pictures. They are family, so after we do the big farm photo, we’ll do family pictures with us. I booked the photographer for the whole day so the employees can also have family photos taken. It’s a thank-you for how hard they work.”
“That’s wonderful, Mom. And I agree about Jace.”
“Not Clark?”
Clark can be family, but not in the gross, incest kind of way.
“Clark too.”
“Thank you, now get changed! She’ll be here any minute. Are you going to wear lipstick?”
Merry laughed, talking to her mom through the door. “Would you like me to wear lipstick?”
“I thought a matte red would look lovely with the sweater, but it’s up to you. If you want to wear it, the tube is on the counter.”
