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Remy walked into the large veterans hall Tempest had given him directions to for the annual Wilder Way spaghetti dinner she hosted—which was her way of bringing together all the kids and families the foundation had helped out over the course of the past year, she’d told him.
Other than the dozens of round tables, chairs, and an area set up to serve everyone when they arrived, the place was empty, though he heard loud voices and clattering coming from the back of the hall. Assuming it was the kitchen, where Tempest had told him to meet her, he headed in that direction.
As soon as he entered the large work area, he had a huge oh shit moment, as he caught sight of both of Tempest’s brothers, Maddux and Hunter, and two other women, all of whom stopped what they were doing—straining huge pots of pasta, taking meatballs out of the oven, stirring the sauce on the stove, slathering garlic butter on slices of bread—to watch him walk in.
The girls, who he didn’t know, exchanged a delighted, excited look, and Tempest’s brothers both gave him a smirk that said, Welcome to our hell, sucker.
Tempest rushed up to him, wearing a full-length red apron that protected her clothing beneath. “You made it,” she said, and gave him a smile that was as vibrant as she was and never failed to light him up inside, where he’d been dark for so long.
He half expected her to greet him with an enthusiastic kiss, which she typically did under normal circumstances, but she refrained because being in front of her family for the first time was far from an ordinary situation for the two of them. They’d been “seeing each other” for nearly a month since he’d told her about his mother’s abandonment, and while he saw her regularly now that he was working on the Wilder Things building on a daily basis, and she stayed a lot of nights at his place, they’d kept the details of their relationship private up to this point.
“Here, you’re going to want to put this on because things are bound to get messy,” she said, and handed him a clean apron like everyone else was wearing.
He put the garment on and tied the strings in the back while arching an inquisitive brow at Tempest and keeping his voice between the two of them as he spoke. “Why didn’t you tell me your brothers were going to be here?”
“Because I didn’t want you to back out,” she replied in a sassy tone, keeping her voice equally low.
Okay, he couldn’t deny that he probably would have reconsidered if he’d known her protectors were going to be there. “Do they know about you and me?” That he was doing all sorts of dirty things to their sister on their downtime?
She tipped her head to the side, an amused smile on her lips. “They know that you’re working on Wilder Things, of course, and that you’re a nice guy who enjoys volunteering. Now for God’s sake, relax.”
He exhaled a deep breath. Okay, so her brothers weren’t going to chop his balls off. Good to know.
Tempest walked back to the stove and the big pot of red sauce bubbling there and introduced him to the two women still gawking at him. “Arabella and Elle, this is Remy Lowell, who is doing all the construction and build-outs on the Wilder Things bui
lding,” she said, picking up a long wooden spoon and stirring the sauce. “Arabella is engaged to Maddux, and Elle is engaged to Hunter,” she explained to Remy, which he’d known through previous conversation with Tempest.
“Nice to meet you both.” Remy gave the women a quick wave, then glanced over to Maddux and Hunter, who didn’t look surprised to see him, so Tempest must have at least given them warning. “Good to see you guys.”
“Same,” Hunter said, and went back to preparing more pasta. “The more help at this shindig, the merrier.” He rolled his eyes, giving Remy the impression he’d gotten his arm twisted into being a helper.
Maddux eyed him over the tray of meatballs he was transferring into a large metal serving dish. “What I want to know is how the hell did Tempest persuade you to volunteer?”
Remy didn’t think Maddux would appreciate hearing that Tempest had caught him at a weak, vulnerable moment, with his aching cock in her mouth and her keeping him right on the edge of an orgasm until he’d agreed. “It was under duress,” he said, which was true but sounded more like she’d verbally worn him down.
Tempest burst out laughing at his comment, then realizing that everyone had shifted their eyes to her with immense interest, she immediately swallowed her amusement and shrugged. “You know how I am. I can be very persuasive. Remy, do you want to help the girls out with the garlic bread?”
“Sure do,” he said, grateful to have something to keep him busy.
For the next few hours, under Tempest’s direction, they all worked together to prepare everything that was needed to feed about a hundred people, both adults and children. Casual conversation, laughter, and joking ensued in the kitchen, giving Remy a glimpse of how close Tempest was with her brothers and soon-to-be sisters-in-law. Even though Maddux and Hunter weren’t yet married to Arabella and Elle, it was clear that all five of them were already a family, and Remy couldn’t help but envy that close connection he’d never had in his life.
Metal trays were filled with spaghetti and meatballs and taken to the buffet, along with the fragrant garlic bread and cheesecake for dessert. The girls put out chilled bottles of water and soft drinks and set up stacks of paper plates, napkins, and plastic forks and knifes for guests to grab before walking down the buffet line, where Tempest insisted that she and Remy would be serving the spaghetti and meatballs.
Families started streaming into the hall, and Remy watched as Tempest made a point of greeting everyone personally. She conversed with the parents like they were old friends and made sure she gave the kids her attention, too. She was kind and gracious and genuinely warm and welcoming, no matter who they were. He was beginning to see how huge Tempest’s heart was, how much she loved giving back and making other people happy. As Remy well knew, she had a natural tendency to make a person feel good when she was near them, and it was addicting.
In a month’s time, this woman had gone from someone he’d physically desired to someone he emotionally craved, and Remy knew he had to be careful or else he’d do something incredibly stupid, like fall in love with her. He was wise enough and experienced enough to know that he was not her Prince Charming who’d give her the happily ever after she wanted and deserved, but until she realized that and they went their separate ways, he wanted every moment with her that he could steal.
After a brief speech from Tempest welcoming everyone to the spaghetti dinner, the buffet opened and a long trail of adults and children lined up. While Maddux, Hunter, Arabella, and Elle made sure that the trays were always full of food, Remy assisted Tempest, with her piling the pasta on a guest’s plate, and him ladling a generous amount of sauce and meatballs on top.
He realized that Tempest didn’t have to serve the guests. She wanted to. It gave her a chance to chat with everyone once again, which she truly seemed to enjoy. These families were not only recipients of the Wilder Way Foundation, but Tempest made them feel as though they were friends, too.
As the line dwindled and everyone was feasting on their dinners at the nearby tables, two young girls came up to the buffet table where Remy and Tempest were consolidating some of the trays of food. The older-looking girl, who appeared to be around ten, held on to the younger girl’s hand, who appeared to be half her age.
“Ms. Wilder?” the older-looking girl asked, her big brown eyes peering up at Tempest in a shy manner.
“Hi, Lexi,” Tempest said, greeting the girl by name, giving her an affectionate smile. “Would you like more spaghetti?”
“No, thank you. I’m very full,” Lexi said, then indicated the younger girl by her side. “But my sister, Ashley, watched the new Lady and the Tramp movie this past weekend, and she wanted to know if you two could show her how to do the spaghetti thing.”
