Demanding His Brother's Heirs. Michelle Celmer

into the backseat. “Aye-yup. They surely would.”

      “Let’s get Holly settled into her room,” Jason said.

      He and Faye helped with the boys, who didn’t even rouse, while George took care of the bags. The interior of the house was open concept, and with all of those enormous windows, felt like an extension of the forest. With its massive stone fireplace and overstuffed furniture, the decor was an eclectic cross of country cottage and shabby chic. In the center of the first floor stood a staircase like she’d never seen before. At least five feet wide, with lacquered tree branch banisters, it wound its way up to the second floor. Holly followed Jason up, her legs feeling like limp noodles.

      At the top was a large, open area with more overstuffed, comfortable looking furniture, its walls lined floor-to-the ceiling with richly stained bookcases, their shelves sagging under the weight of volumes and volumes of books. She had never seen so many outside of a library.

      Another set of those enormous windows boasted a breathtaking view of the lake, and below, off the back of the house, a multi-level deck.

      To the left was a hallway that led to the bedrooms and on the opposite side, another smaller set of stairs.

      “This is incredible,” she told Jason, who had lugged Devon, still sound asleep in his car seat, and the diaper bag up the stairs. “I can understand why you wanted to stay here instead of the city.”

      “I’ve always considered this my true home,” he said, leading her down the short hallway to the bedrooms. As she peered in through each doorway, she could see that the rooms were spacious and tastefully decorated. Warm and homey and comfortable, but in a refined, upscale way.

      “Which room is yours?” she asked, and the idea of him sleeping just a door or two away made her heart jump in her chest. But he pointed up, to the ceiling.

      “I’m upstairs in the loft.”

      Wow. Another floor? This was a whole lot of house for one guy.

      “Here’s the nursery,” he said, shouldering the door open.

      Nursery? Why would a single guy need a nursery?

      The truth was she knew very little about his life. She knew he’d never been married and had no children. Whether that was by choice or circumstance she didn’t know. But she could see that the furnishings in the nursery were far too modern and pristine to be anything but brand-new.

      “You bought furniture,” she said, and from the looks of it, every other baby accessory that she might possibly need. And there were two of everything. Two cribs, two chests of drawers. Even two closets. And lots of toys. A child would want for nothing in this room. “It’s perfect.”

      He set the car seat on the floor next to one of the cribs. “I’d like to take credit, but Faye is the genius behind this. I didn’t have a clue what you would need.”

      “It was nothing,” Faye said, waving away the compliment with a flick of her wrist as she crouched down to unbuckle Marshall from his car seat.

      “You did all this for one little visit?” Holly asked Jason.

      He turned to her. “The first visit of many, I’m hoping.”

      He smiled, and something in his eyes, in the way he looked at her, made her feel all warm and gooey inside. They stood that way for several seconds, just looking at each other, and though it sounded silly even to herself, she could swear that for an instant time stood still.

      “Why don’t you show Holly to her room while I tend to the boys?” Faye said, lifting a passed out Marshall from his car seat and onto her shoulder.

      Holly tore her gaze away from Jason. “I can get them.”

      “Nonsense,” Faye said. “You’re obviously exhausted. You get yourself settled while I take care of these little angels.”

      If she had been on the train with them, she might not be so quick to call them angels.

      Holly started to follow Jason out, but hesitated at the door, looking back at her sons. Since they’d come home from the hospital they had barely been out of her sight. And though they were perfectly healthy now and growing like weeds, leaving them in someone else’s care made her palms sweat.

      “You go on along,” Faye said with an understanding smile. “They’ll be fine. I practically raised Jason and Jeremy.”

      Learn to accept help, she chanted, and forced herself to say, “Okay, thank you.”

      Her room was the next one over. It was enormous, with its own full bathroom and walk-in closet. The furniture was knotty pine, and the king-size bed was draped with a huge, hand-sewn quilt.

      “I think this room alone is bigger than my entire apartment,” she told Jason. “It’s a beautiful house. Thank you for letting us visit.”

      “You’re welcome anytime.” He smiled and she got that warm squishy feeling again, as if her insides had started to melt and were getting all mixed together. It was difficult to look at him without getting caught up in the blue of his eyes. She couldn’t recall Jeremy’s eyes ever captivating her this way.