The Lemon Sisters Read online

  Oh God. So Brooke had been wrong about him not fooling around. She stilled and dropped her gaze to stare at his chest, wondering how long it might take to clean up the mess if she killed him right here and now. “Define ‘screwed up,’” she said carefully.

  With a finger under her chin, he brought her face back up to his. “It’s not what you’re thinking. It never will be. Brooke shocked me with what you believed about me. She was like a pit bull about it, too, but I convinced her—I hope I convinced her—and I plan to convince you, too.”

  Brooke had taken on Linc for her. Something to think about. “But—”

  He put a finger over her lips. “What I mean is that I’ve screwed up my priorities. I get that you think I’ve forgotten our vows, but I haven’t. I wouldn’t. We’ll circle back to that in a sec and discuss why you think I could ever, would ever, do that to you or the kids.” He paused, and in the silence, she could hear her heart pounding in her ears. “Mindy,” he said. “You need to know that you’re not the only one not getting what you want or what you planned on.”

  Now her heart completely stopped.

  “I’ve missed out on being with you and the kids,” he said. “And the years are going by too fast. I’m trying to fix that.”

  The words were both a balm to her soul and a worry. “Do you mean it? Because I don’t want to be the one who makes you do something you don’t want to do, Linc. That will only cause more problems.”

  “No, it won’t. I’ve let my life rule yours, and that’s not fair. I want to be around more for you. Starting with Hawaii.”

  This caused a surge of excitement. A long time ago, they’d planned to honeymoon in Hawaii, but she’d been three months pregnant and sick as a dog when she’d walked down the aisle. They’d canceled the trip and had never been able to reschedule due to Linc’s crazy work schedule. “Don’t tease me.”

  “I’m not.” He smiled. “I rescheduled it for two weeks from now. Your parents said they’d come stay at the house and watch the kids if we needed them to. Ethan’s going to handle the practice while we’re gone, and beyond that, he’s going to have to step up to do his fair share.”

  The hope dwindled as fast as it’d come. She didn’t want to talk bad about his dumbass brother, but, well, Ethan was a dumbass. “Linc—”

  “He owes us.”

  “Yeah, he does,” she said. “Because you’ve always been there for him, but he’s never returned the favor, not once. You know damn well he’s going to pull the poor-me routine and back out on us at the last minute.”

  “Not this time,” Linc said firmly. “He promised. And I’m promising you.” He took her hand in his and drew her in closer, pressing her palm to his chest. “I missed you, Min. I want this. I want to make you happy. I’m pretty sure I’m going to make mistakes. Hopefully not too many, but we both know I will. I’ll try to learn from each of them, though. Is that enough for you?”

  She drew in a deep breath, still raw from her talk with Brooke. She’d really thought she’d gotten herself together, but as it turned out, she was more screwed up than she’d thought. “I want it to be.”

  “Okay, we’ll start there.” He was watching her think, his gaze pensive. “Do you really think I’m having an affair?”

  She looked away from his searing gaze. “I don’t know what I think. You’re always gone, working with cute nurses and doctors. We never see each other. Why wouldn’t I wonder?”

  “Because we’re married and I love you.” He shook his head. “Remember when my dad was dying, and Ethan and I agreed as his sons to take over his practice? We talked about that, you and me, about the long hours, about me being gone a lot, and you said it was okay with you, that I should step up and handle the practice rather than sell it.”

  “I did say that,” she said. And at the time, she’d meant it. But that had been before Maddox had been mobile, plus a couple of crazy, sleep-deprived years during which she hadn’t always felt human. “And I still think you did the right thing. I guess I just didn’t realize how much you’d be working. I thought between the two of you, you’d actually be working less.”

  “It’s been a busy season.” His eyes never left hers. “And as for cute nurses and doctors . . . you’re the only one I want.”

  She really wanted to believe that, but it was hard. “Do you remember the last time we made love?”

  “Of course.” He paused, clearly thinking, and then flashed a sexy smile. “Before I left, we got into the costume chest and played my favorite—the sexy flight attendant, whose job it is to cater to her only passenger’s every whim. You gave me the best blow j—”

  “That wasn’t right before you left. That was over a month ago.”

  He blinked. “No.”

  “Yes. And I’m asking if you remember the last time we both had an orgasm.”

  Another slow blink. “It was that same night,” he said.

  She cocked her head. “Was it?”

  He paused, staring at her. “Min,” he finally said softly, pained, clearly upset at himself.

  “No, it’s okay. I can’t remember the last time I had an orgasm, either, so it’s not all on you. It’s more because I never have enough energy to really concentrate.”

  This seemed to shake him even more. “You have to concentrate?”

  She let out a breath and closed her eyes. “I haven’t felt sexy. I’ve felt . . . overwhelmed and behind on everything, and I never have a second to myself. Before this past week, I can’t even remember the last time I was in the bathroom alone. But it’s even more than that.”

  “I know,” he said. “You think I don’t see you anymore.” She felt his hands gently take hers and she opened her eyes to find that he’d stepped closer. Slowly, he raised their joined hands to his mouth, brushing a kiss across her knuckles. “Min, to me, you’re still the only woman in the room. In any room. Tell me what you need.”

  “You,” she whispered. “I need you.”

  His eyes darkened and he closed the gap, brushing his body to hers. “You’ve got me.”

  “That’s not what I mean.” She gave him a gentle nudge back because it was hard to think when he turned on the charm. “I’m not sorry that I’m a mom and a wife, but I can’t be those things if I’ve lost myself. I think I need some more time.”

  He gave a slow nod. “I understand.”

  “Do you?”

  “Yes. I took the kids to the park and then to dinner yesterday, and I needed a nap afterward.”

  She let out a low laugh. “So a few hours on your own with them and you were done in?”

  “I love my kids,” he said. “They’re . . . amazing. But holy shit, they’re also the cutest little soul-suckers I’ve ever seen.” His smile faded. “Time to yourself. To find yourself. Done, Min. What else?”

  “You know it’s not going to be that easy.”

  “We’ll make it easy,” he said.

  “I’ve asked Brooke to stay for a little while. I don’t know if she will. We’re . . . not in the best place.”

  “And you want to fix that, too.”

  “I want to fix everything,” she said. “I need to, in order to find my happy.”

  His hands slid up her arms to cup her face. “We’ll do it. We will. Just keep talking to me, okay? Keep telling me what you need.”

  She nodded.

  He smiled and nudged her backward until the mattress hit the backs of her knees. As he urged her down, she opened her mouth to tell him that she didn’t know if she was ready, but he gave her a gentle, tender kiss and then . . . covered her up with a blanket. “Sleep,” he said. “Let’s just start with sleep.”

  It was one of the sweetest things he’d ever done.

  WHEN SHE WOKE up a solid eight hours later, she was alone. Linc appeared in the doorway. Maddox was snoozing on his shoulder. And drooling.

  Her heart melted.

  “He woke up a couple of hours ago,” Linc whispered. “I’ll get them ready for camp.”

  Wow, she