And waiting for them in the drawing room were two of the best looking men Kate had ever seen. Her friends had always claimed her father and Uncle Jamie were “hot.” Kate thought they were insane. Her dad and Jamie were old! But with her first look at Reid Matthews, she finally got it. He was the same age as her dad, and there was no denying it—he was hot. And the son—whoa, Kate thought for the second time that morning, holy shit!

Reid walked over to her dad and shook his hand with enthusiasm. “So great to see you, Jack. You haven’t changed a bit. I would’ve known you anywhere.”

“You, too. Thanks so much for the hospitality.”

As they exchanged greetings, Kate took the opportunity to study Reid. He was tall but not quite as tall as her dad. His light brown hair was sprinkled with shots of silver, and his brown eyes were almond shaped and almost sleepy looking. But it was his cheekbones that took him from plain good-looking straight to hot. Just as she realized she was staring, Jack put his arm around her.

“Reid, this is my daughter, Kate.”

“Pleasure to meet you, Kate,” Reid said in a honey-coated Southern accent as he shook her hand. “And this is my son, Ashton.” The younger man had dark blond hair, green eyes, and a football player’s build. The only feature he shared with his father was those amazing cheekbones.

Ashton shook hands with Kate and then Jack. “Pleased to meet you, Kate, sir,” he said in the same deep drawl.

Jack guffawed at the word “sir.” “Call me Jack, please.”

“Y’all must be ready to eat,” Reid said. “Martha’s cooked up a feast for us, so come on along.”

Jack complimented Reid on his home as he led them into the dining room, where the imposing table could easily seat thirty.

“It’s a bit much, huh?” Reid said with an amused expression.

“It’s amazing,” Kate said.

“Ashton is the fourth generation of Matthews men to live here,” Reid said. “But he recently escaped to an apartment in the city.”

“I ran for my life,” Ashton joked.

Martha fussed over them and plied them with fried eggs, biscuits and gravy, grits, sausage, and croissants.

Half an hour later, Jack held up his hands with a groan. “I surrender, Martha. I simply can’t eat another bite.”

She laughed. “You sure are a charmer, Mr. Jack. Yes, indeedy.”

“He always was,” Reid said with a wink for Kate. “The girls at Berkeley loved your daddy.”

“I’ve always heard it was Jamie who had them hanging all over him,” Kate said.

“Jamie was in a league all by himself,” Reid said.

Jack laughed. “That’s a fact, but as I recall, you did just fine yourself. I can’t believe it was twenty-five years ago.”