Laila rolled her eyes. “Sure. Having you stick around with no commitment would have worked out nicely for him, wouldn’t it? He’d have had it all his way. What would you have had?”
Heather found herself in the awkward position of feeling she needed to defend the very behavior that had sent her fleeing. Since she couldn’t do that, she retorted, “Is that why you came by, Laila? To call Connor names? If it is, you can leave.”
Laila immediately held up both hands. “Sorry,” she said. “If you’ve accepted the situation, far be it for me to criticize. Actually, I came by to invite you over to Abby and Trace’s today. They’re having a barbecue on the beach. Everyone agreed Gram needed a break from dealing with Sunday dinner this week.”
Heather shook her head at the invitation. “I think I’ve had about as much of the O’Briens this weekend as I can handle. Besides, I have a ton of paperwork to deal with in the store.”
“Then why don’t I take little Mick along?” Laila offered. “He’ll be able to spend a couple of hours with his dad before Connor goes back to Baltimore this afternoon.”
“Given your earlier comments, I’m surprised you’re willing to entrust my son to Connor,” Heather said.
Laila grinned. “Just my way of making sure Connor gives you a break. I’ll get a great deal of pleasure out of it if little Mick throws a tantrum or two and runs him ragged.”
“As long as your motives are pure,” Heather said wryly.
Still, no matter how it came about, the thought of having even a couple of hours entirely to herself was like a gift from heaven. Forget the paperwork. She could spend that amount of time soaking in a bubble bath until every bubble popped and she shriveled up like a prune. When was the last time she’d allowed herself time to indulge in some pampering? She couldn’t remember.
“Pure enough,” Laila assured her. “I’d love to take him. And it’ll do Connor good to wonder why you’ve stayed away, especially if anything interesting went on here last night.” She gave Heather a sly look. “Did it?”
“Laila Riley!”
Her friend chuckled. “Just checking. I thought you might slip up and reveal something spicy.”
“There’s nothing spicy to reveal,” Heather insisted. Unless, she amended silently, the sparks continuously flying between herself and Connor counted for something. Of course, sparks had never been the issue with Connor. It was turning them into an eternal flame that was the problem.
“Oh, well,” Laila said, clearly disappointed. She walked over to the playpen. “Want to go to the beach with me, big guy?”
Mick’s eyes lit up at the mention of his favorite place. “Beach,” he repeated excitedly.
“Your daddy will be there, too,” Laila said.
“Da,” he echoed, holding up his arms.
Laila scooped him up, nuzzling his neck as she did so. “There is nothing like the way babies smell,” she said, a telltale hitch in her voice.
“So when are you going to settle down and have some of your own?” Heather asked.
Laila laughed, but the sound seemed forced. “Who knows? It’s certainly not in the cards at the moment. I haven’t met anyone interesting in months. It’s almost enough to make me regret breaking up with my last boyfriend.” She sighed. “But even when I’m at my lowest, I know I would have eventually died of boredom if we’d stayed together. Settling’s never the answer.”
“The right person could be just around the corner,” Heather consoled her.
“In Chesapeake Shores?” Laila scoffed. “We don’t have that many corners.”
“Seems to me that Abby, Bree and Shanna would probably disagree,” Heather said.
“No doubt,” Laila said. “What time should I have my little buddy here back home?” She grinned. “Or should I encourage Connor to drop him off?”
“You take him, you bring him home,” Heather said. “Sort of like a date.”
Laila nodded. “I’ll do my best, but if I know anything at all about Connor, he’s the one you’ll be seeing a couple of hours from now.”
Heather knew her friend was right, which meant she needed to use the next couple of hours wisely. Even though seducing Connor was out of the question, it didn’t mean she wouldn’t like to torment him a bit more by looking her sexiest before he left town again.
Connor stood on the staircase outside of Heather’s door, his son sound asleep in his arms, and waited for Heather to answer. When she did, he nearly swallowed his tongue.
Her hair was tousled, the way it usually was after sex. Her cheeks glowed the same way, too. Her lips even looked plumped up, as if she’d been soundly kissed recently. And she was wearing next to nothing—a silky robe he’d never seen her wear before. It barely came to midthigh, and she wore not one single thing underneath, unless his eyes were deceiving him.
“What the hell have you been doing?” he demanded, wondering if she had some man hidden away in the bedroom. “You shouldn’t come to the door looking like that.”
“Like what?” she asked, her expression innocent.
“As if you’ve spent the afternoon making love,” he said irritably. “That’s how. Should I take our son around to Sally’s until you can get yourself dressed and get rid of whoever’s in there with you?”
To his shock, she laughed.
“I am not amused,” he informed her.
“Perhaps not, but you obviously have a very vivid imagination,” she said, holding the door open wider. “Take a look. No men here.”
“Then why do you look like that? Did you see me coming and shoo whoever it was out the door?”
She gave him a bland look. “Why are you so worked up over this, Connor? You and I are over. What I do doesn’t concern you.”
“Of course it concerns me,” he snapped, his voice rising.
“Why?”
“Because I still love you, dammit!”
“Nice to hear,” she said, as if he’d merely complimented her lipstick. “But actions speak louder than words. I know you understand that because you use it in court all the time. It’s part of your standard strategy for putting the women on the stand in their place.”
Connor frowned at her. “What’s gotten into you today? We had a perfectly civil conversation last night. In fact, I thought we were getting along better than we had in a while.”
“I thought so, too,” she admitted. “And then you came over here just now, making assumptions and hurling accusations at me about my behavior.”
He drew in a deep breath. Apologizing didn’t come easily to him, though lately it seemed he’d done more than his share of it. “Sorry. I overreacted. I just saw you and went a little crazy.” He wasn’t a hundred percent sure, but he thought he detected a glint of satisfaction in her eyes. “That’s exactly what you wanted, isn’t it?” he asked suspiciously.
She held her fingers a scant inch apart. “Maybe just a little,” she admitted.
“We have to stop this game we’re playing,” he said eventually. “One of these days one of us will do or say something and ruin what little we have left between us.”
“What’s that?” she asked.
“Our friendship and respect.” He met her gaze. “I don’t want that, Heather. We have to think of little Mick.”
Her expression sobered then, too. “I agree. I’m sorry. It won’t happen again. Next time you’re in town, I’ll be on my friendliest behavior.”
“Why doesn’t that entirely reassure me?”
“I don’t know,” she said. “I meant it to. When will you be back? It may take me awhile to adopt more appropriate behavior.”
Connor thought about it. Though he wanted to see his son—wanted to see Heather, as well, to be honest about it—something told him that the distance he’d sought last night wasn’t nearly far enough. He needed to keep miles between them for the time being.
“I’ll let you know,” he said eventually. Weeks might not do it. Months might be smarter.
She reached out and took little
Mick from his arms, then met his gaze. “Don’t make it too long, okay? He’ll miss you.”
He sighed heavily. “That works both ways. Maybe Abby can bring him up to Baltimore and drop him off for a weekend.”
There was a flicker of disappointment in her eyes, but she nodded. “Just say the word and I’ll make it happen,” she promised agreeably.
Though there were a lot of words on the tip of his tongue, things he wanted to say but knew he shouldn’t, Connor turned and walked away. Unlike so many times when they’d parted, for some reason this time felt a whole lot more like goodbye.
“What is wrong with that son of ours?” Mick grumbled when Megan told him that once again Connor wasn’t coming home for the weekend. He’d been avoiding Chesapeake Shores for the past month.
“He’s stubborn, that’s what’s wrong,” Megan said. “He’s too proud to admit that he misses Heather and that he’s made a dreadful mistake.”
“How the devil are we going to fix this?” Mick asked.
“I don’t know that you can,” his mother said as she sipped a cup of tea while the three of them sat at the kitchen table on a Friday morning. “Connor’s a grown man and a father. It’s time he figures things out for himself.”
“At this rate, his son will be a grown man himself before Connor comes to his senses,” Mick retorted.
“Nell’s right,” Megan said. “Our meddling will only make things worse. Let’s just concentrate on supporting Heather and our grandson in whatever ways we can.”
Mick shook his head. “That’s not good enough. We discussed a strategy a while back. I say it’s time to implement it.”
Megan frowned. “Are you talking about trying to lure Connor into moving back to town? I’m still not so sure about that, Mick. I’m afraid he’d be miserable practicing law here.”
To Mick’s surprise, his mother looked intrigued by the idea. “Joshua Porter’s bound to retire one of these days,” Nell said, immediately putting two and two together. “He’s been making noises about it for years. Maybe I could give him a little push, suggest that the timing is right and the perfect person to bring into his practice is available.”
Mick cast a triumphant look toward Megan. “Exactly what I was thinking. Connor could step right in and take over for Joshua. Whether my son knows it or not, this town is in his blood, just the way it’s in mine and the rest of the family’s. He could make a good life for himself here.”
Megan looked resigned. “If you two want to plot, go right ahead. Set things in motion. In the end, though, this has to be Connor’s decision. No pressure from either one of you. Is that understood?”
Nell scowled at her. “When have you ever known me to pressure anyone in this family? I’ll put a bug in Joshua’s ear. What happens after that is up to the two of them.”
Megan turned to Mick. “And you?”
“I’ll stay out of it,” Mick promised. “Trust me, Connor’s going to see the advantages of this all on his own.”
Megan gave a nod of satisfaction, obviously pleased by his response. To his shock, though, tears welled in her eyes. “I do hope you’re right about this, Mick. There’s nothing I’d like more than to have Connor home again. I feel as if all the unfinished business between us will never be settled until we spend more time together. Even though things have been better lately, with Connor living in Baltimore he can still avoid me whenever he wants to.”
“It’ll happen,” Mick said confidently. He’d see to it. Not only was his wife’s peace of mind at stake, so was Connor’s future.
In mid-June Connor had an unexpected call from Joshua Porter, who’d established his law practice in Chesapeake Shores the year the town was founded.
“Next time you’re in town, I’d like to meet with you,” the attorney said. “I have a proposition for you.”
“What kind of proposition?” Connor asked skeptically. Porter was older than his father, and they’d never exactly traveled in the same circles. In fact, Connor seemed to recall some animosity between Porter and Mick when Porter had helped Uncle Thomas with a legal action that had backed Mick into a corner during the development of the town. Mick had never forgiven either of them for that.
“I’m thinking of retiring, and I’m looking for someone to take over my practice,” Porter said. “You’re the first person I thought of.”
“I don’t do estate law, property law or traffic cases,” Connor said, knowing that was the backbone of a small-town practice. “And I live in Baltimore.”
“Your roots are here,” Porter reminded him. “And the way I hear it, you have a boy here who could use more of your attention.”
Connor sighed. “You’ve been talking to my father.”
The older man gave a dry chuckle. “To your grandmother, actually. She seems to think you might be ready for a change. Is she right? Can we meet or not?”
Connor hesitated. The idea of moving back to Chesapeake Shores had never occurred to him, not when he was on a trajectory to make partner at the firm in Baltimore within the next year or so. Then again, Heather and his son were there, and if nothing else, the past few months had taught him that being separated from them wasn’t going to get easier. Add in that he’d had another week of dealing with the likes of Paul Lacey and his on-again, off-again decision to divorce his wife, and Connor was more open to Porter’s suggestion than he otherwise might have been.
“I’ll drive down tomorrow afternoon,” he said eventually.
After the troubling thoughts he’d been having lately, maybe the fates were conspiring to show him the path his life could take. More likely, though, it was just Gram taking matters into her own hands and showing her unique intuition about what he needed even before he’d recognized it himself.
Connor had hoped to slip in and out of town without anyone in the family being the wiser. He didn’t want to stir up false hopes. Nor did he want the pressure of all the O’Briens chiming in with their two cents about the decision he might be facing. Until he actually met with Porter, he had no idea if moving back to Chesapeake Shores was a realistic option or not.
Connor had thought the location of Porter’s office, which was attached to his home on a side street a few blocks from Main, would work to his advantage. He’d even scheduled the appointment for late in the day. What he hadn’t counted on was the attorney’s lack of discretion or the town’s grapevine, one of which had to be responsible for the sight of a very familiar classic Mustang convertible sitting in Porter’s driveway—which meant Mick was inside. Connor heaved a sigh and almost drove right on by, but cowardice wasn’t in his nature.
He parked on the street, then walked past the weathered shingle hanging on a post in the yard and into the office, where he was greeted by Chelsea Martin, who’d been a cheerleader back when Connor was playing ball. She beamed at him.
“When I saw your name on today’s schedule, I couldn’t believe my eyes, Connor,” she said, bubbling with enthusiasm. “How long has it been?”
“I’m guessing high school graduation,” he said.
“You’ve forgotten the bonfire on the beach a few days after that?” she teased. “I do believe we made out that night. I thought for sure you’d call.”
Connor winced. “What can I say? I was a cad back then.”
“Word around town is that you still are,” she said cheerfully. “Everyone just loves Heather and that adorable son of yours.”
“So do I,” he muttered, wondering if Chelsea was likely to be part of the package he’d be inheriting if he came back to town. Her clear-eyed view of him and his transgressions might be awkward.
“By the way, your father and grandmother are in with Mr. Porter now. I’ll let them know you’re here. They should be wrapping things up soon.”
Okay, so maybe Mick’s presence wasn’t part of some conspiracy, he concluded. Perhaps he’d just driven Gram over for an appointment. Then again, the timing was suspect.
As soon as Chelsea buzzed her boss, the door to the office ope
ned and Joshua Porter waved him in. He looked to be at least eighty, with stooped shoulders, thick glasses and thinning hair. But behind the horn-rimmed glasses his eyes were bright, and he studied Connor shrewdly.
“You don’t look old enough to be out of law school to me,” Porter said. “Then again, everyone’s looking like a kid to me these days.”
“I assure you I have the degree and the experience with a major law firm that Gram probably told you about,” Connor said.
“Oh, she’s been singing your praises for the past hour,” Porter said. “Of course, it made me wonder why she was in here seeing me, if you’re so darn good.”
“Because I prefer to keep my business private from family,” Nell said. “Even an old woman should have a few secrets that no one will learn about till she’s gone.”
Connor laughed and leaned down to kiss her cheek. “What kind of secrets have you been hiding from us, Gram? And why would you let Dad, of all people, in on them?”
She waved off the question. “Oh, we just let Mick through the door a minute ago. He wasn’t in here while Joshua and I were going over my affairs.”
Mick scowled at her. “Hey, I can keep a secret, Ma. You have no idea of all the things people have entrusted to me over the years.”
“Name one,” she said, then laughed at her own taunt.
Mick laughed, too. “You’ll not catch me that way.” He turned to Connor. “What brings you down here?”
Connor shook his head. “You actually managed to ask that with a straight face, Dad. Maybe you should ask Bree about joining her theater company.”
“Connor and I have some business to discuss,” Porter said. “And since it’s late in the day, we should get to it.” He took Nell’s hand in his. “That is, if our business is concluded.”
“You’ve done everything I requested, as always,” Nell told him. “Come along, Mick. Maybe we can go for a drive with the top down. It’s been a while since I’ve been out in that fancy old convertible of yours.”
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