"I don't know if he'll listen to me, Courtney," she admitted.
Courtney smirked. "They all listen to us, Beth."
She grinned. That was true. Looking directly at her future cousin-in-law, she was convinced they could be close if given the chance. And life was too short with too many unknowns from day to day, she needed to let go of the fact that Courtney was the focal point behind that awful day. Ryan was right, the woman never asked for her husband to be taken away in such a horrific manner.
Courtney grasped her hands. "I never had a sister." She waved dismissively, then retook her palms. "I have a sister-in-law, but frankly, she's nuts. I would love to have a sisterly relationship with you."
"I would like that, too," she admitted. Doubtful, she said, "I'll see what I can do, but I won't make any promises."
"I'm not asking you to, Beth," Courtney said. "I'm only asking for a chance to make this right."
She nodded. Taken off guard, Courtney flung her arms around Beth and held her tightly. Reciprocating the embrace, Beth held Sean's cousin. When they pulled back from each other, Courtney took Beth's face into her hands. "You're stunning, you know that, right? Inside and out. No wonder my cousin is lost in you."
Courtney kissed her forehead, released her, then stood.
Sean suddenly appeared before them. "What are you doing in here?"
"I just came to bring her flowers and tell her I'm glad she's doing better," Courtney said.
Beth watched the woman's eyes glisten and Sean go stiff.
"You have no right, Courtney," he said.
Smith stood upright and took a step Sean's direction.
"Sean," Beth said firmly, realizing she was the only one in the room capable of controlling the environment. Sean's head snapped her direction. "It was thoughtful of your cousin to stop by, and I appreciate her support."
Confusion crossed his handsome features. He looked between the two women, clearly searching for something.
"I'll go," Courtney said, sidestepping Sean and leaving the room with Smith on her heels.
After she'd left, Sean wheeled on her. "Are you all right?"
"Why wouldn't I be?" she asked.
"Well, it's Court, she can be...difficult," he said.
"Sean, she was perfectly polite and truly concerned for me. She said she was happy I'm all right," she explained.
Clearly shocked, he said, "She did?"
"Why would you think otherwise?" Did he not know his cousin well enough that she'd do anything or say anything for him? Did he not realize how important he was to her? Because it was obvious to everyone.
Shaking his head, he stepped towards her, "Forget about her. Are you ready to go home?"
She opened her mouth to argue, but closed it, deciding to address the subject in the near future. Now wasn’t the time because she was ready to go home and wanted to concentrate on that. "I am."
Beaming, he held out his hand. "Then let's get you home, baby."
21
Despite how much Beth absolutely loved her parents, they were driving her insane. Two weeks after she'd been discharged from the hospital, and she was about to yank out her hair. Her father stalked her around the house, prepared to catch her if she tripped, and her mother doted on her like she reverted back to toddler age. The night before, she had gone berserk at both of them.
"If you two don't knock it off, I'm going to Sean's!" she yelled, catching them off guard.
Thank goodness, Sean was picking her up in ten minutes to take her to his office to help get everything in order for next week’s opening. Unfortunately with the clinic opening and the wedding date pushed up to take place in a month, there would be no honeymoon for them. But Sean vowed to make the most of their time. He even said he'd kick Ryan out of the house for a week.
While Beth impatiently paced the living room, her father sat menacingly in his lounger in the corner.
Her mom strolled in. "Beth, we have to go dress shopping. You only have three weeks to find a dress and get it altered. We'll be lucky if we can pull that off. After you go to Sean's office, we're going out." And with that, she waltzed right back out of the room.
Standing from his chair, her dad went to the front door and opened it. Sean walked in, holding a dozen white roses and looking yummy in his khakis and button down deep blue oxford shirt. The color brought out his amazing eye color. The sight stole her breath.
Beaming her direction, Sean approached. "For you, gorgeous."
"Thank you. Can we go?" she blurted.
He laughed while her father scowled.
"Let's get out of here." He grabbed her hand and whisked her out of the house.
***
They'd worked for hours prepping the office for their first patients. After the ads in the local newspaper and radio went out, the phone rang consistently for three days with patients looking for a cardiologist. That had been a terrific, unexpected surprise.
Beth was given the duty as office manager by her soon-to-be husband. She'd run the business end of it all, from the billing, to deposits, to making certain they were Medicare compliant, to office programs, to hiring. Sean didn't want to deal with any of it and gladly handed off what he considered menial tasks to his future wife. She hired a full time secretary, a woman in her fifties, who was laid off from one of the local hospitals and knew the industry well.
Hours after they arrived, Beth waited for Sean to finish his work in one of the rooms setting up equipment. While she petered with her office iPad, she considered how to approach him on the topic of his cousin. After some time thinking it over when she left the hospital, she concluded he needed to have a discussion with Courtney and come to terms one way or another with their relationship.
A large pair of hands wrapped around her, and a soft pair of lips nuzzled her neck. Closing her eyes, Beth relished in Sean's gentle touch. How a man so masculine could treat her so delicately was beyond her comprehension.
His hands worked their way to her crisp white, button down shirt, methodically popping each one open. It had been too long since she'd made love to him. But that nagging self-doubt that normally hounded her, which had been mute for days, grew its voice.
"Are you sure you want me?" she asked without thinking. The words had just popped out. After she'd been discharged, safe in her parents' home, at night she'd thought about how difficult it would be on Sean to have a normal life with her. Was she selfishly taking him from something meaningful with less aggravation?
He stilled behind her, spun her office chair, and got down to eye level with her. "What do you mean?"
"Are you sure you want this type of life with me? I'm‒"
Holding up a hand, his jaw flexed, and his eyes narrowed. "You stop right there, Beth. Don't even finish that fucking thought. I've had enough. My god, what do I have to do to prove to you that I undeniably love you? That I'll take all of you and whatever comes with it."
Eyes swimming, she threw her arms around him and sobbed. She loved him with every fiber of her being. Sean held her, stroking her back, comforting her. She'd almost lost everything. She'd almost left the world without experiencing true, devotional love. She needed to stop convincing herself that Sean was better off with someone else. She wanted to be that someone. She wanted to be the light in his life. She wanted to be the one that curled against him at night. She wanted to be the one that consumed all his thoughts, because he sure as hell garnered all hers. He was right, enough was enough. With his help, she pledged to herself to move forward. To start the life that Sean was willing to bend over backwards to give her and cherish every precious moment.
***
Lying naked on one of the beds in the back rooms, Sean lightly caressed Beth's attractive spine while she lay on top of him. Their breathing heavy, it suddenly occurred to him she might have trouble.
"Are you okay?" he asked, lifting her head to look at him.
She nodded. "It's going to take me a minute."
"You let me know if you need to go to the
hospital," he ordered.
"All right." She sat up, breaking their warm contact. "I do want to talk to you," she said, then paused.
Sitting up, he pulled her into his arms and peppered her face with tiny pecks. She closed her eyes at the gentleness he showered on her, then opened them with a lovely hazy look. "What do you want to discuss, baby?"
"Courtney."
A growl instantly bubbled from his throat. "What about her?"
"I want you to mend your relationship," she said, then bit her bottom lip.
Wow. That was unexpected. Beth didn't tell people what to do. She wasn't assertive and certainly didn't interfere. His damn cousin must have really gotten to her. Kudos to Court, another person enthralled with her. Except he refused to allow Beth to get tangled into her web.
"I'll talk to her tomorrow," he said, only to pacify her.
Beth narrowed her eyes, probably picking up on the fact that was too easy for her. "Will you?"
"Yes." He sighed, and he would, only because he promised.
***
Knocking on the front door to the Murphy home was out of the norm for Sean. An open invitation for him and Ryan to waltz right in any time was extended to them when Courtney married her first husband.
The door swung open and Jack, Derrick's number one guy, stood before him. If Sean hadn't paid attention, he would have missed the flash of anger shine in his hazel eyes. "Yes?"
"I'm here to see Court," he said, feeling irritated already.
"I have to clear that with her husband." Jack slammed the door in his face.
God, he should have known not to stop by. He should have approached her the next day at his parent’s home, where they were throwing a family picnic. That environment would have been far less hostile.
The door swung open, this time Derk stood on the other side, cigarette hanging from his mouth. Dressed in black jeans with a chain hanging off his belt loops, a black fitted tee shirt, and his hair a mess, he looked every bit as lethal as his aura gave off. He waved his hand. "Boss man says you can come in."
"Well, how kind of him," Sean retorted.
He went to step inside, but Derk placed a hand on the center of his chest and pushed. "Don't fuck with her, Sean. Seriously she's a goddamn mess because of you, and Derrick's about to blow his shit. She hasn't been right since the fight."
Sean got into his face. "Don't put your hands on me, Derk. Not if you want to keep them."
The man's eyes grew dark and dangerous. Sean had seen that look before on many men he'd faced down while a SEAL. Men who could sleep with themselves at night despite what they did during the day. Killers.
Brushing past him, he knocked his shoulder into Derk's and stepped into the house.
"Sean?" His cousin's voice came from the living room.
Taking the couple steps into the room, he found Courtney getting up from the floor. Astounded, he came to a sudden stop. She wore no makeup, her hair wasn't styled, and she wore yoga pants with an oversized tee shirt.
"Daniel lost one of his stuffed dogs and we can't find it." She motioned to the floor. "He's been crying for days." Brushing herself off, she said concerned. "Is Beth all right? How is she?"
"She's doing very well, thank you," he answered short.
"Oh, good," she said, letting out a breath. "She looks exactly like her mother, who is quite beautiful. I guess that's looking into the future." She grinned.
Sean smiled and nodded. "I suppose."
"Her father reminds me of you," she said hesitantly.
"Do not tell me that. I can't stand the man," he groused.
Unsure of how to take what he'd said, she remained quiet. Vaguely he was aware of people hovering behind him. Sean took another step into the room. "Can we talk?"
"Sure," she said, clearly trying to seem casual, but her voice wavered.
They took seats on the sofa, far from each other on opposite sides. He got straight to the point. "Right now, the way I'm feeling, I don't want you anywhere near Beth."
Her sharp inhale echoed through the quiet room.
"But whatever you said to her, she took a liking to you," he continued. She went to say something, but he held up his hand. "Let me finish. I don't trust that you'll have her best interest at heart. Beth is my main concern now, Court, not you."
"I know," she whispered. "I'm so sorry, Sean. I don't know what else to do or say to make this up to you and Beth, to show you that I'll love Beth because she's your life. We all will."
"Courtney, I don't want your life anywhere near her," he said firmly.
"But...how is that possible?" she asked. "I mean, the men go with me everywhere, Sean. You know what's happened. You know for my safety, they have to go where I go. It's there, twenty-four seven. This is my world now."
"This is non-negotiable. If you can't leave your husband's lifestyle out of my and Beth's life, then you can't be involved. Period." He stood. "I'll let you decide how you want to play this out."
"But I'm not playing," she said softly.
"Neither am I," he snapped.
"Sean," she begged.
"There's only one way this will work, Courtney, and that's my way, to protect Beth from you, your husband, and his world with all its crap." He turned and left, but not before missing her quiet sobs.
Derk and Smith leaned against the living room doorframe, while Jack and Carl stood in front of the steps that lead upstairs. Tossing open the door, Sean stepped on the front porch and went to his SUV.
"I really don't appreciate you coming to my home and causing my wife distress," Derrick's voice growled behind him.
Whirling around, Sean pegged him. "I don't appreciate having to come to your home and having this conversation at all." He pointed to the house. "You've ruined her. You've destroyed the woman that she once was. Instead she's a rich snot who's used to people bowing to her."
"As it should be," Derrick said factually.
"Fuck you, Derrick. She was better off with Darren," he yelled. He hadn't meant those words, but they were intended to shove a knife into the man's heart. Guess a man had to actually own a heart in order for that work, because Derrick stared at him impassively.
Before he shoved his foot into his mouth further, Sean climbed into his car and sped away. What a mistake he'd made in an attempt to mend the riff, he was too angry to be rational. Time, he needed time.
22
Opening the clinic went smoothly. No major glitches, and the phone continued to ring, filling up the schedule. The best part‒Sean and Beth got to spend the entire day together. Each morning, Sean would pick her up at her parents and take her into work with him. They'd have lunch each day and a couple of times got a quickie in-between patients. His brightest idea was insisting on needing a couch in his office, as well as a sturdy office chair. After work, he took her out to dinner then escorted her home with a passionate kiss on her parents’ doorstep. Really he was surprised Mike allowed that.
And each day, they counted down until this moment.
Fixing the tie on his tux, Sean gave himself a once over. Not bad. His wife's taste in formalwear complimented him quite well. Today was the day he became a husband. One would think he'd be nervous taking on the responsibility of a spouse, but not him. This was what he wanted. Beth was who he wanted on his arm for life.
The door opened and Ryan strolled in. "Ready? It's time."
Sean grinned and finished fiddling with his tie. Ryan, his best man, gave him a hearty slap on the back and pulled him in for a one-arm hug. "Let's get you hitched."
Leaving the room, they went straight to the alter. Their wedding was small and intimate. They didn't need to invite many people and with his cousin not on the guest list, that took the number significantly down. One hundred and fifteen of their closest friends and family anxiously waited for the nuptials to begin.
Standing at the end of the aisle, he glanced over in surprise to find a string quartet unit playing the processional for the guests. When the mothers' music began, Sean s
traightened and felt his stomach somersault. By far, this was the biggest moment of his life. Not only was he taking a wife, but he was promising her the world. Briefly he considered what if he wasn't able to give her everything she desired? Shaking that gloomy thought away, he took a deep breath, he'd do whatever it took to provide for Beth.
When Pachelbel's Canon D started, Sean realized he hadn't seen any of the women walk down the aisle. Craning his neck, he looked for his bride but couldn't see her. The congregation stood.
Ryan gasped behind him. "Dear God."
Sean shot a warning look over to his brother.
"No wonder you fell so hard," Ryan whispered.
Scowling, he wasn't exactly patient enough to wait for her to come into view. He went to take a step to the side, but Ryan grabbed him. "Just wait."
A moment later, Beth stepped into his line of sight, and he swore his world tilted as he lost his breath. On her father's arm, she was a vision is white. A form fitting, long sleeved, floor length white satin gown with crystals sewn around the scoop neck front, showed off her amazing figure. A small train and a veil that dropped to the back of her knees hung off a diamond headpiece made her look like royalty.
When Beth reached him, his eyes refused to leave her. Tears slid down her cheeks. Desperately he wanted to wipe them away, but they had the ceremonial part to get through first.
The music stopped and the officiant spoke loudly, "Who gives this woman to this man?"
"Her mother and I do," Michael proudly answered. He kissed his daughter on the cheek. "Love you, baby girl."
"Love you too, Daddy," she said softly.
Turning to Sean, he took his hand in a firm shake. "Take care of my girl or you'll answer to me," he said for only their ears.
Nodding, Sean said, "Absolutely."
Handing his daughter over to Sean, Mr. Connors went to his wife, who quietly sobbed while seated in the front pew.
Wiping the tears from his girl, Sean smiled adoringly. "You are gorgeous."
Silent Love Page 14