Too Grand for Words (BookStrand Publishing Romance)

by Natasza Waters

  She’d stayed up half the night making side dishes until Steven leaned in the kitchen entryway, shaking his head. With his arms crossed lazily on his chest, he watched her.

  “It’s two in the morning. You’re not feeding a large country, ya know.”

  “No, just a small one,” she replied.

  “Sweetheart, you could throw dogs on the grill and they’d be fine with it.” He shook his head. “Margarite can help tomorrow, if you’d stop chasing her out of the kitchen.”

  “I let Margarite help,” she argued.

  Margarite had taken care of Steven’s home for years. Moira liked her a lot. She had to practically drag her to the patio for a break when she’d first started living there. Eventually, Margarite caved, and they spent some great afternoons talking about her family in Mexico and in the States. Both of them were expats when it came right down to it. She secretly appreciated the help and the company, but she wouldn’t tell Steven that.

  Steven strode to the oven and switched it off, curling her in his arms. “Bed, now,” he ordered.

  “Fine, I’ll come in a minute.”

  “Nope.” He reached down and swung her into his arms. “Now.”

  “Steven, you’re such a caveman.”

  “You bring it out in me, sweetheart.”

  He eyed her closely. It hadn’t been the first time he’d done that recently. “How’s your stomach?” he asked.

  “It’s better,” she lied.

  “Like hell it is. Have you gone to the doctor yet?”

  “It’s just the flu or nerves,” she said, brushing the wall of the hallway with her fingers as he carried her to the bedroom.

  He sat her gently on the bed. “You look tired, Moira.”

  “Thanks, Mr. Charming.”

  His fingers dropped to the buttons on her blouse. He undid them, revealing her breasts caught in a baby blue bra. “Seriously, I want you to go to the doctor next week. No excuses.” He dipped his hands inside her skirt, and the smile on his lips told her he enjoyed the feel of her skin as he slipped the cloth down her legs. With a flick of his fingers, her bra snapped open. He pushed her shoulders gently back against the pillow. “Everything will go fine tomorrow. After that, you’re going to rest.”

  “There’s no time to rest, Steven.”

  “Ms. Viterra, you’re either going to sit and rest or I’ll be tying you down, which would you prefer?” he asked, sliding into bed beside her and wrapping her in his arms.

  She wiggled free. “Steven—” She sat up, and placed her hand on his chest. She had to get this over with now, because it had been driving her nuts.

  He let out a sigh and pushed himself up on the pillows because he could see she wanted to talk about something. “Moira, we’ve got six hours to sleep, and the clock is counting down. You need to rest.”

  “I’ve been looking for your brother Kyle,” she said quickly.

  His entire body tensed. “Don’t look for him, Moira.”

  “I want him to come to the wedding. No one is telling me anything. I don’t understand other than it’s obvious there’s history there.”

  “You won’t find him, nor do I want you to,” he said shortly. “Let’s get some sleep.”

  “Kyle is your brother, but for some reason you’ve all shunned him. Why?”

  “He made his choices in life.”

  Steven’s tone turned cold, but she could hear bitterness and something else as well. “You miss him.”

  Steven eyed the ceiling. “I don’t miss him. I don’t give a shit what he does or where he is. And neither should you, now let’s get some sleep.”

  “Steven—”

  He grasped her arm firmly. “Moira, don’t look for him. Leave it alone,” he ordered.

  She contemplated pushing the issue, although it was obvious Steven wasn’t going to be forthcoming. “Fine.”

  “I know that—fine.” He turned his gaze to her. “You can’t fix this. Do you understand me?”

  The sharp anger in his eyes made her pause. “Unless he’s an axe murderer, I think you’re being childish. What could be so bad?”

  “Moira, you’re like a bloody hound dog. I want you”—he pulled her into his arms—“to forget about Kyle, like the rest of us. He’s probably dead anyway.”

  There was no missing the sadness in Steven’s voice this time. “He’s part of your family, your own brother. I can find him, just tell me where to start.”

  “Moira, please. You have to trust me. You can’t change this, and I don’t want you to.” He kissed the top of her head. “Sleep, sweetheart.” His hand strayed to her stomach, massaging it gently.

  She snuggled into his side, and draped her arm across his chest. Her mind tossed the possibilities around until sleep took her.

  * * * *

  Sunday morning arrived quickly, and the day bloomed with blue skies and blistering heat. She fussed over his family, making sure everyone had what they needed. She liked doing it, and she found she loved being part of his big family.

  When his parents arrived, she greeted them with warm hugs. Since her parents had already passed, his mother glommed on to her as if she was the most cherished prize in the world. They saw eye to eye in the first ten minutes, and she was sure she loved his mother in the first thirty. The feeling was mutual according to Steven.

  Steven teased her all the time, saying his dad, hard assed for his entire life, never giving him or his brother a break, turned to putty in her hands. For a Supreme Court judge, one of the toughest around by reputation, his dad didn’t seem tough at all. Then again, she was used to tough from her own profession. Daniel Porter just seemed like one of the guys to her, and she related to him easily. They actually talked about the marine industry for hours, since Steven’s dad was a weekend sailor. His parents had owned a sailing yacht for years. She called it a rag hanger, and his father busted a gut laughing.

  Steven was sure his dad would only have been happier if he had decided to marry a mermaid. She shared her stories of the different posts she’d been given over the years and some of her more popular incidents. “He thinks you’re a little slice of heaven,” Steven had whispered to her during one visit with his parents. “Guess we have some similarities after all.”

  * * * *

  While Moira entertained on the patio, he took his post at the barbeque, as any good man should.

  “Uncle Steven, where’s Auntie Moira?” He turned to see the twins staring up at him. They were identical, like he and his brother.

  “Where’s my hello first?” he said, crouching down, and they flew into his arms. “You haven’t been giving me much attention lately, little ladies. Are you going to forget about me now that you’ve got Auntie Moira to torment?” he teased.

  “Nooooo.” They giggled together, and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

  “Where’s your dad?” he asked.

  “Over there,” Charlotte said, pointing.

  “He’s got a new girlfriend,” April whispered in his ear. “We don’t like her.”

  “Girls, don’t be so hard on your dad. If he likes her, give her a fair shake, eh?”

  Both girls started to giggle.

  “What?”

  “You just said ‘eh’ like Auntie Moira does,” Charlotte said, kissing him again, and then they both went running toward the house.

  Fuck, he had, too! He hoped like hell the girls wouldn’t tell her or she’d be giving him the gears for the next month, he thought with a smile. He got to his feet, as Dane approached with a beautiful woman on his arm.

  Dane hadn’t been around for a while. In fact, he hadn’t been to visit since the night he’d told him how much he wanted Moira. They’d talked on the phone, but the tension hadn’t dissolved yet, so they’d put some distance between themselves.

  “Steven.” Dane reached his fisted hand out.

  He fisted his own and banged it on top of Dane’s. Since they were young, they’d greeted each other this way after an argument. They’d had plenty over
the years, being brothers, but none had affected him as deeply. Steven’s eyes veered to the lithe, blonde woman who stood a step behind Dane.

  “Lydia, I’d like you meet my brother Steven.”

  She smiled warmly. “You didn’t tell me you were a twin. You both look so alike. That’s rare for adult twins.” She leaned forward, extending her hand. “Hi, Steven, it’s nice to meet you.”

  He shook her hand. She seemed nice. At least she was somewhere around their age, which was a good start for Dane. He knew himself that bedding twenty-year-olds was nothing but trouble.

  “Auntie Moira, Auntie Moira, you’ll never guess what Uncle Steven just said,” he heard from the patio. He rolled his eyes.

  Dane turned, hearing the girls, but not understanding.

  “What, girls, what?” Moira gathered them in her arms for a big hug.

  “Uncle Steven just said ehhhhh,” they mimicked, drawing it out, and then burst into giggles.

  “Oh shit, here it comes,” Steven said. It wasn’t just Moira who burst out laughing. He started getting catcalls from the entire gathering.

  “Hey, you turncoat,” his cousin Abe yelled out. “Should we buy you a toque and a pair of galoshes, ehhhh?” he jibed, lifting his beer in the air at him. “How about singing the Kokanee song for us!”

  He waved the hamburger flipper in the air, shaking his head. “Great, now I’m never going to hear the end of it. Those girls of yours get me into a lot of trouble,” he said, chuckling.

  “They love Moira that’s for sure,” Dane said with a rueful grin. “We all do.”

  “So do I, for the rest of my life.”

  Lydia stood quietly with her hands clasped together, looking uncomfortable suddenly.

  “If you don’t mind me saying from a purely medical point of view, it’s amazing you’re identical, and about the two hottest-looking men on the planet.”

  “That’s a medical perspective?” Dane said.

  She nodded. “Well, maybe part woman, part doctor.”

  “Thanks, Lydia,” he said, grinning at the compliment. “Why don’t you get Dane to make you a drink?” he offered. “And I’m sure Moira would love to meet you.”

  “That sounds like a good idea. I’d like to meet her, too,” Lydia said.

  He didn’t miss the dark glance Dane gave him. At least he was trying, he thought. Nice-looking woman, too.

  * * * *

  She and Lydia got along right away. Lydia practiced medicine at a clinic in Beverly Hills. Even Dane and Steven’s mother Gail gave her a warm shoulder. The ladies relaxed around the patio table, chatting about the wedding and enjoying each other’s company after dinner, while the men sat around the enormous firepit, having drinks.

  Lydia leaned in to Moira and said, “If you don’t mind me saying, they’re both exceptional men.”

  She knew what she meant. “Yes, they are.” With Steven’s mother sitting right beside her she didn’t want to sing Steven’s praises over his brother who she had stayed away from all afternoon, except when she’d been setting the meal on the table. She’d stood next to him for a split second. Immediately he wrapped his arm around her hips, and told her the meal looked fantastic. Steven hadn’t missed that move either, and he’d burned his brother with a gaze.

  “Their faces are so chiseled and rugged, and those brilliant eyes could trap a girl’s heart.”

  She glanced at Gail, who refrained from saying anything. “Well, that’s Gail and Daniel’s doing.”

  “To be honest, I think I have a huge crush on Dane. The first time he looked at me, he made my legs weak. To see two of them is unbelievable.”

  “I think I know what you mean, but they’re very different men,” Moira said carefully. “How long have you been seeing each other?”

  “This is the fourth time. When he asked me to come to the barbeque today, I was thrilled.” She crossed one lanky leg over the other and leaned back in her chair. “I like the girls, too, but it must be hard for them. I remember when my parents split up. I didn’t like anyone my father dated.”

  “They’re sweet girls. They’ll get used to the idea eventually,” Moira said. She searched the yard and saw them throwing a ball for the enormous retriever she and Steven had adopted. The girls’ mother didn’t like pets, maintaining she had allergies. When Charlotte and April came to visit, which was a lot, they spent time playing with Sedona. They took him for long walks on the beach or romped around on the lawn with him. He loved it, and so did they.

  Taking in a deep breath to clear her head, she looked over at Gail. She wore a distant, almost sad expression. Moira reached over and laid her hand on hers. “Are you all right, Gail?”

  Gail started with her touch. “Of course. It’s nothing.”

  “It doesn’t look like nothing to me,” she said.

  Gail patted her hand. “It’s just when we have these family gatherings, it makes me think of Kyle.”

  No one in the family ever mentioned Steven and Dane’s brother. Steven sent a clear message that he didn’t want to talk about him. She didn’t broach the subject again, but maybe Gail would. “You miss him, and understandably so.”

  Gail’s hands twisted together. “I do. I wish I knew where he was.”

  Moira searched the faces of the other family members, but no one said a word, in fact, they looked away from her. “Steven won’t talk about him.”

  Gail swept a quick smile onto her face. “I know, but I think he misses him, too, even if he won’t admit it.”

  “Maybe one day he’ll surprise you and just show up.”

  “I don’t even know if he’s still alive,” Gail said sadly.

  Steven had said the same thing. It didn’t really seem appropriate to dig into something that obviously caused Gail and the rest of the family discomfort. “I think you’d know. Mothers have an instinct that others don’t.”

  Gail squeezed her hand and nodded.

  Moira sat back in her chair, watching the girls play on the lawn, while thinking about Kyle. In a couple days she’d go visit Gail, and ask her to tell her the story, and why Kyle wasn’t here with them. Steven had told her to leave it alone, but she couldn’t. She had to know.

  “Moira, you’ve been doing too much lately,” Gail said. “You and Steven should have a bit of a break before next month. You’re feeling all right, aren’t you?”

  “Sure, you know how it is. I just feel a little tired.”

  “You hardly ate dinner,” Gail said.

  “I’m not very hungry these days. Maybe I just need to take some more vitamins or something.”

  “How long have you been feeling like that?” Jackie asked.

  Jackie was a first cousin on Gail’s side, her sister’s daughter. They were about the same age, and had become close since she’d moved to California. “I don’t know, a while, maybe a couple months. It’s not unusual for me. Being a shift worker all my life didn’t help. Mainly, too much coffee, a bad diet, and not enough sleep. Women who work a lifetime of days and nights have to try harder than most to keep their bodies healthy. I didn’t try that hard. Anyway, it’s just a flu bug or nerves.”

  “The flu doesn’t last that long. Why would you think it’s the flu? And why didn’t you tell me?” Jackie chided.

  “Because it’s nothing to worry about. It’ll pass, I’m sure.”

  Lydia asked, “You’re not feeling sick to your stomach or more irritable than normal are you?”

  “I’m always irritable. As far as sick to my stomach, well that’s why I thought it was the flu. I feel nauseous sometimes. Oh, don’t look at me like that. It’s not always in the morning. It comes in the afternoon or even in the evening.”

  Lydia grinned. “You do know that pregnancy doesn’t just cause sickness in the morning?”

  “What?”

  “What about your periods?” Lydia asked.

  “They’ve never been regular anyway. I just blamed it on poor habits because of my irregular hours. As I say, it’s not uncommon. My per
iod stopped for six months once.”

  “When was the last one?”

  “Do you think I’m going through the change of life early?”

  Gail’s eyes widened. Lydia picked up her purse and dug through it, handing her a slim box.

  “What’s this,” Moira asked, taking it from her and reading the label. “Oh, get real, I’m forty years old.”

  Lydia laid a warm hand on her shoulder. “I’m assuming you have been very active. And I have a lot of patients who are in their forties, Moira.”

  “What are you doing walking around with a kit like that?” Jackie asked.

  “I’m a pediatrics physician. I have so many they’re practically popping out of my socks.”

  Moira bit her upper lip, and then looked toward the men. They sat around the fire, drinking and laughing it up. Steven appeared relaxed and happy. As if reading her mind, he turned to look in her direction. She gave him a cryptic smile. He winked at her before one of his cousins grabbed his attention. “It can’t be,” she said.

  “Have you had a pregnancy test?” Lydia asked.

  “No, but…this can’t happen.”

  A full-on smile grew on Gail’s lips. “Well, there’s only one way to find out now, isn’t there?”

  She stood up in a daze.

  Gail clutched her chest. “Oh my goodness, please.” She peered into the sky. “How long does it take, Lydia?” she asked.

  “It gives an instant result, but if it does show positive I’ll see you on Monday, Moira, and we’ll do some other tests. You’ll have to be careful. A first pregnancy at your age is riskier than if you had children before.”

  “Children? Ladies, your jumping the gun here. It’s not possible,” Moira assured them, but she wasn’t so sure herself. She walked calmly toward the patio doors, but calm was not how she felt.

  * * * *

  She used the downstairs bathroom and followed the instructions. She lifted the stick to her eyes. A cold snap rushed through her body. As if she were in a trance she walked through the kitchen and out onto the deck. The men sat in a circle talking. She didn’t know what to do except aim for Steven. He had become her rock during the transition between her reclusive life before she knew him, and the world of flashing bulbs and Hollywood. She walked straight for him like a drowning person sees nothing but a life ring. Chairs scratched across the tiles, and the shuffle of the women’s feet followed behind her.