This Time (The DeLuca Family Book 4)

by Amy Reece

  “Sounds perfect.” Although they’d expressed dismay when Nina told them she and David were adopting an orphan from Uganda—then shock when they’d brought home two—her parents had always been amazing grandparents, frequently taking the girls for the night so Nina could have some time to herself. Lately they’d begun hinting she should use the time to date someone new. Ugh. As if I have the time or energy for that right now. Her gaze drifted involuntarily toward Seamus and she mentally shook herself. Forget it. It’s neither the time nor the place. And he has a girlfriend. She’d never met Sloane, but the glimpse of her picture on Seamus’s cell phone earlier that afternoon had revealed she was gorgeous, and sexy, and everything Nina had never been. The one time you tried for him, back in high school, was a complete and utter disaster! Remember that.

  They picked the girls up from the babysitter and took them home. They’d finished their small bit of homework already, so they were each allowed to have a slice of pizza and watch an hour of television.

  “Thanks for coming with me. Sorry it was so awkward.” Nina leaned her head against the back of the sofa and closed her eyes against the pressure building in her head. She’d half expected him to leave as soon as they returned, but was grateful he’d followed her in.

  He angled his body toward hers and reached for her arm. “Here. Turn around.” He pulled her gently until her back was to him. He rubbed her shoulders, massaging up and down her neck with his thumbs, smoothing her tight muscles.

  She groaned in appreciation. His hands were wonderfully large and strong, the calluses a sharp counterpoint to her soft skin. “That feels amazing.”

  “Good.” She could hear the smile in his voice. “Don’t apologize for your parents. I’m used to them. Thanks for sticking up for Chris, though.”

  “Of course. My mom can be…well, I’m sure you understand. Mmm.” She dropped her chin to her chest to give him greater access to her neck. He focused gentle pressure on the base, where her head and neck met. “You have magic hands.” She cringed as she realized the possible innuendo in her words. “Sorry.”

  He chuckled. “No problem. Is it just me or did Kira seem…nervous tonight?”

  She wondered at his hesitation. “Yeah. She’s a wreck.” She opened her eyes and glanced at the twins, relieved to see they were completely engrossed in their pizza and television show, some Disney offering that looked like The Lion King, but wasn’t. “Today’s news seems to have pushed her over the edge, which I don’t quite understand. I mean, it’s awful, of course, but it makes me feel a little better somehow. Is that selfish?”

  “I don’t think so. I get it. I mean, when we thought it was—” he stopped and glanced swiftly at the girls, “—the other thing, it was something he did to himself. This was something done to him. There’s a big difference, at least to those of us left behind.”

  She nodded, appreciating both his insight and his attempt to keep the words “murder” and “suicide” out of the conversation when the girls were around. The program ended, and she sent the girls to stack their plates in the dishwasher while she filled the tub for their bath. Seamus promised them he’d stay for story time. She winked at him and handed him the remote.

  Forty-five minutes later, the girls were tucked in and the house was quiet. Nina loved this time of day when she could relax and gather her thoughts. It was even better when Seamus was waiting for her in the living room. Don’t get attached! He’s only here because of Neal.

  “How’s the headache?” He poured her a glass of wine as he spoke.

  “Better. Thanks.” She sipped and leaned against him. Might as well enjoy it while I can. “You were right, what you said before. It’s somehow easier to accept someone killed him than accept he could have killed himself. I think I feel guilty for feeling so much better about it. But he’s still dead, and that sucks.” It was the understatement of the year.

  “Indeed.”

  “I really hope Chris and Finn can figure out who did it soon.” She sat up and turned to face him. “They will be able to figure it out, won’t they? I don’t think any of us could take it if they don’t.”

  “Hey, don’t.” He set his glass aside and cupped her face in his rough palm. “You don’t need one more thing to stress about, okay? They’re pros and will find out who did it.”

  She looked up through her lashes at his achingly handsome face, then allowed her gaze to drift to his full lips. She’d always loved his lips. She realized she was leaning toward him, but couldn’t, wouldn’t stop. She lifted her face and pressed her lips to his.

  He froze, and his hands went to grasp her shoulders, undoubtedly to push her away. But then he groaned and softened his mouth against hers. His hands slipped around her back as he pulled her closer.

  Yes. Oh, God, yes. She closed her mind to inconvenient thoughts about his girlfriend and concentrated all her efforts on making this the best, most memorable kiss she could. Who knew when or if it would ever be repeated? She parted her lips slightly, letting him know she welcomed any deepening of the kiss he might share to explore. He swiftly accepted, his hot tongue sliding in to tangle with hers. He tasted of wine and his own special flavor, one she’d craved since their last kiss almost a decade before. She slid one hand from his shoulder to tangle in the crisp hair at the nape of his neck as he moved from her lips to kiss along her jaw line, causing delicious shivers to chase down her spine. “Seamus,” she moaned and slipped her other hand to feather over the vee of warm skin at the top of his shirt.

  He wrenched his mouth from hers and sat back, his eyes wide as he stared at her in horror. “I’m so sorry, Nina. I shouldn’t have done that.”

  She slumped as disappointment flowed through her. You knew this would happen. Get over it. She squared her shoulders and tried to smile. “You have nothing to apologize for. I’m the one who kissed you. Sorry about that. It’s been awhile, that’s all. I know you’re taken.”

  He closed his eyes and sighed. “You may have started it, but I certainly didn’t back away.” He scrubbed his hands over his face. “Shit.” He stood. “I should go.”

  “Yeah. I am sorry. I shouldn’t have done it. I don’t want to ruin anything. I’m so glad you’re here and I don’t want you to feel like you have to stay away and—”

  “Shh.” He placed his finger over her lips. “You haven’t ruined anything. I just need to go before I do something stupid.” He walked to the front door as she followed. “I’ll pick you up tomorrow around eight, okay?”

  She wondered if she should offer to drive herself to the state police precinct but couldn’t seem to work up the gumption. “Sure. Good night, Seamus.”

  “Night, Nina. Lock up, after I leave.”

  She watched him walk to his car. He didn’t look back. Just once, I’d like to kiss Seamus DeLuca without him pulling away. Just once.

  Chapter Ten

  Seamus

  He waited to make sure her door shut before he drove away, trying his dead-level best not to crash into the neighbor’s mailbox. He drove carefully around the block and pulled to the curb. Damn. Damn, damn, damn. Then, when that wasn’t strong enough: fuck. What was she thinking? What was I thinking? But he knew the answer to the last question: he hadn’t been thinking, not once he’d felt her soft body plastered against his. God, the woman can kiss. Their first kiss, so long ago, had been sweet, but she’d been completely inexperienced. She’d certainly learned a thing or two since then. He’d been a hair’s breadth from pushing her back into the cushions and reaching for the hem of her t-shirt. Only her soft whisper—his name—had forced his mind back to a slightly more rational state. He leaned his head back against the black leather and huffed out a harsh chuckle. Oh, God. What am I going to do? I have a girlfriend! But I’m wildly attracted to Nina. The problem was he knew he always had been, ever since he’d been old enough to start noticing girls. He could probably brush it off as a momentary lapse—pretty girl, girlfriend out of town, things happen. But what about Sloane? She deserves better
than you groping on the couch with another woman. He’d never in his life cheated on a woman, at least he hadn’t once they’d declared exclusivity with one another. He could count on one hand the times that exclusivity had happened—and have fingers left over. Sloane was his first serious relationship; he’d always favored a much more casual arrangement before he’d met her. But he hadn’t dated or kissed—and certainly hadn’t slept with—any other woman in the last three years. But are you truly happy with Sloane? He growled low in his throat and put the car back in gear. Now was not the time to think about ending a three-year relationship. But I’ve been thinking about it for a while now, haven’t I? He shut down those thoughts and navigated to the freeway, where he accelerated well past the speed limit and purposefully passed his exit, needing an extended, fast drive to keep his mind off of things he couldn’t have. No matter how badly I might want them. Her.

  ***

  He slept well, which surprised him when the alarm screeched the following morning. He’d been expecting to toss and turn half the night, but he’d dropped off fairly quickly once he finally went to bed. He hated himself a bit for the outrageously sexy dreams he’d had about Nina, dreams in which he didn’t back away from her kiss and he did reach for the hem of her shirt. He threw back the comforter, ignoring the insistent erection tenting his boxers as he headed toward the shower. For the first time in several years, he was glad Sloane wasn’t there. She’d undoubtedly be happy to help him take care of it, but he was well aware making love to one woman while fantasizing about another was a shitty thing to do. He turned the nozzle to the right and stepped under the icy spray, knowing he couldn’t afford to get rid of it any other way—not when he was due to pick up Nina in less than an hour. He wouldn’t be able to look her in the eye if he’d done what he wanted. By the time he’d shaved and dried off, he’d calmed down enough to face the day—and Nina. He could smell the coffee brewing, glad he’d remembered to set it the night before. He’d wandered all over his apartment when he’d returned from Nina’s house, upset with himself and too restless to sleep for several hours. He leaned against the counter, drinking a second cup of coffee and eating a bowl of cornflakes while he wondered how awkward it would be to see her again. He tried to remember if it had been awkward the last time he’d kissed her when they were still in high school, but he had a nasty feeling he hadn’t even bothered to check how she was the day after the party. Nice, Seamus. You’re a real prince.

  He rinsed his bowl and set it in the dishwasher, then couldn’t find any other excuses to delay, so he grabbed his keys and headed to Nina’s house. He’d leave his car there so they could drop the girls at school on the way to the precinct; he had a cowardly moment and wished they’d agreed to meet there instead.

  There was a strange car in the driveway and Seamus frowned as he parked at the curb. Who’s visiting her so damn early?

  She opened the door to his knock but didn’t quite meet his gaze. “Hey.” She stepped aside to let him in.

  “Hey. Who’s here?”

  “Oh, Gordy stopped by a few minutes ago.”

  He was seated at the table, drinking a cup of coffee. “Seamus. What’s up?”

  “Uh, not much. What brings you here so bright and early, Gordy?” He’d seen Neal’s business partner a few times when the three of them met after work for a beer, but Seamus hadn’t clicked with the guy, finding they had nothing in common with each other save their friendship with Neal. He was not thrilled to find the man hovering around Nina now.

  “I heard about the mur—”

  “Gordy!” Nina turned from the counter, where she was packing lunches for the girls.

  “Sorry! I forgot.” He glanced uneasily toward the door to the hallway. “Anyway, I decided to stop by and see how Nina’s doing.”

  Nina smiled at him before turning back to the lunches.

  Seamus frowned again, not caring for the unspoken message in her smile or the smarmy grin on Gordy’s stupid face. “Uh huh. Well, we don’t want to keep you.” He reached into the cabinet for a mug and poured himself an unwanted cup of coffee. He did want the other man to be aware that he, Seamus, had been in Nina’s kitchen often enough to know where she kept things. “We’ll need to be heading out pretty soon.”

  A small smile hovered around Gordy’s mouth as he raised his cup to his lips. He looked about to speak when the twins burst into the room.

  “Seamus!” Lily threw her arms around his thighs.

  Iris was more restrained, as always, but she at least came closer than she had at first.

  “Hey, Munchkin.” He hugged Lily and reached to gently ruffle Iris’s short hair. “Hey, other Munchkin.”

  It was clear Nina had shared the morning’s itinerary with them because they took his presence for granted.

  “Are you going to cook tonight, Seamus?” Lily asked.

  Seamus had not planned to hang around after the visit to the precinct, but that was before he found freaking Gordy sitting at Nina’s table at seven thirty in the morning. “Sure.” He hoped Nina wouldn’t contradict him until they were alone. “What would you like me to make?”

  Lily shrugged, but Iris grabbed his hand. “Can you make macaroni and cheese?”

  “Is that your favorite?”

  She nodded, and Seamus determined he’d be there to make it, no matter how weird things were between him and Nina.

  “I’ll see what I can do, okay? If your mom says it’s okay, that’s what I’ll make. Are you and your sister ready for school?”

  She nodded again, and he volunteered to take them out to the SUV while Nina locked up. Time to leave, Gordon. He jingled his keys until the other man took the hint.

  “Let me know if there’s anything else I can do, Nina, okay?” Gordy set his cup in the sink and slipped an arm around her shoulders. “You don’t have to go through this alone.”

  She’s not, jackass! Seamus rolled his eyes and shooed the girls out to the car. He waited until they’d dropped them at their nearby elementary school to ask the question that had been churning in his gut for the last half hour. “So, when did you and Gordy become such BFFs?”

  She looked at him quickly, then turned her face back to the front of the car. “We’re not. He just stopped by to see how I was doing.”

  “So he said.” He stared out the passenger side window for a long moment, telling himself he wouldn’t ask the next question. “Are you going out with him?” Crap.

  This time she merely shifted her eyes his direction. “Hardly. I’m not going out with anyone right now. It’s not really the right time to be thinking about romance, you know.”

  Then why did you kiss me? He managed to keep the question to himself, at least for the time being. “Okay.” Good. “So, I kind of invited myself over tonight. Is that going to be a problem?”

  “I think Lily actually invited you.” She sighed and glanced at him again. “It’s not going to be a problem, Seamus. I’m so sorry about last night. I shouldn’t have done that. Is there any way we could just forget it ever happened?”

  Forget that kiss? Not bloody likely! “Sure. For what it’s worth, I’m sorry too.” He winced as he realized how she might misconstrue his words.

  She shrugged but didn’t look at him and they finished the short drive in silence.

  Once inside the state police precinct, Chris took Nina away while another detective took Seamus to a small room for questioning. Chris had told him the day before she wouldn’t be able to take his statement or talk to him about the case again until he was cleared as a suspect since she was his sister-in-law. He’d freaked out, of course, at hearing he was considered a suspect, but she assured him it was simply routine procedure. The new detective introduced himself as Shawn Wilson and offered Seamus coffee or water. He chose water, deciding he was already jumpy enough from the extra cup he’d had at Nina’s.

  Detective Wilson left Seamus in the room for a few moments, then returned with a cold bottle of water and informed Seamus he would be recording t
heir conversation. “Mr. DeLuca, would you please state your full name, address, and age?”

  “Seamus Liam DeLuca, 26.” He rattled off his address, then took a drink, hoping to quell the slight wobble in his voice. Being questioned formally by someone other than his brother or sister-in-law was nerve-racking.

  “And what was your relationship to Mr. Braden?” The detective didn’t look up from his notepad as he asked.

  “He was my best friend.”

  “And how long have the two of you been friends?”

  “Since we were in middle school. We kind of drifted apart in college, but we started hanging out again a couple years ago.”

  Detective Wilson glanced up. “And why did you drift apart? Did you have a fight?”

  Seamus shook his head. “Nothing like that. Neal went to New Mexico State and I went to UNM. He didn’t come home very often and made new friends down in Las Cruces. He came back to Albuquerque to get his MBA, but I was just starting at the fire station, so we didn’t see each other more than once a month or so.”

  “But you still consider him your best friend?”

  “Yeah, of course. Lately we’d started getting together a lot more, maybe once a week or so. We’d meet up after work for a few beers, play some pool.”

  “Why lately? What changed?”

  Seamus took another drink and searched for an answer. “I guess the biggest change was my little brother, Tony, going away for vet school. He and I used to hang out a lot. I guess I have more free time now.”

  Detective Wilson scratched his pen across the yellow legal pad for a moment before speaking again. “Where were you on the day of Neal’s death? That would be the Sunday before last in the late afternoon and early evening.”

  “Uh, I was at my girlfriend’s apartment, then we went over to my parents’ house for dinner.”

  “What time did you arrive at your girlfriend’s apartment?”

  “Around four.” He remembered showing up an hour early, knowing she wouldn’t be ready.