The Summer Garden

by Sherryl Woods

  Bryan looked stunned. “His brother-in-law?”

  “Mack, who’s married to his sister,” Moira confirmed. “Luke swooped in to protect his sister’s interests and got caught in Kristen’s web, apparently.”

  A grin spread across Bryan’s ruddy face. “God, I’m going to love working here. I’ve been in the city too long. Small towns are clearly far more fascinating.”

  Moira laughed. “It’s been a revelation to me, too, though my town back in Ireland wasn’t much bigger than this. Truly, the only excitement we ever heard about was when Mr. O’Meara came wobbling home after having a bit too much to drink and Mrs. O’Meara made him, quite literally, sleep in the doghouse. It was such a regular occurrence that, after a time, we didn’t give it a second thought.”

  Just then Luke walked into the kitchen. “Do you have a minute?” he asked her in what sounded like much more of a command than a question. As she headed dutifully out the door, he turned to Bryan. “The lunch hour went great today. Everybody was raving about the fish and chips. My uncle Mick said they were the best he’s had outside of Ireland.”

  “I’ll accept the compliment in Nell’s absence, but we owe it to her,” Bryan told him. “She had the secret recipe for the batter that’s made all the difference.”

  Luke nodded, then joined Moira as they walked to the privacy of his office. His silence was beginning to unnerve her a little. Was he mad at her for causing a scene? Well, if he was, that was just too bad. Even if the pub had been crawling with customers, which it hadn’t been at that hour, she was never going to be polite to Kristen when she was only here to prey on the man in Moira’s life.

  Luke followed her into the office, then closed the door and turned to back her against it. With one arm braced on either side of her, he pinned her in place.

  “I know this is probably exactly the wrong thing to say in these circumstances, but do you have any idea how hot you made me out there when you were putting Kristen in her place and staking your claim on me?” he asked.

  She blinked at that. It was the last thing she’d expected him to say. “You thought that fight was hot?”

  He nodded. “Oh, yeah.”

  “Why?” she asked, bemused. “Because it was all about you?”

  “No, because it told me that you are not through with me, after all.”

  “Well, that was hardly in doubt, was it?” she asked, a hint of self-loathing in her voice. “I don’t know about you, but my feelings don’t turn on and off like a faucet, Luke. Just because I was ready to call it quits doesn’t mean that I’d suddenly fallen out of love.”

  He smiled in a way that set her nerves on edge. It was the smug smile of a man who thought he’d won the battle, if not the war.

  “You’re still in love with me, then?” he asked, clearly intent on confirming the information, or just because he liked hearing her admit it.

  “Yes, though right at this second, I’m wondering why. You’d test the patience of a saint, Luke O’Brien. You truly would.”

  “But I haven’t run you off for good, is that right?”

  She sighed heavily at the question. The answer was probably too obvious to be denied, whether she liked it or not.

  “No, you haven’t run me off for good.”

  He gave a nod, his expression filled with satisfaction as his gaze held hers. “Okay, then, fair warning.”

  “Warning?”

  “I’m going to kiss you now. If you don’t want me to, if I’m violating some principle you’re hung up on at the moment, all you have to do is say the word and I’ll back away.”

  Moira thought of all the reasons why she should stop him, why she shouldn’t let herself be swayed by desire, not when there were so many bloody principles at stake.

  Then she thought of the one reason that outweighed them all: she wanted to be kissed. By him. Right now.

  She lifted her hands to rest on his shoulders, stood on tiptoe to angle her head just so and then waited as his breath feathered over her face, as his eyes glittered with passion. And when his mouth eventually covered hers, she sank into the kiss, letting it smooth away yesterday’s heartache, letting the wonder of it dissolve all her doubts.

  For now, for this one quiet moment, she was exactly where she wanted to be—in Luke’s arms. How had she ever thought she could walk away from him so easily? The truth was, she knew with every fiber of her being that this was where she belonged. She supposed she was just going to have to be reasonable—a tricky business for a woman of her passionate nature—and give him a little more time to catch up.

  Luke could have kicked himself for starting something there was no time to finish. There was no way he could drag Moira off to his apartment, as he desperately wanted to. There were too many things that needed to be done right here before the evening crowds descended.

  And despite the promise of the way she’d melted in his arms, he knew well enough that they still had plenty to resolve. All those things that had sent her bolting from Sally’s yesterday were still hanging in the air between them.

  Ironically, he realized that he had Kristen to thank for the truce. Seeing her here had obviously sparked Moira’s possessive streak in some way and sent her right back into his arms. He doubted, though, that sending Kristen a note of gratitude would be appropriate.

  For now, he sighed against Moira’s lips and reluctantly released her.

  “That was nice,” he said.

  She smiled. “Better than nice.” Her smile faded. “But we still have things to work out, Luke.”

  “I know that, and we will. If I’m sure of nothing else, I’m sure of that.” He touched a finger to her chin and forced her to meet his gaze. “We will,” he added firmly.

  “Okay, then. Bryan’s probably wondering if you’ve banished me for causing a scene. I should get back to check on things in the kitchen.”

  Luke nodded. “Before you go, though, is he working out okay?”

  “He’s wonderful,” Moira said at once. “He’s grasped everything Nell or I have told him and taken it a step beyond. If I didn’t know better, I would have sworn his experience was in a Dublin pub and not a deli in Baltimore.”

  “That’s my impression as well. And the waitstaff? Is everyone working out as we’d hoped? Everyone’s pulling their weight?”

  “Terry’s a little slower than I’d like to see, but she’s catching on, and the customers seem to love her just the same. Josh has an awful lot of Irish blarney for a kid who came from the Bronx. He’ll do.”

  Luke was relieved by her assessment. The last thing he wanted was to have to shake up the staff this early on. He wanted a reliable team who’d be here for the long haul, though it was clear he was likely to have Josh only until he completed his computer courses at the community college and went off to launch some dot-com business that eventually sold for millions.

  That, he reassured himself, could be a while, since Josh was working his way through school, taking only a class or two at a time as he could manage the expense. He’d come to Maryland chasing after a girl, then stayed on when the romance ended. That had been several years ago. He’d taken an instant liking to Moira, but then so had all the staff. If she so much as whispered a desire for something to be done, they all swarmed to do it.

  “Luke, you can stop worrying. It’s all running quite smoothly for a new place,” Moira said, as if she were in his head. “I’ve seen my share of disasters, and this has none of the signs.”

  “Thanks for saying that,” he told her.

  “It’s only the truth.” She dropped an easy kiss on his forehead. “To wipe away that frown line,” she said as she left.

  Luke watched her go, a smile on his lips. What had ever made him think, even for a minute, that he could let her walk out of his life? He was pretty sure he co
uld make a case for temporary insanity.

  It was just after five. Uncle Mick and his father had claimed spots at the bar and were arguing over something. Luke smiled at the sight of them. Thank heaven he and Matthew didn’t share the gene for sibling rivalry that those two had. He imagined Thomas would be in, too, as soon as he’d made the drive home from Annapolis and checked on Connie. Mick had suggested that Luke add a dart game to the pub, but Luke feared that the way those three could go at it, a dart would eventually wind up someplace it shouldn’t.

  In general, though, there was a nice buzz in the air as people came in to unwind at the end of the day. He stood behind the bar looking around, feeling an amazing sense of accomplishment steal over him. It was too soon to declare O’Brien’s an unqualified success, but tonight, more than the weekend, reassured him that it was well on its way.

  When the door opened, Susie and Mack came in. Susie looked happy enough, but Mack looked as if he was spoiling for a fight.

  “Everything okay?” Luke asked as he seated them at a table by the window.

  “I think everything is great,” Susie said. “Mack’s not so thrilled.”

  “About?” Luke asked tentatively, not particularly eager to be drawn into some spat the two of them were having.

  “Kristen Lewis quit today,” Mack said, turning an accusing gaze on him. “It’s not that I haven’t been anticipating it. I’ve even come close to firing her myself because of the circumstances, but I wasn’t expecting it to happen today.” He studied Luke with a narrowed gaze. “What does it have to do with you?”

  Even Susie blinked at that. “You think Luke’s responsible for this?” she asked. “Maybe she just finally came to her senses and realized no one wanted her here.”

  Mack scowled at the comment. “Something tells me Luke’s opinion was the one that counted. What happened? I know she was here earlier.”

  Luke sighed. “She and Moira got into an argument,” he admitted.

  Susie’s eyes brightened, which was probably less than diplomatic but entirely understandable. “A turf war over you?” she guessed, looking delighted. “What happened?”

  “Moira won. I backed her up. Game over.”

  “And Kristen wasn’t happy about the outcome,” Susie concluded. “I’m sure she couldn’t believe she’d come out second best with two men in this town.”

  “No, she couldn’t,” Luke said, then looked at Mack earnestly. “Look, I know she was a huge help to you at the newspaper, but there are other people out there you can hire who won’t bring all this baggage to town with them. This is for the best.”

  Mack sighed. “I know that. I know it’s best for everyone’s peace of mind, but I wanted to get through the paper’s first year at least with the best possible person in that position. Newspapers all over the country were taking note of what we were doing on the digital side of things. I don’t want to lose the momentum.”

  “You won’t,” Susie said. “Everything’s in place, and if I understand anything about Kristen, the organization of it all is written down somewhere in black and white, so someone else can readily step in.”

  “Sure, for the day-to-day stuff,” Mack agreed. “I can probably take over that myself. It’s the innovation that concerns me. She was way ahead of the curve on that. I want us to keep breaking new ground.”

  Luke drew in a deep breath. Something told him he was going to hate himself for this, but he glanced across the room and caught Josh’s eye, then waved him over.

  “Mack, you should talk to Josh Jackson. He’s a computer geek from what I understand. Working here is just a sideline until he gets his degree. He might have some ideas for you or some contacts.”

  Mack’s expression immediately brightened. “Do you know anything about newspapers? Are they even teaching anything related to the news business in college these days?”

  “I haven’t been a journalism student, so I don’t know much about what classes they’re teaching, but I do know something about newspapers—they’re dying,” Josh said. “My dad worked for one till he got a buyout. The internet’s taking over.”

  “Not here in Chesapeake Shores,” Mack told him.

  Luke listened as Mack launched into a description of what he was trying to accomplish with the digital component of his local weekly. Josh nodded attentively, chiming in eagerly with comments and suggestions. To Luke’s everlasting regret, it looked like a match made in heaven.

  He slipped away from the table, only to have Susie follow him.

  “Thank you,” she said, giving him a fierce hug.

  “What for? Sacrificing my waiter to soothe your husband’s nerves?”

  “No, for finally getting that awful woman out of town.”

  Luke touched her cheek. “I know you have every reason to despise Kristen, but she wasn’t an awful person, Suze. She did some rotten things to you, but I saw another side of her, too.”

  “Then you’re a better person than I am,” she said. “I’ll bet Moira would be on my side in this, too.”

  Luke laughed. “No question about it. Now, can I get you a drink? You might as well sit up here with Dad and Uncle Mick for a while, because it sounds to me as if Mack’s going to be caught up in newspaper business for quite some time.”

  “I’ll take a Guinness,” she said at once. “And I’ll give Mack another fifteen minutes before I go back to stake my claim. I have my ways of getting his full attention.”

  Luke clapped his hands over his ears. “Too much information, sis. I’m the baby brother, remember?”

  She laughed. “From what I’ve seen, you’re no slouch when it comes to charm and trickery in the romance department. I doubt I could say a single thing that would shock you.”

  “Let’s not put that to the test, okay?”

  He left her with their father and uncle, then went in search of Moira. “Something tells me we’re going to have to find another waitperson.”

  She frowned. “Why?”

  He filled her in on Mack’s annoyance about Kristen and how he’d all but handed over Josh to make up for it.

  “A small sacrifice to keep peace in the land,” Moira said at once. She regarded him skeptically. “Kristen’s really leaving? Do you believe that?”

  “That’s the word on the street,” he confirmed.

  “Excuse me while I do a little victory dance,” she said lightly.

  Luke rolled his eyes. “You should join Susie out there. She’s ready to set off fireworks.”

  “And you?” she inquired, studying him intently. “How do you feel?”

  “It’s for the best,” he said at once. “I can’t help feeling a little sorry for her, though. She made a lot of people here unhappy, but I think she made herself unhappiest of all.”

  Moira shook her head, regarding him with amazement. “You really do have a heart of gold, don’t you?”

  “Will it get you home with me, and into my bed, if I say yes?”

  She grinned. “It just might.”

  He tapped his chest. “Twenty-four karat,” he assured her.

  “I’ll have to think about whether that’s to be a blessing or a curse,” she said, giving him a peck on the cheek. “We’ll discuss it later. If you’ve turned Josh over to Mack, I imagine someone needs to be out there paying attention to the customers. I’m all you have left on this shift.”

  “I knew there was a reason I hired you as my consultant. You keep a close eye on the big picture,” he praised.

  “While you fret over the details,” she said.

  “It makes us a good fit, doesn’t it?”

  “I like to think so, but last I heard the jury was still out.”

  Luke smiled at her response. He had a feeling that the jury warring in his head was closer to a verdict
than he’d ever imagined. Those hours they’d been on the outs had scared him in ways he’d never imagined it possible for a woman to make him feel.

  All too aware of Megan’s expectant expression every time she and Moira crossed paths, Moira took to carrying her camera with her everywhere she went. Sometimes it worried her that she was sacrificing quality for quantity, hoping that if she took enough pictures, lightning would strike and at least a few of them would be good.

  More than once, when she went to look at the shots on the computer, she wound up deleting all of them. She was beginning to panic that she’d never get another picture worthy of all the fuss Megan had made about her previous ones.

  She was sitting in Luke’s office going through the latest batch when Megan herself came in. “So, you are still taking pictures. I was beginning to worry since it’s been a while since you last stopped in at the gallery.”

  “I’ve taken nothing worth showing to you,” Moira replied in frustration.

  “Move over and let me take a look,” Megan said.

  Moira stayed where she was, one finger ready to delete the entire file.

  “Don’t you dare!” Megan commanded. “Not till I’ve seen them for myself and can give you a professional evaluation.”

  Moira sighed and stood up, though she’d never been more reluctant to show her work to anyone.

  Megan sat down and went through the couple of dozen photos Moira had shot earlier in the day, then she went back and took a second look.

  “They’re terrible,” Moira said, before Megan could say it.

  “They’re not your best work,” Megan agreed candidly.

  Her words sent Moira’s confidence dipping even further. If she’d found even one to praise, it might not have hurt so badly.

  “I don’t understand what’s happening,” she admitted to Megan. “It’s the same camera I’m working with. I’ve my same two eyes. Yet nothing is coming out quite right.”

  “How much time are you spending at this?” Megan asked.