by Bella Andre
“They have a clubhouse up in one of the trees,” Summer told Megan, her eyes wide and thrilled. The party had clearly been as much fun as she’d thought it would be. “Gabe said he’s going to take us up and show us around, if our parents say it’s okay.”
Ignoring the voice inside her head that was saying I want to play in the tree house, too, Megan ran a hand over her daughter’s silky, soft hair. “Of course you can go. Just don’t fall out.”
Summer rolled her eyes. “I’m not a baby.”
Megan had to pull her in for a hug. “You’re my baby.”
“Mom!” Summer pushed away. “I’ve got to grab a flashlight before they’re all gone.”
She ran across the yard to where Gabe was waiting with flashlights and Megan tried not to let her insides turn to mush as he headed off with the kids toward adventure, laughing and joking with the energetic group.
She’d never known a man to be so comfortable with kids. But it was more than that, she quickly realized. He liked kids, plain and simple. Even Summer’s father, while he’d clearly adored his baby girl, hadn’t really known what to do with her. And Megan always had the sense that David was counting down the minutes to nap time so that he could get back to something more exciting.
Megan was giving herself a little shake, thinking that she shouldn’t be comparing David to Gabe, when she saw Sophie moving quickly across the patio, out of a dark corner and into the light for a brief moment before heading around the side of the house.
She’d looked for Sophie when she’d arrived, but hadn’t been able to find her so that they could catch up on old times. They’d tried to connect a few times over the past couple of days, but between Sophie’s busy schedule at the library and Summer’s winter break from school, they’d accepted the party would be their first chance to chat.
Now, however, instead of just wanting to have some girl talk with someone she’d always liked a great deal, Megan was a little worried.
Knowing Summer was in good hands with Gabe, Megan followed the path that Sophie had taken around the yard to a small shed. Opening it slowly, she looked inside and found her friend sitting on a large upturned pot.
“Sophie?”
“Oh!” Sophie started to jump up, when she realized who it was. “Megan, hi.” She looked a little sheepish at being caught in the potting shed, but she smiled and said, “Care to join me?”
Megan grinned at her old friend, closing the door behind her. There was a light bulb in the ceiling that illuminated that tidy interior, permeated with the smell of potting soil. “Is everything okay?”
Sophie blew out a shaky breath. “Have you ever wanted something you really, really shouldn’t want?”
Megan was struck by her friend’s honest question. There was no pretense with Sophie. There never had been. It was one of the things she’d always been drawn to in the other woman.
So although she was tempted to try and evade Sophie’s question, because she was hoping that they could make good on the budding friendship they’d started in college, especially living as close to each other in the city as they did, Megan nodded.
“I know exactly how that is,” she said, thinking about being in the backyard with Gabe, and the heat that had nothing to do with the fire jumping to life in the fire pit.
Only, her admission didn’t seem to make Sophie feel any better.
As the other woman looked at her hands, Megan followed her gaze to neatly trimmed nails with no polish. Sophie was wearing a simple navy knit dress that covered her arms and most of her legs. She had on no makeup, no jewelry, and yet where other women would have been plain, Sophie was undeniably beautiful. After having spent a good half-hour on her hair and makeup, not to mention trying on all of the new dresses she’d bought since the fire, Megan felt a little overdressed.
She found an empty pot and turned it upside down, sitting across from Sophie. “Do you want to talk about it?”
It didn’t take a genius to figure out that Sophie was upset over a man. Only, Megan was a little ashamed she couldn’t possibly have known who, since she’d barely been able to focus on anyone but Gabe all night.
Sophie shook her head and she looked around the small shed. “I’m sorry, Megan. I think I’m just about the worst friend in the world, inviting you to a party and then disappearing off into the potting shed to mope.”
Megan had to laugh at the funny expression on Sophie’s face. “I’ve always liked gardening.”
“Come on,” Sophie said, standing up and extending her hand to Megan. “Let’s go get a couple of glasses of bubbly and you can fill me in on the past seven years.”
Megan could see that Sophie wasn’t at all over what had sent her off to hide in the potting shed, but she clearly didn’t want to talk about it. Not yet, anyway. Maybe when they’d gotten closer, she’d open up.
Then again, Megan knew exactly what it was to have a secret crush on someone who was totally off limits. It didn’t matter how close she and Sophie grew as friends, Megan was never, ever going to admit that she got tingly and breathless whenever Gabe was near.
If anything, the short conversation they’d just had was more than long enough to reinforce what she already knew: that giving in to the sparks she felt with Gabe would only end up breaking her heart.
Or worse, her daughter’s heart.
Chapter Seven
As the Sullivan holiday party wound down, most of Gabe’s siblings gravitated toward each other in a tight group around the fire. Normally, Gabe would have been in there with them all, but Sophie had pulled Megan into the group and he didn’t have a good enough grip on himself around her yet.
Sure, there was nothing going on between them. And there wouldn’t be in the future. But every once in a while a guy needed a break from a half-dozen pairs of probing eyes that just might see what he didn’t want them to.
Gabe kept himself busy playing pirate ship with the kids in the tree fort, and then flashlight tag in the backyard, until his mother called out that she’d put a movie on for them in the basement.
By that point, Gabe had to face up to what he was doing. He figured he’d been called a lot of things over the years, but he could guarantee he’d never been called a coward.
Chloe was yawning when he walked up to the fire pit. “Sorry to leave right when you get here,” she said to him with a sleepy look as she and Chase got up. “I’m exhausted for some reason.”
After his brother and fiancée said their goodbyes and he took one of the open seats, their friend Jake McCann strolled over to take the other.
“Hey, Jake.” Lori Sullivan, Sophie’s twin, peered over his shoulder. “What happened to your date?”
Gabe watched Jake grin at the woman he’d treated like a little sister for the past twenty years he’d been hanging out at the Sullivan house. Zach had brought him in one day when they were in fifth grade and the joke was that he’d become the ninth Sullivan. He’d been out of state working on a new chain of Irish pubs for the past six months, so this was the first time any of them had seen him in a while.
“Had to pour her into a cab a little while ago.”
Lori rolled her eyes. “You have terrible taste in women,” she teased him, then said, “We were just about to play Truth or Dare. Come on, join us.”
It didn’t matter that they were all adults now; the games hadn’t changed. They still played a nasty game of touch football every Thanksgiving in which the girls got in harder hits every year on their brothers...and at Christmas everyone still wanted to know each other’s secrets.
Lori threw a marshmallow across the fire to her twin. “Why don’t you go first, Sophie?”
Sophie caught the white puff of sugar right before it nailed her in the face, glaring at Lori as she tossed it straight into the center of the fire. As the flames caught and jumped, she said, “Truth.”
His sisters’ relationship hadn’t been all that great for a while now. No one could figure out why, and even though their mother was clearly worried
about it, neither Lori nor Sophie would say what had happened. Even when they were arguing, they were fierce in their solidarity to keep things between the two of them. They were a tight little unit that none of them had ever been able to penetrate, not even Gabe, who was the closest in age and had spent more time with both of them than anyone but Marcus, who had pretty much helped raise them from toddlers.
“Why were you sneaking around tonight?” Lori asked her twin.
Sophie’s eyes were big, worried, as she fixated on the flames. She’d never been good at hiding her feelings, which was why she was nicknamed Nice, whereas Lori, who loved causing trouble, was Naughty.
Finally, Sophie said in a tight voice, “I wasn’t sneaking around.”
Lori narrowed her eyes. “I saw you coming out of Mom’s potting shed.”
“That’s my fault,” Megan offered in a cheerful voice. “I was looking for Summer and found my way there by accident.”
Her first victim saved by the bell, Lori turned on Jake. “Truth or dare?”
He shook his head slowly as he held out his hands toward the fire to warm them. “If you’re the one dishing out the dares, Naughty, I’ll pick truth, thanks.”
She shot him a wicked grin before putting her elbows on her knees, her chin on her hands, and leaning forward. “Have you ever been in love, Mr. McCann?”
Gabe noticed Sophie shiver beside him. “Cold, sis?”
“No.” She shook her head hard.
He frowned. Something was definitely up with her tonight, only he’d been too focused on Megan to try and figure out what Sophie was worried about.
Jake’s laughter rang out in the cold backyard. “In love?” he repeated. “Not even close. And I don’t see it happening any time soon.”
Clearly bummed that she hadn’t gotten more dirt out of Jake, Lori spun to face Gabe. “Your turn.”
The last thing in the world he was in the mood for was this game, but it was usually easier just to play along with Lori.
“Dare.” Lord knew, truth wasn’t in the cards tonight, not with Megan sitting too close, looking far too beautiful in the firelight.
Lori gave him a slightly evil grin. “Sing us a campfire song.”
Marcus groaned and held his hands over Nicola’s ears. “Asking Gabe to sing is more like a dare for the rest of us.”
Marcus’s pop-star girlfriend shoved his hands away and smiled at Gabe. “I love it when other people sing.”
Rather than being pissed off at Lori, Gabe decided that, if anything, he should be thanking his sister for the dare. Because after hearing him sing, there was no chance of anything happening with Megan.
He launched into a version of “Home on the Range” that had all the dogs and cats in the neighborhood joining in. At Nicola’s faltering smile he decided to play it up for all it was worth, and soon she had her hands over her ears, too.
Marcus, whose voice was nearly as bad as his, joined in with a god-awful “harmony” and everyone laughed so hard, including Megan, that he forgot for a minute not to stare at her in front of everyone.
Yes, she was a gorgeous woman. But she was also fun and fit perfectly into his family.
Damn it.
Their gazes collided and both of them stopped laughing. She abruptly pushed her chair back. “It’s way past Summer’s bedtime.”
Gabe stood, too. “I’ll drive you both back to the city.”
As they said their goodbyes, he prayed no one would say anything to make Megan uncomfortable about the two of them leaving together.
They were almost back in the house when Zach called out, “Don’t forget to call when you’re up tomorrow, Megan, and I’ll drop by to fix your flat. You’ve got my cell, right?”
Gabe had run up and down hundreds of flights of stairs in zero visibility countless times over the years. But hearing that his brother had already arranged to see Megan again—under the guise of helping her with her car—was what finally had the breath clogging in his chest.
He knew he shouldn’t be getting so upset about it. If he was half the man he liked to think he was, he’d be happy that his brother was finally choosing a nice girl for once. After all, hadn’t he just thought how great she fit in with his brothers and sisters?
But none of that helped the knot in his gut loosen as he and Megan silently headed down to the basement, where they found Summer asleep in front of the old TV. Some of the bigger kids were still up watching a Disney movie, but she was curled up in a ball on the old couch his mother had covered with the same afghan from when he was a kid.
Megan went to scoop her up, but he said, “Let me,” in a low voice that wouldn’t wake Summer, and lifted the little girl off the couch.
As Megan said thank you and goodbye to his mother, he gently laid Summer down upstairs and went to get his truck. When he got back, they were waiting for him on the sidewalk, Summer in her mother’s arms, just as he’d first seen them. Summer wasn’t big for her age, but he knew she had to be heavy for Megan. He quickly jumped out to help get her buckled into the backseat of his truck, using a sweatshirt as a makeshift pillow.
In the dark on the freeway headed back to San Francisco, neither he nor Megan spoke, a repeat of their drive in the opposite direction.
Earlier in the evening he’d been glad for Summer’s constant questions and chatter to fill the space so that he wouldn’t make the mistake of getting closer to Megan. He should be happy about her silence now, too. So then why wasn’t he? Why did he wish he could get to know her better, instead?
Parking in front of her building a while later, he unbuckled Summer and moved to carry her inside Megan’s apartment. This time, as she turned on various lights to help him find his way through the small rooms, he noticed how comfortable her place was. She hadn’t been there two months yet and he knew it was only temporary. Still, he found he liked being there.
Gabe’s house was in a fantastic location with lots of sun and great views from his top floor rooms. But it had never felt like home to him. Not like this did.
“Thanks so much for the ride,” Megan was saying when she’d gently pulled the covers up over her daughter, kissed her cheek, and closed her bedroom door.
In the living room, the lights of the small Christmas tree blinked behind her, lighting her up like an angel. She looked a little nervous. This was the first time they’d ever been alone together. Summer was down for the count. Considering that the little girl hadn’t stirred once during all the transporting from the basement to the car and then to the apartment, he knew she wasn’t getting up any time soon.
“Can I get you a cup of coffee or anything?”
Anyone with a beating heart could have figured out that the offer was made out of politeness, nothing more. He knew what to do. Stick to his M.O. and get the hell away from her. No big conversations. No letting down his guard.
But for all his strength of will, and the tight hold he usually had on his self-control, tonight Gabe couldn’t quite bring himself to go.
Not when he finally had Megan all to himself.
Okay, so he wouldn’t leave just yet. But he’d use the next few minutes as the perfect way to prove that he could control himself around her...and that she wasn’t that much of a temptation.
“Sure,” he said in an easy voice, “coffee sounds great.”
She looked momentarily surprised by his agreement. No doubt because he hadn’t exactly gone out of his way to be friendly with her. Not like Zach or Ryan had at the party.
“It will just take me a second, if you want to have a seat.”
Gabe was pulling up a stool at the kitchen counter when she grabbed a bag of beans from a small pantry along the way and shook out a couple of beans. She gave him a cute little look of consternation and he had to wonder if it was caused solely by the lack of coffee beans or if having him there in her space was the real reason.
“I have more beans,” she said. “Somewhere.” She turned and scanned the rest of her cupboards before admitting, “I still hav
en’t quite gotten used to our new apartment. Sometimes I think I definitely have something and then I’ll realize it was destroyed in the fire and I never got around to replacing it.”
Gabe had to practically sit on his hands to keep from moving to her and pulling her into his arms to console her. Instead, he said, “It can take a while to process what happened, Megan.”
She sighed. “I just didn’t think I’d feel so lost and rootless without my things. Because they’re just things, you know?” She shook her head and smiled at him. “Summer and I are fine and that’s what matters.”
He was struck, yet again, by how strong she always expected herself to be, and wanted to say something more to let her know that it was okay to grieve her loss, even of little things, when she snapped her fingers and said, “Wait, I know where the beans are.” She pointed at a cupboard that went up to the ceiling. “Up there.”
She was reaching for a stool that was stored between the fridge and the counter when he said, “I’ll get them for you.”
He could easily reach the bag of beans on the top shelf, but he hadn’t realized just how small the kitchen would be when two people were in it. And somehow, by the time he turned around with the coffee, Megan was pressed back against the pantry shelves.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
But she didn’t take the coffee from him and he didn’t give it to her. Instead, both of them just stared at each other.
When he saw his own desperate need reflected in her eyes, he dropped the bag of coffee behind him onto the counter and took her face in his hands. He bent his head down just as she went onto her toes, wrapped her arms around his neck, and lifted her face to his.
Their mouths met a moment later, hot and hungry, long past gentle or sweet. It was a kiss that had been on the verge of happening more than once and was now completely out of control. She tasted like sugar and champagne and something else that was entirely Megan. Her hair was so soft against his fingers and the little moans of pleasure she made into his mouth as they kissed drove him crazy.