by Helen Lacey
“So,” he said, looking at the sketch. “You want a pond, and a waterfall with a statue that looks like a tuna fish and—”
“That’s a man and a woman embracing,” she said indignantly and stepped closer, tracing a finger along the line of the sketch. Then she spoke softly. “See, that’s the outline of the woman’s...”
Kieran met her gaze, watched as her eyes widened, and her lips parted fractionally. The awareness between them ramped up a notch. And then another. He stared at her mouth, fought the overwhelming urge to kiss her. Of course, he wouldn’t. Not with Marco standing close by.
“I know what it is,” he said, his voice so quiet she actually moved closer. She shivered, and he reacted instinctively, shrugging out of his jacket and draping it around her shoulders.
She protested immediately. “I couldn’t possibly—”
“Keep it,” he insisted, ignoring how the brisk morning air immediately etched into his bones. “So... I think I’m going to need some help with this pond.”
She frowned. “What kind of help?”
He shrugged. “The professional kind.”
“Meaning?”
Kieran pulled his cell from his pocket, scrolled through the saved numbers and found the one he wanted. His call was answered on the fourth ring. “Are you busy?” he asked.
“Not exactly. Why?”
“Feel like helping out your favorite brother?”
More silence. “I guess.”
He rattled off Nicola’s address, ended the call and then turned back to face her.
“Who was that?”
“Jonah,” he supplied and saw her eyes widen. “He’s in town for the weekend, visiting his mother. If you want the best job done, get the best person for the job.”
She glanced toward Marco and nodded. “I think that’s exactly why your mom suggested you spend time with my nephew.”
“My mother is a smart woman,” he said quietly. “So are you.”
“With foolish inclinations,” she said softly and pulled his coat tightly around her waist.
“I guess chemistry can be damned inconvenient.”
“You’re inconvenient,” she said and smiled fractionally and then, when Marco wandered off for a moment, spoke again. “I’ve spent so long hating you...the thought of anything else is exhausting.”
“The thought of us being lovers, you mean?”
He watched, fascinated, as color flooded up her neck and spotted her cheeks. Nicola was an independent, modern woman, but there were elements of her that were delightfully naive.
She shrugged a little. “I thought you’d forgotten about that.”
“Forgotten?” he echoed and smiled. “We only talked about it last night. Since then it’s pretty much all I can think about.”
“Me, too,” she admitted and sauntered off toward her nephew, hips swaying, her beautiful hair flowing in the breeze.
Suddenly he felt about seventeen years old.
And as much in love with Nicola Radici as he’d ever been.
Chapter Six
Nicola had met Jonah Rickard a few times. He was handsome and serious-looking. True, all the O’Sullivan brothers were attractive, but she’d always considered Kieran the handsomest of the group.
Love is blind...
She shuffled the thought from her head. She wasn’t some giddy teenager anymore. And, sure, she suspected they were heading toward a night in bed together, but she wasn’t foolish enough to think it was anything more than a kind of sexual exorcism.
Watching the brothers walk around her garden, with Marco hanging on their every word, she saw the similarities. Even though Jonah had darker hair, they shared the same walk, the same broad shoulders and many of the same mannerisms. Which was odd since they hadn’t grown up together, but DNA was a strange thing. She knew Jonah was a successful architect—actually, he was an award-winning architect, one of the best in his field. She wondered what he must be thinking as his brother led him around the backyard. Nicola joined them after a while, listening as Kieran explained what she wanted.
Jonah had the sketchpad in his hand and stared at the page, turning it around a couple of times. “So, you want a statue and a waterfall?” He looked toward his brother. “In the shape of a tuna fish?”
“It’s a man and a woman,” Nicola said and rolled her eyes. “Embracing.”
Jonah frowned. “Really?”
Kieran laughed, and she scowled instantly. “When you two have finished making fun, I’ll be in the inside. I have work to do.”
She left them and headed inside. She made a couple of phone calls, paid a few accounts for the restaurant and spent some time working on the menu for an upcoming event. She was closing down the laptop when there was a knock at the front door. She walked down the hall, opened up and found Connie on the other side of the screen door. She’d forgotten that her friend was dropping by with a stack of flyers promoting the upcoming rodeo. She’d promised to give them out to customers who came to JoJo’s.
“Sorry I’m late,” Connie said as she crossed the threshold.
“You’re late?” Nicola said, checking her watch and grinning because Connie was the most organized person she knew and was never late for anything.
“I had a mishap with Mr. Jangles and the cat next door,” she explained.
Mr. Jangles was one of Connie’s many dogs. Her friend had a collection of strays and lived alone with them in the house that had once belonged to her grandparents. “Nothing serious I hope?”
“No,” she replied and grinned. “There are a couple of cars out front. Are you having a party?”
Nicola laughed and ushered her friend through the hall and into the kitchen. “I’m guardian to two young boys...my partying days are over. Kieran’s here.”
“I see,” Connie said, chuckling, and she dumped the bag she was carrying on the counter. “Then I won’t stay and be a third wheel.”
“Fourth wheel,” Nicola said and grabbed a few coffee mugs. “Jonah’s here, too. The Big Brothers thing I told you about, remember?”
“I didn’t realize that...that he was a part of that.”
“He’s not,” Nicola replied, sensing that the last place Connie wanted to be was in her kitchen, since she knew her friend didn’t like Jonah Rickard one iota. She didn’t know much about it because Connie was an intensely private person, but it had something to do with Connie’s loyalty toward the O’Sullivans and Jonah’s apparent determination to hate his father, J.D. “Kieran is working on a project with Marco and needed a favor. If you’re quick, you might be able to sneak away unseen.”
“Good idea,” she said and was just about to leave when they heard Kieran’s voice.
“Hey, Connie.”
When both men came through the door with Marco in their wake, the air suddenly became loaded with tension. Oh, yeah—there was so much tension between Connie and Jonah it was impossible to miss. Thankfully, it was Jonah who said he had to leave. He offered a quick goodbye to Nicola and then walked from the room. Kieran followed and, once they were out of view, Nicola hovered in the doorway, hearing their voices travel down the hallway.
“I’ll talk to you later in the week,” Kieran said casually.
“Sure,” Jonah replied. “Oh, and next time you want a favor, don’t hide behind a story about some Big Brothers thing. Just admit that it’s about a girl.”
She heard the door open and close and then shuffled back behind the counter.
When Kieran returned, he was smiling. “He’s such a pleasure to be around, don’t you think?”
Nicola grinned. “At least he made the effort.”
“He’s one of those people that grows on you over time,” he said, still smiling.
“Like a fungus,” Connie said and then gasped. “Uh...sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. I should get going.
I have a load of laundry waiting for me, four pooches that need washing, and my favorite Jane Austen to read.”
She was gone within a minute and, by the time Nicola returned to the kitchen after seeing her friend to the door, only Kieran remained in the room. Marco had clearly grown tired of the adult conversation and had disappeared upstairs.
“That was weird,” Nicola said and took the coffee mug Kieran had poured. “Connie usually likes everyone. Your brother is obviously the exception.”
“I don’t think he cares whether he’s liked or not. But he did agree to help out.”
She nodded. “That’s good of him, considering. I heard his comment, by the way. The one about why you’re doing this.”
“I’m doing this for Marco,” he assured her. “The you-and-me thing...that’s a separate issue.”
“I know that. Believe me, I’m trying to compartmentalize whatever is going on here.”
“How’s that working out so far?” he asked and rested his rear against the counter.
She chuckled. “I’m trying to keep things real. The boys have to come first, and I don’t want to get swept up in...anything that will distract me from being the best parent I can be to them. They’ve had enough drama in the last couple of years. And I owe that to Gino and Miranda.”
“Is that why you stayed in this house?” he asked quietly.
Nicola met his gaze. “I wanted to keep things the same.”
“Except that things aren’t the same,” he remarked.
Her back straightened, and a surge of resentment curled up her spine. “This house is filled with the memory of all they had.”
“Or all they’ve lost.”
Nicola moved around the counter and planted her hands on her hips. “Do you have an opinion about everything?”
“Pretty much.”
She expelled a heavy breath. “I’m doing the best I can.”
“I’m not criticizing you.”
“Sure seems like it.”
He reached out and cupped her cheek, trailing his thumb along her jaw. “I think you’re doing an amazing job, Nic.”
Her bones liquefied. Most of the time, Nicola felt like a complete failure. “Sometimes...it’s so...so very...”
“I know,” he said quietly, his voice suddenly like a tonic. “Being a parent can be hard work. But I think that, one day, you’ll look back and realize that this will be the most important thing you have ever done.”
Heat burned her eyes. “Thank you.”
His gaze was blisteringly intense. “I guess you feel like you’re all alone in this?”
“Mostly,” she admitted and pulled away. He dropped his hand, and she suddenly missed his warm touch. “My father’s getting older, and Vince is in San Francisco... I have good friends, though, who are very supportive.”
He didn’t move; he simply kept their visual connection locked. “One day you’ll find someone to share this with.”
Nicola swallowed hard. “I’m not so sure. Taking on two kids is a big commitment for anyone. I know that Carl couldn’t have done it.”
His expression narrowed. “That’s your ex?”
She nodded. “He wasn’t ready for commitment with me, even though he’d proposed and I had said yes. The truth is, he was still hung up on his ex-wife. But we were already over by the time Gino and Miranda died. He sent me a card offering condolences, and that’s the last I heard from him.”
“So, he did you a favor,” Kieran said quietly. “He refused to marry someone he wasn’t one hundred percent in love with. Believe me, you don’t want to be married to someone who isn’t in love with you—no good can come of it.”
“Like your ex-wife?”
He drew in a breath. “She wanted a husband...and a certain kind of life. And I made it easy for her, I guess. Tori was attractive and smart and marriage material, if that makes sense. And I was never very good at being single.”
Nicola realized that they were now directly in front of one another.
“What happened to your plans for college? All that screwing around? All those girls?”
He shrugged. “Like I said before, there were fewer than you think. I only said that to—”
“To make me hate you?” she said. “Yes, I know. It worked.”
“And now?” he asked.
She looked up, saw desire in his eyes and couldn’t deny what they were now both thinking. Both wanting. Both needing. “Kieran... I... I want...”
“I know,” he said softly, moving closer as his hand curved around her nape. “Nic,” he said her name softly, almost on a whisper. “Can you find a sitter for tonight?”
“A sitter?” she whispered, mesmerized by his gentle touch, seduced by his voice because she knew exactly what he was asking. “Tonight...no. The lady down the street is away visiting her daughter in Boise until Monday. Dad goes to the home to see my grandmother every Saturday evening. And Annie is—”
“Tomorrow night?”
She could barely concentrate with the way his fingertips were caressing her skin. “Yes.”
He was so close they could have easily kissed, but he didn’t kiss her...he stared at her, his gaze searing, scorching her right through to her bones. She heard a noise, like footsteps on the stairs, and then quickly pulled away, putting space between them.
“I’m back!”
Marco’s exuberant voice quickly defused the heat building between them, and Nicola moved back around the counter. While Kieran and her nephew sat at the table and looked over the fishpond plans, she got busy preparing an early lunch, and Marco quickly invited Kieran to join them.
“Are you sure?” Kieran asked Nicola.
She nodded vaguely. “Of course.”
Nicola spent the next twenty minutes making a pile of sandwiches, pouring a pitcher of orange juice and putting on a fresh pot of coffee. When she was done, she instructed Marco to get his brother and then she set the table.
“Marco’s excited about the pond,” she said as she moved around the room and collected plates. “No mention of the water, either.”
“No,” Kieran said quietly. “He’s all about the fish at the moment. I spoke to Liam about maybe taking the boys down to the jetty at his place by the river for a fishing expedition. Marco would be perfectly safe, and it might help with his fear of water. As long as you’re okay with it, of course. And you’d be very welcome to come, too.”
She nodded. “Yes, okay. I think that’s a great idea.” She sighed. “You know, you’re so good with kids I almost envy you.”
He smiled, and her insides tightened. “You’re good with them, Nic,” he assured her. “Don’t ever doubt that.”
The boys came into the kitchen, interrupting their conversation. Marco was beaming, but Johnny looked sullen and as though he wanted to be somewhere else. Once they were seated, she knew why.
“Can I go to my friend’s house?” he asked, tearing the unwanted crust off his sandwich.
“Which friend?” she enquired.
He rattled off the name, but it was not one she recognized. “Do you have his mom’s or dad’s cell number?”
Johnny shook his head. “He only lives in the next street.”
“No number, no visit. You know the rules.”
He grunted. “Typical.”
“Johnny, you know I can’t allow you to visit with someone I don’t know.’
There were more grunts. “I’m not hungry.”
Nicola expelled an exasperated sigh, and her gaze flashed toward Kieran. He nodded slightly, as though he was agreeing with her, and it made her resolve stronger. And less alone than she’d felt in over eighteen months.
“If you can get the number, we’ll discuss it. So, how about we all eat?”
“Good idea,” Kieran said and grabbed a plate.
As they ate, it occ
urred to Nicola how absurdly normal it all seemed. Johnny grumbled his way through most of the meal, but Marco was cheerful, and Kieran entertained them with tales of his antics when he and his brothers were young. He mentioned the fishing trip idea and both boys seemed keen, though Marco was a bit more hesitant than his brother. Afterward, the kids disappeared into the yard to play, and Kieran remained to help her clean up.
“No work today?” she asked as he handed her a couple of plates.
“Back Tuesday,” he explained. “Night shift until the end of the week.”
She made a face. “How are you enjoying working at the hospital?”
He shrugged. “It’s good. The staff are all highly competent, and the facilities are very—”
“That’s not what I meant,” she said and shoved him playfully, her fingertips coming into contact with rock hard forearm muscle. “I meant how are you feeling being there.”
“Feeling?” he echoed.
“Regrets?” she asked. “Do you miss Sioux Falls? You must have had a lot of friends there and miss them.”
“Like you miss San Francisco?”
“I do,” she admitted and sighed. “Well, I miss some things. I miss my friends, of course. And I miss my career. And I miss Vince. I mean, he calls every week to touch base, but it’s not the same as having a big brother on hand to talk things through. You’ve got siblings, so you know what I mean.”
His mouth twitched. “Yeah, but we don’t sit around talking about feelings all the time.”
“But you and Liam are close?”
He nodded. “Sure. But we’ve had to work at it. He can be an arrogant and opinionated jerk when he wants to. Sean lives his own life in the fast lane, which is not my scene. And Jonah...well, the jury’s still out on that one.”
“You were close to Liz?”
She watched, fascinated as he swallowed hard. Finally, he nodded and spoke. “Yes, we were good friends as well as brother and sister.”
Nicola’s skin warmed with memories. “We were dating the same time she was going out with Grady. We used to say we’d be bridesmaids at each other’s wedding.”
He met her gaze. “But you didn’t go to their wedding,” he reminded her. “You were in San Francisco by then.”