Sugarplum Way

by Debbie Mason

  “That Julia is as smart as she is sweet, isn’t she?”

  “Subtle, Dad, real subtle,” he said as he walked into the kitchen and opened the fridge. “You want a beer?”

  “No, I’m good, thanks.”

  Aidan used the edge of the counter to pop off the cap. “Hey, what’s up with him?” he asked, lifting his chin at Miller, who was curled up in his red plaid bed by the fire. “It’s not like him to not come greet me.” He went over to give the retriever a rubdown.

  “I think he’s depressed.”

  Aidan didn’t know if his dad realized it or not, but he’d looked in the direction of Maggie’s when he diagnosed Miller. “Hey, boy, where’s Maggie?”

  The dog’s head went up, and he leaped from the bed, nearly taking Aidan out to get to the window. With his nose pressed to the glass, he started to whine.

  “Now, why did you go and do that?” his dad groused.

  “He misses her. And I think you do too. Why don’t you go over and make things right, Dad?”

  His father crossed his arms and stared at the TV. “I can’t. She’s out with your boss tonight. Twice in a week. I guess it’s serious.”

  “Buddy, come here. I’ll take you for a walk,” Aidan told the dog to get him to stop whining. He glanced at his dad, feeling bad for the part he’d played in Benson dating Maggie. Aidan looked down at his beer, picking at the label. “Was I the reason you ended things with her, Dad?”

  “You? No, of course not. It’s just”—he shrugged—“I don’t know. It doesn’t matter. I’m good with my life the way it is. I have you kids close by now, and the grandkids.”

  “If you’re so good with your life, why are you sitting here looking all depressed and grumbling about your ex-girlfriend dating your best friend?”

  “He’s not my best friend. I’m not sure I’d even classify him as a good friend anymore.” His father gave him a look. “Wipe the smirk off your face. I’m not jealous. I haven’t been happy with how he’s been treating you. I told you that.”

  “Yeah, and I told you I’d handle it. I’m a big boy, Dad. You don’t have to worry about me.”

  “You don’t have to worry about me either. I married my one and only, son. I wish I had her with me for another forty years. But I was blessed to have her as long as I did.” His dad drew his gaze from the photos of Aidan’s mother and sister that lined the mantel to smile. “Your brothers found their one and only, and I want that for you too.”

  “Been there, done that. I’m like you, Dad. I’m good with my life just the way it is. I’ve got my family close by, and if everything works out as planned, Ella Rose will be too.”

  “You think you’re smart throwing my words back at me, don’t you?”

  Aidan took a pull on his beer and came to his feet. “Answer me this, and I won’t bring it up again. Just remember that I’m a human lie detector, so give it to me straight. How will you feel if Maggie doesn’t just go out on a couple of dates with Benson, but she ends up marrying him?” His father wasn’t quick enough to hide his reaction. “I got my answer. Mom would want you to be happy, Dad. We do too. Why would you settle for being content with your life when you could have so much more?”

  “Why would you?”

  Aidan shook his head and called for the dog. “Come on, boy. We’ll go for a walk and let the old man sit in his contentment.”

  “You always were a smart-ass,” his father grumbled.

  “You’re mixing us up, Dad. That was Liam.”

  “You’re right. He still is.” His father gave a half laugh and then looked over his shoulder to where Aidan was getting ready to go out. “Your mother used to call you her sweet boy. Always making sure everyone was okay. Thing was, you managed to get into more mischief than all your brothers combined. But none of them could pour on the charm like you. You should think of using some of that charm on Julia. Because, son, Harper was never your one and only, and you weren’t hers.”

  “You’re as bad as Grams, you know. Maybe you should join the Widows Club. And I can’t use something on Julia that I don’t have. I must have used up all my charm when I was younger.”

  “No, it wasn’t when you were younger. You lost it eight years ago on October seventeenth. Both your mother and sister would want you to be happy too. It’s time for you to let go of the anger. Paul was right about that, you know. You should consider taking the course.”

  “Okay, this isn’t exactly how I saw this conversation going. So whaddya say we stop here? See you in a bit.” The minute Aidan closed the front door, Miller began panting and tugging on the lead.

  “Hope you feel like a long walk tonight, buddy.” He had no intention of going home until the old man was in bed. To distract Miller, Aidan scooped up some snow and made a hard-packed ball. He drilled it in the opposite direction of Maggie’s house. The snowball disappeared in a flurry of flakes. The snow was coming down hard. If it continued, he figured the likelihood of his old man being called out to work was good.

  As they reached the end of Breakwater Way, Aidan decided to head to the manor. Miller had other plans and tore down the road toward the harbor front. Anyone looking out their window would think Aidan was skiing. He’d forgotten how strong and determined Miller was when he’d made up his mind to go after something.

  Aidan was wondering what that something was when Miller, practically frothing at the mouth, barreled through the snow. Aidan spotted the dog’s prey. A woman twirling on the wharf with her head tipped back, catching snowflakes on her tongue. Off to the left, a man stood watching her. Julia was laughing, trying to get the guy to join her. Smiling, he shook his head. At the sound of Miller barking, the guy stiffened and turned. He said something to Julia and then hurried away with his head down and shoulders hunched.

  The way Julia’s friend took off put Aidan on alert. He let Miller’s leash go before the dog ripped his arm out of his socket while he visually tracked the man. Aidan guessed him to be in his twenties, around six feet, and about a hundred and sixty pounds. The guy glanced over his shoulder, caught Aidan watching him, and broke into a run. Aidan stalked down the wharf to where Julia knelt in the snow, loving on his dog.

  “Who was that guy?”

  “Why are you acting all badass? It was just Lenny.”

  He crossed his arms and looked down at her, doing his best to ignore the way her violet eyes shone with laughter and her candy-apple-red lips glistened. “Just Lenny took off awful fast and looks like he has something to hide. What were you doing with the guy anyway?” Great. Now he sounded like a jealous boyfriend.

  “Enjoying the first snowfall and celebrating sending off Warrior’s Touch to my editor this morning,” she said.

  “That’s great. You must be happy to check that off your list.”

  She stood up, smiling down at his dog, who was pushing his nose through the snow. “I thought you’d call,” she said quietly. There was no anger or emotional manipulation to make him feel bad, just an honest admission of what her expectations had been.

  After the four days they’d spent together, she had a right to be confused. He should have said something. Told her the truth. He couldn’t give her what she wanted or deserved, so it was best he didn’t spend time with her. Only he couldn’t seem to get the words out. Something was holding him back. “Sorry, I should have called. I had a lot on my plate.”

  “That’s okay. But you were a big help, and I thought it would be nice to celebrate together.” She gave him a playful grin. “I put you in the acknowledgments.”

  Now he felt really guilty. Though he doubted that had been her intention. “Thanks, but you didn’t have to do that. I enjoyed myself,” he said, keeping an eye on Miller, who was now rolling in the snow.

  “Wait until you see what I wrote before you thank me.”

  “Let me guess. You got back at me for correcting you every time Adrian talked like a girl and fought like one.” Her smile widened, and he figured he was right. But he’d let her distract him long e
nough. “So, tell me more about this Lenny guy.”

  She did, and the more she told him, the harder it was to keep his mouth closed until she finished. “You’re unbelievable,” he said once she did, his gut churning at the thought of all the time she’d spent on her own with this guy.

  “Thank you,” she said, knowing full well it wasn’t a compliment. And he knew this because she rolled her eyes.

  “I’m not joking around, Julia. I get you wanting to help Lenny. We should all be doing our part to help our vets when they come home. But this is the last time you’re with him on your own.”

  She patted his arm. “That’s very sweet of you to worry about me, and I do understand your concern. But I can take care of myself.”

  “He’s a vet. You have no idea what he’s capable of, and it’s obvious he has some mental health issues.” He ducked to look her in the eyes. “You’re five foot three and weigh a hundred and twenty-five pounds, Julia. You can’t—”

  She gasped. “I’m five three and three-quarters, and I don’t… Didn’t anyone ever tell you that you shouldn’t guess a woman’s weight? Out loud. To her face.”

  It wasn’t all that hard to hold back the laugh rumbling in his chest at her outraged expression because he kept envisioning her down here all alone with a guy who could snap at any moment. “Okay, how is it that you’re more concerned about me being three quarters of an inch off on your height and five pounds off on your weight when we’re talking about you hanging out with a guy who unintentionally might hurt you? Please, enlighten me. I really want to hear you justify this.”

  “How about I show you that I can take care of myself, Mr. Sarcastic.” She walked away and turned her back to him. “Okay, attack me.”

  He laughed. “You can’t be serious?”

  “As a heart attack. Come on. Give it your best shot.”

  “Julia, I’m not going to—”

  “Is the big bad detective terrified of little old me?”

  It was his turn to roll his eyes. He walked up behind her and carefully got her into a choke hold. Two seconds later, he was looking up at her from where he lay stunned on the snow-covered wharf.

  She looked down at him with a smirk. “I have three extremely protective older brothers. Do you really think they’d let me move away from home without teaching me a thing or two?”

  “Okay, I admit it. That was impressive.” He reached out a hand, and she put hers in his to help him up. Instead, he yanked her down on top of him. Placing a hand behind her head, he rolled her beneath him and then encircled her wrists with his fingers. He held her arms over her head, positioning his body so she couldn’t knee him. “Did your brothers happen to teach you how to get out of this hold?”

  The moment her big eyes darkened and her lips curved in a provocative smile, he knew he was in trouble. It was the kind of trouble he’d been trying to avoid for the past few days. He was tired of fighting the attraction. He wanted her, and he wanted to keep her safe. She took advantage of his distraction by looping her arms over his head, forcing him to release her wrists. She drew him closer and he let her, his mouth now a whisper from hers.

  She inched up, pressing her soft lips to his. He cradled her head with his hands and deepened the kiss. It was nothing like the one they’d shared under the mistletoe a year before. This kiss was hot and deep and so much more. She held nothing back. Neither did he. And as the snow fell around them, the moored boats rocked on the water that slapped gently against the wharf. Their kiss changed, slowing in time to the rhythm of the waves. As if no longer fueled by a desperate craving for each other, they tasted, teased, and—

  A cold, wet nose shoved between them. “Miller,” Aidan muttered.

  Julia laughed. “He’s feeling left out.”

  “Yeah, looks like,” Aidan said, as he searched her face, afraid of what he’d see. There’d been more to that kiss than simply heat and desire. He’d felt it just before Miller interrupted them. A tenderness, a want, a need that came with long-term hopes and dreams. At least that’s how it felt. Yet as he looked into her sparkling eyes, all he saw was amusement. Still, he couldn’t take the risk she’d think this would lead to something else. He’d come to care about her. He had to be honest. “Julia, you need to know that, if you want more than this, I can’t give it to you.”

  “Oh, so we can only kiss? We can’t have sex?”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Julia didn’t really mean to ask whether they could only kiss. That made it sound like he hadn’t just rocked her world again. The kiss had been perfectly wonderful, and she would have been perfectly content to spend the rest of the night with his mouth on hers and his big body keeping her warm.

  The sex question? Well, that sort of popped out before she could stop it. Because no matter how much she wanted to have sex with Aidan—and she really, really wanted to—she wouldn’t. Actually, she couldn’t. He’d been honest with her, and she respected him for that. He didn’t want anything more than a physical relationship. And she did.

  She knew herself. She didn’t have sex; she made love. She didn’t want to complain or feel sorry for herself, but she thought she deserved, had maybe even earned, some pain-free, drama-free happiness. So had Aidan. But she knew if they took their relationship, or whatever this was, to the next level, her feelings would get tangled up with love and marriage and babies in a carriage.

  It wasn’t that she’d expect a ring on her finger before she made love with him. She’d been in a relationship with Josh for more than two years before he’d popped the question. But Julia had known from the beginning that he was committed, that he loved her and wanted to be with her… forever.

  “Hey, you okay? Do you want to talk about it?” Aidan asked as he reattached Miller’s leash.

  She would have laughed if she wasn’t reeling from the painful reminder that sometimes men made promises they didn’t keep. Men like Josh, who promised you forever and then swallowed a bottle of pills and left you to pay the price for their sins. And then there were men like Aidan, who were honest and didn’t make any promises at all… Maybe men who promised nothing were the safest men of all.

  He took her mittened hand in his. “Julia?”

  She smiled up at him as they walked along the harbor front. “You, the man of few words wants to talk about it?”

  “Honestly? No. But I will if you want to. You weren’t really expecting an answer to your question, were you? Because I don’t know any guy who would say no to sex, specifically sex with you.”

  “Um, I’m not sure if that was a compliment or not.”

  “Compliment,” he said, his eyes scanning the area like the cop that he was. She hadn’t realized until right then that he had an agenda.

  “I’m not taking you to Lenny, Aidan. He’s not comfortable with strangers. They make him nervous. You’ll scare him away.”

  “I wasn’t fooling around, Julia. I don’t want you hanging around him without me or someone else there.”

  “I just proved to you that I can take care of myself. And I’m not stupid. I always tell someone where I’m going to be. If I’m not back by a certain time, they’ll come looking for me.”

  “Are you telling me someone knew you were down here with Lenny tonight?” There was more than a hint of skepticism in his voice.

  “Yes, I am, and there he is.” She pointed to Caleb, who walked their way, and then winced, apologizing to the owner of Jolly Rogers when he reached them. “I’m so sorry. I should have called.”

  “Yeah, you should have.” He bent down to pet Miller, lifting his chin at Aidan. “How’s it going?”

  “Been better. I just found out about Julia’s homeless friend. You think it’s safe for her to hang out with him on her own?”

  “Of course he does. Caleb trusts me to take care of myself,” Julia said, tugging on Aidan’s hand to get him to start walking again. “Thanks for checking on me. I’ll make it up to you.”

  “Doesn’t look like you’ll have much luck moving or
distracting him, Julia. Though I probably should warn you, Aidan, she’s really good at diversionary tactics,” Caleb said, and then glanced at the fishermen shacks. “Kidding aside, for the most part, I think she is safe with Lenny, or I would have put a stop to the visits myself. He’s more relaxed around Julia than he is with any of us. He trusts her. He’s calmer since he’s started painting too.”

  “We need to find him somewhere to live, Caleb. He hasn’t been able to paint for the past week.” She glanced at Aidan. “You can’t hold this against me, or I’ll stop telling you things. Agreed?”

  His lips flattened, and then he gave her a clipped nod.

  “Lenny was more agitated tonight than he has been for months. I’m sure it’s because he no longer has a creative outlet. I’ve been thinking he could stay in the storage room at my…” She clamped her mouth shut when both men stared her down. “Fine. I’ll talk to Father O’Malley and see if he can help.”

  “That’s a good idea, actually. We need to get Lenny used to other people. Start reintegrating him back into society,” Caleb said.

  “My ex is a psychiatrist. I’ll talk to her about Lenny. See if she has any advice for you on how best to go about it.”

  “That would be great. I finally got him to agree to let Maggie see his paintings. I told him that if he did, she might let him work out of her studio during the day. I think the only reason he agreed is that he’s desperate to paint.”

  “Okay, looks like we have a plan. I’ll fill in the rest of the guys. Until Lenny’s painting again, you let us know when you’re seeing him, and one of us will go with you, Julia.”

  “Thanks for the offer, but I’m—”

  Aidan cut her off. “If she doesn’t let you know, I will. Thanks, Caleb.”

  They said their goodbyes and continued down the harbor front. Julia imagined Lenny would have stayed away from the shack until he knew the coast was clear. Still, she hurried her pace when they were two down from the lemon-yellow shack where Lenny lived.