by Marie Force
His outrage on her behalf only made her like him more than she already did—if that was possible.
“That guy needs to be taught a lesson.”
“Not by you,” Tiffany said.
“I’d never hit him—even though I’d love to—but I could make his life a little difficult around here.”
“How?”
“I have my ways,” he said as he backed the truck out of the driveway. “All of them legal. Don’t worry.”
Tiffany was finally able to release the tension that had been building since she received Jim’s letter earlier. She had friends who’d go to bat for her, she realized, a thought that pleased and comforted her. They’d help her figure this out, she thought as she closed her eyes and gave in to the exhaustion.
The next time Tiffany woke up, Blaine was carrying her again, this time into his house. She wanted to stop him so she could take a better look at his place, but she couldn’t keep her eyes open long enough to look at anything. Tomorrow, she decided. She could look to her heart’s content tomorrow.
The red dress looked amazing, Kara decided as she twirled before the full-length mirror one last time. She’d taken the time to actually blow-dry her hair, something she did twice a year, usually for weddings or funerals. Which was this, she wondered? Though she felt lighter and more frivolous than she had since the “Great Betrayal,” as she referred to her boyfriend falling for and marrying her sister, she wasn’t sure she was ready to risk her heart again.
Going out with a new man meant the end of her self-inflicted mourning period over her relationship with Matt. To portray him as only a villain didn’t do justice to the two years they’d spent together. She’d been happy for most of that time and thought he was, too. Only when he confessed to having feelings for her sister did she discover he wasn’t happy at all. He’d been miserable, she later learned, trying to figure out a way to tell her his feelings had changed.
In some ways, that was the worst part of the whole thing. She’d had two long years since it all blew up to consider the various injustices that’d been inflicted upon her. Time after time, she came back to the same thing—how had she not known? Had there been signs she’d missed? There must’ve been, but she’d gone over and over the last few months they’d spent together and couldn’t recall anything that would’ve indicated what was going on behind her back. She’d spent time with her sister during those months, too, and again, nothing had stood out.
After it all came out, Kara had been left with her self-confidence in shambles, along with her judgment. If two of the people closest to her could betray her so completely, how was she to trust anyone ever again? That thought filled her with unwelcome sorrow and grated on her nerves as she grabbed a sweater to take with her. She was determined to go out with Dan tonight and have a good time without making it into a big, bloody deal. He was just another guy who wanted the same thing every guy wanted from a woman, though she had no interest in that with him or anyone else.
She was still mid-pep talk when he arrived with a light knock on her door.
“Here goes nothing,” she whispered as she went to answer the door. She pulled it open and had to bite back the gasp of amazement that nearly slipped from between her lips. He was gorgeous. Dressed in a navy sports coat with a light-blue dress shirt and khakis, he’d combed his dark hair into submission and looked positively dashing.
He held out a festive-looking bouquet of red, yellow and orange gerbera daisies. “For you.”
Rattled by his appearance and the unexpected flowers, she stepped back from the door. “Come in.”
He stepped into the big open room that housed her living area and kitchen and took a look around. “What a great space.”
“I like it.” She took the flowers from him and went to rummage around in the cabinets for something she could use as a vase. “Mr. McCarthy owns it and rented it to me for practically nothing. He and his family are really nice people.” Stop yammering, she thought.
“I like them, too. I’ve been friends with Grant for years, but I’d never met the rest of his family until recently.” He picked up a picture of Kara with her parents, studied it and returned it to the table. “They make you feel like you’ve known them forever.”
“Yes, they do.” She finished arranging the pretty blooms in a beer glass. “Thank you for the flowers. They’re my favorite.”
“Are they really?” He seemed pleased to hear that he’d gotten something right. “I took a guess that you’d prefer them over the more obvious choice of roses.”
Kara recalled that Matt used to bring her roses, even after she’d told him she was one of five women alive who didn’t like the smell of them. How was it possible that this man she’d only just met already understood her better than Matt had after two years together?
“Did I say the wrong thing again?” Dan asked, seeming genuinely concerned.
“No.”
“Right when I think I’ve seen all your expressions, you surprise me with a new one.”
Kara had no idea how to respond to that. She’d never had anyone pay that kind of attention to her before.
“By the way,” he said, “you look amazing. When you answered the door, I was rendered speechless for a second there. You probably know me well enough by now to suspect that doesn’t happen very often.”
Kara couldn’t help but laugh at the self-deprecating face he made.
“I like when you laugh,” he said, watching her intently.
“It’s been a while since anything made me laugh.”
“That’s too bad.” He extended a hand to her. “What’d you say we go have some more laughs?”
Kara stared at his outstretched hand for a breathless moment before she took what he offered.
The kitchen of Stephanie’s restaurant was a beehive of activity as she and her staff put the finishing touches on a wide array of appetizers and entreés for the guests who were expected any minute now. She’d planned to go home for an hour to shower and change, but she’d had to call Grant to bring her dress to the restaurant inside the Sand & Surf when she ran out of time.
Three of her servers had gone down with the flu that afternoon, which had required her to recruit Grace, Jenny and Sydney to help out with the serving.
“Here we are,” Grace said when she breezed into the kitchen looking fresh and pretty in a floral dress. “Reporting for duty.”
“You guys are saving my life,” Stephanie said.
“We’re happy to do it,” Jenny said. The lighthouse keeper’s blonde hair was twisted into an elegant knot, and her black cocktail dress was both sexy and elegant. “Everything smells so good!”
“I’m starving,” Sydney added.
“I set you up with a little bit of everything.” Stephanie gestured to a butcher-block table, where a platter of appetizers and a steaming bowl of pasta awaited her friends, along with a bottle of pinot grigio she’d chilled with them in mind.
“This is the best job ever,” Jenny said, eyeing the offerings.
“Dig in,” Stephanie said. “You’ll be running your butts off for a couple of hours, so fuel up.”
“You don’t have to tell me twice,” Sydney said, making a beeline for the asparagus and lobster dip Stephanie had made from a recipe of her own creation.
Judging from the moan Sydney emitted, the dip was a surefire hit.
“Astonishing,” Sydney said, dipping a second cracker.
“How did your trip to the mainland go, Syd?” Grace asked.
“It was good.” Sydney filled four wineglasses and handed one to each of the others. “The doctor says I’m a good candidate.” For Jenny’s benefit, she added, “Tubal ligation reversal.”
“Oh, wow,” Jenny said. “I didn’t know you were considering that.”
“That’s great news,” Stephanie said as she took a moment she didn’t have to enjoy a glass of wine with her friends.
“Are you going to do it, honey?” Grace asked, her expression full of compassion
for the woman who’d lost two children in a tragic accident.
“We’re talking about it.”
“What does Luke say?” Stephanie asked.
“That it’s totally up to me. He never thought he’d get married or have a family, so according to him, being married is way more than he ever expected. He says he’d be perfectly content if it was just us.”
“I bet he’d be a wonderful father, though,” Jenny said thoughtfully.
“I know he would,” Syd said. “I’ve been thinking a lot about that and about whether I could bring another child into this world without worrying all the time about something happening to him or her.”
“I can understand why you’d be worried about that,” Grace said. “After what you’ve been through, it’s a natural concern.”
“The last thing I want is to make a nervous wreck out of a poor kid who was unlucky enough to be born to a freak-show, overprotective mother.”
“Luke wouldn’t let that happen,” Jenny said. “He’d balance you out.”
“That’s true,” Sydney said. “He’s the calm one.”
“You don’t have to decide right away, do you?” Stephanie asked.
“We’re not getting any younger, and kids are so exhausting. Especially when they’re little.”
“We’re here for you.” Grace squeezed Sydney’s arm as Jenny and Stephanie nodded in agreement. “If you want to talk about it, we’re happy to listen.”
“Thank you, guys. Maddie said the same thing when I talked to her about it. I’m lucky to be surrounded by such awesome friends.”
Grant rushed into the kitchen looking sinfully handsome in a dark suit and a blue dress shirt that made his eyes an even crazier shade of blue than usual. “Sorry I took so long. The phone was ringing off the hook at the house and… And you don’t care because you’re too busy to care. I’ve got your dress.” Reaching into his suit coat pocket, he produced her engagement ring. “And your ring, as requested.”
The other women laughed at how flustered the usually unflappable Grant McCarthy was on his fiancée’s big night.
Stephanie held out her left hand to allow him to do the honors. As he slid the ring on her finger, she looked up to find him watching her with fire in his eyes. She wondered if he, too, was remembering the day he’d proposed last fall. Thus far, they hadn’t discussed a wedding, and she hoped it was only because they’d both been so busy—her with getting the restaurant ready while still managing the marina restaurant and him with the screenplay about how she spent years trying to free her stepfather from prison. After they got the restaurant opened, she hoped he might be ready to talk about setting a date.
“Could I borrow you for one minute?” Grant asked when her ring was firmly in place.
Stephanie closed her fingers around his. “That’s about all I have.”
Grant led her around the corner, out of the hubbub.
“Everything okay?” she asked.
“Everything is great.” He drew her in close to him and planted a lingering kiss on her lips. “I wanted to wish you luck and tell you how very proud I am of you. Look at this place.” He pointed to the dining room, which shimmered in the light of a hundred candles. “You did it, babe.”
Overwhelmed by emotion, she leaned her forehead on his chest. “I couldn’t have done it without your love and your support, not to mention your money.”
“That’s your money, earned fair and square.”
Grant had paid her and Charlie a boatload for the rights to their story, and sometimes Stephanie had to remind herself that the days of counting every penny to pay lawyers to plead her stepfather’s case were over now. Charlie was free and living nearby on the island, working at the hotel and contributing—sparingly but regularly—to Grant’s story. At times, Stephanie wanted to pinch herself to believe the changes to her life that had occurred in the last year had actually happened and weren’t part of a lovely dream.
She owed most of her recent happiness to the man in her arms, who’d hired his friend Dan to help free Charlie and had welcomed her into his family and his home. Most important, Grant had given her unconditional love, something she’d never had from anyone other than her beloved stepfather.
“Thank you,” she said, looking up at Grant.
He seemed genuinely perplexed. “For what?”
“My whole life changed the day I met you. I had no idea it was possible to be this happy.”
His sexy smile lit up his face. He took her hands and brought them to his lips. “Your happiness makes me happy. Now, my love, you need to go get ready to knock ’em dead tonight. If there’s anything I can do to help, you know where I’ll be.”
“Don’t worry about helping after you greet the guests with Shane. You’ve already done enough. Have a good time.”
“Speaking of good times, Mac asked me about joining him on one of the boats that’s racing tomorrow. Apparently, the captain’s crew is down with the flu, and he needs some stand-ins so he doesn’t have to forfeit the whole regatta. Do you care if I go?”
“I don’t mind at all. I plan to sleep in and take one last full day off before we open to the public.”
“Great, thanks.” He gave her another kiss. “We’ll have our own private celebration later.”
“You’re on.”
“I love you,” he said, giving her a tight hug.
“Love you, too. Thanks for propping me up during all of this.”
“Propping you up is one of my favorite things to do.”
He left her with one of his hundred-watt smiles and went to help his cousin Shane welcome their guests.
Since she never tired of the elegant way he moved, she watched him walk away and then went to get changed.
What had seemed like such a good idea earlier in the day became more and more preposterous as the clock edged closer to seven. Sarah’s hands shook as she attempted to apply mascara, something she hadn’t done in years. She’d bought a few cosmetics at Ryan’s pharmacy so she wouldn’t look like an old hag when Charlie came to pick her up. But if her hands didn’t quit shaking, she’d have the mascara everywhere but on her eyelashes.
The frustration built to overwhelming levels, until she finally threw the wand into the sink. “This is ridiculous,” she said to her reflection. “You are ridiculous. What business do you have going out with a man when you’re not even divorced yet from the monster you married?”
Except the part of her that hadn’t forgotten the giddy sensations that came with new love refused to be silenced. She couldn’t help but be curious about Charlie, especially after seeing a hint of the man who might be lurking under his gruff exterior. After nearly forty years married to the wrong man, was it too late to start over with someone else?
She smoothed a trembling hand over the one good dress she’d brought with her to the island and hoped the dark pink silk wasn’t too fancy for opening night at the restaurant. Taking another critical look at her reflection, Sarah decided she didn’t look too bad for an old gal. She cleaned up the mess the mascara wand had made in the sink and sprayed on a spritz of her favorite perfume.
Now, if only she could make her hands stop shaking before Charlie showed up.
Because she didn’t know what else to do with herself, she sat gingerly on the edge of the bed. After years of social events tied to her husband’s illustrious career, Sarah knew how to perch just so to keep from wrinkling her dress. It was one of the few useful skills she’d taken away from her life as a general’s wife. Most of the other lessons she’d happily forget if only she could.
At times, she wondered if he missed her or if he merely missed having someone to knock around when the rages overtook him. Knowing him, he’d probably found someone new to victimize. No way would he have gone this long without sex, so it was likely some poor other woman was learning the hard way that Mark Lawry was hardly the charming retired air force officer he wanted the rest of the world to think he was. She and her children knew much better.
A pervasive sense of sadness tried to settle over her, but a gentle knock on the door pushed those thoughts away. Tonight wasn’t a time for sadness. It was a time for new beginnings and new friends and a whole new life. Dwelling on her painful past was pointless and counterproductive.
Sarah stood and willed her trembling legs to cross the room. She almost didn’t recognize the clean-shaven, well-dressed man outside her door. He looked so different she actually had to blink to be sure she wasn’t imagining him. “You clean up nicely.”
“Same to you,” he said, his eyes taking a slow and appreciative journey from her face to her knees and back up again to meet her gaze. “Very nice indeed.”
His praise and the not-so-subtle interest behind his words sent a flash of heat through her that settled between her legs, reminding her that while her marriage might be dead, she was still very much alive and still very much a woman.
Charlie extended an arm to her. “Shall we?”
Sarah didn’t hesitate when she curled her hand into the crook of his elbow. “By all means.”
Blaine settled Tiffany in his bed, and pulled a light blanket over her. Her dark hair fanned out on his pillow as her sweet lips moved adorably in her sleep the way Ashleigh’s did. She’d thought he’d be disgusted by how she looked, but to him, she was beautiful all the time, even when sick.
Keeping the bedside light on so she’d be able to find the bathroom if she got up, he went to the kitchen and located an old plastic bowl that he put on the bed next to her, in case she needed it.
Over the next couple of hours, he made a sandwich and drank a couple of beers, watched a few innings of the Red Sox game and reviewed some reports he’d brought home from the office. By nine o’clock, he could no longer take knowing she was asleep in his bed while he was in the next room acting like it didn’t matter that she was asleep in his bed.
He took a long, cold shower to remind himself that this night was about comfort and not about sex before he slid in next to her and wrapped an arm around her. Damn, she was still blazing hot with fever.