“He’ll never know if you spend a few hours in the guest room.”
His gut clenched as he stared at her. It would be so easy. So. Damn. Easy. He let his eyes close, felt himself lean in, slid his hand up under her hair…and kissed her.
Lightly at first, barely touching, but as the surrender took over, he pressed into her mouth, which was soft and sweet and tasted of that indescribable flavor of woman and pleasure and intimacy.
Her lips parted, her breath caught, and her hands slid up his arms to pull him closer. Fire licked up his back and into his chest, burning away any regrets, second-guesses, or hesitation.
He wanted this kiss. He wanted this moment. He wanted this woman.
They both turned toward each other, deepening the kiss and angling their bodies to hold each other closer. He gripped her shoulders and slid his hands down the silk of her down jacket, already aching to push it off her shoulders and get it out of the way.
She whimpered and sighed, and he curled his tongue around hers, then used his thumbs to lift her chin so he could press his lips on her jaw and throat.
Ancient, primal, long-forgotten sensations whipped through him, shocking him with their intensity, punching him with need, and taking his breath away as effectively as this powerful, perfect kiss.
“Daniel.” She sighed his name, her hands moving from his hair to clasp his neck. Her palms were damp, her arms shaking. “Do you remember that night? After the party where we met?”
The question threw him from a blissful present to a blurry past, to a night he remembered only vaguely, but pleasantly. “Sort of,” he admitted, very slowly pulling away to look at her, his arousal kicked to the next level at the flush in her cheeks, spark in her eyes, and parted lips he wanted against his again. “Why?”
“When you kissed me that night, I was…thrown.”
He smiled. “You just said it. We have chemistry.”
“That’s not what threw me,” she whispered. “I was thrown because I still loved Nico.”
“You never stopped.”
“Exactly. I loved him fiercely, and yet I let you press me right up against the wall outside of Gillespie Hall and kiss the holy hell and common sense out of me.”
“You seem to bring that out in me.”
“But I loved Nico.”
He raised his brows. “Your point…”
“We have the kind of connection that allows for us to be physical and share pleasure, but not stop loving that…puzzle piece, whether it’s next to us or not.”
He stared at her for a moment. “Is that possible?”
“Obviously, yes.”
“And that’s what you want?” he asked. “Essentially, sex with the knowledge that we’re both in love with other people, even though they’re gone?”
She let out one long, shuddering sigh. “Well, when you put it that way…”
“It’s the only way to put it.” He inched away as a slow, icy, far more familiar numbness crawled over his skin, dousing the heat they’d just built. He knew this feeling, had learned it as a kid, lived with it his whole life. His gut instinct. His moral commandments. His foundation, taught to him by wise Irish parents who lived a simple life guided by knowing the difference between right and wrong.
Getting pregnant before marriage wasn’t wrong. Skipping church on Sundays wasn’t wrong. Pulling a few strings to be a matchmaker at romance wasn’t wrong.
But making love to a woman while still loving another one?
“It feels wrong,” he said simply.
“You always did have a helluva code of ethics.”
He closed his eyes. “Not usually a fault, but yes, I live by a simple creed of doing what’s right and walking away from what’s wrong.”
He felt her whole body slump ever so slightly. “I know that. I really like that about you.”
“Then you have to accept that if I change that, if I go south when my compass tells me to go north, then…”
“You’ll be lost.”
He sighed with relief that she understood. “I’m afraid so.”
For a long time, she sat very still, not touching him anymore, not even looking at him with that sexy, irresistible promise in her eyes. He prayed he hadn’t hurt her, but didn’t want to say anything as he waited for her response.
She just smiled and stood, the only noise the swish of her jacket-covered arms brushing her sides when she dropped her arms.
“You want to go in?” he asked.
“I’m going to get Goldie,” she announced. “I’m going to bring her with me to the guest room tonight where she can sleep on the rug or at the bottom of the bed. If she needs comfort, I’ll give it. If she offers company, I’ll take it. If she gets too attached and wants forever?”
He looked up at her, waiting for the rest.
“Then we’ll deal with that as it happens,” she finally said.
He reached for her, half expecting her to yank her hand out of his, but she didn’t. She let him hold her hand, but didn’t grasp back, looking down at him. “I don’t want to—”
“Shhh.” She released his hand and put a finger on his lips. “I understand, respect, and admire you.” Her lips curled in a smile. “I also think we got our fortunes mixed up. You need to be a little more mischievous to not be lonely, and I need to…” She gave a quick laugh. “Accept defeat.”
He stayed silent, not trusting his voice.
“Good night, Daniel.”
He just stared at her.
It was wrong. Breaking his vow was wrong. Falling for another woman was wrong. Everything about this was wrong.
Except Katie, who was so damn right it hurt to think about it.
He watched her walk out of the garden, seeing a woman he knew could give him pleasure and satisfaction, and he’d easily return the favor. His body screamed for that kind of release. His brain rattled with common sense, telling him they were both smart adults who could not only handle it, but enjoy it.
But his heart. His poor, wretched, broken, bruised heart still belonged to someone else.
Frustrated, he stood, turned, and demanded answers.
“Doesn’t it, Annie? Aren’t you the only one I should ever be with?”
All he heard was a rustle of wind, a click of the kennel door in the distance, then, after a moment, the familiar bark of a red golden retriever who, if Daniel were to truly be honest, should be moving into his home and room right now. But then he’d fall in love with her. And she wasn’t an Irish setter, and that’s the only dog he could ever have as his own. It would be wrong to give his heart and home to a dog who wasn’t an Irish setter. That’s the Kilcannon family dog. That’s…
Dumb. That was closed-minded and shortsighted and dumb as dirt.
He walked to the tree in the middle of the garden, closing his fist over a thin, crispy branch, snapping it off with frustration.
“Annie girl, help me.” He dropped his head in defeat, staring at the twig in his hand with stinging eyes. He angled it and looked closely. Sure enough, there was a thread of green in there, thin and nearly invisible, but it was…something.
It was hope. It was life. It was the possibility that this tree, dead and dry and withered to the world, still had a chance to grow and thrive. A chance to soak up the sun and provide shade and give a home to birds and bees. This tree’s life wasn’t over.
Was that what the gardener was trying to tell him?
Chapter Nineteen
Cassie climbed into Katie’s car, barely able to contain the curiosity that had vibrated off her ever since they’d met at Hoagies & Heroes a few hours ago. “Spent the night, did ya?”
Katie gave a soft grunt and questioned whether having Cassie ride with her to Waterford Farm was such a great idea.
“I did.” She volleyed back a meaningful glare. “In the guest room, with the sweetest golden retriever snoring at the foot of the bed, not that you for one second would suspect anything else. Can we talk about that restaurant? That layout is almost a repl
ica of the original deli. It couldn’t be more perfect for the next Santorini’s.”
“It sure is,” she agreed with what sounded like a sigh of resignation. “And Alex almost had an orgasm at the sight of that brand-new grill top. Speaking of…” Cassie’s eyes blazed as she looked Katie up and down as if she could see some physical change. “Just you and the dog and no one else?”
Just the two of them and a few bittersweet tears. “Cassie, please.”
“Don’t ‘Cassie, please’ me, Mom. You’ve spent nearly every waking minute with the guy for a week or more, and last night you didn’t come home.”
“We painted until well past dark, as I knew we would, so I took an overnight bag. No need to drive back an hour and a half to Chestnut Creek late at night only to turn around and come right back to Bitter Bark. It made sense.”
Although, since last night in the garden, nothing made sense anymore.
Not the fact that she had feelings she’d never dreamed she could have again…or the fact that she’d been essentially turned down for being wrong. The wrong woman? The wrong time? The wrong place? Who knew? Who cared? She was…wrong.
“Are you okay?” Cassie asked.
“I’m fine.” She turned the key and looked over her shoulder while she pulled it out. “It’s just…you know.” But, of course, she couldn’t know.
“Nick. I know.”
Katie seized on the obvious. “Today’s important, honey. I want everyone to like each other. That’ll help when the secret comes out.”
“The secret.” Cassie dropped against the leather with a noisy sigh, reaching for her seat belt. “It’s like living in a soap opera.”
“Which I would imagine is your happy place, DQ.”
She snorted at the nickname Nico had given his little drama queen long ago. “Not happy, but it’s never dull.”
“No kidding,” Katie agreed. “Was John serious about buying instead of renting?”
“Let’s see.” Cassie took out her phone to check texts. “Alex says he won’t stop talking about it.” She read a text and laughed. “Alex said, ‘If the spreadsheet fits, John’ll wear it.’”
“So you and Alex text about John behind his back?”
“And vice versa, and I’m sure they grunt about me when I’m not around, and sometimes John gripes about how much money Alex spends on arcane recipes, and I do the same thing with Theo, you know. We all have little subgroups.”
“Even Nick?”
She sighed. “It’s rare, but we talk to him. John more than anyone. Those two are close.”
Katie nodded, understanding the family dynamic and grateful to have Cassie as her insider. “And your brothers are all ready for this gathering at Waterford Farm?”
“Ready? They think the purpose is to meet your new boyfriend.”
“Why would they think that?” She sputtered the question. “I haven’t given them any reason to think that. It’s to help you guys ease into Bitter Bark, maybe get some assistance with the construction and drumming up business. It makes sense for them to help us and…” She glanced at Cassie, who was just smiling.
“And to get to know your new boyfriend.”
“Listen, I hate to break it to you, but he’s not and never will be my boyfriend. It would be…wrong.” Or so he’d said.
“Why wrong? I mean, it would be complicated. Surprising. A little amusing, you have to admit. Occasionally awkward. And…” Cassie reached over and touched her arm. “You’ve been happier since you reunited with him.”
“That’s because he’s a support system for what I’m facing with Nick,” she said.
“Have it your way,” Cassie replied, giving up for once, but maybe not for good. “And speaking of Nick who never texts, he actually did reach out to me today.”
Katie ripped her gaze from the road ahead to look at Cassie. “Everything okay?”
“He’s a goner over this French babe.”
“Babe? She’s an anesthesiologist, Cassie.”
“With a Latin phrase tattooed on her hip that says something about bastards grinding.” At Katie’s questioning look, Cassie shrugged. “I might have stalked her Instagram account.”
“Anything good?” Katie asked.
Cassie curled her lip. “Dr. Babe has had a lot of boyfriends. One in particular with sixty billion pictures of them in Paris before she went to Africa. I hope she’s not a rebound girl.”
“Well, people change. And you can’t tell anything from social media. What else did Nick say?”
She was quiet for a moment, long enough for Katie to dread what might be coming next, which could be—
“He asked about the Bloodline.com results again.”
That. “Really?”
“You know, I think Theo, Alex, and John have completely forgotten about the test. If I never mentioned it again, neither would they. But for some reason, it matters to Nick. No chance he suspects, right?”
“God, no. When I didn’t know, how could he?”
“He said this Lucienne’s family is weird about being French.”
Katie rolled her eyes. “When are people going to learn that your ancestry doesn’t matter when it comes to love? For the record, I don’t care if you marry a Martian, as long as he’s good to you.”
“And hot.” She threw Katie a sassy smile. “Actually, I don’t agree. I want a man who understands my culture, and I don’t just mean the difference between pastitsio and baked ziti. I want someone who treasures family and knows the classics and is named after a saint.”
Katie had to laugh. “I’m glad your father didn’t feel that way,” she said. “So what did you tell Nick?”
“A big fat juicy lie.” Her voice sounded pained.
“Which was?”
“I told him that his results couldn’t be read.”
Katie looked at her. “Why did you tell him that?”
“Because you said that happens in one in ten thousand times or some such thing, and it will get him off our case. If he wants to do the test so badly, it’ll take time, and by then, we’ll have Daniel’s results and can tell Nick the truth.”
“You hate lying to him.”
“More than you know, but he started pestering me for the name of the company and a phone number and how he can get in touch with them. So I cut him off at the pass and…” She shut her eyes. “Pretended the call dropped.”
“Oh, honey.” Katie turned out of Bitter Bark and headed to the now familiar route to Waterford Farm. “I told you what Daniel said, that they can expedite the results and that they have a division to deal with this stuff.”
“I don’t want him to know that yet, do you?”
“Of course not.” She hit the accelerator a little as they cruised onto a long stretch of road, the engine rev matching her pulse. “I wish we knew what was going to happen and how Nick will take the news.”
“Not well.”
“And Daniel’s family,” she added.
“Also not well, especially after they all help us open a restaurant.”
Katie practically squirmed in her seat. “Daniel knows them better than anyone. He feels strongly that the bonding will help ease the pain and shock of the news.”
Cassie didn’t answer, staring out the window in silence, letting Katie’s thoughts go back to where they’d been all morning and the night before: Daniel. They stayed there until she pulled into the long driveway, seeing that John and Alex had already arrived and were being greeted by two men she didn’t recognize.
“Those aren’t Daniel’s sons.” She squinted at the tall figures with similar dark good looks and wearing matching short-sleeved navy T-shirts with white emblems on the front.
“The firefighters,” Cassie said, sliding a look to Katie. “Who are smokin’, if you’ll excuse the pun.”
Katie smiled and almost shared Daniel’s thoughts about Braden, but something made her keep that to herself. Cassie wouldn’t like being on the receiving end of the Dogfather’s matchmaking. “Very nice-lo
oking,” she agreed.
“Especially the one on the right.” Cassie narrowed her eyes. “Those shoulders. Whoa.”
Katie bit her lip and gave a noncommittal, “Hmmm.”
“Come on, Mom. You don’t have to be under forty to appreciate that.” She glanced at Katie. “What?”
Damn her inability to hide anything. Cassie would smell a setup in no time. “Nothing. They’re handsome. They’re Daniel’s nephews, which makes them…” Eligible and single.
“Not cousins,” Cassie said. “We’re not related in any way, shape, or form, are we?” She dipped her head and gave a playful look. “Although with you and your colorful past, Mom…”
“Stop it.” She tapped her daughter’s arm and put the car in park, and their arrival made the four men chatting turn to greet them, too. Katie took one quick breath before turning off the car and starting the day. “Do you think this will work?” she whispered, as much to herself as to Cassie.
“I don’t know if we’ll become one big happy family, but I gotta say this, the gene pool looks like a decent place to take a swim.”
On that, they climbed out and began the introductions.
“Hey, Mom, have you met Braden and Connor?” John asked.
Katie came forward, smiling at the two men, finding herself searching for similarities to Nick or even Daniel. She honestly didn’t see any, but did notice that both men were handsome, especially the taller, slightly broader one.
“Braden Mahoney,” he said, reaching out a hand to shake Katie’s, but giving himself away with a second and third glance at Cassie. “Part of what is commonly known around here as the Mahoney cousins.”
“Hello, Braden.” Her hand was swallowed in his while he blinded her with a smile. No, actually, that smile was directed at Cassie.
“And you must be…Connor or Declan?” Katie guessed.
“Connor.” He shook her hand next. “Declan’s in the kennels with Uncle Daniel.”
“This is my daughter, Cassie,” Katie said, putting a hand on Cassie’s back.
“Short for Cassandra?” Braden asked.
“Yes, all of us have Greek names,” Cassie said. “My oldest brother, Nick, is really Nico. John is Yianni.”
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