Season for Love

by Marie Force

  The grin that stretched across his face made her heart do that pitter-patter thing. “Is that so?”

  She nodded and reached up to frame his face with her hands. “I find you completely irresistible and ridiculously sexy.”

  “Oh. Well… Wow. I like that.”

  “I wish we weren’t being so upstanding about the baby and telling Justin before we, you know…”

  He rested his head on her chest, still breathing harder than usual. “Believe me, I know. But it’s the right thing to do. I don’t want anything to mess up what we have.”

  Laura put her arms around him, hoping to keep him right there with her. “Neither do I. Friday will be here before we know it.”

  He shifted his body to the side but kept his head on her chest. “If I live that long.”

  Laura fell asleep with her fingers buried in his hair and a smile on her face.

  Grace finished brushing her teeth and took her long, dark hair down from the ponytail she’d worn for work. As much as she loved the challenge of running the pharmacy she’d bought in September, her favorite part of each day occurred when she finally got to crawl into bed with Evan.

  It was ridiculous, really, how much time she spent thinking about him when she should’ve been thinking about work. Of course, when she was doling out prescription drugs, her focus was always on what she was doing. The rest of the time, however, she found herself staring off into space, thinking about him and, lately, worrying about him.

  The poor guy had been so anxious since he found out the CD he’d spent nearly a year recording in Nashville was caught up in his record company’s bankruptcy proceedings. There was a chance that megastar Buddy Longstreet would succeed in acquiring Evan’s CD from the bankrupt company, but that was a long shot, and waiting to hear the judge’s verdict was doing a number on Evan’s nerves.

  It made Grace sad to see him so unhappy, even if he went out of his way to hide his worries from her.

  He was already in bed, shirtless and propped against the pillows, staring up at the ceiling the way he often did these days. He’d lost some of his sparkle as the waiting dragged on for weeks, and Grace would do anything to help him get it back.

  She let her eyes wander over the muscular chest with the perfect amount of silky dark hair that played a starring role in her fantasies. As he did most nights, he’d showered and shaved before bed so his rough whiskers wouldn’t mark her skin when they made love. He’d unofficially moved in with her in the loft above the pharmacy, and she loved having him and his guitars, surfboard and size-twelve sneakers underfoot.

  But watching him suffer was making her suffer, too. He was so lost in thought that he didn’t notice when she approached the bed—until she reached for the hem of her T-shirt and drew it up and over her head. That got his attention.

  Grace couldn’t get over how uninhibited she’d become since they’d been together. In the past, when she’d been extremely overweight, she’d hated being naked. Now she pranced around frequently in the all-together and had a man in her life who preferred her that way.

  Evan extended his arm, inviting her to snuggle up to him.

  Sometimes Grace still wanted to pinch herself because she got to sleep with him every night. She got to laugh and talk with him and make crazy love. The only things standing between her and total happiness were his unresolved career issues and her parents talking about coming to visit. The thought of that filled Grace with anxiety, especially since she’d failed to mention she was seeing someone or that he was living with her.

  “Best part of the whole day,” Evan said as she snuggled into his embrace.

  “I was thinking the same thing. You’ve spoiled me forever for sleeping alone.”

  “That was my goal.”

  Grace left a trail of kisses on his chest as she made her way to his lips.

  “Who was on the phone?” he asked.

  “Stephanie. Apparently, she caught Owen and Laura in the middle of a big-time make-out session earlier.”

  “Well, it’s about damned time. They’ve been on simmer for weeks now. I wondered when they’d boil over.”

  “According to Stephanie, they’ve definitely reached boil.”

  “I’m glad for them. I want everyone to be as happy as we are.”

  She brushed the hair back from his forehead. “That’s sweet of you to say, but you haven’t seemed too happy lately.”

  “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be a drag.”

  “You’re not. Not at all. I only wish the situation would be resolved one way or the other so you’re not stuck in this horrible purgatory.”

  “It’s weird—I’m not even sure anymore what I want to happen.”

  “What do you mean?”

  After a long pause, he said, “Whenever I think about the tour, I break into a cold sweat.”

  “Because of the stage fright.”

  “Yeah. It’s so screwed up. Here I am on the brink of everything I’ve ever wanted, and when I heard about the bankruptcy, my first thought was, maybe I won’t have to do the tour.”

  Grace propped her chin on his chest so she could see his face. “That’s your gut talking. If the idea of being on stage in a big venue makes you break into a cold sweat, perhaps you shouldn’t be doing it.”

  “Once I get past the initial panic, I love performing, but moving past it gets harder all the time.”

  “The bankruptcy could be a sign that you’re supposed to be doing something else.”

  “But what? I’ll have to do something soon. I don’t want to burn through my savings, and there’s not a lot I can do here, especially this time of year.”

  His words sent Grace’s stomach plummeting. Of course she knew he’d have to leave the island at some point, but she liked to think that point was way off in the future. “I can take care of things until you decide what you want to do.” Even though she’d sunk most of her money into the purchase of the pharmacy, she’d held some back in an emergency fund.

  “That’s very sweet of you, babe, but I’m not going to sponge off you any more than I already am by crashing here.”

  “It’s not sponging. We’re in a committed relationship, aren’t we?”

  “You bet your ass we are.”

  She loved his possessiveness, even if she’d never tell him that. “If I take care of you now, you can take care of me later. What does it matter? We take care of each other.”

  “I love you for that, Grace. I really do, but I need to make a plan—soon. I can’t sit around and do nothing all winter.”

  “You’re not doing nothing. You’re writing songs—lots of them.”

  “That may or may not sell. I need something more solid than that.”

  “I have complete faith that you’ll figure it out.”

  “You have to say that,” he said with a small smile. “You love me.”

  “Yes, I do.”

  He curled a shank of her hair around his hand and gave a gentle tug to bring her close enough to kiss. “That’s the only thing that’s gotten me through these last couple of weeks. I hope you know that.”

  “We can get through anything as long as we have each other.”

  “I love you so much, Grace.” He kissed her again and then hugged her. “So damned much.”

  She closed her eyes tight against the now-familiar rush of emotion she experienced every time he professed his love. Wanting to take his mind off his troubles, Grace wiggled out of his embrace and kissed her way down the front of him.

  “Grace, babe, you don’t have to—” When she took him in hand and ran her tongue over the head of his cock, he gasped and then moaned.

  As she loved him with her hand, lips and tongue, she knew the second he stopped thinking about his career crisis and gave himself over to the pleasure.

  Chapter 8

  Joe Cantrell got out of bed and moved carefully so he wouldn’t disturb Janey, who had an hour yet before she needed to get up for class. She’d been exhausted lately, so much so that he was
becoming concerned about her. In the kitchen, he started the coffee and took his cell phone off the charger, anxious to hear how his mother’s date had gone the night before. He opened the back door to let their menagerie of special-needs dogs out, and found his mother’s number on his list of favorites.

  Carolina Cantrell had been married at nineteen, a mother at twenty and a widow at twenty-seven. In all the years since Joe’s father died in a car accident when he was seven, Joe had never known her to date—until last night. She’d finally given in and let one of her friends fix her up on a blind date. His mother had been ridiculously nervous when he spoke to her yesterday afternoon, and Joe had been anxious all night thinking about her out with some strange guy.

  Her long-time friend Karen had done the fixing up, so at least it was with someone trustworthy. Or so he hoped. As the phone rang several times, visions of axe murderers danced in his head.

  She finally answered on the third ring. “Hi, honey.”

  “What took so long?” he growled as his heart rate settled down to normal.

  Her delicate laugh soothed and infuriated him. “Are you imagining axe murders and other horrors?”

  She’d always known him far too well. “Don’t be ridiculous.”

  “Moi? Ridiculous?”

  “Fine. Whatever. I was worried. Call me crazy.”

  “You’re very sweet, but you have nothing to worry about. He was a perfectly nice man, and we had a perfectly nice time.”

  “Sounds boring as hell.”

  “It was.”

  Joe winced. “Sorry. Are you disappointed?”

  “Hardly. You know me. I couldn’t care less about all this foolishness. I had my great love. I’m not silly enough to expect lightning to strike twice.”

  “Mom… Come on. You’re only fifty-six. Don’t talk like that.”

  “I know exactly how old I am, Joseph. Plenty old enough to know better than to walk around with girlish dreams. I had that once before. If that’s all I ever get, it was more than enough.”

  Joe hated when she talked like her life was already over—or the best part of it, anyway. Losing his father had so devastated her, they’d been forced to leave their home in New York City and move in with her parents on Gansett Island. His grandparents’ love had saved them both.

  “Let’s talk about something happier,” she said. “How’s Janey?”

  “She’s good. Tired, though. School is kicking her ass this semester.”

  “That doesn’t sound like our Janey.”

  “I know. I’m kinda worried, actually. She’s sleeping every chance she gets.”

  Carolina let loose with the delicate laugh that always reminded Joe of the sound wind chimes made.

  “Why is that funny?”

  “Is there any chance she might be pregnant?”

  “What?” Joe felt like he’d been hit with an electric cattle prod. “No. There’s no chance she’s pregnant.”

  “You say that like the two of you aren’t going at it every chance you get.”

  “Mom!”

  “Oh, don’t be a prude. I remember what it’s like to be a newlywed, and I’ve seen you two together. You can barely keep your hands off her in a room full of people. It doesn’t take much imagination to picture what goes on when you’re alone.”

  “This is a very inappropriate conversation for a grown man to have with his mother.”

  “Since when have we ever been appropriate?”

  Joe laughed at that. She’d taught him every swear word and filthy joke she knew by the time he was ten. Thanks to her, he’d been the first boy in his class to know the ins and outs of sex, information he’d happily shared with his peers.

  “Remember the phone call from the school?” she asked, the merriment in her tone coming through the phone line.

  “I was just thinking about that!”

  They shared a laugh, remembering. “You were everyone’s best friend that year.”

  “Yes, I was.”

  “I thought Linda would burst a blood vessel when Mac brought the info home to his younger brothers,” she said with another laugh. “So is it possible your lovely wife is pregnant?”

  Joe swallowed hard, imagining what Janey would have to say about being pregnant when she was only in her second year of veterinary school. “I suppose it’s possible. If she is, she’s going to kill me.”

  “Now, darling, remind her it takes two to tango.”

  Joe felt a little ill at the thought of raising the topic of pregnancy with his wife, who was stressed out enough with a full course load. But the idea of a baby, their baby… That filled him with the kind of giddy hope he’d only experienced once before, when he and Janey were first together.

  “You might want to think about buying a test,” his mother said.

  “I’ll talk to her.”

  “And, of course, I’ll be the first to know if she is.”

  “Naturally.”

  “Don’t let her kill you. I couldn’t live without you.”

  “Don’t worry. I think she loves me enough to let me live.”

  “Yes, she does. You’re a lucky man.”

  “Believe me, I know that. I’ve never been happier in my life. I want the same for you, too.”

  “That’s very sweet of you, but you know I’m happy.”

  “You’re content. That’s not the same as happy. Trust me, I know.”

  “I’ve decided to spend the winter on the island,” she said, clearly not interested in pursuing the subject of her happiness any further.

  “How come?” She lived in Connecticut but still owned the ramshackle island house her parents had called home. Other than the summer she’d spent in Tuscany the year he and Janey got together, she’d never missed a summer on Gansett but had given up on the winters after her parents passed away.

  “Ever since I agreed to let Karen fix me up, all our friends want in on the game. I have no desire to be everyone’s pet project. I’d rather go out to the island and get some work done.” She designed jewelry and was happiest when she was hunkered down in her studio for hours on end.

  “I hate to think of you out there all alone in the winter. Besides, there’s only the one wood stove. You’ll freeze your ass off.” He remembered sleeping near that woodstove on many a cold winter night as a child.

  “I’ll be fine. I’ll hardly be alone. I have plenty of friends still living there.”

  “I’ll send Mac over to check on the stove and make sure the roof isn’t leaking.”

  “You don’t have to do that. He’s busy with the new baby and his own family.”

  “I’m texting him the minute we hang up. Do me a favor when you get there and check in with Seamus. Make sure he’s not running our business into the ground.”

  “Oh, I’d love to. He’s such a sweetheart. You couldn’t have hired a better steward to handle the ferries while you’re in Ohio with Janey.”

  “He’s been a godsend for sure, but he’s full of big ideas on how we can grow the business. He exhausts me.”

  Carolina laughed. “You know you’ll have to keep him on when you get back to the island. You’ll break his heart if you let him go.”

  “I’ve already thought the same thing. It certainly doesn’t suck to have someone competent to lean on so I can have a life, especially now.”

  “You’ve worked like a madman running that business on your own for your entire adult life. If anyone has earned a break, it’s you.”

  “Thanks for that.” She’d kept the books for years after his grandfather died, until Joe hired an accountant and freed her up to pursue her own passion. He’d retained her on the company’s payroll and health insurance, however, a move that continued to be a point of contention between them. Since his grandfather had left the business to both of them, Joe wasn’t budging on either of those things.

  “How’s the painting going?” she asked.

  “Great. It’s nice to have time to indulge, as you would say.”

  “And
your class? How’s that working out?”

  “I love it,” he said, still amazed that Janey had submitted an application for him to teach a first-year painting class at Ohio State and only told him about it when the school called about an interview.

  “I bet you’re a wonderful teacher.”

  “I don’t know about that. It’s fun, though.”

  “Good. Well, I need to run and start packing. The more I think of spending the winter on the island, the more excited I get. It’s been years since I’ve been out there in the off-season. It used to be my favorite time of year there.”

  “I remember. We thought you were nuts.”

  “Sticks and stones, darling. Let me know how the pregnancy test works out.”

  “I will,” Joe said with a sinking feeling. Janey wouldn’t actually kill him, but he doubted she’d be thrilled to be pregnant with so much school still to go before she got her degree.

  Owen came awake slowly, the sensual memories from the night before hitting him one after the other, each more exciting than the one before. Laura was pressed against him, sleeping soundly in his arms. He hadn’t planned to stay, but when she fell asleep, he hadn’t wanted to disturb her.

  Keep telling yourself that, you opportunistic asshole. In truth, a team of mules and ten men couldn’t have dragged him away from her lush softness. He took a quick inventory and realized her hand was tucked into the back of the jeans he’d left on out of sheer self-preservation. Her leg was between his, and her baby bump was resting against his belly.

  The baby chose that moment to let him know it was awake, and Owen was breathless as he felt the ripple of movement against his skin. The miracle of it, the miracle of her, of what had been decided between them, was almost too much for him to process. He’d laid himself bare to her in a way he’d never done with any other woman. While he normally would’ve been embarrassed recalling the deeply personal thoughts he’d shared with her, he wasn’t embarrassed. Rather, he was exhilarated and relieved that she finally knew the full depths of his devotion to her.

  He’d stopped short of telling her he loved her. He was saving that for after she resolved things with her estranged husband. There would be plenty of time after that obstacle was cleared for declarations of love.