She rubbed her eyes. “I don’t believe this. One condom.” She blew out a breath. “I wonder if Declan left any.”
At the mention of her brother, Nick shook his head. “I doubt it. Those he would have taken with him to Andalucía. And if you suggest going and trying to find some in your parents’ room…” He wrinkled his nose. “You’d get the same response as you did when you gave me your father’s underwear.”
“Oh boy.” She eased away a little. “I vote we use it later.”
“That’s if I even have one in my wallet.” There was a hidden pocket, which could be filled or could be empty.
“If not, we’ll just have to be creative.”
He loved this discussion.
Chapter Nine
Getting carried away in the heat of the moment was one thing—discussion about the finer points of contraception quite another. Summer couldn’t pretend to herself that she hadn’t thought through sex with Nick any longer. Couldn’t blame drink, or circumstances. Who’s going to know? She brushed off the anxiety clenching her stomach muscles tight. In Brookbridge everyone knew everybody else’s business; you had as much chance of keeping a secret as you had winning the lotto. But up here, sequestered from the rest of humanity by the elements, with the nearest house a couple of miles away, their secret would be safe.
No-one need know. It didn’t have to mean anything.
Still, the discussion has altered the mood from uninhibited to reserved. She still wanted him, but the desperate edge had been eroded from her desire. Maybe they should get on with the jobs for the day that needed to get done before nightfall. It would be dark by five or six, more than enough hours then to explore each other.
She climbed off the sofa and put her clothes back on. “You need to eat and drink something hot.” She filled the saucepan and put it onto the woodstove. “And we should try to find out when the electricity will be restored.”
“Summer…” He reached a hand out to her. “Come and sit down here for a moment.” He patted the sofa.
She didn’t want to. Didn’t want to get drawn in. “No...I’ll just...I’ll make some coffee.” She had no idea what she was getting herself into here, no idea at all. There was a pile of reasons they shouldn’t do this, a pile as high as the Christmas presents that would be under her brother’s Christmas tree. And only one reason they should. Because they wanted to. Desire. Nothing more than that. No love, no happy ever after. No even pretense of a relationship. It was damned depressing.
“We can wind back time to before I woke up this morning. Pretend all of that never happened.”
He looked so serious her heart twisted. “Do you want to do that?”
He shook his head. “No. I want to take you to bed, and be creative. But you have reservations...I can see them in your eyes.”
Summer cleared her throat. “It would just be sex.” Laying down ground rules.
“No, it wouldn’t.”
And getting them stomped on.
“There’s no way being with you would just be sex,” he said. “We’ve known each other for years, we have a deeper connection, it would...”
“Be just sex.”
His eyebrows pulled together. His forehead wrinkled. And his mouth turned down at the corners. “How could it be?”
“It would have to be—”
A loud buzz reverberated through the kitchen table. Then again. Nick grabbed his cell phone and stared at the screen. “It’s Declan.” He put the cell on the table and let it ring. “I can’t talk to him now.”
“If we do this, you can’t tell him. Ever.”
His eyes widened. The phone kept ringing. “I can’t keep a secret like that from Declan. He’s my oldest friend. Why would we need to hide it anyway? Okay, it would be a shock, but once Declan and our families get used to it…”
Get used to it? “Neither your family or mine will understand that you and I had a quick fling.” She brushed her hair back from her face. “They’ll think it was sleazy. They’ll judge us.”
“Judge you, you mean, don’t you?” His mouth compressed into a line.
“Yes, they’ll judge me. Women always get judged. Men don’t.”
“So you want a quick fling. Just sex. Secret sex. You don’t want anything else from me.”
“I want your silence.”
He shook his head. “People in my practice know that I’m here—know that there is someone here looking after the house for the holidays. I didn’t reveal your name, but I won’t ask everyone to lie for me. To lie for you. Did you really expect that you could come back to Brookbridge and no-one would know?”
She’d hoped to.
“I have to call Declan back.” He stood and picked up the phone. “And I won’t lie to him.”
*****
Nick placed the call. His friend answered immediately. “How’s it going? I guessed you were probably with a patient—maybe stuck on a hillside with a freezing sheep or something. The weather forecast says there’s snow in Ireland.”
“Yeah, feet of it.” He glanced at Summer who stood in front of the range, twisting her hands together. “Wish I was there.”
“I bet.” Declan laughed. “I’m calling to get your brother’s number. Matthew is still in London, isn’t he?”
“Yes, for a while anyway. He and April are coming over for Christmas, but they won’t be making the trip for a few days. Maybe even longer if this weather keeps up. What’s the problem?”
Declan and Matthew weren’t friends, he could see no reason that Declan wanted to contact his brother. “It’s Summer,” Declan said. “We can’t get through to her cellphone, and our parents are worried. They called the restaurant, but there’s no reply from them either. We thought maybe Matthew could track her down, make sure she’s okay. “
“Okay, hang on a moment.” He put the phone on mute. “Your parents are trying to find you. Your phone is dead.”
Her face crumpled. “The singing...” She rubbed her eyes. “The battery must be flat. I can’t...” She paced the room. “Maybe I can call them from your phone—no, Declan will recognize the number—”
“They want Matthew to go out to your house and check on you. You’ll have to tell them where you are. And I’ll have to tell Declan the truth.”
She rolled her lips in. Then gave a brief nod. “Tell him. Then put me on to them.”
“Declan.” Nick internally cursed her for putting him into this situation. “Summer is fine. She’s here.”
“What?”
“I’m in your parents’ house right now. And Summer is with me.”
There was silence for a moment. Then Declan spoke. “You want to tell me what’s going on, buddy?” There was an edge to his words, as if he suspected them of being in collusion. Which, of course, they were.
There was no alternative but to reveal everything. Well, almost everything. The events of a few moments earlier didn’t need to be revealed. “I got a call yesterday morning about an injured dog. It was Summer. She’s hiding out at your parents’ house for the holidays, and a stray appeared...anyway, the details aren’t important. I came out here and fixed the animal up, but he was too weak to transport, so I stayed the night here. It’s been snowing all night, and now we’re marooned. Uh, the power is off too.”
“So you’re snowbound with my sister.” Declan didn’t sound happy about it. “Where’s her boyfriend? What about the restaurant—surely she needs to be there, it’s the busiest time of the year.”
“I don’t know.” He didn’t know much about anything where Summer was concerned. Except for the fact that all she wanted from him was sex. “You’ll have to ask her about that stuff yourself. I’ll put her on.” He held out the phone.
Summer took it. “Declan?” She rubbed the back of her neck. Sat on the edge of the sofa. “I...um...I’m here.”
The water was boiling. Nick threw back the quilt and pulled on the set of dry clothes Summer had brought down when she fetched the towels. She probably wanted privacy, b
ut she wasn’t getting it. He had questions. Unanswered questions. And if she wouldn’t tell him what was going on, he would have to learn the answers by whatever means he could.
“No, no, everything’s fine.” Her fingers were clenched so tight, they’d gone white. “The power is out, so I couldn’t charge my phone. Michael’s working, and I decided I wanted to…um…” She was a terrible liar.
“Don’t put me on speakerphone—” She closed her eyes and gritted her teeth. “Hi, Mum. Hi, Dad. Yes, I’m in Ireland. I just decided on a whim to come home for a few days. Michael’s been working so hard, and the restaurant…well, I have a very good chef who’s standing in for me for the Christmas period. I was getting burned out, you know, and I thought some time alone would be good.” Had she even realized she’d crossed her fingers?
“He’s…he’s coming out in a few days. We’ll be together for Christmas. I won’t be alone.”
I can’t listen to any more of this.
Nick took the water off the stove, made a cup of coffee, and strode out of the room. She was spinning lies, maybe now, or to him the previous night. Either the relationship with Michael was history, or they’d had a lovers’ tiff, and he was on his way in the next few days. Who the hell knows?
The sympathy he’d felt for her broken relationship evaporated. He’d been a fool. A complete and utter idiot. Why would she lie to her parents? Why pretend everything was fine, unless she expected it to be?
The memory of her anger when she’d revealed what he’d considered to be the truth the night earlier burned through him. That was real. Because the alternative, that she had mislead him because she wanted to go to bed with him, was too horrible to contemplate.
He’d said their family would be okay with them having a relationship—no wonder she’d fought so hard against that particular idea if Michael was waiting in the wings for their big reconciliation. He crossed his arms and stared out the window in the sitting room. It was starting to rain, which meant the temperature was rising.
There was no way in hell he was staying here a moment longer than he had to. No way he was playing any more of Summer’s games.
He walked back through the kitchen where she sat, still talking to her family, and out the back door.
*****
If there was anything worse than lying to her parents and brother, it was the look on Nick’s face as he passed her on the way outside. He hadn’t even looked in her direction, but his anger was evident. What did he expect? That she’d just tell them the truth and have them worried all through the holiday?
There wasn’t anything they could do from such a distance, and telling the truth would have them worried—she wouldn’t put it past her mother to insist on flying back to Ireland.
When he came back in, she’d explain.
She wanted to be with him, wanted to chase away the ghost of her relationship failure and replace it with a new memory, a warm memory of Nick’s lovemaking, but the prospect of another relationship…she shivered. I’m just getting over the last one.
Declan spoke, wanting to talk to Nick.
“No, Nick’s not here. He’s gone outside,” she said. “Shall I get him to call you back later?”
“Do that.” Her brother’s voice was warm. “Take care, sis.”
Her parents said their goodbyes, then they were gone. She stood up and walked over to Fella. “How are you doing?”
He lifted his head and whined. She checked his coat—dry. And temperature—warm.
“I think it’s time for you to have some breakfast.” She looked out the window as she filled a couple of bowls. Nick was trudging back to the house.
He pushed open the door, shaking water from his hair. Then shoved his hands into the pockets in Declan’s sweatpants. “All done?”
“Declan asked if you would call him back.”
“I’ll call him later.” He strode over and picked up his cellphone. “First, I want to call the electricity company and find out if they have a crew on the way.” He barely glanced at her. “The rain is turning the snow to slush. We should be able to get out of here this afternoon. I want to get Fella into the surgery, he looks well enough, but that swim could set off a secondary infection in his leg, and I may need to give him antibiotics. I can’t do that here.”
He called directory enquiries, and then the electricity company.
“Nick…” She wanted to turn the clock back. Wanted to make him understand her reasons for lying to her family. “I…”
He held up a hand. “Hello? We’ve lost electricity here. I’m sure you have crews out, and just want to find out when we might expect it to be restored.” He gave their location, and listened to their reply. “Fine. Thanks.” He didn’t look happy. “They have crews out, but they won’t get the power on out here until tomorrow at the earliest. I don’t want to leave you here without electricity.”
“I thought...” She’d thought they’d talk it out, but now, looking at his face, that idea was dying. He didn’t look as though he wanted to hear anything she had to say. “I want to talk about what happened. About what I told my family.”
“You don’t need to justify anything to me.” His voice was calm, but a storm was brewing in his eyes. “Like I said, the reaction I had to you was out of my control. It didn’t mean anything. Forget about it.”
How could she? “I didn’t lie to you...”
“If you didn’t lie to me, you lied to your family,” he said. “I can’t see any reason why you would do that, so I have to presume you spoke the truth to them. And if Michael is going to make an appearance in the next couple of days, I don’t want to be collateral damage.” He stood up. “You’ll have to come back to town with me and camp out in my spare room until the power is restored. I suggest you pack up whatever you need, including anything from the fridge which will spoil if you leave it here, and I’ll shovel a path down to the road.”
Before she had a chance to say anything more, he pulled on his boots, put on his coat, and left.
For a while, she just sat there. Nick could say what had happened between them didn’t mean anything. He could brush it off as if it was nothing, just as she’d tried to, before the phone call. But the truth was that she’d felt more in his arms than she had during all the years with Michael. She’d wanted him. And when he’d risked death for Fella, she’d been so worried her heart had clenched. Nick wasn’t just anyone. He was special. But he didn’t trust her, and she couldn’t really blame him.
Staying here alone in the dark and cold held no appeal.
He might not like her very much, but maybe if she stayed with him, she could make amends, make things better between them.
From the storeroom, she took a large cardboard box, carried it to the fridge, and started to pack.
Chapter Ten
They made it down the mountain and drove into Brookbridge at four-twenty. The going was slow, but the Land Rover made steady progress and the closer they got to town the clearer the road became. The gritting lorries had been out, adding salt to the main roads, so once they got through the snow-covered lane to the house it was easier. Nick focused on driving, and Summer sat in the backseat, turning around and reassuring Fella as they drove.
It was good to not have to talk to her—what was there to say, anyway?
He couldn’t have left her in a cold house alone, but the alternative wasn’t great either. His apartment was small; it would be difficult to share it with her. But there was work—he spent long hours at the practice as it was, having a houseguest wouldn’t change that.
“I’ll drop you at my apartment and then take Fella in to the practice.”
“Okay,” she said in a quiet voice. “Thanks for taking me in.”
He indicated, and pulled up outside his apartment building. “Fella will be okay in the car for a few minutes.” He climbed out and took the box of groceries from the front seat.
Summer gathered her things, and followed him to the door.
“It’s warm in here.
” She glanced around. For the first time, he saw his home through someone else’s eyes. The place was functional. He hadn’t bothered much with decoration, apart from some family photographs on the mantelpiece. He put the box down on the kitchen breakfast bar. He rarely brought the women he dated back here, they usually ended up in their houses, and he usually left at some stage during the night—his work consumed him, and he’d never found anyone he wanted to spend more than a few dates with.
“There’s plenty of hot water.” He walked into the spare bedroom. “This is your room. There are sheets and blankets in the cupboard next to the bathroom.” He shoved his hands into his pockets. “I better go. If you need anything...”
“I’ll find it.” Her smile was difficult to resist. “Thanks again, Nick. For everything.”
He took a step back. “I may be late, so don’t wait up.” He gestured to the rack of take-out menus next to the phone. “All these guys deliver. The Chinese is good.” Keys hung on a hook next to the front door. He picked one up and handed it over. “Here’s a spare key for you.” He opened the door wide. “See you later.”
Familiar cars were lined up in the parking lot—Sean’s, Evie’s, and two cars for the temporary vets. He had to carry Fella out of the car, but once down, the dog trotted along next to him easily enough.
“You’re back!” Evie walked around the desk on seeing him. “And you’ve brought a friend.” She patted Fella’s head. “Hi, boy.” She looked up. “This is the patient?”
“Yes, this is Fella.” They went into a treatment room. “I don’t suppose you could get me a coffee, could you? Is Sean around?”
“I’ll tell him you’re back.” She disappeared.
Moments later the door opened. “So, what happened to you?” Sean looked him over. “You look like shit.”
“Well, I’ve been living in a house without electricity, I haven’t showered for a couple of days, and I took a swim in the river this morning, courtesy of this guy.” He jerked a hand toward Fella.
“You were out at Declan’s parents’ house?” Sean eyed him. “Evie said a woman called.”
Snowbound Summer (The Logan Series Book 3) Page 7
