by Marie Force
Riley rolled his eyes. “Get lost, Mac.”
“I’m going.” He put his arm around his wife to escort her from the dining room.
“Why do you have to bust his balls?” Maddie asked.
“Because that’s the McCarthy family credo,” Mac replied as if she’d asked the stupidest question ever. “You know that.”
“Maybe you could let him get through the first date with her before you start the ball-busting.”
“Nope. That’s not how it works. Page thirty-two of the McCarthy Family Playbook is very clear on these matters. Ball-busting shall commence upon birth and end at death.”
“You’re ridiculous.”
“So you tell me on a daily basis.” He opened the passenger door for her and waited until she was settled before leaning in to steal a kiss. “I don’t like when my wife says bad things about herself, because to me, she’s a freaking goddess who has given me my incredible kids. I love every beautiful inch of her, which I will show her when we get home.”
Smiling, she placed her cold hand on his face. “You’re very sweet.”
“I’m dead serious. Eat the dessert, Madeline. Enjoy the dessert. Don’t deny yourself anything you want. Ever. You got me?”
“Yes, Mac. I’ve got you. Now take me home before my boobs explode.”
“We can’t have that,” he said, laughing. He kissed her again before closing the door and jogging around to the driver’s side. It was colder than a well digger’s ass this time of year when the days were short and the nights long, not that he would ever complain about more time at home with his wife and kids. He loved the winter, when life was slower in general than during the frantic summer, when they tried to jam a year’s worth of outdoor living into three short months while he juggled two booming businesses. Thank God the marina was open only four months a year.
“What’re you thinking about over there?” she asked.
“How I used to hate winter when I was a kid living here. It was so boring. Now I love it. Lots of time with you and the kids, as opposed to the summer when the marina is open and life is nonstop.”
“I agree. I used to hate the winter, too, but now it has its redeeming qualities.”
He reached for her hand and curled his fingers around hers. “Long, cold nights with my baby.”
“Lots of snuggling.”
“My favorite winter sport.”
“That’s your favorite year-round sport.”
“Only if I get to snuggle with you.”
Maddie laughed. “You should’ve been a politician. You always know what to say.”
“Sometimes I worry that you think I’m bullshitting you when I tell you you’re a goddess to me or that you’re my favorite person to snuggle with.”
“I know you’re not,” she said with a sigh.
“Why the sigh, then?”
“I didn’t mean to sigh.”
“Part of you doesn’t believe me when I say you’re the sexiest girl I’ve ever known, no matter what, right?”
“I just wish I could lose the baby weight. I’m heavier than I’ve ever been, and I hate it.”
“You’ve also got three little kids, including an infant. It’ll happen, babe.”
“I just don’t want it to get any worse than it already is.”
Mac wished he could find the words to make her feel better. “I didn’t take you out to dinner to make you feel guilty.”
“I don’t,” she said. “Not about tonight. Just in general.” She looked over at him. “Thanks for always trying to make it better.”
He smiled at her and gave her hand a squeeze.
“By the way, what’ve you got to do in the morning?”
“My gorgeous wife. We have a rare kid-free morning. No way am I squandering that by going to work on time. I’m taking full advantage of one of the perks of owning the business.”
“In case I forget to tell you later, you’re the best husband I’ve ever had.”
His low growl made her laugh. “I’d better be the only husband you ever have.”
“Only one I ever wanted.”
“Right back atcha, babe.”
When they got home, Maddie went straight upstairs to pump. Mac locked up and texted Francine to check on the kids.
Everyone is asleep, she replied. Hope you had a nice dinner.
We did. Thanks again for having them.
We love having them. Tell Maddie to sleep in. We don’t have anything to do in the morning after we get Thomas to school.
I will, you’re the best.
He went upstairs, where Maddie was attached to the device that she called the milking machine.
“Don’t look,” she said, drawing the sheet over her chest the way she had back in the early days of their relationship when she’d been extremely self-conscious about her overly large breasts.
Then, like now, it truly pained him to realize that she saw herself very differently than he did. He unbuttoned his shirt, stripped down to boxers, brushed his teeth and went to get in bed with his wife. “I checked on the kids. Everyone is asleep, and your mom said to sleep in.”
“Thank God for grandparents.”
“No kidding. I don’t know how people raise kids without them.”
“We’re very lucky.”
“We’re lucky in every possible way.”
When she was finished, Mac took the bottles of breast milk downstairs to the refrigerator for her. Returning to the bedroom, he smiled at the sight of her out cold. Her honey-colored hair spread out on the pillow, and her lips pursed in an adorable bow that made him want to kiss her. But he wouldn’t disturb her when she was getting some much-needed rest. The kids ran her ragged, not that she ever complained.
Mac turned off the light and got into bed next to her, thankful as he was every night to get to share this life with her, to sleep with her and raise their kids together. Not that long ago, he’d thought he was living large in Miami, running a successful construction company and having his choice of women.
That life seemed a million miles removed from what he had now, and he wouldn’t trade the present for the past, not for anything.
Maddie was the key to everything, and he hated to hear her down on herself like she’d been earlier. He needed to think of something he could do to make her feel better about herself, but damned if he knew what.
* * *
After dinner, Riley asked Nikki if she wanted to stop for a drink at the Beachcomber before he took her home.
“Sure,” she said.
“Here’s the thing, though. My dad is apt to be there, possibly my brother, too. I don’t want you to think I’m rushing you into meeting my family.”
Her stomach twisted with nerves. If they were just friends, it didn’t matter if she met his family, right? “I don’t mind meeting them, if you don’t.”
“I’d love for you to meet them.”
The more time she spent with him, the more she liked him and the more he challenged the rules she’d set for herself a long time ago. No romantic entanglements. She’d been hurt enough in her life as it was. The last thing she needed was more hurt, but Riley seemed so different.
He had at first, too. He was so nice and sweet and charming, until you said no to him and he took what he wanted anyway.
The thoughts and the memories that came with them made her shiver.
“Are you cold?” Riley asked, tuned in to her the way no one else had ever been, or so it seemed.
“A little, but I’m fine.” She was scared senseless, but she couldn’t tell him that. He’d been so sweet and so kind. Not to mention, he was incredibly handsome and sexy. That’d been the first thing she’d noticed about him the day he came to the house to see about the leaking roof.
His dark hair, blue eyes, chiseled face and muscular body made her want to forget all about her stupid rules. Add his physical attributes to the warm, engaging personality, and she was nearly powerless to resist his alluring charm.
Riley McCarthy
posed the first serious threat to a heart she kept well-guarded after it’d been shattered twice in the past—once by her father and again by a man who’d pretended to care about her when in fact he’d been after something she hadn’t wanted to give him.
Anxiety, her constant companion for years now, had her mind racing, her stomach churning and her body feeling as if it was under attack. Fight-or-flight mode, she referred to it. Medication helped to keep it under control, but every so often, it would rear its ugly head and take her hostage the way it had for years before a doctor suggested the medication that had given her back her life.
Spending time with a handsome, sexy, charming man who was clearly interested in her brought back the anxiety she’d worked so hard to escape. Nikki had to remind herself that Riley wasn’t the problem. He hadn’t done anything to cause the unrest that churned within her, and it wouldn’t be fair to assign any blame to him.
At the Beachcomber, he again ushered her in ahead of him with a hand on her lower back that he immediately removed when they were inside.
Nikki wanted him to leave it there, a thought that set off a new wave of tingles down her spine and more churning in her stomach. She swallowed the tight knot that formed in her throat and took a deep breath, reminding herself that not all guys who seemed sweet at the outset were charming you into a false sense of security.
Most of them were exactly as they appeared, and, according to her grandmother, Riley’s family was highly regarded on the island. They were people who could be trusted, which was why she’d let him into her house when he appeared out of the darkness last night. It was why she’d welcomed him back and agreed to have dinner with him. And it was why she was walking into the Beachcomber bar, where she would likely meet his father and possibly his brother, too.
Deep breaths.
Riley smiled at her as he snuck up on a man sitting at the bar. “Hey, old man, what’s up?”
Smiling, the man said, “Who you calling old?”
“There’s nothing old about him,” the pretty blonde bartender said with a welcoming grin for Riley.
“Spare me the gory details,” Riley said, bringing Nikki in with his arm around her shoulders, as if it was no big deal for him to put his arm around her. “Dad, Chelsea, this is Nikki Stokes. Nikki, this old guy is my dad, Kevin McCarthy, and his fiancée, Chelsea Rose. She’s way out of his league, but she doesn’t seem to realize that.”
Kevin stood to shake Nikki’s hand. “Pleasure to meet you, Nikki, and I agree completely that my lovely Chelsea is way out of my league.”
“Nice to meet you, too, Dr. McCarthy.” Handsome men definitely ran in the McCarthy family, Nikki thought.
“Call me Kevin, please.”
Nikki shook hands with Chelsea across the bar. “Nice to meet you.”
“You, too. What’re you drinking?”
“Pinot grigio?”
“Coming right up. Usual for you, Riley?”
“Yes, please. Thanks, Chelsea.”
“No problem.”
“Have a seat, guys,” Kevin said.
Riley helped Nikki onto the stool between him and his father.
“Are you guys coming from dinner?”
“Yep,” Riley said. “Domenic’s was awesome as always.”
“Love it there. I’d eat there every night if Chelsea didn’t have to work.”
“Are you saying it’s better than the chowder and burgers we have here?” Chelsea asked, her brow raised.
“Nothing can beat the atmosphere here,” he said, winking at her.
Chelsea laughed. “Watch out, Nikki. These McCarthy men are smooth-talking charmers.”
“I’m beginning to realize that,” Nikki said.
“We come by it naturally,” Riley said. “It’s in the DNA.”
“Has she met Mac yet?” Kevin asked.
“Just now at Domenic’s. He and Maddie were on a date night.”
“He’s the smoothest-talking one of us all,” Kevin said.
“No way,” Riley said. “That honor goes to his dad, Big Mac. Wait until you meet him.”
“You’re right,” Kevin said. “My oldest brother is in a class all his own.”
“There seem to be a lot of you around here,” Nikki said.
“The whole family has gravitated back to the island in the last few years,” Kevin said. “My brother Mac has six children, who are all here, and my brother Frank has two, and they’re both here as well.”
“Every member of the family went in on the purchase of the Wayfarer at the end of last year,” Riley said. “And now we’re renovating it to hopefully open for the summer.”
“That’s really something that the entire family is involved,” Nikki said. She couldn’t imagine what it would be like to be part of a family that did something like that together.
“Another of my brother Mac’s big ideas,” Kevin said. “He’s full of them.”
“This was a good one,” Riley said. “The Wayfarer was a gold mine back in the day before it fell into disrepair. We’re excited to bring it back to life.”
She could see his passion for his work in the way his eyes sparkled when he talked about it. “Do you like working with your cousins?”
“I love it,” Riley said bluntly. “I’ve learned a ton from Mac and Shane and Mac’s business partner, Luke Harris, who is a master carpenter and woodworker. In his spare time, he restores old wooden boats.”
“Oh wow. That’s amazing. I’d love to see his work sometime.”
“Big Mac owns a couple of the boats Luke restored,” Kevin said. “They’re at the marina in the summer.”
“Nikki has an interest in renovation and restoration,” Riley said.
She felt her face heat with embarrassment. “If you can call an obsession with HGTV an interest.”
“Right there with you, sister,” Chelsea said. “I could watch that network twenty-four hours a day and never get tired of it. I’ve convinced myself I could do everything they do because I’ve watched so much of it.”
“Me, too!” Nikki said, thrilled to have found a kindred spirit. “I told Riley that I want to renovate my grandmother’s house, and he’s got me thinking I could do it.”
“I’ll help,” Chelsea said. “I’d love to. I wield a mean paintbrush.”
“Thank you,” Nikki said. “It’s so nice of you to offer. I’ll take all the help I can get. I have no idea what I’m doing, but I know just enough to be dangerous.”
Riley laughed. “She’s got a PhD in HGTV.”
“Exactly,” Nikki said.
“What does your grandmother think about your plan to renovate?” Kevin asked.
“I’m going to talk to her about it tomorrow and see if she’s okay with it. I’m sure she will be. Jordan and I are her only grandchildren, so she always tells my sister and me that the house belongs to us. We don’t like to think about the day when we’ll officially own it, you know?”
Riley nodded with understanding. “I totally get that. You want her around for many more years to come.”
“I’d rather have her than the house any day,” Nikki said bluntly. Other than Jordan, Evelyn Hopper was the most important person in her life. She’d been their touchstone during a difficult and chaotic childhood.
Chelsea quizzed Nikki about what she wanted to do to the house while the guys listened patiently, interjecting suggestions and comments.
An hour went by before Nikki came up for air, surprised to realize she already felt like she’d known Kevin and Chelsea for far longer than an hour. Like Riley, his dad was easygoing and charming, not to mention extremely handsome. He was funny and interested in what she had to say, and Nikki liked him a lot.
“Should we share our news?” Chelsea asked him when they finally had a lull in the conversation.
“I was going to ask him and his brother to lunch tomorrow, but I suppose we can tell Riley now.” To his son, he added, “But don’t tell Finn yet. I want to tell him myself.”
“You’ve
got my attention,” Riley said. “What’s up?”
“Chelsea’s pregnant,” Kevin said, smiling warmly at his fiancée.
The obvious love between them filled Nikki with an odd feeling of envy. What would it be like, she wondered, to have such a bond with a man?
“Wow,” Riley said. “Congrats. That’s awesome.”
“We’re glad you think so,” Chelsea said, seeming relieved by Riley’s support.
“Congratulations,” Nikki said.
“We’re going to get married at the end of the month,” Kevin said, reaching for Chelsea’s hand across the bar. “Uncle Mac and Aunt Linda agreed to let us borrow their hotel for a mid-winter wedding.” He glanced at his son. “I’ll want you and your brother to be my best men, if you’re willing.”
“Of course we’re willing,” Riley said. “I’m happy for you guys.”
“Thanks, bud,” Kevin said. “That means everything to both of us.”
Nikki wondered what Riley was really thinking. If he was upset by his father’s news, he was doing a great job of hiding it.
Chapter 7
Riley had known this was coming, and he was truly happy for his dad and Chelsea. He said and did all the right things, the things his dad expected and deserved after the lifetime of support he’d given his sons. But deep inside, in the part of him that resisted change of any kind, he still mourned for the family that’d been lost when his parents split.
No matter how much he wanted things to stay as they’d always been, that wasn’t going to happen, and he could either get on board or run the risk of hurting the father who had been so very good to him. So he toasted his father and Chelsea and shared in their good news.
Nikki excused herself to go to the ladies’ room.
“Nikki seems really nice,” Kevin said when Chelsea went to tend to the only other customers in the bar.
“She is.”
“Are you guys dating?”
Riley shrugged. “I’m not really sure. She’s very… hesitant, or so it seems.”
“You seem rather taken with her.”
“I like her. A lot.” The confession made him feel oddly exposed. He sent his dad a wry grin. “I hadn’t admitted that to anyone, even myself.”
