Harlequin Heartwarming March 21 Box Set

by Claire McEwen

  Wade moved closer to the desk. Her tone was hard to read. He wanted to see her eyes. As he sat down across from her, she blinked rapidly. The urge to hand her a tissue or a drink or something to keep those tears away was hard to fight.

  Brisa said, “I shouldn’t say that. I have no clue if you’ll like her or if she’ll want to get to know you. Excited isn’t the right word for her attitude, either, but she did agree.” Her shoulders slumped. “I’m doing it again. Making promises that people want and that I have no way of carrying out. When will I learn?” She covered her face with her hands.

  The threat of more tears shimmered in the air of the office. Some women were messy criers, but Brisa managed to seem tragic and beautiful at the same time. Wade wanted to get rid of the tragedy. He only knew one way to handle that: solve the problem.

  First, he had to figure out what the problem was.

  To do that, he had to keep her talking.

  “Do you have a recommendation for a restaurant? If you can help with that, you’re off the hook. You’ve made good on your promise.” Watching her struggle to keep a pleasant expression on her face was painful. At this point, he wanted to do anything he could to chase the tears away.

  “Even better,” Brisa said as she slid a paper across the desk. She sniffed once. “Mira wanted to do anything but fancy dinner with a city view, so I booked you two into a tour of Wynwood.”

  Wade frowned as he picked up the paper. What was Wynwood and why did it have tours? “On bicycles?” Wade asked aloud.

  Brisa’s smile faded and she clamped her hands to her forehead. “You don’t know how to ride a bike. Oh, no.”

  Wade stretched to wrap a hand around her wrist. He pulled it across the desk and held firmly. Smooth, warm skin over delicate bones, something he’d always remember. “I know how to ride a bike. What kind of tour is this?”

  She stared at his hand on her arm for too long before she looked up. Wade forced himself to lean back.

  “Wynwood is this Miami neighborhood with lots of murals, graffiti, artists with funky studios. This tour will take you through the area with an artist as a guide. You can get some history, some personal stories, plenty of time for you and Mira to talk about whatever comes up, and if it goes well, there are cafés where you can grab a drink.” Brisa wrinkled her nose. “Not a fan of art?”

  Wade shook his head. “Not a fan of galleries, but this could be…fun.” He smiled at the way she punched one fist in the air. “And with a set tour, we’ll have an easy excuse to call it quits when it’s over. You might have a knack for this after all.”

  Brisa brushed off both shoulders. “I’ll keep trying. Eventually, I’ll find something I have a real talent for.” She tried to make the joke, but her smile wobbled on the edges. “I’m not sure it’s a great sign that you’re both looking for an early ending, but I told Mira you’d meet her there.” She texted him the time and place for the tour. “No unnecessary pressure for either of you.”

  Wade nodded. “Hmm, so Mira needed convincing that we’re perfect for each other.” Over the weekend, he’d started to have some doubts that he was on the right track himself. Why else would Brisa be the only woman on his mind? Even the memory of her kiss with Reggie Beaumont had failed to chase away the thoughts for long.

  “Mira hasn’t met you yet. But she’ll be excited for a second date. You can count on it.” Brisa patted his hand—the consolation prize a beautiful woman might give her kindly old grandfather.

  On that note, Wade decided he’d left his daughter in the care of Sean for long enough.

  Or maybe it was vice versa.

  “I hope tomorrow is better for you,” Wade said as he paused at the door. “I won’t push, but if I can help with…anything, please let me know.”

  Brisa’s lips flattened. “It has to be. I got not one but two rejections to grant proposals I was counting on. They said my requests didn’t meet the criteria, but I know they did. I failed to present them correctly. That’s the only answer I can come up with. I’m glad I found out after meeting with my father this morning. I have a week to find a solution. I built the budget I pitched on those grants and…” She covered her face again. “You should go. I can’t keep the tears away forever.”

  Since he knew next to nothing about grants, Wade couldn’t come up with any words of advice. Why was he stuck in the doorway? He didn’t want to leave her like this.

  “Oh, before you go,” Brisa said with a frown as she dug around her desk and pulled out a different binder than the one causing her such distress, “I wanted to get your opinion on something.” She ran a finger down the open page. “Jason Ward works here part-time as a job coach who helps with résumés, interview skills, that kind of thing. He’s going to make some calls this week to track down a benefits adviser who would be willing to volunteer time to help us with seminars, retirement planning, that kind of thing. Most of the veterans who come through here will be like you, with a collection of military benefits and first-time options available through new employers, or they may be the ones able to offer them via their businesses.”

  Wade rested his shoulder against the wall. “Okay. Why do you need my opinion on that?” He was not the right guy to be offering expertise. The decisions he had to make still caused a knot in his stomach when he remembered to worry about them. Considering a call to Whitney in HR for anything other than retirement advice made it worse. Whitney? Was that her name? He hoped he’d written it down somewhere.

  Brisa finally glanced up from her notebook. “Oh, that’s not what I need your input on. I was passing along the info in case you needed it. He’ll give you a call as soon as we’ve found the right adviser.”

  Wade nodded slowly. He’d play along. It was distracting her from tears. Watching her certainty and confidence peek through was magnetic.

  Brisa shrugged. “Friday night. At Surf and Turf. After your orientation at the hospital?” She rolled her hands to encourage him to catch up. “When Cookie called you 401(k), I realized there were going to be other men and women like you who could use some help navigating all their options. Have you forgotten? You were at the end of your rope.”

  Wade banged his head softly against the wall. “I have a month to figure it all out. I decided not to think about it until then. Too many decisions and I can’t…” Focus. That was his problem, he’d decided. In a world of options, his chances of making a bad choice were too high. For years, his options had been narrow. Easy to evaluate.

  He’d made one throwaway remark about something that was a minor thing in the overall scheme of life at Concord Court.

  Brisa had already worked up a solution. He was impressed.

  “Here’s my opinion. Good job.” Wade straightened up as he watched her face brighten. Brisa didn’t immediately answer, and Wade realized she was studying him. He’d dressed for the pool, trunks and a T-shirt. Her eyes had done the full sweep. Was she checking him out?

  There were several seconds of an awkward silence before she cleared her throat and said, “I’m sorry. I just realized you were heading out to swim and I’m holding you up.” Then she shook her head. “I still don’t have the input I wanted.” She tapped the binder. “After Surf and Turf, I made two notes. The benefits counselor and…” Brisa bit her lip. Whatever it was, she hesitated to ask. Since she’d gone pretty bravely after all sorts of things, he was curious. Wade stepped closer.

  “I assume your sobriety has come with the help of a program, one of the anonymous twelve-step groups?” She bent the corner of the page in front of her, frowned and then smoothed it out again. “Should I try to start up something similar here or would it be better to have information on local existing groups included in the welcome packet?” She cleared her throat again. “What I guess I’m asking is how important is the anonymity piece?”

  Wade scratched his chin as he considered her question and the discomfort she was showing in a
sking it. Brisa cared enough to want to help. Even more important, she wanted to help in the best way for the people who needed it, not the easiest way or the way that would get good press.

  “Okay, that’s a bigger question.” He propped his hands on his hips, watched how her eyes followed the action and enjoyed the lift in his spirit since he was certain she was checking him out. He was never certain when a woman was checking him out. For it to be Brisa, that made him invincible. “For me, there was no hiding my problem. Nearly destroyed my career.” He hated that her eyes snapped to his face. Whatever she’d thought of him before, he’d sink in her estimation now. “A nurse anesthetist watched me stagger into my office and that was pretty much all it had taken. I was barred from surgery until there was an evaluation. She kept me from making a mistake that might have destroyed another person’s life and my whole world. Part of the requirements I had to meet to keep my job was mandatory attendance every week to a support group for alcoholics. My problem and my only option to keep my job weren’t secrets for long.” He grimaced. “It was an experience, hitting rock bottom and swimming around down there with the others trying to climb out, but that group made all the difference. Couldn’t save my marriage, but it saved everything else. So…” He studied Brisa’s face. The tears were gone, but she was still sadder than he liked. “My opinion is that there are already groups doing the work. It would be better to have the information on the variety of resources available than to build something here. I think. Anonymity wasn’t really a part of my recovery, but I don’t want anyone to miss out on the opportunity because they need to meet with people and can’t be exposed to the whole world. I think.”

  She’d wanted his honest opinion and he’d given it.

  Brisa relaxed in her chair. “I like that answer. So much. I’m going to take that to the therapist and the professor of social work at Sawgrass University who we liaise with, but I wanted your input first. So, thank you.”

  That was easy. Wade didn’t want to make decisions for others. He had enough trouble with his own, but it mattered that Brisa valued his opinion for some reason. He wanted her to value him.

  He realized that Brisa wasn’t judging him as broken beyond repair, even after he’d told her the worst memory he had. His record of service and expertise had earned him a second chance after a suspension, rehab and ongoing group therapy. There wouldn’t be a third one. That was enough to prevent the craving that sometimes showed up from overwhelming him. His life had no room for the mistakes alcohol would cause.

  If he ever remarried, he wanted someone who could accept his truth and make him stronger. It was a lot to ask of anyone.

  “I should go save Sean. If you’d like to do some swimming, Thea McNally will be providing the entertainment for the next hour or so.” Wade motioned over his shoulder. “Join us if you’d like. It will take your mind off everything else. Trust me, you will have no time to focus on anything except Thea.”

  Brisa pointed at the clock. “Office closed five minutes ago. I might do that.”

  The jolt of excitement that energized him made no sense. Was this a friendship? Something else? Meeting Brisa at the pool was meaningless fun, that was all. Wade’s internal monologue on that theme was stern as he walked out to the pool.

  He had a date with another woman for Saturday.

  Why hadn’t the promise of that sparked anything but dread?

  Wade joined in with the swimmers. “Everything okay?” Sean asked. He was dangling his legs in the cold water next to Wade, while Thea floated in lazy circles on her back. “You’re smiling. That has to be a good sign.” Sean turned to wave at Brisa.

  “I forwarded the phones to the emergency number and locked up,” she called as she hurried past them. “Office is closed for the day, Sean. You’re officially off duty.”

  Sean saluted. “Will do. I’m going to meet Reyna and Dottie at the fire station for dinner. Any words you want me to pass along?” He stood and kicked his feet to dry off. “She worries, you know.”

  “If you wouldn’t call her ten times a day, she wouldn’t know enough to worry, Sean.” Brisa rolled her eyes.

  “She’d know. She’s got some kind of sixth sense for her baby sister. You gonna be okay?” Sean asked. Wade watched Brisa tip her chin up. He’d seen Reyna do the same at the cocktail party on the hotel rooftop. Both Montero sisters had steel spines, even if it looked different on Reyna.

  “I will be. There are other grants, other days, and I’ll figure this out.” Then she nodded and strode away.

  Sean sighed. “One minute, Reyna and Brisa seem like they’re going to kill each other. The next, they’re challenging any oncomers who would dare say a word against one of them.” He grinned at Wade. “Falling for a Montero sister is an adventure. I’d tell you not to do it, but I’d be wasting my time.” Then he raised an eyebrow and waited for Wade to answer.

  Wade couldn’t have come up with an answer for that with all the time in the world. He was still thinking as Sean left through the gate, his chuckles trailing behind him. Wade slipped into the water to cool off and immediately snagged his daughter’s hands to zoom her around the deep end. Thea stuck to the shallows as ordered by her mother, but she loved to go fast. Then he showed her a shallow dive off his bent knee and clapped when her head bobbed above the water like a cork.

  “Thank you for getting a pool, Daddy,” she yelled. Wade put one finger over his mouth to remind her to lower her voice but held the burst of happiness that washed over him tightly. “Oh, right, the neighbors,” Thea said in a stage whisper.

  “Yes, we want to be good neighbors,” Wade said before he allowed her to push him under the water and blew explosive air bubbles up. She was giggling when he resurfaced.

  They’d never made it to this point when he’d been picking her up for too-far-apart visits.

  This was everything he’d missed. Before he could get too sappy, Thea had ducked her head underwater, the rest of her skimming the surface, as she kicked and splashed over to the side of the pool.

  Wade decided to check his phone for texts. Since his ex and her new husband had flown out of Miami early that morning, he was going to need a babysitter for this date. He’d texted and Vanessa should be sending her babysitter’s name and number.

  “Daddy, time me. How long can I stand on my hands?” Thea yelled.

  Wade obediently held up his phone. “Go.”

  He lost track of how many times Thea tried to beat her previous record. He hopped out of the pool and relaxed in the comfortable lounger he’d chosen for the judge’s stand. While he very obviously did not turn to stare at Brisa and make a big deal out of her arrival, he considered whether or not he was surprised that she’d followed through on joining them.

  Then Wade realized he’d expected to see her. No matter how many times she’d given him only part of the truth or none of it, Wade still believed her. Did that mean he was getting to know Brisa or was he too gullible to live in this world?

  The first drip of water hit his leg and he yanked his phone out of the way. Thea stood before him, twisting her hair in one hand and waving at Brisa with the other.

  Wade noticed that Brisa had spread out a shocking pink beach towel. It set off the black swimsuit she was wearing to amazing effect. He knew in his heart she’d planned that carefully, but it didn’t eliminate any of the impact. If anyone needed a model for summer fun, Brisa was perfection.

  He should have picked a different T-shirt. The one he was wearing advertised the local hardware store. He’d gotten it for free after his who-knows-how-many trips. It was gray. So were his trunks. He matched, but no one would want to take his picture.

  “Dad.” Thea had bent closer to him, dripping all the way. Her exasperation made him wonder how many times she’d already repeated herself. “Dad!”

  “What did I miss?” he asked and put one hand on her shoulder to urge her to take one step back
.

  “Do you think she would want to play a game?” Thea tangled her fingers together and twisted back and forth. “In the pool?”

  The shadow that fell across his legs alerted him that Brisa had moved closer.

  “Actually, I was coming to ask if you wanted to have a race,” Brisa said.

  “Me?” Wade asked as he watched the pink plastic rings she was waving.

  The long pause got his attention. Finally.

  “No. Not you. I want someone who’ll give me a challenge.” Brisa pointed at Thea. “My sister and I used to have races across the pool with these. We need someone to throw them for us. If your dad says okay, do you want to?”

  Brisa waved the rings and they clacked together.

  “We have to stay in the shallow end.” Thea pointed. “I can only be in the deep end if my dad’s in the water. Mom’s rules. Dad’s gonna teach me to swim better but we only started today.”

  “Mom is a smart lady. There’s plenty of room in the shallow end.” Brisa handed Wade the rings. “You throw them when we say. Got it?”

  If anyone forced him to tell the truth, he would admit that he was only following her lead. Brisa, sparkling down at him, in her swimsuit with the lush foliage around the pool as her backdrop had short-circuited all his synapses. Then his brain kicked in, and he fought back a groan as she blinked patiently at him. Women as smart and beautiful as her should come with a warning.

  “Got it, boss.” He took the rings. “Sorry, I’m slow on the uptake this afternoon.”

  Brisa smoothed her hair over one shoulder. “Happens to me a lot. I’m used to it.” After she waggled her eyebrows at him, she took four steps backward and fell into the deep end. Gracefully. Somehow, Brisa made even that look lovely and artistic.

  Thea let out a warrior yell and jumped into the shallow end.

  Wade moved closer to the side and watched them both surface. Brisa immediately dove under the water and the floating divider to move into the shallow end. “Okay. Let’s do an easy one first. We’ll both start at the wall. Dad will throw one ring and we’ll race to get it.” Brisa pointed at the wall where Wade stood.