She drew in a breath. “You’ve found her?”
He nodded. “Yes. She has a bakery here. She’s...” He exhaled. “Popular with everyone. Happy. Kind. Funny. She’s...pretty cool.”
“Cool?”
He huffed a laugh. “Eccentric. Tiny bit mad, if I’m honest. But, yeah, cool.”
“There was a time searching for his mother ate your father up from the inside out. He could barely think of anything else.”
Mac pushed his hand into his hair and held it back from his face, picturing his father’s notes and diary. “Maybe he did, but he didn’t do anything about it. Don’t you think that was a little cowardly on his part? Something that he could’ve lived to regret?”
“How can you say that? You didn’t know anything about it until after he was gone.” Her voice cracked. “He couldn’t find her.”
“Is that what he told you?”
“Yes.”
“He lied.”
“What?”
“He found her, Mum. I’ve read his diary. He’d found her but couldn’t find it in himself to risk a second rejection from her even though he knew she’d looked for him in the past. That’s what it was all about for Dad. Rejection. Abandonment. Whereas I’m fully prepared for either of those things from a woman I don’t know.”
She sighed. “He was happy with us, Mac. Maybe he didn’t feel the need to meet her as you do.”
Bile rose bitter in Mac’s throat, and he swallowed. Was he floundering in a way his father hadn’t been? Or had his father been looking for a place—a constant—that he couldn’t find at home? Wasn’t that something any number of people felt?
Mac blew out a slow breath as he thought of Marian and how she’d stopped looking for her son once she’d found her husband. How Mac had been looking for something since he’d lost Jilly and the baby. How Kate seemed to be looking for something since her sister’s betrayal.
He sighed. “I suspect Dad was no different than anyone else. Let me do this. Let me speak to Marian and tell her who I am...who we are. She seems a good person, Mum. She might be the best person to get us through the grief of losing him.”
The seconds ticked by until his mother’s heavy exhalation rasped down the line. “Fine. Do what you have to do. Is Dana coming home?”
“Yes. She wanted me to call you first and tell you what I’ve been doing.”
“Okay. Fine. Talk to this woman. But for goodness’ sake, Mac, make sure you’re prepared for whatever happens next.”
“I will be.”
“Good. I love you.”
“Love you, too.”
Mac ended the call, before he called up his texts. He reread Kate’s text, and a burning need to be with her rose inside him. Once he’d spoken to Kate and restored her confidence that he wanted to welcome Marian into his family—if she wanted that—he hoped Kate would see the real him. Not the angry, resentful man he’d been for far too long.
He pressed the reply button and texted Kate back.
I know you probably don’t trust me right now, but I need to see you. I haven’t spoken to Marian. At least, not yet. Will you meet me in the Coast around seven? I really want to work things out between us, Kate. I won’t do anything to hurt you or Marian. Promise x
* * *
KATE WALKED INTO the Coast and scanned the packed bar, her nerves jumping. She really shouldn’t be here. She should be talking with Marian. Yet, deep in her heart, she believed it was Mac’s place to tell his grandmother who he was. There would be a far better chance of a happy family reunion if the connection came from Mac, not Kate. How could Marian be anything but hurt if Kate relayed a story that wasn’t hers to tell? If Marian learned her personal business had been dissected, without her knowledge? Kate feared her dear friend might hate her for being involved. That was what had forced her inside the bar to hear what Mac had to say.
It was Saturday night, and the Coast was filled with couples and friends. When she spotted Mac at the bar, she shouldered her way closer, smiling hellos and exchanging a few words with familiar people. At last, she reached him. His dark hair had fallen over the side of his face, hiding his expression as he stared at the label on his beer bottle. Judging from the stiff hunch of his shoulders and the way he repeatedly tapped his foot against the bar, his day had been considerably worse than hers.
Shaking off her guilt, she gently tapped his shoulder. “Hi.”
He lifted his head, and his somber expression immediately softened with his killer smile and a renewed gleam in his bright blue eyes. “Hi.”
Her stomach knotted. He really was one of the most handsome men she’d ever met. “Drinking alone?”
He tilted his head along the bar. “I’ve had Dave to keep me company now and then. I’m glad you’re here. Drink?”
“A glass of merlot would be great. Thanks.”
She slid placed her purse on the bar. As he raised a hand to get Dave’s attention, Kate studied Mac’s profile and tried to figure out his mood. He must have had a pretty trying afternoon if he’d spoken to Marian, and his sister and her family had turned up, too. Traitorous satisfaction unfurled inside her...at least he’d looked happy to see her.
Dave walked toward them, and Kate smiled. “Hey, Dave.”
“Hey yourself. What can I get you?”
“Merlot, please.”
“Coming right up.” He put a glass in front of her and filled it with red wine. “How are things going with the fund-raising for the mother and baby unit? All the donations from the other night counted?”
“Yep, and we surpassed our target.”
“So, what’s next?”
“I’m not sure, but I’ll definitely let you know if I need yours or Vanessa’s help with anything. You guys have been fantastic.”
“Always happy to help.” He glanced at Mac. “Another?”
Mac drained his beer and set it on the bar. “Sure, why not? Do you mind if Kate and I take our drinks upstairs?”
Kate stilled. Upstairs? To his room? Heat immediately flooded her face, and her skin tingled with awareness. She stared straight at Dave, battling to maintain an expression of nonchalance. What was Mac thinking? Even if Dave kept quiet, the only way to the stairs leading to the upper floor was through the bar. Half the town would know she’d taken a drink with him in private...behind a closed bedroom door.
Dave raised his eyebrows and looked from Mac to Kate. “Well, sure, if that’s what Kate wants. Kate?”
“Uh-huh.” Further words clogged her throat.
His eyes shone with amusement. “Then that’s fine by me. You kids have fun.”
Fun? Nothing about going with Mac to his room would be fun...would it? Her mind raced with all sorts of fun that could be had, but she very much doubted Mac’s mind meddled in the same places as hers.
Mac stood and smiled. “Ready?”
She nodded. “Sure.”
Picking up her wine, she turned toward the staircase and kept her back ramrod straight, even when the heat of Mac’s palm at the base of her spine penetrated through her coat and shirt. Eyes front, she ignored the numerous glances sent their way. Whatever happened next, she was a big girl and could handle anything Mac said or did. She liked him. He liked her. Yet, until she knew for sure he’d approach Marian gently and with care, Kate’s defenses would remain firmly in place.
They walked along the short landing, then stopped outside one of the bedroom doors. “This is me,” he said, pulling some keys from his pocket and opening the door. He gestured for her to enter. “After you.”
She walked into the small and tidy room and noted his guitar leaning against one wall and his neatly made bed. The window was partially open to the darkness, his bag stowed beside a desk bearing a stack of papers and a red notebook.
“They’re my father’s.”
She started and turned. “Pardo
n?”
He nodded toward the desk. “The papers. That’s his research on Marian. It’s those papers that started all this.”
“Right.”
“Do you want to take a look at them?”
She faced him, surprised he would ask. “They’re private.”
He shrugged and closed the door before standing in front of her. “I appreciate you being in this with me. I don’t want to keep anything from you. I want everything out in the open between us.”
Kate’s heart quickened as his gaze roamed over her face. He gently eased the glass of wine from her hand and put it beside his beer bottle on top of a chest of drawers.
Her pulse beat faster as he returned to her and put his hands on her waist. Kate’s heart thundered as his focus dropped to her mouth. “Mac—”
“I’ve wanted to do this all day. May I?”
She stared into his beautiful blue eyes, her body trembling as she saw the desire in his gaze. Her physical surrender to him was inevitable...even if she was forced to keep her emotional surrender firmly under lock and key. She nodded.
His lips tentatively touched hers as he hitched her gently forward. She gripped one of his biceps, her other hand clenching her purse. He slowly slipped his warm tongue into her mouth and their kiss deepened, causing her senses to flood with awareness. His scent teased her nostrils as he towered above her. Soft, deliciously arousing sensations swarmed through her body, and she leaned into him. Lips and tongues explored and appreciated until, reluctantly, she stepped back, afraid of just how far this evening could go.
“We need to talk, Mac.”
He nodded, the desire in his gaze easing. “I know.”
She shrugged out of her coat and laid it across the bottom of the bed before picking up her wine. “So...”
His gaze lingered on hers before he turned and picked up his beer. She sat on the bed, and instead of sitting beside her, as she’d expected, he pulled out the desk chair. “So, I had an interesting afternoon...a revealing afternoon.”
“How so?”
“For a start, I managed to speak a little more with Marian.”
“And?”
He smiled wryly. “And she’s a hard woman to dislike. She was intent on convincing me of the importance of family. A few days ago, I would’ve probably gotten riled up again considering she’d given Dad up, but, thankfully I’ve changed and Dana’s unexpected appearance would’ve cut me off anyway. It would be wrong of me to keep lashing out at Marian. She’s not who she was decades ago. I, of all people, should cut someone slack for their past. God knows, I haven’t been a nice bloke since Jilly died.”
Relief lowered Kate’s shoulders, and she lifted her glass in a toast. “Long may your understanding continue.”
They drank, and she said, “Marian’s a good woman, Mac. She deserves to know who you are, and the longer we keep that fact a secret from her, the harder it will be for you to tell it. You need to speak to her sooner rather than later. Unless your sister’s visit has changed your mind?” Apprehension pressed down on her. What if it fell to her to tell Marian about Mac and his family? “If she has, I’m not prepared to keep your existence from Marian. I couldn’t live with that, Mac. I’d never comfortably look her in the face again.”
“I haven’t changed my mind. If anything, Dana said a few things that made me more determined than ever to speak with Marian. I even told my Mum of my intentions.”
Pleased he’d shared his mission with his family, Kate exhaled. “That’s good. I’m finally realizing the advice I give to kids at work apply to my own life, too.”
“And what’s the advice?”
“That secrets sometimes need to be shared in order for a person to heal.”
He stared, his gaze intense.
Her heart beat fast as their eyes locked. She felt a connection with this man. A true recognition of souls.
She looked around the room, purposefully burying her loneliness. “Has Dana gone home now?”
“She and the kids are staying at a B and B tonight and going home in the morning. I’m meeting them for breakfast at the Oceanside. A special treat before they leave. She’s not exactly happy with what I’ve been doing, but I’m hoping she’ll have calmed down a little by tomorrow.”
“It’s only fair she gets to put her point of view across. Once Marian knows who you are, you should also tell her about Dana and her children, too.”
“I will.”
She took a sip of her wine. “So, I assume you didn’t ask me up here to tell me about Dana?”
He arched an eyebrow. “What other reason could there be?”
Heat assaulted her face, and she laughed. “I’m not insinuating—”
“I really wish you would.”
Desire spread through her. Could she? To make love with him would change things between them. They would no longer be new friends or acquaintances. They’d be lovers and, for Kate, that would mean she’d want to take their intimacy further, have his trust in everything. She’d need him to speak with her about things, important things. Determination burned deep in her chest. She’d had her fill of secrets, of hurt and betrayal.
She took a deep breath. “What if Marian rejects you, Mac? What then?”
His smile faltered and his jaw tightened. “Then I’ll leave. Go home.”
She nodded. “Right.”
He came toward the bed and sat beside her. He took her hand and circled his thumb over her palm, studying her fingers before meeting her eyes. “But if she wants to know about Dad, me and my family, then I’ll stay around for as long as it takes to answer her questions and have her answer some of mine.”
Kate stared into his beautiful eyes, and her desire for him intensified. Every part of her wanted to make love to him now, and possibly for a long time into the future. He was good and honest. He wasn’t a liar or a cheat. He wasn’t Dean.
She released a shaky breath. “Make love to me, Mac.”
Chapter Fifteen
MAC STARED INTO Kate’s deep, dark eyes. “Are you sure?”
Her smile was soft, almost shy. “Yes.”
His body burned with longing even as doubt about making love to this woman coursed through him. Making love with Kate would be different than it had been with any of the women he’d shared a bed with since Jilly. He sensed after having sex with Kate, everything would shift inside him. That maybe he wouldn’t want to leave the Cove, even if his grandmother rejected him.
Was staying where his father’s mother lived something he was prepared to do?
Kate leaned away from him and put her glass on the bedside table, her shoulders tense. Then she touched his jaw, her stunning gaze boring into his. “What is it? I thought you wanted—”
“I do.” He pressed a lingering kiss to her palm. “I also suspect I could be in real danger of falling in love with you. If that happens, what then?”
Her cheeks flushed, and tears glinted in her eyes. “Then I’ll be glad, and we’ll see how things play out. Right now, I’m not asking for anything from you other than to make love to me. I don’t want promises. I just want a little care and tenderness. Now, put down your drink and kiss me.”
God, he wanted her. Intimacy was a risk. Love was a risk. God damn it, life was a risk.
He pulled her close and kissed her. His body tensed as she slid her fingers over his shoulders and into his hair. Their tongues tangled, and as her nails teased his scalp, Mac’s uncertainty dissolved. He hitched her closer until her breasts pressed against his chest. He kissed her harder, wanting her to know exactly what she did to him. What she and her support meant to him.
Slowly, he eased her on to her back and lay alongside her as his admiration and desire for her intensified. “You’re amazing. Promise me you’ll never let anyone tell you differently, or believe any differently.”
Self-doubt shone
in her eyes as he slowly unbuttoned her shirt. “You’re strong, kind, loving and funny. You deserved more than your ex. You most likely deserve more than me, but I promise I’ll never cheat on you. Not ever. I’m not him. I’m me.”
She exhaled. “I know. At least now I do.”
He opened her shirt and tugged it free from her jeans. Dragging his gaze from hers, he looked at her partially naked body and his breath caught. Her breasts were generous, bulging past the cups of her lacy white bra. Her skin was creamy and flawless. Leaning down, he kissed her collarbones, slowly making his way toward one of her breasts. She shuddered as he nipped and sucked gently at her silky-smooth skin.
His erection strained against his jeans as he slid his hand over her breast, along her rib cage and over the curve of her waist. “Beautiful.”
He lifted his head and she reached up to tug his shirt free of his jeans. Moving away, he pulled it over his head and tossed it on to the floor. Returning to her, he let her explore his shoulders, pecs and stomach.
“You—” she huffed a laugh “—work out.”
He smiled. “A little.”
She raised her eyebrows. “Your body is not the result of a little. My body is the result of a little.”
He smoothed his hand over her flat stomach and pressed a kiss to her belly button “—You think this is the result of a little?”
With her fingers at his chin, she lifted his face and pulled him closer. They kissed long, hard and deep, their hands busy exploring and discovering. Unable to endure the confines of his jeans any longer, Mac shifted on the bed and unbuttoned them. They took off their jeans and they came back together, their underwear the only remaining barrier.
He needed to touch her, to know she wanted him as he wanted her.
She lay back, and he slid his hand over her stomach to run his fingers along the top of her panties. She sucked in a breath and he smiled. The woman was so sexy, but she also possessed a mysterious control that turned him on so damn much. She trembled as he crept his fingers beneath the triangle of material and lower.
Satisfaction sped his heart as he stimulated her until her breaths quickened and she dug her nails into his biceps. Lower, and he pushed his finger inside. Soft, hot, erotic perfection. His erection throbbed as he continued to stimulate her, their lips joined once more.
A Stranger in the Cove Page 16
