by Marie Force
What was she supposed to say? Daddy is the thief?
Jim had certainly made his point. This was what she got for refusing to move out of the house that had been in his family for two generations. But what was she supposed to do? Her daughter needed a home, not to mention her mother, who still technically lived above Tiffany’s dance studio out back, even though Francine spent most nights lately with her fiancé Ned.
Since she’d lose her home and the place where she ran her dance and day-care businesses, Tiffany had refused to give up the house to Jim.
So he’d gotten even. The worst part, Tiffany decided, was she didn’t even know how they’d reached this point. When had it all gone to shit? If she was being truthful, it had started to happen right around the time he graduated from law school and they returned to the island to set up his practice.
He hadn’t needed her anymore. Sure, he’d needed her when he was in school in Boston and she was paying all the bills by working two jobs. But once he had that degree in hand and opened his practice, she’d gone from being his partner to being his problem.
Even though she worked and ran two successful businesses, he made sure to let her know this was his house and they were living off his money. After the first time he had the nerve to say that, she’d started socking away money from her day-care and dance businesses. It was almost as if she’d known, deep down inside, that she’d need it someday. Well, someday was here now, and it was time to make a new plan.
Despite her bravado, however, all she could think about was growing up without her own father, and now the same thing would happen to Ashleigh unless Tiffany could think of some way to save her marriage. Tiffany had seen her father for the first time in more than thirty years a few weeks ago, and the encounter had left her deeply shaken. While she knew Jim would be far more present in his daughter’s life than Tiffany’s father had been in hers, it still pained her to see her family broken.
If only she could think of some way to get Jim to talk to her. Maybe if he would listen, they could fix this thing before it went any further off course. He’d shocked her when he cleaned out the house. She hadn’t seen that coming, and frankly, she wouldn’t have guessed he had that level of nastiness in him. A big part of her was done with him, but then her thoughts returned, as always, to Ashleigh.
There had to be some way to fix this. While she didn’t bear any illusions about herself, she knew she was generally considered attractive and maybe even sexy when she put her mind to it. Blaine Taylor sure made her feel sexy when he set his smoldering gaze on her.
“You can’t think about him,” she said out loud. “Focus on Jim and fixing your marriage, or you’re going to end up a divorced single mother.”
The whole thing was so unfair. She’d worked her ass off to get him through school, and now, just when his practice was taking off, so was he. Her emotions were all over the place. Mad one minute, then sad, then right back to furious. It would be one thing if she’d done anything to deserve the way he was treating her. But all she’d ever been was a devoted wife and mother. She deserved better.
A knock on the back door startled her. She put down the wineglass and walked over to peek through the blinds, groaning to herself when she saw Mac on the porch. What did he want? As much as she’d tried to dislike her overbearing brother-in-law, he’d grown on her since he’d married Maddie. He’d been a wonderful husband to Maddie and father to Thomas.
Hoping there was nothing wrong with Maddie or the kids, Tiffany cracked open the door. “Hey, Mac.”
“Hi, Tiff. Sorry to bother you. I was on my way home and had an idea I wanted to run by you. Mind if I come in for a minute?”
Panic-stricken by the thought of him seeing her empty house, she stepped onto the porch, pulling the door closed behind her. “Ashleigh was fussy tonight, so I don’t want to disturb her. What’s your big idea?”
“Maddie’s been stuck in the house since she had the baby, and I thought it would do her good to have a night with the girls. I wondered if you might be willing to help me out with that.”
He’s too good to be true. “Sure. What do you want me to do?”
“I doubt she’d be up for going out out, so maybe you could have it here?”
“Ahh, I don’t think I can do that. I could check with Sydney about doing it there.” Syd and Maddie had been friends since high school.
“Is everything okay?” Mac asked, eyeing her shrewdly. “Why do you seem so nervous?”
“I’m not nervous.”
“If something’s wrong, you know you can tell me. Right?”
“Sure.”
“Tiff…”
Goddamn him and his sweetness. He was going to make her cry. What the hell? Maddie would probably tell him anyway. She threw open the door and flipped on a light.
He followed her inside.
Tiffany watched him take in the barren emptiness that was her home before he turned to her with murder in his eyes.
“Are you kidding me?”
“I refused to move out.” Tiffany shrugged. “This is what I get.”
“This is bullshit! He can’t get away with this.”
“Looks to me like he already did.”
“You need a lawyer, honey.”
“Don’t be nice to me, Mac. I can’t take that right now.”
As if she hadn’t spoken, he walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her.
Tiffany tried to fight him off, but he wouldn’t be deterred. Her eyes burned with unshed tears. If she started crying, she might never stop.
“Why don’t you and Ashleigh come stay with us for a while? We’ve got plenty of room, and Maddie and Thomas would love it. So would I.”
“No,” she said, pulling free of him. “You guys just had a baby. That’s the last thing you need.”
“Tiffany—”
“No, Mac.” Making an effort to soften her tone, she added, “Thank you. I appreciate that you want to help, but this isn’t your problem.”
“Of course it is. You and Ashleigh are family to me. Family helps family.”
She wanted to remind him that her family was nothing like his, but he was only trying to help and didn’t deserve her bitterness. “I’ll be okay. Jim and I have a few things to work out, but it’ll be fine.” Tiffany wished she believed her own words.
“You’re not alone in this. Maddie and I are here for you—and for Ashleigh. Whatever you need, whenever you need it.”
The softly spoken words went straight to her broken heart. “Stop it.”
His brows furrowed with confusion. “Stop what?”
“Stop being so nice to me. It’s much easier to think you’re a pain in the butt than to admit you’re a rather nice guy.”
Mac tossed his head back and laughed. “I’m sorry to disappoint you.”
“You haven’t disappointed me. You’ve impressed me with the way you care for my sister and her children. I was hard on you when we first met, and I’ve regretted that.”
“Aww, jeez, keep it up and I might start to think you like me or something.”
“I never said I like you, so don’t get all full of yourself,” Tiffany said with her trademark smirk. He was so damned sweet, and her sister was awfully lucky to have him. If she didn’t love Maddie so much, Tiffany would be eaten up with jealousy. “About the thing for Maddie…”
“Don’t worry about that. You’ve got too much going on.”
“No, I’ll take care of it. Let me talk to Syd and see if we can use her place. I’ll call to invite Maddie when we have it figured out.”
“Why don’t you let me tell her so I can present her with a done deal. I’ll tell her I’m taking care of the kids, including Ashleigh, if need be.”
“That’s nice of you. Thanks.”
He shrugged off the praise. “Any time. I mean that.”
She went up on tiptoes to kiss his cheek. “Thank you.”
He gave her a quick hug. “We’ll get you through this. Don’t worry.”
<
br /> Since she couldn’t speak over the lump in her throat, she just nodded as she saw him out.
Mac got into his car and withdrew his cell phone from his pocket. “Hey, baby,” he said when Maddie answered. “I’ve got one more thing I need to take care of before I come home. Are you okay for a little while longer?”
“My mom and Ned are here, and they’re giving Thomas a bath,” she said with a chuckle. “From the sound of things, Thomas is winning the war.”
“He usually does,” Mac said, smiling as he imagined the scene.
“We’re good. Everything okay with you?”
“Did you know Jim moved out and took everything they owned?”
“Yeah. Tiff told me. How did you hear about it?”
“I saw her in town, and we got to talking.” He didn’t want to tip his hand about the girls’ night out, so he didn’t confess to stopping by her sister’s house.
“Mac,” Maddie said, her voice full of suspicion. “What’re you up to?”
“Nothing.”
“You’re going to confront Jim, aren’t you?”
How did she always manage to see right through him? While he should probably be annoyed by that skill of hers, he was usually amused by it. “I hope I never have a big secret I want to keep from you.”
“Don’t even bother trying, buster. I’d know.”
Sitting in the dark car, he smiled again at her saucy tone. “I won’t be long.”
“Don’t hit him. Do you hear me?”
“Aw, come on! Why do you have to ruin all my fun?”
“That’s my job as your wife.”
“I won’t hit him.”
“Mac…”
“What? I’ll try not to.”
Her delicate laugh stirred him, reminding him of how long it had been since they’d been able to make love. He was better off not thinking about that, since they still had several weeks to go before she’d get the green light to resume activity. Despite his lingering trauma after witnessing childbirth, there was a very good chance he would die of pent-up desire for her before the light turned green.
“Hurry home,” she said.
“Will do.” He drove to Jim’s office on Ocean Road and was glad to see lights on inside. Mac figured his brother-in-law was probably living in the apartment over the office. He scowled at Jim’s shiny new Mercedes on the way to the door. Jim had the funds for a fancy new ride but left his wife and daughter in an unfurnished house? Mac would never understand guys who behaved that way. After knocking on the door, he waited several minutes before he heard footsteps bounding down the stairs.
Jim threw open the door, clearly stunned to see Mac. “What’re you doing here?”
Though they’d grown up together on the island, the two men had never been friends. They’d been cordial as brothers-in-law. Until now. “You got a minute?” Mac asked.
As usual since returning to the island after college and law school, Jim Sturgil’s dark brown hair was perfectly coiffed. His starched dress shirt and pressed slacks screamed, “Look at me! I’m making money now!” He’d left the island a regular guy and had returned a hard-core metrosexual. “I was just heading out.”
“This’ll only take a minute.”
“Fine.” Jim turned and led Mac into the reception area of his first-floor office.
The leather furniture looked and smelled expensive. When Mac thought of the way Tiffany and her daughter were living, it was all he could do not to plow his fist into Jim’s pretty face.
Hands on hips, Jim said, “So what do you want?”
“I want to know what kind of man leaves his wife and child without a stick of furniture.”
Jim’s face flushed with anger. “That’s none of your damned business.”
“You made it my business when you left her high and dry.”
“She’s neither high nor dry. She’s been socking away money on the side for years that she thinks I don’t know about. Don’t let her play you. She’s a master manipulator. I ought to know.”
“I promised my wife I wouldn’t punch you, but you’d be wise to watch how you talk about my sister-in-law.”
Jim snorted out a laugh. “Your bitch of a sister-in-law doesn’t even like you, so you’re wasting your breath defending her.”
Mac decided he’d heard enough. He grabbed a fistful of Jim’s starched shirt and jacked him against the wall. “Listen here, asshole. I don’t care if she likes me or not, she’s in my family and under my protection. If you want your new practice to go to shit overnight, keep talking trash about my wife’s sister. I’ll ruin you before you even get started, and you’ll never know what hit you. Am I clear?”
“Get your hands off me. Right now.”
Mac tightened his fist until the shirt was nearly strangling Jim. “I said… Am I clear?”
“Yeah,” Jim muttered.
He released Jim so abruptly the other man nearly lost his balance. “Take care of your wife and daughter, Sturgil, or I swear to God you’ll regret it.”
“You fucking McCarthys think you own this island,” Jim muttered as he attempted to smooth out the mess Mac had made of his shirt.
“No, we don’t. But if you think I can’t cause you a shitload of trouble around here, try me. Keep your goddamned mouth shut about Tiffany or else. She has friends here—a lot of friends. I can’t say the same for you.”
Mac decided he’d made his point and got out of there before he broke his promise to Maddie along with Jim’s nose.
He arrived home a few minutes later to find his wife waiting for him. She wore a long, silky robe that accented her generous curves. Her curly hair was loose around her shoulders, and Mac wanted to throw her over his shoulder and carry her straight to bed.
“Where’re your mom and Ned?”
“They went home after they got Thomas to bed.”
“Sorry I missed saying good night to my buddy.” That was just another thing to be mad with Jim about.
“I told him you’d be here in the morning when he got up. So, did you punch him?”
Mac held out his hands for her inspection.
She gave each hand a careful inspection. “Thank you for caring about my sister.”
“Of course I care about your sister. And your niece.”
When she was satisfied there were no bruises, Maddie kissed the back of each hand. The brush of her lips against his skin was all it took to make him hard. Despite his best efforts to hold it back, a small groan escaped from his clenched jaw.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, reaching up to frame his face with her soft hands.
The caress of her fingers on his face only made his problem worse. “Nothing,” he said, attempting to step back from her.
Holding him in place, she looked up at him with the caramel-colored eyes that slayed him. He wanted to beg for mercy. “Mac… Is it Jim? Did something happen that you’re not telling me?”
“No.”
“Then what is it?”
“It’s nothing that three weeks and six days won’t cure.”
He watched her brows furrow with confusion and then smiled at the way her lips formed the adorable O he loved so much when his meaning dawned on her.
She smoothed her hands over his chest and down his belly.
He sucked in a sharp deep breath when she cupped his painfully hard erection. “Maddie, don’t…”
“Why not?” She looked up at him with a coy smile as she squeezed and caressed him through his shorts. “You didn’t just have a baby. Why should you have to suffer?”
Before he could summon the brain cells to respond, she had unbuttoned and unzipped his shorts, pushed them down over his hips and had him seated on the sofa. When she dropped to her knees in front of him, he nearly stopped breathing. “What’re you doing?” He looked around to see if they were truly alone. They were never alone these days. “Kids…”
“Are asleep.” She wrapped her hand around him and lowered her head to take him into her mouth.
It’d been so long that he nearly exploded at the first tentative touch of her tongue on the sensitive tip. “Maddie,” he gasped. “Baby, you don’t have to… Oh Christ…” His head fell back against the sofa, and while he knew he should be taking care of her rather than the other way around, he was powerless. She owned him, and she knew it.
“Mmm,” she said, letting her lips vibrate against his shaft.
The fingers he’d combed through her hair tightened into fists. “That’s enough.”
Rather than stop, she took him deeper, and when she added lashing strokes of her tongue, he went off like a rocket, surging into her mouth as wave after wave of powerful release left him drained. “Wow,” he said when he could speak again.
Pushing his shirt up as she went, she peppered his belly and chest with soft kisses that fired him up all over again. “I can’t wait,” she said between kisses, “to be able to…” With her lips brushing against his ear, she whispered a blunt description of what she couldn’t wait to do.
“Madeline! I’m shocked by your language!”
Chuckling, she said, “No, you’re not.”
She amused and aroused him like no other woman ever could. “I don’t know what’s happened to my sweet, innocent wife,” he said as he put his arms around her and nuzzled her hair.
“She’s become a sex fiend, thanks to you.”
“I can’t even hear you say the word ‘sex’ right now,” he said as her soft breasts against his chest reawakened his cock.
“There’s lots of other stuff we can do, you know.”
Of course he knew. She’d done most of the “other stuff” for the first time with him. He brushed the soft hair back off her face and buried his fingers in the silky strands. “You’re so tired, honey. I don’t want you to feel you have to—”
Her lips landed on his, soft but insistent. “Shut up, Mac.”
Since he had no desire to argue with his gorgeous wife, he tightened his arms around her and let her have her wicked way with him all over again.
Chapter 12
Evan held her hand as they walked through town to the restaurant. It was such a small thing, but the feel of his fingers linked with hers thrilled Grace. Every woman they passed took a good long look at him as he went by. That he’d chosen to spend this evening with her made Grace want to do a happy little jig right there on the sidewalk, but she managed to restrain herself.
