by Eva Charles
“You have an answer for everything.”
“No detail is too small to bring into a negotiation. It’s often those tiny details that paint people into a corner, and make them say yes.”
“Those tiny details can paint you into a corner, too.”
“Oh, come on.” He flipped some water onto my legs with his foot. “You think I don’t always leave myself a little wiggle room?”
I laughed. “I’m sure you always leave a small hole to wiggle out of. Besides, you can probably sweet-talk your way out of anything. You’re tenacious.”
“You mean a big pain in the ass. That’s how most people see it.”
Something in his voice made me want to peek behind those aviators again.
“I don’t think they’d choose to work for you, or do house calls, if that’s what they saw. And it’s not at all what I see.”
“Jake was right. You’re good people, Emily Landon.” He squeezed my hand. It was quick and entirely chaste, but I melted at the warm contact.
The man was dangerous. He affected me in ways that no one had since Tim. Not true, Emmie. You are allowing him to affect you in ways that you haven’t allowed anyone else since Tim. You are not a puppet. You have control over your behavior. You can do the right thing. You will do the right thing.
“I don’t know how much of the conversation you overheard, but Teddy told me about his dad. I’m sorry.”
The dam broke at the mention of Tim, and although I didn’t shed a tear, guilt flooded in from every corner. Even my toenails hurt. I barely managed a nod. I was accepting condolences for my husband’s death from a man whose toned abs I’d been drooling over minutes ago.
While Tim and I were together, not once had I ever looked at another man. Let alone been tempted by what was at the end of a happy trail. And after he died, well, I was pregnant, and finishing school, and raising a child, trying to make ends meet. I’d never been very tempted to look then either. Not until now.
“Teddy said he flew Apaches. Did he die in combat?”
“Flying was his dream. He’d just finished flight school. As soon as we got back from Alabama, his unit was deployed, and he went with them. A training exercise gone bad. That’s what they told me. I guess I’ll never know for sure.”
“When my parents died, they were on government business. We were told it was an accident, too.”
“You sound skeptical.”
“I don’t know what to believe. My brothers…they don’t all believe it.” He jerked his shoulder. “When did it happen?”
“Tim died eight years ago. I was pregnant with Teddy.”
“He never met his son. That’s got to be tough. I had my dad for years, and it’s still tough.”
“Tim was an amazing person. So full of life. The kind of man I want Teddy to grow up to be.”
“Were you married long?”
“We’d been together since I was fifteen.”
He whistled, softly. “High school sweethearts.”
“Look, Mom—he’s floating,” Jake called from several yards away.
Fear gripped my chest, and my heart thundered. I’d spaced out and stopped paying close attention to Teddy in the pool. “Teddy! Oh my God! Look at you, baby!”
“Moooom.” Teddy started to flail, but Jake had hands on him and righted him before I panicked.
“Relax, Jake’s got him.” Mark leaned close and whispered, “Guys don’t like being called baby by their moms in front of other guys.”
“Hmmm. But in private it’s okay?”
He gazed at me, long and searing. Holding my eyes tighter than I’d gripped the edge of the pool while Teddy flailed. We engaged in an entire conversation without a single spoken word. The intimacy hanging raw and naked between us.
A passing breeze skittered over my face, cooling my flushed skin. But the tug of desire had already settled into my core, pulsing with an urgent need.
“Almost anything goes in private.” Mark’s voice was rich and thick, laced with the sweet lull of seduction, leading me further and further astray. “Lady’s choice.”
Our eyes were still locked, and neither of us noticed Sophie’s husband, Max, approach, until he dumped a bucket of water on Mark.
“What the…”
“I’ve been waiting for this day for a long time,” Max tossed over his shoulder, as he dove into the deep end of the pool. In a split second, Mark was after him.
5
Emmie
After the swim lesson, Mark fitted Teddy with an egg-shaped flotation device that he securely strapped around him. Teddy played contentedly, paddling around the shallow end, until it was time for dinner. Sophie and her toddler, Lily, joined us at the pool, and before long, Mark’s brothers, and everyone else, trickled down to say hello.
It took Mark to finally get Teddy out of the pool, by pinky-swearing he could go back in first thing in the morning. I was nervous about an adult dinner with Teddy. He’d be tired from all the swimming, and cranky.
But I underestimated my little boy, or maybe I underestimated the effect of being surrounded by a whirlwind of adults who included him in their conversations and catered to his every need—even some needs he didn’t have. They asked him questions, and told him embarrassing stories about one another. Teddy wasn’t an adventurous eater, but he ate everything he was offered, including a few bites of stewed octopus.
No one fawned over Teddy more than Mark’s grandmother, Avó Angelina, or Vovó, as everyone called her. It was the Portuguese word for Grammy. She made sure his glass was always full, and his food cut into bite-sized chunks. She was warm and welcoming, and didn’t hesitate to lavish affection on anyone, including Teddy and me. After dinner, her grandchildren cleared the table, and they even put my son to work.
“Sit.” Angelina patted my hand. “Rest while you can.” I was nervous about Teddy being inside without me, but I didn’t dare disobey Angelina. “Raising a child alone is hard work,” she told me in broken English. “My husband died when I was young, too. I had two little girls. Times were different then, especially in my culture, and I never remarried. But it does not need to be like that for you.”
“Vovó, she’s too skinny, isn’t she?” Mark stepped onto the porch. “You need to fatten her up this weekend.”
“Aye,” she said to him. “All the girls are too skinny. Carbohydrates. Fat.” She waved her hand. “Nobody eats good, anymore.”
“Except for Sophie. She looks like she’s having triplets.” Angelina didn’t understand him, so Mark used a Portuguese word to explain.
His grandmother wagged a finger at him. “Lord help you, if she hears you talking like that.”
“Do you want to take a walk on the beach?” Mark asked. “It’s a nice time of night to be out there.”
He must have sensed my hesitation.
“We can take Teddy and Brady with us,” he added. “It’ll tire them both out before bed.”
“Go,” Angelina urged. “The beach is so fresh at night. Just take a little sweater for Teddy.”
“Aw, come on, Vovó. He’s a boy. He doesn’t need a little sweater. That’s for girls. They’re the ones who are cold all the time.”
His grandmother studied him for a minute. “Juizo.” She tugged playfully on his ear.
“Always,” he responded.
I could feel myself relax when he mentioned bringing Teddy. I wasn’t ready to leave him with this group yet, even though in my head, I knew he’d be safe. And a walk alone with Mark Harrington, on the beach, the sun setting in the distance, was not a good idea. I could barely trust myself around him in a room full of people, let alone on a secluded beach. But with Teddy along, no one would be getting carried away. Especially me. I could dip my toes in and safely test the temperature of the water.
Mark brought a tennis ball and a pocketful of treats for Brady. I brought a sweatshirt for Teddy. We walked down a wide path that led straight to the sand, and left our shoes at the base.
Mark threw the ball do
wn the beach and Brady eagerly retrieved it. Then he taught Teddy how to do it.
“I can’t throw it so far,” Teddy said, disappointed. “Do you think Brady will still like to play with me?”
“Brady’s getting old,” Mark explained. “He can only run down the beach and fetch the ball a few times. It’s so much easier for him if he doesn’t have to run too far.”
Teddy’s eyes lit up. “I can do that.”
“Just don’t get too close to the water,” I cautioned.
“He’ll be okay.”
Those simple words, he’ll be okay, at once rankled and comforted me. The feeling was strange, but it disappeared before I could explore it fully.
From the beach, Mark pointed out the Claytons’ house, and two guest cottages. His cousins lived next door in a home that was identical to the Harringtons’. The cottages were larger than the house where Teddy and I lived. Angelina and her sisters, Mariana and Teresa lived in one, and Antonio and Rosa lived in the other.
“What’s your plan for tomorrow?” he asked.
“I think it’s going to involve a lot of time at the pool.”
“You should take Teddy into the village. There’s a penny candy store there he’ll love. Although the candy’s not a penny anymore.”
“That sounds like a good thing to do. I can probably lure him away from the pool with the promise of candy. Mmmm. There’s something so peaceful about the waves crashing on shore.”
“I’ve always loved the beach at night. Even more than during the day.” He pointed to the horizon. “The sky is red. It’s going to be a nice day tomorrow.”
Brady chased the ball, and Teddy erupted into a fit of laughter.
A couple, holding hands, was coming down the path, and Brady ran to them with Teddy following close behind. Helena and her boyfriend Gabe were here for the weekend, too. She was quieter than the rest of them, and didn’t laugh or smile as easily. She seemed almost fragile, and Gabe handled her with a careful, gentle kindness. He never took his eyes off her.
It reminded me so much of Tim and me. How he tended to a broken fifteen-year-old. Welcomed her into his arms and his heart without pushing her into his bed until she was ready. I tried to access the images, but they were fuzzy and yellowed.
“It’s getting late. I should probably get Teddy to bed.”
The next day involved more of the same: pool, digging moats at the beach, and a trip to the village for penny candy and ice cream. Mark, his brother Will, and cousin Ella joined us, along with Max, Sophie, and Lily.
Will was more low-key than his brothers, a lot like Jake. He listened to others’ opinions, really listened, and he didn’t shoot from the hip. His responses were thoughtful and carefully weighed. All good traits in a senator.
Their cousin Ella was the complete opposite. Ella was a fireball. If fireballs wore shoes that cost more than most people’s monthly mortgage. I’m not sure why she even needed shoes, because she didn’t walk. She floated, her feet gracefully skirting the ground. But despite her glamour, she was a badass who sipped bourbon and took no crap from anyone.
Teddy was drawn to her, like much of the male species. Yesterday at the pool, while they played Go Fish, he told Ella she was pretty and smoothed her hair with the utmost care. She told him he was such a smart boy, and snuck him an extra cookie under the table.
Mark saw the whole thing, too. “Gotta teach that kid how to be a better judge of women,” he quipped, earning him a scowl from Ella.
While we were in the village, Mark’s phone rang, and he stepped away from the table to take the call. I couldn’t hear the conversation, but he was quite animated, before his face began to harden. He ended the call, rubbed his hand over his eyes, and slipped the phone into his pocket. When he joined us, he acted as though the phone call was nothing, but he seemed slightly more preoccupied than before, or maybe less relaxed.
Mark wasn’t at dinner that evening, and when Teddy asked about him, Will said something came up, and he wasn’t sure what time Mark would be back.
“That’s good,” Drew assured Teddy, “because it leaves more food for us.”
Tonight, I was allowed to help clean up. It was more fun than chore, with bossy guys and even bossier women, all certain their way was the right way. When we were done, Cole and Alexa took Teddy to catch fireflies, and then they made s’mores in the backyard.
Teddy sat in a chaise lounge, chattering in the way an overtired-child chatters. Everything was fascinating, and deserved comment. All of a sudden, he closed his eyes and stopped talking, mid-sentence.
We laughed. “Cole does that very same thing, after being on call,” Alexa joked.
“I just pretend,” he teased, “so you’ll stop nagging.” He tugged playfully on her hair. “I mean, reminding me of all the things I need to do.”
Cole carried Teddy upstairs and laid him gently on the bed. I slipped his sneakers off, and as much as I hated to, I woke him up to use the bathroom. When he was done, I sat him on the toilet seat and brushed his teeth and washed his hands.
It took him about thirty seconds to fall back asleep. I went downstairs and curled up in the living room with a book, my feet up on a sturdy ottoman. But instead of reading, I mentally scrolled through all the characters who grew up on this vast oceanfront estate. It was as much of a fairy-tale existence as any I’d ever read about, but unlike fairy tales, this one hadn’t ended in a happily-ever-after. Not for everyone. I scanned the photographs on the mantel, thinking about how family, or lack of family, shapes us.
Surrounded by his family, Jake was as relaxed as I’d ever seen him. Unguarded, without the vulnerability that seemed to always shadow him. And Mark was truly in his element here, with so many people to lavish with affection and love. He was so good, not only with Teddy, but with Lily, too. This morning he played a bouncy lap game with her while Sophie and Max finished breakfast, and every time Mark said, “And they all fell in,” he’d drop Lily into the space between his legs and she’d burst into the sweetest, non-stop giggles until drool puddled on her chin.
Mark’s protective nature was also on full display earlier, when Juliana mentioned she had a date tonight. He pounced pretty hard, needing every detail, and wanting to know why she was going out with a guy none of them had ever met. “What kind of guy takes a woman out without meeting her family?” he demanded.
I wanted to say: Oh, please. You’re a fine one to be talking. But Juliana’s sisters beat me to the punch.
Mind you, Juliana might be the youngest of this crazy crew, but she had just graduated from law school and was about to sit for the bar exam. Mischief danced unfettered in her eyes, but just five minutes with her, and even the clueless knew she didn’t need her cousins, or anyone else, to protect her. She complained about how stifling they were, but I was envious. Having a small army watching your back seemed so much better than having no one at all to protect you.
“Hey. Where is everyone?”
My mood lightened tenfold, and my heart might have actually smiled when I heard Mark’s booming voice.
“Hi. Alexa and Cole went for ice cream. Cassie and Drew are out for a walk. Jake’s in bed, and Will and Luke are next door with your cousins.”
“They left you here, alone?”
“They invited us, but Teddy needed to go to bed.”
“He asleep?”
“Finally. He thinks he’s at a Caribbean resort with the pool, the beach, and the guys with the big muscles. Not to mention all the pretty women catering to his every whim. Your family’s been so wonderful to us.”
“They love having you here.”
“Cole and Alexa made s’mores with him before they went out.”
“Damn. I can’t believe I missed the s’mores.” He swatted my feet over and lowered himself onto the ottoman. With all the places to sit, he chose to sit practically in my lap. “Sorry I didn’t make it to dinner. Bill Dunlap, one of the partners, had a heart attack last week, and he’s out of commission for the foreseeable fu
ture. The natives are restless, and I had to quash a rising coup.”
“Is he okay?”
“Yeah, but he’s decided to cut back, and now there’s a power struggle to fill his shoes. It’ll all work out. What are you reading?”
“A book about raising boys to be good men.”
“You don’t need a book. I can tell you everything you need to know about boys, big and small.”
I laid the book in my lap. “Go on. Don’t leave me hanging.”
He squeezed my leg. His fingers were warm and strong on my skin. But he moved his hand away more quickly than I would have liked. “Later. Why don’t you change, and I’ll give you a swim lesson.”
“You can’t be serious.”
“Yeah, I’m serious. Get going, and don’t take too long. I heard all about what a slowpoke you are.”
“But Teddy…”
“I’ll run next door and grab the monitors. Meet you in the kitchen in twenty minutes.”
6
Mark
When I got next door, everyone was sprawled out in the family room, watching the Blues game. I didn’t see Juliana. I liked it better when she was too young to date.
“Juliana back yet?”
“It’s not ten o’clock. They probably haven’t even gotten to his place yet.” That was Ella warning me to fuck off. And if I didn’t, the next warning would come with her hand making contact with the back of my head.
My brother Luke nodded once in my direction. “I’m on it,” he mouthed. I let it go, because there was no one better at ruining Juliana’s fun than Luke.
“Do you mind if I borrow those two-way monitors you use for the baby?” I asked Sophie. “I’ll bring them back in a couple hours.”
“Sure. But you don’t need to bring them back tonight. We have a couple sets. They’re upstairs in the bride’s room closet.”
“Why do you need monitors?” Luke could never let anything go. But if he hadn’t asked, I’m sure one of my cousins would have jumped on it. They weren’t shy about minding my business, or anyone else’s for that matter. I’m surprised he beat them to it.
“Emily wants to go for a swim, and Teddy’s asleep in the house. If he wakes up, you know…” I waved my hand dismissively. “All those things moms worry about.”
