The Summer Garden

by Sherryl Woods

  “You can tell that from here, just inside the door?”

  She laughed. “I could tell it the instant I saw that color on the back wall. Did you not notice it’s the one I have in one of the guest rooms at the cottage? I chose it because it brings the sea inside.”

  He turned to Moira. “Your room?”

  She shook her head.

  “Mine,” Dillon said. “And Nell’s exactly right. It’s the perfect color.”

  “I told you,” Moira said delightedly. “Now you’ll have to accept that my taste is impeccable.”

  Luke slipped an arm around her waist and kissed her cheek. “Never doubted it. Why do you think it’s already on the wall?”

  “But I know you have at least two gallons in other shades sitting in the back, just in case you change your mind,” she teased.

  “They’ll be gone before the day is out,” he promised. “Now, come in the rest of the way, Gram. Maybe you’d like to hear some of the demo CDs that Moira has chosen for possible music for opening night?”

  “I’d love it,” Nell said.

  “I’ll turn the speakers up while you and Grandfather look around,” Moira said.

  Within half an hour, not only did Luke have their enthusiastic approval, but he had a final selection for the singer and band for the opening. The choice had been unanimous. It was one more thing to tick off on that endless to-do list of his. At this rate, he might actually get this place open on schedule.

  He glanced at Moira, who had her head together with Nell’s as they debated his choice of china, and smiled. Apparently the design he’d chosen had been dismissed as boring and the order canceled. He’d decided it was a small price to pay to have them so happily involved.

  Thinking of his grandmother’s earlier advice, he thought it was entirely possible that once he had O’Briens up and running successfully, he’d put his mind to the rest of his future and whether this was, in fact, the woman he increasingly wanted to share it with. In just the past twenty-four hours he’d become aware that the decision might be far easier than he’d ever imagined such a momentous one could be.

  Mick dropped by the family’s real estate management company office on Main Street, hoping to catch up with his brother. As usual, he found Susie at her desk, but no sign of Jeff.

  “Where’s your father gone now?” he grumbled.

  Susie gave him an amused look. “He’s left just to annoy you.”

  Mick tried to control his smile, but couldn’t. “That sassy mouth of yours is going to get you into trouble one of these days, young lady.”

  Susie laughed. “But I live for those moments,” she responded. “Is there something I can do for you?”

  “Not really. I just thought your father and I should have a chat about Luke and Moira.”

  “No, you shouldn’t,” she said very firmly. “You should leave them alone, stay miles and miles away from them, keep your mouths firmly shut.” She gave him a penetrating look. “Am I getting through to you?”

  “You’re making your opinion plain, if that’s what you mean,” he said. “Do you honestly believe it will make a difference?”

  She sighed. “Sadly, no.”

  He studied his niece intently. “You feeling okay?”

  “I’m feeling great,” she said. “All clear of cancer on my last follow-up.”

  “That’s great news, darlin’. You and Mack given any more thought to adopting children?”

  She gave him a resigned look. “There are absolutely no topics that are off-limits to you, are there, Uncle Mick?”

  “Not when it comes to family,” he said easily. “And I know you’re perfectly capable of telling me to butt out, if you don’t want me to know something.”

  “Butt out,” she said.

  “Is that because there’s something to tell?” he asked. “Or because there isn’t? Is Mack balking? I know he had his doubts about being a good father, but we all know better. I could convince him that he’ll be a fine one.”

  Susie shook her head. “Mack’s on board. I’m the holdout. And that is all I intend to say. This is between me and my husband. It’s not a group decision.”

  Mick relented. “Fair enough. When is Jeff due back?”

  “Sadly, he’s just parking the car out front, which means he won’t be able to avoid you,” she said.

  Mick leaned down and kissed her cheek. “Always a pleasure to see you.”

  Susie chuckled. “Maybe from your perspective,” she said, just as Jeff came in.

  “You here to see me?” he asked Mick.

  “I am, but I’ve been catching up with your daughter in the meantime.”

  “Be careful, Dad. He’s on a mission,” Susie warned as she grabbed her purse and headed for the door. “I’m going to Sally’s to grab a sandwich. Call me on my cell phone if he gets to be too much for you to handle.”

  “I’ve been dealing with Mick since birth. I know all his tricks,” Jeff responded. In his office, he gave Mick a knowing look. “I’m guessing this is about Luke and Moira.”

  Mick regarded him with amazement. “How’d you figure that out? It didn’t surprise me that Susie did, but you’re usually less intuitive.”

  “Because everything’s running smoothly at the real estate company. There are no family crises that I’m aware of. That leaves my son’s social life for you to fret over.”

  “Tell me you’re happy about the way things are,” Mick said. “Is Moira the woman you’d have chosen for him?”

  “She beats out Kristen Lewis by a country mile,” Jeff retorted, then sighed. “But no, probably not. She was a hard woman to warm up to when we were in Dublin.”

  “She was at that,” Mick agreed. “She seemed different when I picked up Dillon and her at the airport yesterday. She was a bit more mellow.”

  “She was the same at Ma’s last night,” Jeff added. “And Luke was obviously delighted to see her. Maybe, just this once, the rest of us could stay out of it and let them work through things on their own.”

  Mick lifted a brow at the suggestion. “That’s the difference between you and me. You’re content to sit on the sidelines. I like to take charge and be sure things work out for the best.”

  “That’s the problem,” Jeff said. “You don’t always know what’s best, any more than I do.” He gave Mick a knowing look. “This is really about Ma, isn’t it? She’s told you to steer clear of her relationship with Dillon, so that’s left only Luke and Moira for you to focus on.”

  Mick sighed with frustration. “When did you get to be so smart? Yes, it’s driving me crazy the way those two seem to be getting closer every minute. Did you see the way Ma was looking at Dillon last night? She looked like a young girl with her cheeks all pink and her eyes filled with sparks.”

  Jeff chuckled. “I think we’re meant to be glad about that. We want her to be happy, don’t we?”

  “Yes, of course,” Mick said, disgruntled just the same.

  “Mick, I don’t think she’s going to pack up and move to Ireland,” Jeff consoled him. “If anything, I think this visit is the first step toward Dillon spending more time here.”

  Mick wasn’t entirely reassured. “You don’t think she wants to marry him, do you?”

  “Would that be so awful?”

  Mick thought it might be, especially if it meant she walked out on the family to live in Ireland. He thought Jeff was wrong in ruling out that possibility. She’d been happier there over Christmas than he’d seen her in years. How much of that had to do with Dillon and how much with being back in the country where she’d spent so many happy summers with her grandparents? Sometimes people reached a certain age and grew nostalgic about the past. Nell could be all caught up in those old memories and wind up making choices she’d regre
t.

  “You know Ma is going to do whatever she wants to do,” Jeff said quietly.

  “I know,” Mick said grimly. “But I don’t have to like it.”

  “Maybe not, but you do have to respect it.”

  Mick sighed. “I know that, too.”

  Jeff studied him, then asked, “Feeling better?”

  Mick put aside his worries for now and forced a grin. “Busting your chops always improves my mood,” he told his brother.

  Jeff laughed. “Glad to be of service.”

  “I suppose I’ll wander around and check on the progress at Luke’s now,” he said, already heading for the door.

  “No meddling,” Jeff called after him.

  “Yeah, yeah, I hear you,” Mick responded, chuckling. Next to building great little communities, meddling was what he lived for. Thank goodness for a large family that gave him so many opportunities. If he was careful, it usually meant there was only one person at a time annoyed with him.

  Jet lag had caught up with Moira. She’d left Luke’s to get out from underfoot and crossed the street to sit by the bay, but the warmth of the sun had her seriously close to nodding off right out there in public. Rather than giving in, she went back to the pub to let Luke know she intended to walk back to Nell’s cottage.

  He frowned when she told him. “Of course you’re exhausted,” he said. “What was I thinking to keep you down here all day? I should have sent you home with Dillon and Gram.”

  “I wasn’t ready then,” she said. “But just now across the street, I could barely keep my eyes open.”

  “And by the time you’ve walked to Gram’s, you’ll be wide-awake, when what you really need is a nap.” He took her arm. “Come on. Let’s go.”

  “You don’t have time to walk me there and then come back,” she protested.

  “No, but I do have time to walk you around the corner to my place and see you settled in my bed.”

  Despite her exhaustion, she felt a little frisson of excitement at his words. “Really?” she said suggestively. “Now?”

  He laughed. “There’ll be none of that this afternoon, Moira. You need to rest. I need to work. This is a perfectly innocent offer.”

  “More’s the pity,” she teased.

  “You told me I was going to have to work to get you back into my bed again,” he reminded her. “Have you changed your mind already? If so, I suppose I could spare some time this afternoon if the right offer came along.”

  There was an undeniable gleam in his eyes that told her he was more than eager to do just that. She decided that as attractive as the broad hint was, it was wise to pass on it for now.

  “I think I’ll hold out for the time when there’s more opportunity for real romance,” she said. “But I won’t say no to a nap at your place if it’s close by.”

  “Just around the corner,” he told her. “It’s above the real estate office. It was Susie’s apartment before she and Mack married. I took it over from her. It’s tiny and not very fancy, but you’ll be comfortable, I think.”

  He led her into an alley behind the shops, then up the stairs to an apartment that overlooked the town green. It had an open living room, dining room and kitchen, and a single bedroom and bath, but it was just right for a bachelor, she thought. Some of the touches were feminine, a dried-flower arrangement here, a collection of photos there, along with some plump, fluffy pillows and a soft throw tossed on the sofa.

  “Were these left behind by Susie? Or has someone helped you decorate?”

  Luke held her gaze, clearly aware of what she was really asking. “Kristen was never here,” he told her. “She has her own place. We spent our time together there.”

  “Your choice or hers?” she asked before she could stop herself.

  “Mine, if you must know. I knew we were never meant to last, and I didn’t want this apartment crowded with memories of her wherever I looked. You’re the only woman I’ve had up here, Moira, and that’s the truth.”

  She wanted desperately to believe him, to revel in being the first to share this space with him, even briefly. She walked to the window and looked out. There were mums strolling on the green with their children. A few kids were kicking around a soccer ball. It reminded her so much of home that she couldn’t help smiling. Luke, standing behind her, obviously noticed her reflection in the glass.

  “What?” he asked. “Are you pleased by what I said or is it something else?”

  “I was just thinking how our worlds aren’t all that different. Somehow I thought they would be, but looking out there at the green, I could just as easily be looking at the neighborhood park in my hometown outside of Dublin.”

  “Then you already feel at home here?” he asked.

  She turned to face him, so close she could almost feel his breath on her cheek, the heat from his body pulling her. “At this moment, I do,” she said. “But that’s because of you, Luke, not the scenery.”

  It was the most daring admission she’d ever made to anyone, letting someone see into her heart.

  He smiled at her words. “I’m glad about that.”

  Filled with reluctance, she said, “You should probably go back to work. You’ve still got a lot to accomplish this afternoon.”

  “Or I could stay here with you,” he offered yet again. “That appeals to me more.”

  “And the work? I don’t want to be a distraction, Luke.”

  “You were a distraction before you ever arrived,” he admitted.

  She regarded him with delight. “How so?”

  “I couldn’t get you out of my head,” he admitted with a shrug. “Maybe it will be easier now that you’re here. I won’t be wondering all the time where you are and who you’re with.”

  “Surely you weren’t jealous?” she said, genuinely shocked.

  “Not jealous exactly,” he corrected. “Just missing you and arguing with myself about it.”

  She laughed. “I was doing the same thing. I’d vowed not to, but I couldn’t help it. It was pitiful, actually. Even my grandfather felt sorry for me. I think that’s why he invited me along.”

  “Or perhaps, like Mick and Gram, he enjoys a bit of matchmaking.”

  Moira thought about that, then laughed. “You know, I think he might. I was never around him much before, so I wouldn’t have seen that side of him, but I can see it now. Do you know he’s even been trying to stir up interest between Peter and my mum.”

  “Kiera and Peter?” Luke asked, clearly startled. “No way!”

  Moira nodded. “I was as shocked as you are, but I saw signs of his success with my own eyes the night before we left Dublin. I think Peter’s been on board for years, if Grandfather is to be believed. My mum is less eager. I doubt she’ll give in easily, but she may finally be more open to it.”

  “I’d never in a million years have seen it,” Luke said. “I think the whole matchmaking gene skipped right over me. Even Susie and Mack, who were dancing around each other for years, could have kept at it for a dozen more before I caught on that they just needed a nudge to get over the hurdle.”

  “Maybe you’ll be better at it now,” Moira suggested.

  “Why?”

  “Because of us,” she said. “It’s as if I needed the experience of falling wildly in love before I saw the possibilities all around me.”

  “Wildly in love?” Luke said.

  Though he didn’t sound terrified by her choice of words, Moira blushed furiously. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have put it that way.”

  “Was it the truth?” he asked.

  She nodded, her breath caught in her throat.

  “Then it wasn’t a mistake to say it,” he said, pulling her into his arms and sealing his mouth over hers.

  Instantl
y, Moira was wide-awake, her blood humming through her veins. When he pulled away and studied her with a questioning look, she swore under her breath. “I promised myself it was too soon for this,” she murmured.

  He smiled. “Is it a promise you’re thinking of breaking?”

  She nodded slowly. “It’s a promise I’ve already forgotten,” she told him as she wrapped her legs around his waist and let him take her into his bedroom.

  As they fell into his bed together, she thought that this might not be the reason she’d come all the way across the ocean to Chesapeake Shores, but it was definitely at the top of the list of reasons that could keep her here.

  8

  Luke had been wrong. Having Moira here was going to be an even bigger distraction than he could possibly have imagined. Now that she was back in his bed, responding to his every touch, he was remembering just what it felt like to make love to her. He didn’t want to stop—not this afternoon, not ever!

  Though he knew it was an inappropriate guy thing to make comparisons, he couldn’t helping thinking how different it was to be with her than it had been with Kristen. Kristen might have been more knowledgeable, more cleverly inventive and less inhibited, but there was something so practiced about it all.

  With Moira each time felt like an adventure of new discoveries. She was delighted with every sensation he aroused, curious about what effect she might have on him with this touch or that. She could drive him over the edge with her innocent explorations. He knew he wasn’t her first, and yet he felt as if he were.

  Still trying to catch his breath, he fell back on the bed, pulling her on top of him. “Do you have any idea how amazing you are?” he asked when he could finally speak.

  “Me?” she asked, looking genuinely surprised and pleased.

  “Yes, you. I don’t know what it is, but you completely take my breath away.”

  She beamed at his compliment. “Then isn’t it lovely that you do the same for me? I never expected to feel like this about anyone, Luke. Never.” Her expression turned serious. “I think it’s because I was far too successful at keeping most people at arm’s length with that nasty temper of mine.”