This Time
Page 17
“You mean launching myself at you and basically forcing you to kiss me wasn’t clear enough?”
He chuckled and pulled her close again. “You are so wrong about my willingness to kiss you.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah.”
Chapter Twelve
Seamus
“Is this better?”
“Yes. Those shoes were clearly designed by males who want to keep my gender subjugated and weak.”
He glanced over to where her high heels lay discarded under their table. “Bastards.” He whispered the words against her fragrant hair. She was so short the top of her head only came up to his chin, but he found he didn’t mind in the slightest. Her small, slim body felt perfect against his. “You don’t think guys invented high heels because they make your legs look smokin’ hot?”
“No. I think men invented high heels so women can’t run away from them.”
He chuckled and pulled her close as they swayed slowly to the music. “As long as you don’t run away from me. This reminds me of high school dances.”
“How so?”
“All the girls have ditched their shoes and most of the people are wasted. I hope Jon doesn’t plan to drive home.”
“Lisa said she was driving. She’s nursing the baby, so she didn’t drink.”
“Good.” Seamus had been careful to limit his own alcohol intake during the evening; a first date wasn’t the time to get sloshed. He glanced down in time to catch her yawn. “Why don’t we get out of here?”
She smiled sleepily and took his hand to walk back to their table. He watched her slip her sandals on while he said goodbye to his friends.
She was quiet on the way back to her house and he appreciated how they didn’t always have to talk. He pulled into her driveway and walked around to open her door. They’d danced and talked with his friends for hours, but now he was ready for a few moments alone with her. He’d told her about breaking up with Sloane, and he wondered where that left them. He hoped she was willing to explore a romantic relationship, but found himself unsure about how to broach the topic. He walked beside her, then stopped as she turned to him at the front door.
“Do you want to come inside? We could have a glass of wine.” Her green eyes were luminous in the dim porch light.
He didn’t know what to do with his hands. “I better not.” He settled for stuffing them in his tuxedo pockets.
“Oh. Okay.” She sounded disappointed as she searched in her small evening bag for her keys.
“Hey.” He retrieved one hand and cupped her cheek. “I want to go inside with you, Nina, but it’s probably best if we take this slow.” He brushed his thumb across her full lips. He did want to follow her in, but knew he’d be far too tempted to move their relationship in the direction of her bedroom at light speed. “You’re special and I’m on the rebound.”
“Ah. I guess that’s true.” She covered his hand with her own. “I certainly don’t want to be your rebound booty call.”
He burst out laughing, relieved when she joined him. The image of this brilliant, beautiful woman as the object of such a casual, unimportant relationship was unfathomable. He stared into her eyes, aware he’d never felt these emotions for any other woman: this pull, this need—much more than sexual, although that was definitely there. He acknowledged it even as panic coursed through his body. This is real. This is it. Oh, God. I gotta get out of here. But first, he needed—not wanted—needed to kiss her. Laughter faded as the heat intensified between them. He knew she felt the same pull as her lips parted ever so slightly and her tongue slipped out to wet them. He dipped his head and pressed his mouth to hers, inhaling the warmth of her wine-scented breath. She sighed into his mouth and stepped closer, her hand sliding up his arm to his shoulder. He had to taste her more fully, so he allowed his tongue to lick softly, quickly, along her bottom lip, but retreated before she could grant full access to her mouth. Keep it light. Slow down. He changed his angle and softened his mouth as they both settled for sweetness rather than full-on passion, which simmered just below the surface. There would be time for that later, when he had some distance from his recent break-up, when they’d both had more time to process Neal’s death. He gently pulled away and rested his forehead against hers. “Wow.”
“Yeah. This is a whole lot better than the last time you kissed me on my front porch.”
“Oh, really? Was I that bad a kisser back in high school?”
She smiled and shook her head. “It was my first kiss, so I’m no judge. I liked it. But you ran away last time like I had the plague. I assumed you were unimpressed.”
He realized he’d hurt her all those years ago and it caused a physical cramp in his stomach. “You’re wrong. I was too impressed, and I liked it way too much.” He brushed his lips against hers softly. “I’m sorry, Nina. I was an idiot back then. Neal had strictly forbidden me to make a move on you, and I knew he’d be pissed if he found out I’d touched you.” He clearly remembered cupping her small, soft breast as their long-ago kiss had gone on longer than he’d expected.
“Neal? You mean you…Seamus, did you want to ask me out back then?”
He smiled crookedly. “I did, but Neal refused to even think about it. He knew I wasn’t good enough for you, Nina. He was right. You deserved someone special, and I wasn’t that person back then. I like to think I’ve matured slightly in the years since.” He stroked his fingers across the silky skin of her neck. “I wonder what Neal thinks of this now?”
“I miss him too. But we’re old enough to make our own decisions.” She stood on tip-toe and kissed him. “Besides, I think he’s looking down and smiling. He’d want us to be happy. And you make me happy, Seamus.”
***
“Dude! I thought you were gonna take your sister! You dog! Why didn’t you tell me you’d asked Nina? You sure didn’t waste any time! Impressive.” Jon slid into his chair next to Seamus, ready for the morning station meeting.
Seamus didn’t look up from the paperwork he was filling out. “I’ve known Nina since we were kids. I asked her before Sloane and I broke up and we went as friends.” He saw the disbelief on his friend’s face out of the corner of his eye and sighed. “At least that’s how it started.”
“No shit? Huh.” Jon opened the manila folder he’d brought and began filling in his own overtime sheet. “Well, that’s cool. Lisa liked her a lot. It would be great if you didn’t screw this up. Whatever it is.”
He smirked but didn’t look up. “I’ll see what I can do.”
“So, are you gonna ask her out again?”
Seamus turned his head to spear Jon with his stony gaze. “Seriously, Jon? None of your goddamn business, buddy.” He turned back to his paperwork for a few minutes as the awkward silence stretched between them. “Sorry. Of course I am; I’m not stupid. I spend nearly every evening over there with her and her kids when I’m not here.”
“She has kids? As in plural? She doesn’t look old enough.”
“She’s not. Not really. She’s my age, but she was married to some older, asshole professor who insisted they adopt two little girls from Uganda, then he left her for some other woman he knocked up. Now Nina’s a single mom with six-year-old twins.”
“Dude, a ready-made family. That’s intense.”
“Whoa! Slow down! We’ve only gone out once.” He swallowed, trying to force the panic down his throat. I’m not ready for this!
“Sure, sure. But you and her…I dunno, man. It just seemed different than with Sloane.”
Seamus nodded and turned back to his time sheet, but his head was swimming. It was different—better, but scarier because it was so real. He knew he wanted to be with Nina, knew he wanted to help her as she dealt with all the aftermath of her brother’s death, but what about after that? What about after everything was settled and they knew who had murdered Neal? Would they still want to be together? And what about the girls? He was only twenty-six years old, for crying out loud! He wasn’t ready to be a f
ather! But he thought of their little faces, so cute and similar, and knew they were part of it. He remembered when he couldn’t tell them apart and now shook his head slightly in wonder. They were so different in his mind now…he would never mistake them again. He loved spending time with them, reading to them or listening as they read, playing board games, watching silly programs on television. It had started out simply as a way to help Nina, but it had morphed into something more. I’m already in too deep. I don’t ever want to back out. Oh, God. Part of him was terrified, but part of him was ridiculously happy and excited to see what this new relationship with Nina could be and what it meant for their future.
The captain entered at that moment and Seamus forced his attention back to the realities of helping run a fire station. He and Jon pulled kitchen duty again, and a quick check of the fridge and pantry revealed it was time for the weekly Costco trip. They made their list and the menu for the next two evening meals, then headed out. Seamus had always preferred kitchen duty, but he’d never attacked it with such fervor as in the past few weeks. He’d found himself surfing the Web, looking for new recipes to try out, always thinking about recreating them for Nina and the girls. He’d discovered he could get Lily to eat meat if it was in smaller pieces and spread throughout a casserole or something similar. She would pick it out if it was more than a bite-size chunk, but she would eat her vegetables without prompting. Iris, on the other hand, would eat meat, but picked at her veggies unenthusiastically. She also had an odd aversion to anything red: strawberries, tomatoes, cherries, beets, etc. Well, he agreed with her on the beets, which he thought tasted like dirt. She would eat tomatoes only if they were pureed in a sauce. God, those two are a trip! He’d managed to get them to be more helpful around the house, as well. They now helped with the dishes every night and picked up their room before bath time. His mother had always insisted her kids—all six of them—carry their share of the household duties, and Seamus figured it had been more important than he’d realized back when he was bitching about having to clean his room. He’d never struggled with the mundane realities of adulthood as many of his friends who had never even done their own laundry before leaving home. He realized Nina had probably been trying to coddle them a bit since they were orphans and she felt sorry for them. He had no such compunctions, however, and treated them like any other kid.
“Which one, bro?”
“What?” He shook himself out of his reverie to see Jon holding up two packages of ground beef. He squinted at the labels. “The one on the left.”
“This one’s cheaper.” He motioned to the package on the right.
Seamus shook his head and grabbed the one he wanted from Jon’s hand. “Yeah, but this one’s 98% lean, which means it’s healthier and less of it cooks off as fat.”
Jon looked at the remaining package and shrugged. “Huh. Okay.” He tossed the meat back into the refrigerated case. “So, have the police figured out who murdered Neal yet?”
Seamus pushed the orange cart into the cheese aisle and reached for the sliced cheddar. “Not yet. They dragged Nina and me downtown for questioning, though. My sister-in-law talked to Nina, but some other detective questioned me. I felt like a criminal by the time he was done. The guy was a real ball-buster.”
“You’re not a suspect, are you?” Jon asked in disbelief.
Seamus glanced at him, eyebrows raised. “I think I was, at least until my alibi checked out.” He’d found the beer receipt in the trash and a check of his phone records had proved he’d been at home all night.
“Holy shit!”
“I know, right? It was a real kick in the ass. But they cleared both Nina and me, finally. Now I don’t know what or who they’re looking at.”
“Man.” Jon shook his head. “Who would want to kill a guy like Neal? Did he have a lot of money?”
Seamus shook his head. “Nah, I think everything he had was tied up in his business.”
“Cuz isn’t money usually the reason people get killed? That or sex. Do you think maybe his fiancée found out he was having an affair or something?”
“Neal wasn’t the type of guy to cheat on a woman. I know that for a fact.”
“Hey, sorry, man. It’s just that it’s almost always the husband or wife.” He shrugged apologetically. “I’ve never met his fiancée, so I don’t know.”
“It’s okay.” Seamus blew out a breath. Although he’d never really liked Kira and wasn’t sure he trusted her, he didn’t think she’d killed Neal. As he’d said, Neal had no money to speak of, and if she’d wanted out of the relationship, there was nothing to stop her from leaving. But someone had killed him. Someone had loaded him full of ketamine, shot him in the head, and then left his office, locking the door behind them. They’d even fabricated a suicide note. Seamus wasn’t a detective, but even he could see Neal’s murder had been meticulously planned and executed. But why? Why kill him and try to make it look like a suicide? All the details made it clear it was someone who knew Neal and knew his habits, someone who had access to him at RiskCom. But contemplating who had murdered his best friend was giving him a headache, and he had most of a forty-eight-hour shift to go. “Look, let’s get this shopping done and head back to the station, okay?”
“Sure, sure. No problem.”
***
Nina
He wanted to ask me out all the way back in high school. Nina couldn’t get the thought out of her head, hugging the delicious secret to herself, examining it from every angle. He would have asked me out if Neal had let him. She wondered if she’d be angry with her brother if he were still alive, but thought it unlikely. Neal had always been protective of her, and she knew Seamus hadn’t been the sort of guy any brother would want their sister to date. But Seamus had grown up and left his profligate ways behind. She smiled to herself as she imagined him teasing her for using big professor words like ‘profligate.’ Her smile faded a bit as she thought about what Neal would think of their budding relationship now. Would you be happy for me, Neal? Or would you be difficult about me dating your best friend? God, I miss you! I’m so freaking mad at you for dying! How could you let yourself get murdered? We were supposed to go to each other’s weddings and watch our kids grow up together! She knew her anger was irrational, but it was still there, simmering under the surface while she got on with life, trying to make a happy home for her girls, who’d been through so much upheaval in their short lives. Her counselor—she’d kept her promise to make an appointment, even after they discovered Neal was murdered—had assured her the anger was a normal part of the grieving process and to expect to struggle with it for at least a few months. But I’m tired of struggling. I’m tired of everything being so damned difficult. I just want to forget about it all and spend time with my girls and Seamus. But it was impossible to forget the events of the past several weeks, to forget what had brought Seamus back into her life. How can something so amazing, so unbelievable, come out of something so awful?
“So? How was the ball? Did you get home before the clock struck midnight? Or did you and your delicious fireman drink champagne from your glass slippers until the wee hours of the morning?” Barb leaned against the doorjamb of the office door.
Nina chuckled and gestured to the chair in front of her desk. “Let’s see. The ball was lovely. I did not get home before midnight, and Seamus and I definitely didn’t drink champagne from my shoes. I mean, we would have, but they’re sandals, and the champagne kept dripping out.”
“You should have gone with the pumps.” She cocked an eyebrow at Nina. “Is that it? Please tell me there’s more to the story.”
Nina leaned back and smiled as she crossed her arms. “He broke up with his girlfriend.”
Barb raised her eyebrows. “Before or after the ball?”
“Before.”
“And?”
“He kissed me when he took me home.”
Barb clapped her hands excitedly. “Yay! I knew the Brazilian wax and sexy thong would come in handy!”
“Hmm. Well, that’s disappointing. At least tell me you’re going out with him again.”
Nina tried, but failed to hold in the grin. “We have a date tomorrow night.”
“You go, girl! Where is he taking you?”
Nina shrugged. “He didn’t say. We’ll probably go to dinner. Maybe we’ll see a movie afterward.”
“Ah, the classic date. Well, it’s a start. What’s the plan for after the movie?”
“I don’t know. Coffee, maybe?”
Barb rolled her eyes. “This is why you need me, Nina. I’m talking about what you’re going to do with the kidlets while you and Seamus have some time alone. You know, alone time?” She raised her eyebrows suggestively.
“Wow, Barb. It’s only our second date. I’m not going to sleep with him yet.”
“Fine. Spoilsport. But you have to promise me to dish up all the juicy details when it does happen. Please? I don’t have a guy in my life right now and I need the vicarious romance.”
“Sorry to disappoint, but I have no intention of sharing any details of my sex life with you.”
“Ugh.” She stood and walked to the office door. “You’re no fun.”
“Bye, Barb.” Nina waved as her friend left the office, then turned her attention back to her lecture notes. But the Gilded Age couldn’t hold her attention when images of Seamus insisted on intruding. I’m actually dating Seamus DeLuca. I’ve dreamed of this for so many years. But would he disappear from her life once the police had found Neal’s killer? She was angry that Seamus had been viewed as a possible suspect for a short time, but knew they had to consider everyone, even herself. Chris had finally told her both of their alibis had checked out. Who could have done it? Who had managed to get Neal in his office, somehow administered a fatal dose of ketamine, then shot him in the head, attempting to make it look like a suicide? It had to be someone who knew him and had access to the office. The list of suspects was fairly short: Kira, Gordy, Neal’s secretary, or one of their other employees. Or could Neal have let one of his other friends in that night? Maybe someone called him and convinced him to meet them at RiskCom. Ugh! It’s so frustrating to not know! She needed to let it go, to let the police do their job and stop obsessing over it. Yeah. Easier said than done.