Ready for Love

by Marie Force

  “Not bad. Madhouse tonight.”

  “Always is when Owen’s here.”

  “Pretty girl grew up to be a lovely woman.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Yer girl,” Ned said, nodding toward the table.

  “Oh. Yeah. She sure did.” Luke tried and failed to get the bartender’s attention. Didn’t she know he partially owned the place? Not that he’d ever play that card.

  “Had me a girl like that once,” Ned said in an odd moment of introspection. “Even had red hair like yer girl.”

  Astounded by the revelation, Luke stared at the old man with the wild white hair and bushy beard. He wore a faded red T-shirt and khaki shorts—an outfit that was dressed up by Ned’s usual standards. “What happened?”

  “Same thing that happened to you—she picked someone else.”

  Luke wasn’t sure how to reply to that. “Is she still with him?” he asked, deciding that was the safest of his many questions.

  “Nah. Ended more than twenty-five years ago.”

  “So why didn’t you go after her?”

  Ned shrugged. A toothpick danced around his mouth. “She knows where I am.”

  “Is she here? On the island?”

  “What’ll it be, Luke?” the bartender asked before Ned could reply.

  “Two light beers, please.”

  “Coming right up.”

  Luke turned back to Ned. “Well, is she? Here?”

  “Yep.”

  “You ever see her?”

  “Only from a distance.”

  “Who is it?”

  “Ya ain’t gettin that outta me, boy,” Ned said with a snort.

  The bartender delivered the beers, and Luke paid her. Turning back to Ned, he said, “Let me tell you—from experience—everything is better the second time around. If you still think about her, go see her. You never know what might happen.”

  “Suddenly yer the wise one, eh?”

  Luke shrugged. “I wouldn’t say that.”

  “She gonna break ya heart again?”

  “Hope not.”

  “She’s looking for ya. Better get back to her.”

  Luke shifted his gaze to the table. When his eyes met Sydney’s, he returned her smile.

  “Whoo, boy, ya got a bad, bad case,” Ned said with a howl of laughter.

  “I sure do.”

  “Hope it works out for ya this time.”

  “Me, too. Maybe it’ll work out for you if you give it a shot. What’ve you got to lose?”

  “Eh,” Ned said, shrugging. “Bygones.”

  “Whatever you say. See ya later.”

  “Look out fer yaself, boy. Don’t wanna see ya crushed by her again.”

  The comment stopped Luke short. “That’s not going to happen.” But as he returned to the table, Luke wondered who he was trying to convince—Ned or himself.

  Chapter 12

  Owen played his way through a song list of summer tunes that everyone sang along to: “Summer Breeze,” “Sister Golden Hair,” “God Only Knows” and “Peaceful Easy Feeling.” Under the table, Luke kept a firm grip on Sydney’s hand and felt her tense when Owen launched into “Southern Cross.”

  Luke glanced over to find a faraway look on her face.

  Sydney caught his eye and offered a small smile. “Seth’s favorite song.”

  “You want to go?”

  “No, it’s okay. Just took me by surprise.”

  It had caught her when she was actually having a good time, and Luke was sorry to see the sadness creep back into her expression. He tightened his grip on her hand and felt her relax when the song ended.

  Owen took a break and wandered over to join them. He plopped down at the table, all his formidable charm focused on Sydney. “So tell me the truth: how much did he pay you to come out with him tonight?”

  Startled by the question, Sydney laughed. Even though the joke was at his expense, Luke was grateful to Owen for making her laugh.

  “I’m actually rather cheap,” Syd said with a sly smile that made Luke’s blood boil and earned an appreciative grin from Owen.

  While the rest of the group cracked up at her comment, Owen studied her with new respect and a hint of interest.

  “Down, boy,” Luke said, attempting a menacing scowl.

  “It’s like that, is it?” Owen said.

  “You’re damned right it is.”

  “Who is this guy?” Owen asked Mac and Joe. “And what’ve you done with quiet, unassuming Luke Harris?”

  Joe slipped an arm around Janey. “Happens to the best of us, my man.”

  “Y’all are falling like dominoes around here,” Owen said with a shudder. “Remind me not to drink the water.”

  “You’re still playing at the wedding, right?” Janey asked.

  “Wouldn’t miss it for the world, sweet pea.”

  Janey rewarded him with a bright smile. “You were Joe’s only request.”

  “I’m doubly honored, and I understand I’ll be sharing the stage with the eminent Evan McCarthy.”

  “Well, I had to ask my brother, too, but you’re the headliner,” Janey said to laughter from the others. “Just don’t tell Evan that.”

  “Ohhh, blackmail,” Mac said. “I never get any dirt I can use on her.”

  “If you lived a pure, pristine life like I do, I wouldn’t always have truckloads of dirt on you,” Janey said haughtily.

  Joe guffawed at her comment, and Mac held up his hand. “Whatever you’re dying to say, Joseph, stifle it. That’s my baby sister.”

  “It’s so nice to be out like this,” Syd said, and the others focused their attention on her. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to blurt that out.”

  Maddie gave her a one-armed hug. “Don’t apologize to us. We’re thrilled to have you with us.”

  For Owen’s benefit, Sydney said, “I was widowed fifteen months ago.”

  “Sorry to hear that.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Had you been out at all?” Mac asked. “Before you came here?”

  “Don’t ask her that,” Janey said with a chastising look for her brother.

  “What? It’s a perfectly innocent question.”

  Sydney smiled at their sibling banter. “It’s fine. I went out exactly once, and it was a disaster of epic proportions.”

  “Okay now I have to hear this,” Janey said, settling in for the story.

  The others chimed in with agreement, and Luke had to admit he was curious, too.

  “After I went back to work, I started seeing this one guy everywhere—in traffic, at the gas station, in the grocery store and at the coffee shop. After we’d seen each other a few times, he was behind me in line getting coffee one day, and he leaned in and said, ‘We really have to stop meeting like this.’”

  The guys groaned at the cheesy come-on.

  “I hope you didn’t fall for that,” Luke said.

  “Well, he had a charming smile, so I took pity on him. He asked me out to dinner, and I figured why not? I gave him my number, and we made plans. He picked me up, took me to a nice place, did the gentlemanly thing with the doors and all that.”

  “I can’t imagine how this goes from polite to disaster,” Maddie said.

  “It was the wine,” Sydney said with that mischievous smile Luke loved so much.

  “What about it?” Maddie asked.

  “He ordered soda water with lime, and when I ordered a glass of chardonnay, he got this really weird look on his face. I asked him if everything was all right. He says, ‘I didn’t realize you were a drinker.’”

  The entire group erupted with laughter.

  Sydney held up a hand, clearly enjoying her moment in the spotlight, and Luke’s heart contracted. She was so beautiful when her eyes sparkled with mirth. “You haven’t heard the best part,” she said. “I told him I’m not a drinker. I just like a glass of wine with dinner. He got really quiet and closed his eyes. I had no idea what he was doing. Then he opens his eyes, and says, ‘I talked
to Jesus, and he said it’s fine for you to have a glass of wine with dinner.’”

  Luke stared at her as if he’d heard her wrong, while the others hooted with laughter.

  “What the heck did you say?” Janey asked, wiping tears from her eyes.

  “I asked him to thank Jesus for me, and then I closed my eyes for at least as long as he had closed his. Then I opened them, and I said, ‘I talked to Jesus, too, and he said this date is over.’ I got up and walked out. The restaurant called me a cab, and that was that.”

  “Fabulous,” Joe said. “Good for you.”

  “You never heard from him again?” Mac asked.

  “Oh, I heard from him. The phone calls started at eight the next morning and kept up until I mentioned the words ‘restraining order.’”

  That earned her another round of laughter.

  “And that was my only foray into dating.”

  Luke slipped an arm around her and kissed the top of her head. “Jesus told me to give you all the wine you can drink.”

  As the others cracked up, Syd rewarded him with a big smile. “And for that I shall be eternally grateful.”

  Luke thought his eyes were surely deceiving him when Grant McCarthy strolled into the bar.

  “Mac, Janey,” Luke said, nodding to the doorway.

  “What the hell?” Mac said, grinning. “Janey, look who it is.”

  Janey let out a piercing shriek when she saw her second oldest brother coming toward them wearing a big smile for his siblings. She launched out of her seat and into Grant’s welcoming arms. “What’re you doing here already? The wedding isn’t for another two weeks!”

  “The only reason I’m allowed to come home is for your wedding, brat?”

  “We’re not supposed to call her that anymore,” Mac said dryly.

  “And how’s that going?” Grant asked.

  “Not so well,” Janey said with a scowl for Mac.

  “When did you get in?” Joe asked, shaking hands with Grant.

  “On the last boat. Mom and Dad said you guys were here.”

  Luke introduced Grant to Sydney.

  “I think we might’ve met years ago,” she said.

  “I remember. Nice to see you.”

  Grant shook hands with Owen and hugged Luke. “Good to see you.”

  “You too. How are things in Lala Land?”

  “Fake, pretentious and utterly decadent.”

  While the others laughed at Grant’s description of Hollywood, Luke took a moment to study his old friend. Of all the McCarthy brothers, Luke had always been closest to Grant, even though the two of them didn’t have a damned thing in common.

  Grant had been the smartest kid in their small island school, and no one had been surprised when he grew up to be an Academy Award-winning screenwriter. Since moving to Los Angeles more than a decade ago, he’d been back to the island only a handful of times—most recently for Mac and Maddie’s wedding last summer.

  Grant hugged Mac and made a fuss over Maddie’s round belly. “Thank you for taking the pressure off the rest of us, big brother.”

  Mac sent his wife a salacious smile. “My pleasure.”

  “Mac,” Maddie said, smacking him.

  “What? It was my pleasure.”

  “Shut up.”

  As Grant laughed at their banter and joined the group, Luke thought his friend looked tired and maybe a little sad.

  Since he was sitting next to them, Luke saw Janey place a hand over Grant’s. “You’ve heard about Abby,” she said quietly.

  Grant replied with a short nod, his jaw tightening with tension.

  “Is that why you’re here?”

  Grant seemed to rally for Janey’s sake. “I came for your wedding, brat.” He kissed his sister’s forehead. “Don’t worry about me.”

  “What’ll you do?”

  “Whatever I can,” Grant replied grimly.

  On the way home, Sydney told herself to relax and not to freak out every time a car came at them from the other direction.

  Luke reached for her hand. “You okay over there?”

  “Trying to be.”

  “We’re almost there. Just another minute. Hang on.”

  Sydney cradled his hand between both of hers. “Sorry to be so skittish.”

  “Don’t be sorry. It’s understandable. Did you have fun tonight?”

  “I sure did. Maddie is campaigning hard for me move here permanently.”

  “Is she now?”

  “She says it’s a lot more fun in the winters than it was growing up. Of course that’s because she has Mac now.”

  “I’ve never seen him so happy.”

  “What was going on with Grant? He got really quiet.”

  “His ex-girlfriend Abby got engaged recently. She owns Abby’s Attic in town.”

  “Oh, I love that store. Max and Malena used to drag me in there at least once every summer.”

  “Grant and Abby were together forever, sort of on-again off-again recently. I never heard what happened, but something went bad last summer when he was here for Mac’s wedding. Next we heard, she was dating the new doctor.”

  “LA is a long way from Gansett Island.”

  “So is Boston,” he said.

  Sydney looked over at him. “Not that far.”

  “All depends on your perspective.”

  “Maddie asked me to help with the baby’s nursery.”

  “You feel up to doing that?”

  “It’ll be fun. Maddie knows decorating is one of my hobbies. In fact, before the accident, I’d been thinking about leaving teaching to give it a whirl full time.”

  “Is it something you might still want to do?”

  “Maybe. I’m told I have a knack for it.”

  “I should hire you to update my place. I haven’t touched a thing since my mother died.”

  “No, really?” she said, smiling.

  He laughed at the face she made at him. “You’re itching to get your hands on it, aren’t you?”

  “I always thought you could better highlight the amazing views.”

  “That’s a very diplomatic way of saying it needs everything—furniture, paint, updated appliances, new bathroom.”

  Syd fanned herself and shivered dramatically. “Don’t toy with me this way.”

  Luke pulled up to the house and killed the engine. “That’s all it takes to make you hot? Clearly, I’ve been going about this all wrong.”

  “Going about what?”

  He leaned over to plant a kiss on her neck. “Convincing you to stay here with me permanently.”

  “Luke, I—”

  Cupping her face, he turned her to receive his kiss.

  Her hand pressing on his chest brought him back to his senses.

  “Is that what you want? For me to stay here permanently?”

  “Of course it is, but only if it’s what you want, too.”

  “I’m not. . . I can’t. . .”

  “You’re not ready to decide anything yet.”

  “No,” she said.

  “That’s okay. We don’t have to worry about any of that now.” He kissed her again. “In the meantime, knock yourself out here and at Maddie’s.”

  “You have no idea what you’re saying.”

  Laughing again, he said, “Yes, I do.”

  “No, you don’t. Seth used to go ballistic when he’d come home to a whole new living room.” She glanced at him, pained. “Sorry. I don’t know where that came from.”

  “It came from your life, and you don’t need to apologize or feel like you can’t mention his name around me.”

  Sydney placed her hands on his face and drew him into another kiss that had them both breathing hard by the time they came up for air.

  “I’ve had to wait hours and hours,” he said between kisses. “I had to keep my hands to myself in front of our friends. I can’t wait another minute.”

  “Then let’s go put you out of your misery.”

  They met at the front of his truck
for another heated kiss. Luke slid his hands down her back and shocked her when he suddenly lifted her and hooked her legs around his hips.

  “Nice move,” she said, linking her arms around his neck.

  “You like that?”

  “Uh-huh.” As he walked them to the door, their lips met and melted, tongues teased and enticed.

  “You’re making my legs weak,” he said, pressing her against the door. His hands slid up her bare legs, under her skirt to cup her ass.

  “Luke,” she gasped, tightening her arms around his neck.

  Through her shirt, he rolled her nipple between his teeth and pushed his erection against her core.

  “Now,” she said as he fumbled with the door. It opened abruptly and sent them sprawling into the house.

  “Shit,” Luke said, laughing as he managed to land them awkwardly on the sofa. “That was graceful.”

  “And it started so well.”

  “It’ll end even better.”

  She clutched handfuls of his hair and brought his mouth down to hers. “Promises, promises.”

  A low-pitched moan stopped them cold.

  “What was that?” she asked. “Where’s Buddy?” She’d been so absorbed in Luke, she’d failed to notice Buddy hadn’t met them at the door. “Buddy?” Sydney disentangled herself from Luke and hurried down the hallway to the bedroom where she found the dog’s hind legs sticking out from under the bed. “Buddy? What’s wrong? Luke!” She reached under the bed to stroke the dog’s body, and he let out another moan. “What’s wrong with him?”

  “I’ll call Janey.” Luke rushed from the room.

  Sydney swallowed the hot ball of panic that lodged in her throat. “Please God,” she whispered as she ran her hand gently over the dog’s soft coat. “Please don’t take Buddy, too. Please.”

  Luke returned a minute later. “She wants us to bring him to the vet clinic. I’ll carry him to the truck. Help me get him out of there.”

  They tried to be gentle but Buddy’s discomfort was amplified by their efforts to get him out from under the bed.

  Tears burned her eyes as she spoke softly to Buddy, trying to settle him.

  Buddy growled and snapped at Luke, just missing his hand.

  “It’s okay, boy,” Luke said as he lifted Buddy as carefully as he could. “I know it hurts.”