Gansett Island Boxed Set Books 1-16 (Gansett Island Series)

by Marie Force

  “At least they didn’t put up a fuss when you told them we want to get married here.” They’d booked The Chesterfield for the following June.

  “They know better than to put up any kind of fuss where I’m concerned. They’re probably relieved that I’m engaged so they can stop feeling guilty for supporting my sister when she made off with my boyfriend.”

  “Ex-boyfriend.”

  Her soft giggle made him smile. “Extremely ex. So ex he barely warrants a mention.”

  “That’s right, and don’t forget it. Your fiancé is the jealous type who doesn’t want you pining after old loves.”

  “My fiancé has nothing to worry about, and he knows it. I was never really in love until I met him.”

  “Kara…” He held her even closer, if that was possible. “You don’t know what it does to me when you say stuff like that. How anyone could ever be stupid enough to let you go is beyond me.”

  “You’d better never let me go.”

  “No worries there, babe.” He kissed the top of her head and breathed in the arresting scent of her hair. “You going to be okay at this party today?”

  “Of course I am. My parents want to celebrate our engagement. I’m all for that. It’s just hard sometimes to forget the way they acted when Kelly and Matt got together. It was like they forgot all about me, and now that I’m marrying Mr. Famous Celebrity Lawyer, suddenly they’re all excited about me again. It feels sort of… I don’t know…”

  “Hypocritical.”

  “Yeah.”

  “I hate the way they hurt you, baby. I never want you to feel that way again.”

  “I love you for that. I really do, and for putting up with this party idea of theirs when I’m sure you have a few things you’d like to say to them.”

  “I’d never do that to you. They probably know how we both feel, and this is their way of trying to bridge the gap.”

  “Maybe. I thought they’d flip out when I told them I don’t want to get married in Bar Harbor, but they didn’t say a word.”

  “They knew better. You might not see it, but you’ve changed a lot since you’ve been here. You’re much more assertive than you used to be.”

  “I’ve had to become more assertive dealing with you,” she said dryly.

  “Exactly, and that’s carried over into all areas of your life. No doubt they see it, too.”

  “Thank you for that,” she said, propping her chin on his chest. “I needed to learn how to stand up for myself, and you showed me how.”

  He gathered her long hair into a ponytail that he let slide through his fingers in silky waves. “Nah. You had it all along. I just helped you find it.”

  She left a trail of kisses from his chest to his chin and moved along his jaw until her teeth found his earlobe. The painful clamp sent a jolt of heat all the way through him, which only made him harder. He loved playful, lighthearted Kara so much. It had taken him months to find her underneath the wounded veneer she’d hidden behind when he first knew her.

  Over time, though, she’d begun to recover from the awful betrayal at the hands of her sister and ex-boyfriend. The showdown she’d had with Kelly earlier in the summer had gone a long way toward helping Kara put the past to bed once and for all.

  “You’re awfully frisky this morning, my love,” Dan said as he arranged her on top of him, aligning his hardness with her heat. “Have I also succeeded in turning you into a morning person?”

  She snorted with laughter. “That’s one thing I’ll never be.” As she came down on him, taking him into her tight heat, she said, “Consider this a very rare exception.”

  “I’m considering this the perfect start to a day that’ll already be perfect because I get to spend just about every minute of it with you.”

  Her smile made her golden-brown eyes twinkle. “All that money your mother spent on charm school was a very worthwhile investment.” She swiveled her hips and made him groan.

  “No charm school, babe. It’s all in the wiring.”

  “It’s good wiring. Really good wiring.”

  He grasped her hips, intending to turn her over and take control.

  “Don’t even think about it. This one’s all mine.”

  “I love when you get bossy with me.”

  “I can tell,” she said, gritting her teeth as she accommodated his expanding length.

  Dan laughed and drew her down to him so he could kiss her. The taste of her lips and the press of her breasts against his chest were nearly enough to finish him off. “I can’t believe we get to do this any time we want to for the rest of our lives.”

  Her mane of light brown hair came down around him like a silky curtain that closed them off from the rest of the world. “Not any time.”

  He squeezed her bottom with both hands. “Just about any time.”

  “I’ll give you that—and this.” She moved in sexy, teasing circles on top of him.

  “I see, so you’re looking for a quickie, then.”

  She smiled and kissed him, lingering for a full minute before she sat up and got really serious about finishing him off.

  After seeing Laura through another round of grueling morning sickness, Owen left her to sleep and took Holden with him when he drove out to Evan’s studio. He hadn’t been there in a while and was surprised to see the driveway had been landscaped. In the foyer, he made use of a window into the studios to make sure no one was recording before continuing inside with Holden in his arms.

  “Ev? Are you here?”

  “Back here,” Evan called out. “In the office.”

  Owen walked through the studio space to Evan’s office in the back of the cavernous building. “Not recording today?”

  “This afternoon,” Evan said. “Sunday mornings are for paperwork. I like to get it out of the way so I can enjoy the rest of the week.” He held out his arms for Holden. “Come see Uncle Evan, big guy.”

  Holden squealed with delight when Owen transferred him to Evan’s arms. The baby loved to listen to the two of them play their guitars.

  “God, he’s bigger than he was when I saw him last week.”

  “I know. It’s crazy.” Owen removed a stack of mail off one of the chairs and took a seat, handing the envelopes over to Evan.

  “It never ends,” Evan said with a scowl as he tossed the envelopes into the pile on his desk. “I wasn’t meant to sit at a desk.”

  “I suppose the upside of too much paperwork is that you’re busy.”

  “True.” Evan gave Holden a light-up pen to play with. Like everything else he came into contact with, the pen went right into the baby’s mouth.

  “Is that clean?” Owen asked.

  “It’s not filthy.”

  “Don’t tell Laura I let him play with it.”

  “I won’t if you won’t.”

  “Deal.”

  “What brings you out this morning?”

  “I heard you’re planning to come to Virginia.”

  “What about it?”

  “I wish you wouldn’t. It’s not that I don’t appreciate the sentiment or the gesture.”

  “It’s not a gesture, O. If I were looking to make a gesture, I could pat you on the back and tell you I’m pulling for you and your mom as I send you on your way.”

  “I know you mean well and that you care, but there’s really no need for you to leave your work and your home and Grace. I’ll have lots of people with me—”

  “So it shouldn’t be that big of a deal to have one more.”

  “Evan, please… You don’t understand.”

  “Then make me.”

  “It’s embarrassing that the people I care about are going to hear the dirty details of how I grew up. I’d rather you didn’t know.”

  “I already know. You’ve told me.” He handed a ball of rubber bands to Holden when he’d tired of the pen.

  “You don’t know the half of it, and I’d like to keep it that way.”

  “What would you do if I was about to go through someth
ing like this?”

  “Luckily, that’s a rhetorical question because you’ll never have to go through something like this.”

  “Humor me. Put the shoe on the other foot. I have to go through something awful and difficult and embarrassing and terribly upsetting. Where would you be if that was happening to me?”

  Because Owen couldn’t argue with Evan’s point, he didn’t try. He wished everyone would try to understand that he wanted to spare them. Laura’s words from the night before were a reminder that he didn’t have to protect those he loved, but that was a hard habit to break.

  “You’d be there for me, O. Don’t ask me to do less for you than what you’d do for me. You asked me to stand up for you at your wedding, and that’s such an honor, you know?”

  “Who else would I ask?” Owen said with a small smile.

  “You and me—we’re not just about the good times and the music. At least I didn’t think we were.”

  “We’re not. You’ve been my best friend for as long as I can remember.”

  “Then let me do what any best friend would do in this situation.” As they talked, Evan rocked the baby in his office chair, patting his back until Holden was out cold for his morning nap.

  “You’re good with him.”

  Evan looked down, seeming surprised to find Holden asleep. “Check me out.”

  “You’re going to be a great dad someday.”

  “I’m kinda looking forward to that day.”

  “What the hell’s happened to the two of us?”

  “The best possible thing,” Evan said.

  “You said it.”

  “So we’re cool about me coming on Tuesday?”

  “Yeah, we’re cool. Thanks, Ev.”

  Evan waved off the gratitude as if it was no big deal to put his life on hold to be there to support Owen at the trial.

  “While I have you,” Owen said, anxious to change the subject, “I’ve figured out what song I want you to play when Laura and I have our first dance at the wedding.”

  “Lay it on me, brother.”

  Chapter 14

  After Owen left with Holden, Laura tried to go back to sleep for a while. The vomiting always took a harsh toll on her, but with so much to be done before their trip, she couldn’t seem to turn off the busy brain that refused to get onboard with the fact that the rest of her was a hot mess in need of more sleep.

  She reached for her cell phone on the bedside table and made an appointment to see Victoria Stevens, the local midwife-nurse practitioner, before the trip on Tuesday. Luckily, the clinic was open seven days a week in the summer, and she was able to book an appointment with Vic late tomorrow afternoon. Laura had resisted Victoria’s suggestion that she take something for the nausea, because she was convinced she could power through it the way she had with Holden. She also hated the idea of taking something that had even a small chance of harming her unborn children.

  But there was no way she could “power through it” and accompany Owen to Virginia, too. Desperate times indeed called for desperate measures. She got out of bed and took a shower, hoping her stomach would calm down enough to allow her to be productive. She thanked God every day for the fact that Sarah was with them and could manage the hotel as efficiently as she could herself, but Laura still felt guilty about deferring so much of the responsibility to Owen’s mother when she was collecting a paycheck from his grandparents.

  She forced herself to consume a handful of saltine crackers and some weak tea before heading downstairs, where the smells of breakfast coming from the dining room had her heading directly for the ladies’ room, where the crackers and tea came right back up.

  Afterward, she sat on the floor of the lobby bathroom and tried to collect herself. She was so damned sick of being sick. At times she wondered what Owen saw in her when she’d been in this condition for much of the time they’d spent together.

  A light tap on the door had her standing and rinsing her mouth. She opened the door to find Sarah outside.

  “Are you okay, honey?”

  “I’ve been better. It’s been going on since about four o’clock this morning.”

  Sarah winced and slid an arm around Laura’s shoulders. “Come with me.” She led her around the reception desk past the front door just as Abby came in.

  “Morning!” Abby said.

  “Morning,” Laura said.

  “Ugh, not feeling good again?” Abby asked.

  “Another day, another battle,” Laura said with a weak smile.

  “I’m getting her away from the smell of breakfast,” Sarah said. “We’ll be in the sitting room if you need us.”

  “Go ahead. I’ll keep an eye on the front desk for you.”

  “Thanks, Abby.” She ran the gift shop, Abby’s Attic 2, in the lobby of the Surf, so watching the front desk certainly wasn’t her job, but like everyone else around her, Abby had stepped up to help more than once this summer.

  “No problem at all. Hope you feel better.”

  “So do I. Thanks again.” Laura went with Sarah to the sitting room, where they’d spent a lot of family time over the last year. During the winter, they’d passed many a cold, stormy night in front of the fire while Owen played for them and Holden slept in his mother’s arms.

  “Stretch out on the sofa and get comfortable,” Sarah said, fluffing pillows and tossing a light throw over Laura.

  “This is ridiculous. I’m supposed to be working and packing and getting ready to leave the hotel for a week or more, and what am I doing?”

  Sarah ran a gentle hand over Laura’s hair. “You’re taking a few minutes to yourself while you can. Relax. I’ll be right back.”

  Laura forced herself to follow Sarah’s orders. From her vantage point on the sofa she could see the ferries coming and going from the harbor and the sparkle of the sun on blue water as another summer day on Gansett began in earnest. Outside the front side of the hotel, voices and cars and mopeds blended into a cacophony of noise from town that had become as familiar to her as the crash of the ocean on the breakwater out back.

  “Here, honey,” Sarah said when she returned with a steaming mug. “Try this.”

  “What is it?”

  “Mint tea. It worked for me when I was pregnant.”

  “You’ve suggested that before, and I’ve been meaning to try it.”

  “As I recall, you said mint flavor isn’t your favorite thing.”

  “It isn’t, but at this point, I’m willing to try anything.” She sat up and took a tentative sip of the brew. When it went down easy and stayed down, she took another. “Thank you.”

  “I’m sorry you’re feeling so poorly.”

  “I keep waiting for Owen to say enough already with the hot mess he’s shackled himself to.”

  “That’s not going to happen, and you know it. He’s crazy about you.”

  “I’m still trying to figure out why when all he’s seen me do is breed and puke since we’ve been together.”

  Sarah’s silent laughter brought tears to the older woman’s eyes. “I’d venture to say he’s probably seen a few other things in you besides those two endearing qualities.”

  “You are far too kind,” Laura said with a smile for the woman who would be her mother-in-law before too much longer. “Enough about me. How was your night with Charlie?”

  Sarah’s cheeks flamed with color.

  “That good, huh?”

  “I had no idea,” she said softly. “All this time… I didn’t know.”

  “I’m so happy for you, Sarah, and for Charlie, too,” Laura said. “You so deserve this amazing second chance.”

  “When I think about how I could’ve lived my whole life without knowing that was possible…”

  “So you…” Laura rolled her hand, hoping Sarah would dish the details.

  “Not everything, but what we did was incredible. And,” Sarah said, lowering her voice to a whisper, “he said he loves me.”

  “Why are you even here this morning? You sh
ould be with him!”

  “Because I knew you’d need me, and being here for you is also important to me.”

  “Sarah! For crying out loud, go back to him.”

  Sarah laughed at Laura’s outrage. “It’s fine, honey. I’ll see him again later.”

  Laura’s eyes filled with tears, and before she knew it, they were sliding down her cheeks.

  “What’s wrong?” Sarah asked, alarmed by Laura’s sudden breakdown.

  “Nothing.” Laura swiped at the stupid tears that were almost as annoying as the nausea. Both were a by-product of pregnancy that she would rather live without. “I’m so happy for you. I can’t even begin to tell you… Having you here with us, helping me through this first year with Holden and taking care of all of us and teaching me so much about the hotel… It means the world to me. I feel like I have a mother again for the first time since I was nine.”

  “Oh, Laura…” Sarah brushed at her own tears as she took the mug of tea from Laura so she could hug her. “That’s about the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me. It’s such an honor to know you think of me that way. Thank you, honey.” She drew back so she could see Laura’s face. “Being here with you and Owen and Holden truly saved my life, and I’ve loved every minute I’ve gotten to spend with you.”

  She tucked a strand of Laura’s hair behind her ear. “For the longest time, I worried that Owen would never take a chance on love or have a family of his own. He’d given up so much of his childhood to help raise his siblings and seemed content with his footloose existence. But the minute I saw him with you, I knew. I just knew you were the one for him, and I was so very thankful that he’d found you.”

  “I’m thankful, too. When I think about the condition I was in when we first met… And the beautiful friendship I found with him before anything else ever happened between us. He’s an amazing man, Sarah.”

  “I know he is, and I couldn’t be prouder of him.”

  “I’m worried about what the trial and the thought of seeing his father are doing to him, though.” She eyed the guitar that sat in a stand on the other side of the room. “I haven’t heard him play or sing in days. Evan told me yesterday that Owen turned down a couple of gigs this week, which isn’t like him. He loves having the chance to play with Evan, which doesn’t happen as often these days because Ev is so busy with the studio.”