Falling for Love Read online

  “Oh my God,” she said, breathing hard. “That was unbelievable.”

  After he disposed of the condom, he rested on her chest, feeling as if he’d been hit by a bus. “I can’t tell you,” he said, sticking his tongue out to taste her sweet nipple one more time, “how sorry I am that I missed the finer points of that the first time we did it.”

  She chuckled softly as her fingers combed through his hair in a loving gesture that further twisted him into knots. She was a study in contrasts, his Stephanie—shouting out orders during sex one minute and soothing him the next. His Stephanie? Whoa, where had that thought come from?

  “Trust me, it’s much better with your full participation.”

  “We might need to do it again—soon.” He reached beneath her to squeeze a supple cheek. “I don’t think I gave your sweet ass quite enough attention.”

  She squiggled and squirmed, encouraging him. By tightening her fingers in his hair, she directed him to her nipple.

  He happily obliged, plumping up her breast with his hand and forcing the pebbled tip deeper into his mouth.

  “Mmm,” she said, arching into him. “That’s good.”

  She made him so hot. He wanted to lick her everywhere, bite her, suck on her soft skin until red welts marked her as his. He’d never before wanted anyone quite so intensely.

  They moved together, simulating intercourse. It would be so easy, he thought, to slide into her, but he’d never do that. Not without protection.

  “Hold that thought for a minute,” he said, kissing her before he sat up to get another condom.

  A sharp rap on the front door startled them.

  Chapter 13

  “Who the hell is out so early in this weather?” Grant asked as he reached for his boxers on the floor, mourning the loss of a first-rate erection.

  “Ignore it,” Stephanie said, tugging on his arm.

  “I can’t. It might be about Maddie or the baby.” The thought stopped him cold. “What if it’s bad news? I don’t want to know.”

  Stephanie came up behind him and kissed his shoulder. “Go find out that everyone’s fine, and then get back here. We’ve got unfinished business.” She punctuated the statement by biting his shoulder.

  A shudder of lust rippled through him, reawakening his libido. She was a freaking firecracker. “You’re going to kill me,” he muttered, pulling on his jeans while the person at the front door pounded harder.

  “Nah, you’re tough. You can take it.”

  “Be right back.” Grant walked through the house with a growing sense of dread. If something had happened to Maddie or the baby while he was rolling around in bed with Stephanie… The thought didn’t bear finishing. He swung open the front door to find his father there. “Dad? Is it Maddie?”

  His father came in and wrapped Grant in a one-armed bear hug since he still wore a bulky cast on his other arm. “Congratulations, Uncle Grant. Hailey McCarthy was born at five fifteen this morning!”

  Grant sagged with relief. “And Maddie?”

  “Came through it like a trouper. Your brother, on the other hand…”

  Grant laughed, imagining Mac frantic with worry.

  “All kidding aside, he held up rather well. I’m proud of him.”

  “I’m glad everyone is okay. I can’t wait to see the baby.”

  “Your mother says she’s a real cutie. The rest of us will get to meet her later today.”

  “I’ll look forward to that. Thanks for coming by to share the news.” A thought occurred to him all of a sudden. “Did you drive yourself here?”

  “That I did.”

  “Are you allowed to do that? Especially in a storm?”

  “Cal cleared me a while back. It’s all good.” His expression suddenly became more serious. “Listen, son, there’s another reason I came by.”

  Something about the way his father said that sent a twinge of anxiety marching down Grant’s backbone, the way it had when he was twelve and got caught skipping school. “What’s up?”

  “Stephanie.” Big Mac’s brows narrowed in what might’ve been displeasure.

  “What about her?” Grant had no doubt she was listening to their every word since his father’s voice had one decibel—boom.

  “It hasn’t escaped my notice that you’re spending a lot of time with her.”

  “We’re…ah…we’re friends.”

  “And that’s all?”

  “Dad, seriously, with all due respect—”

  “Don’t tell me it’s none of my business. Your mother and I met her last winter when we were in Providence and she was working at our favorite restaurant in Federal Hill. When we asked her to come spend the summer working with us out here, she seemed real excited. I don’t think she’s had the chance to travel much or visit new places. We like her very much. The last thing we’d want is to see her hurt, especially by our own son who is confused over another woman and trying to figure out what the devil has happened to his once-promising career.”

  Ouch! “Wait a minute—”

  “I don’t want you to hurt her, Grant,” Big Mac said more quietly as his expression became one of sincere concern. “I get the feeling she’s already suffered through some big hurts in her life. She doesn’t need another one.”

  “I’m not going to hurt her.”

  “See that you don’t, or you’ll answer to me.”

  “You did get the memo that I’m thirty-five years old, didn’t you?”

  “What’s that got to do with anything? You’re still my kid. Don’t you forget it.”

  “As if I ever could,” Grant said, smiling despite himself. He’d never been any good at staying mad at his irrepressible father.

  “I need to get home for a change of clothes for Mom. I’ll see you over at Mac’s later?”

  “I’ll be there.”

  Big Mac left him with another one-armed bear hug. “Love ya, son.”

  “Love you, too.” Grant stood at the door and watched his six-foot, four-inch father fold himself in his wife’s yellow Beetle. Laughing, Grant waved him off, closed the front door and returned to the bedroom to find Stephanie dressed and curled up in a chair.

  “What’re you doing?” he asked, noting that her eyes were different. Gone was the carefree expression she’d worn earlier. In its place was the closed-off, shuttered look that left him out in the cold.

  “I need to get back to the marina,” she said.

  “Why? We won’t open today without power and the storm still raging.”

  “I need to go.”

  Grant crossed the room and kneeled before her. “I don’t want you to go.”

  “Why? Because you want more sex?”

  He ran his hands over her denim-clad legs. “That’s not the only reason.” Hooking his hands behind her knees, he drew her closer to him and nuzzled her neck. “I like being with you.” And the truth of it was that he truly did. Even when she was driving him crazy with her sassy mouth, he liked being with her.

  Her hands landed on his shoulders as she tipped her head to give him better access to her neck. “I’m not looking for anything more than this.”

  “Which is what?”

  “Sex. Nothing more.”

  “Because of what my father said?”

  “Because it’s all I’m capable of at the moment. I’ve got a lot on my plate, and I’m going home soon. I don’t have the time or the capacity to take on anything else.”

  Oddly wounded, Grant said, “And here I thought you liked me.”

  “I do like you, and I like having sex with you. But that’s all it is—all it’s ever going to be. Okay?”

  He knew he should’ve been celebrating that this amazing, sexy woman only wanted him for his body, especially since he wasn’t exactly in a position to offer her much more either. Yet he was disappointed by her insistence that it could never be anything more than sex. “If that’s what you want.”

  “It is.”

  He could tell he surprised her when he scooped her
up and carried her back to bed.

  “What’re you doing?”

  “The only thing I’m allowed to do.” Unzipping her jeans, he pulled them down over her legs and then returned for her panties and sweater. As he ran his tongue over her nipple, it occurred to him that he could very easily become addicted to the way he she responded to him. But then he remembered he wasn’t allowed to get addicted.

  When she fisted his hair to keep him anchored to her chest, he stopped thinking at all.

  Laura was enjoying a cup of coffee she’d brewed on the gas grill the way her Aunt Linda had taught her when her Uncle Big Mac came in the front door of the White House.

  “Good morning!”

  Big Mac’s ebullient greeting eased some of the worry Laura had carried all night, wondering how Maddie and the baby were faring. “I hope you’ve come bearing good news.”

  “It’s a girl! Hailey McCarthy arrived at five fifteen!”

  Laura stood to hug him. “Congrats, Grandpa.”

  He kissed her forehead. “Thanks, honey. Auntie Linda stayed over there to help out with Thomas this morning. You doing okay here without any power?”

  “I’m improvising,” she said, gesturing to the coffee. “Can I offer you some?”

  “I’d kill for a cup.”

  “Coming right up.” Pulling on her raincoat, she stepped onto the deck and did battle with the wind as she retrieved the coffee pot from under the lid of the closed grill. She returned to the kitchen and poured a cup for her uncle. “I hope you don’t mind that I used the grill.”

  “Sweetheart, please. My house is your house. You know that.”

  Laura was mortified when her eyes suddenly filled with tears.

  “Hey, hey!” Big Mac took her by the chin for a closer look. “What’s all this?”

  “I…” Her throat closed, and tears spilled down her cheeks.

  “Aw, baby, come here.” He drew her in close to him, and she clung to the larger-than-life uncle she adored. “Whatever it is, we can fix it. I promise.”

  “I’m sorry,” she said, pulling back from him to wipe the dampness from her face.

  “Have a seat and tell me what’s going on.”

  Embarrassed to have broken down in front of him, she dropped into a chair.

  “Does this have something to do with why your new husband didn’t come with you this weekend?”

  Not trusting herself to speak yet, she nodded.

  “Aw, honey. It’s not working out?”

  Laura shook her head.

  Big Mac’s huge hand engulfed hers. “I’m so sorry. What happened?”

  She cleared her throat, determined to get through this without more tears. Honestly, she was amazed there could still be more tears. “Apparently, he wasn’t ready to quit dating.”

  Big Mac’s mouth fell open in shock. “What the heck does that mean?”

  Laura relayed the whole ugly tale and watched her uncle become more furious by the minute.

  “What kind of guy does that?”

  “The kind of guy who’s the exact opposite of you,” she said, squeezing his hand, amused by his quiet rage on her behalf. She expected nothing less from him.

  “Have you told your dad yet?” Her father, Frank, was Big Mac’s older brother and a superior court judge in Providence.

  She shook her head. “He’s in the midst of that big trial. And with everything going on with Shane,” she said, referring to her brother, “I didn’t want to upset him. I’ll tell him when the trial is over. You know he felt so bad about missing Janey’s wedding, but with the storm coming, he couldn’t take the risk of getting stuck here.”

  “I talked to him about it. I completely understand, believe me.” He gestured to the wind and rain that pounded against the sliding door to the deck. “Looks like he made the right decision.”

  “It’s kind of nice to be marooned here.”

  “What’re you going to do now, honey?”

  “When I got here, I had no idea, but I’ve since been offered a very interesting new opportunity.”

  “Which is?”

  “I met Owen Lawry yesterday, and he gave me a tour of the Sand & Surf. Turns out his grandparents are looking for someone to run the place, and they’ve offered me the job.” Just saying the words filled her with the kind of giddy excitement she hadn’t expected to ever feel again after hearing about her lying, cheating scumbag of a husband.

  Big Mac seemed intrigued by the news. “Is that so? It’s been closed a few years. Probably needs a ton of work.”

  “It does.”

  “Are you sure you’re up for that? I’d hate to see you make a hasty decision that you’ll regret later.”

  “Well,” Laura said, her tone tinged with irony, “I dated Justin for three years before I married him, and look at how that turned out.”

  “True enough.”

  “Something about this opportunity feels right to me.”

  “Then maybe you ought to go for it. We’d certainly love to have you here full time.”

  “I’m counting on that,” she said with a smile.

  “Now that’s more like the Laura McCarthy I know and love.” He leaned in to kiss her cheek. “Any man who’d treat you the way he did isn’t worth mourning over. You know that, right?”

  She nodded. “I’m doing better than I was.”

  “Now how about Shane?” he asked.

  “That’s another whole story,” she said with a sigh. Her younger brother’s wife had been hiding a raging addiction to pain medication that had landed her in rehab the week before Laura’s wedding. “He’s a mess. Nothing we say or do seems to help. I tried like heck to get him to come to Janey’s wedding with me, but he wouldn’t budge. All he does is sit in that house and brood. Dad and I are at our wit’s end over what to do with him.”

  Big Mac shook his head in dismay. “Maybe you can lure him out here to help you out with the hotel.”

  “That’s actually a really good idea. I could certainly make use of his skills.” There was nothing her brother couldn’t build, fix, rewire or reconfigure.

  “Gansett is known for its restorative powers. Just ask my friend Luke Harris who works with me at the marina. His lady, Sydney—you met her at the wedding—her husband and kids were killed by a drunk driver a couple of years ago.”

  Laura gasped. “Oh my God.”

  “Awful thing,” Big Mac said ruefully. “She came out earlier this summer to figure out her next move and reconnected with Luke, who was her boyfriend in high school. Now she’s opened an interior design business and found a nice new life for herself here on the island. I’m sure she still does her share of grieving, but she’s doing real well now.”

  “Wow, that makes what happened to me seem so insignificant.”

  “It’s certainly not insignificant, but I believe every time a door closes, a window opens. This thing with the Sand & Surf might be your window.”

  “I think you might be right.”

  Big Mac released her hand and stood. “I’m glad you came to us, honey. You know you’ve always got a place here.”

  Laura got up to hug him. “The summers Shane and I spent here were the best of our lives. In some ways, this is as much our home as Dad’s house in Providence. After Mom died…” She shook her head as memories of the dark years that followed her mother’s death assailed her. “We loved it here.”

  “You couldn’t pay us any higher compliment.” He kissed the top of her head. “I’m in bad need of a shower and a shave. Is there any hot water left?”

  “Some, but you better get to it before Adam and Evan get up.”

  “Good thinking. You’ll be okay?”

  “I’m much better now. Thanks for listening.”

  “Any time, sweetie.”

  After he went upstairs, Laura wandered over to the window to check out the pond, which was churning and frothy with whitecaps. Boats on moorings bobbed in the chop, and on the far side of the vast waterway, two sailboats were aground on the bea
ch.

  As she thought about the Sand & Surf and the huge challenge it would be to bring the old girl back to life, she was filled with excitement. A smile stretched across her face as she realized the decision had been made—as if there’d ever been a decision in the first place. From the moment Owen had mentioned it last night, she’d known what she would do.

  Tugging on her raincoat, she left a note for her uncle and cousins that she was taking a walk into town.

  She needed to see a man about a hotel.

  Chapter 14

  Maddie woke from a sound sleep to find Mac out cold next to her. Remembering that she needed to check on the baby, she shifted from her side to her back and let out a gasp of pain. Every inch of her body hurt, but the fire between her legs was excruciating.

  Instantly awake, Mac sat up. “What? What’s wrong?”

  “Hurts.”

  “What does?”

  “Everything.” She tried again to find a more comfortable position without success. “Check on her, will you?”

  He peered into the bassinette they’d put next to their bed. “Still asleep.”

  “What about Thomas?”

  “My mom has him downstairs. Don’t worry.”

  “You should check on them, too.”

  “I will as soon as I take care of you.”

  Rubbing a hand over his tired face, he got up and disappeared into the bathroom that adjoined their bedroom.

  Maddie heard the water go on in the tub and was filled with anticipation. Somehow, her dear husband always seemed to know exactly what she needed.

  When he returned, he seemed full of energy and not at all like he was operating on two hours of sleep. Moving carefully, he pulled down the covers. “Let’s get this off,” he said, referring to her nightgown. “Don’t try to move. Let me do everything.”

  Since she didn’t have much choice, she let him remove the gown. She couldn’t help but wince at even the smallest of movements.

  “Sorry, baby.” He kissed her brow and then her lips. “Was it this bad last time?”

  “Probably.”

  “You don’t remember?”

  “The memories fade, which is why women are able to have more than one child.”

  “I can’t imagine how you’d ever forget. Ready for a ride?”