Chances Are (17 page)

“My phone.” Rose handed over her tiny cell phone with a wink. “Good thing I charged it up after supper.”

Maddy impulsively pressed a kiss to her mother’s cheek. “Thanks! I’ll recharge when I’m done.”

Rose patted her on the shoulder. “I’m counting on that,” she said, then disappeared back down the hall to her own suite of rooms.

“You were supposed to E-mail me,” Maddy said, curling back up in the middle of her bed. “I’ve been waiting for you to show up on-line.”

“I have a better idea,” he said. “Look out your window.”

AIDAN WAS WAITING for her at the foot of the driveway. She ran barefoot across the damp lawn and straight into his arms.

Her body melted into his in the soft darkness. His crutch was tucked under his right arm, but it didn’t stop him from gathering her close, enveloping her in his warmth and strength.

Oh God, this man knew how to hug. He could win awards in hugging. Olympic gold medals in full-body, every-sense-on-red-alert hugging. She buried her nose against his chest and breathed in the deeply comforting, deeply erotic smell of his skin. She had never known a woman could get drunk on the smell of a man’s skin, that she could crave it like a drug more powerful than anything the poppy had to offer.

“So what’s going on?” she asked as they walked up the driveway to the back porch. “You’re not in the habit of dropping by at midnight.”

“If we didn’t both have daughters at home, I’d be here every night.”

“If we didn’t both have daughters at home, I’d never let you leave.”

“Maybe we should move up the wedding date,” he suggested as they settled down on the top step. She sat as close to him as the laws of physics would allow.

“That would solve a few problems.”

“Like I’m not in enough trouble with Rosie for suggesting we elope.”

“You’re not in trouble anymore.” She leaned over and kissed his stubbly chin. “I caved.”

“Right,” he said, “and then she called the queen and asked if we could borrow the palace for the wedding.”

“I’m not joking. I totally caved.”

“You mean we’re going for the big enchilada?”

“Yep,” she said with a sheepish grin. “I said yes to the flower girl, the ring bearer, groomsmen, bridesmaids, rehearsal dinners, bachelor parties, bridal showers, the whole nine yards.”

“What happened? A few hours ago you were dead set against it.”

“I don’t know,” she said. “We were sitting out here on the porch after supper, and the next thing I knew, I was asking her if she and Lucy would make my wedding dress.”

He pretended to examine the porch very carefully.

“Aidan! What are you doing?” she asked as he bent down to peer under the top step.

“I want to make sure it’s safe to sit here. If I start saying I’m a Giants fan, call in an exorcist.”

She laughed softly. “She was so touched, Aidan—” Her voice broke unexpectedly, and she drew in a deep breath to cover up. “Her eyes filled with tears when I asked her. Can you imagine that? Our Rosie getting all mushy over a wedding gown.”

“When it comes to you and Hannah, Rosie’s a soft touch. She’d give you the moon if you’d let her.”

“I’m just beginning to realize that.”

“About time.”

“What’s wrong with this picture?” she asked in mock indignation. “You’re not supposed to take my mother’s side.” He chuckled, and she pressed her face against his shoulder and smiled. “You’ll be sorry when you see how much there is to do between now and September. She’s going to run us ragged.”

“We’ll have the rest of our lives,” he said. “We can give Rosie one day to call her own.”

Your heart really could swell with love. She could feel it filling her chest, crowding out her lungs, making it almost impossible to breathe. Thirty-three years old, and she had never experienced anything even close to the way he made her feel just sitting next to her on the back porch.

“Tuxedos. Rehearsal dinners. Guest lists. All the things you hate.”

“I’ll get over it.”

“Maybe you will,” she said, “but will I?”

“You forgot the most important part of the wedding.”

“Fittings. Shower. Bachelor party. Rehearsal. Ceremony. Reception. What else is there?”

“The honeymoon.”

In an instant they were in each other’s arms again. She opened her mouth to his, gasping at the touch of his tongue against hers, his taste, his warmth. Sweetly familiar, still new enough to be strange.

She whispered in his ear and heard his breath catch hard in response. “I thought you’d like that.”

And then he said something, and she moved against him, on fire.

“So when are you going to ask me why I’m here making out on the back porch with you in the middle of the night?”

She brought his hand to her lips. “Why question a good thing?”

“You made me think this afternoon.”

She leaned slightly away from him so she could see his eyes. He looked slightly uncertain, surprisingly vulnerable. “About anything in particular?”

“I was thinking that this isn’t the most romantic engagement on record.”

“Maybe not,” she admitted, “but it’s ours, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”

“Not even for a night at that little inn we saw at Spring Lake?”

“You mean the one we were heading for when you—”

“Fell on my ass and screwed everything up.”

“I wasn’t going to put it that way.” She leaned over and kissed him. “The night we got serious.”

“The night I was going to make love to you until the sun came up.”

A voluptuous shiver rolled up her spine, a delicious tingle of anticipation and desire. “Yes,” she said. “That’s the night I was talking about.”

“Saturday.” He kissed the palm of her right hand, then folded her fingers around the warmth. “Just us.”

“Say that again.”

“Just us. Champagne. Dinner. No snow. No kids. No relatives. No friends. No phones. No poodles.”

“Why—I mean, how . . . oh, I don’t know what I mean! This is so wonderful! I can’t believe—of course I’ll have to clear it with Rosie,” she said, mind spinning with details. “Make sure Hannah is—”

“Done,” he said. “I took care of everything.”

He had spoken to her mother, made sure Hannah would be taken care of, that Priscilla would be fine, that Kelly could stay there if she wanted to.

“You really did think of everything.” She didn’t have to explain her love for Hannah or her concern for her little girl’s welfare. She didn’t have to feel apologetic or made vulnerable by her sense of responsibility. He understood from the inside out.

“After seventeen years, you get pretty good at it.”

“Does that mean it gets easier?” She was five years into parenthood, and there were still times when she felt like she was barely treading water.

“No,” he said. “You just learn how to worry better.”

For one fleeting instant she thought about mentioning what Hannah had said about Kelly, but the moment passed as quickly as it came, swept away by the night’s excitement.

“I have some big news, too,” she said. “Do you know the old McClanahan place that Olivia’s renovating down near Paradise Point Drive?”

“I heard she’s turning it into some kind of fancy cookie shop.”

“An English tea shop,” Maddy corrected him, “and Rose has decided to go in on it with her.”

He whistled low. “When the hell did that happen?”

“Sometime late this afternoon. That’s why Liv was there when you dropped me off.”

“It’s not like either one of them needs a business partner. Far as I can tell, they’re both cleaning up.”

“Liv said that cutting Rose in on the deal would free up some capital so she could expand her store.”

“Who the hell would think anyone needed a bigger stationery store?” He looked at her by the glow of the porch light. “So what’s the attraction for Rose besides world domination?”

She laughed, then covered her mouth to muffle the sound. “She wants me to manage it. I’ll be in charge. I’ll be the one who’ll hire wait staff, set prices, keep the books.” Her enthusiasm was leaping ahead of her words, and she had to stop for breath. “Who knows? Maybe I’ll even be able to buy them out one day if things go well enough.”

“Yeah, and in the meantime you’d be working directly for your mother.”

“She’ll be a silent partner.” This time he was the one who laughed out loud. “Shh! It’s after midnight, Aidan. You’ll wake the neighborhood.”

“Your mother has never been a silent anything in her life, Maddy. You know how I feel about Rosie, but you two don’t exactly have a great track record. What makes you think this will be any different?”

“Because it’s not her show, it’s Olivia’s. I mean, she bought the place, hired designers, has been overseeing the renovations. It’s her idea, her baby. It’s just a business deal for my mother.”

“Not if you’re involved.”

“I think I can handle myself.”

“Are you sure? You two have come a long way in the last few months. Do you want to risk it for a tea shop?”

“I thought you’d be happy for me.”

“I am, if this is what you want.” He met her eyes. “I thought you were hoping the radio gig would lead to something.”

“So far it hasn’t led me to anything but a discount at the dry cleaners.”

“And free lunches at O’Malley’s.”

She grinned. “I could get those without the radio gig.”

“Pretty sure of yourself.”

“Yes,” she said, “and it feels good.”

“What about the inn?”

“I’ll continue doing the bookkeeping, but I think Rosie is counting the days until she can put some space between me and the paying customers. Besides, once we marry, I wouldn’t be around to help out at all hours, would I?”

“You think you’ll be any happier running a tea shop?”

“Do you have any better ideas?” she countered. “I’ll have a fair degree of autonomy. I won’t have to commute. The hours are reasonable, so I’ll be able to be with Hannah. Claire will be there to deal with the public. And—”

“Whoa! Back it up a little.”

“Oh God.” She buried her face in her hands. “Forget I said anything. They haven’t even asked Claire yet.”

“Asked her what?”

“Aidan, I don’t think I’m supposed to be talking about this with anyone right now.” Of course, he wasn’t just anyone. He was the man she loved. The man she was going to marry. She wanted desperately to share it all with her fiancé, but she wasn’t too sure Claire’s brother-in-law needed to know everything.

“Claire works at O’Malley’s,” he said in a tone of voice she hadn’t heard before and hoped she wouldn’t hear again any time soon. “She owns half of the place. Why the hell would they think she’s looking for something else?”

“I have no idea.”

“Has she said anything to you?”

If only she had kept her big mouth shut. “Aidan, Claire and I are friendly, but we aren’t friends.”

“You play poker together.”

“With six other women. We play cards. We don’t exchange confidences. To be honest, I’m not even sure she likes me.” She tried to make out his expression, but his eyes were unreadable. “Are you afraid she might say yes?”

“Never happen,” he said. “She’s family. O’Malley’s belongs to her as much as it belongs to me.”

“I can’t ask my mother and Olivia not to offer the job to her.” A weird thought occurred to her. “You and Claire were never—?”

He shook his head. “She’s like a sister to me. Billy was the only O’Malley man for her.”

She leaned closer, lacing her fingers through his. “Good, because I’ve staked my claim on the only O’Malley man for me.”

He wasn’t about to be sidetracked. “I wouldn’t have made it through the first two years after Sandy died if Claire hadn’t stepped in and taught me what I needed to know.” Maddy knew all about how Claire and Billy had opened their hearts and homes to Aidan and Kelly after his wife died. Clearly it was the kind of debt that could never adequately be repaid. “She was always worried about making sure Kel did her homework and took her vitamins—all the mother things she wasn’t sure I was bright enough to handle.” He said it with a deep affection that took the sting from the words. “Speaking of which, Claire seemed to think something was off with Kelly today. You were with her. How did she seem to you?”

“In what way?” Her casual tone hid her great unease over the direction the conversation had taken. It was clear where this was going, but she prayed she would be able to sidestep the issue.
You might as well tell him what Hannah said. This is the perfect opening.

“I don’t know. Claire thought Kelly wasn’t feeling that great today, but she went off on a tangent about work and school and being seventeen—you know Claire when she gets wound up.”

“We
all
know Claire when she gets wound up,” Maddy said with a laugh she hoped would deflect further questions.
Coward.

“I thought Kel looked okay today. How about you?”

It was a direct question, and she wouldn’t lie to him. Not about this or anything else. “I think she’s been looking a little tired lately, Aidan, and a little drawn.” Careful, cautious, but honest. She owed their future that much.

“She’s been on this damn diet for the prom. I thought she was too smart to fall for all of that magazine hype, but she’s been living on lettuce leaves and protein.”

“There isn’t a woman alive who doesn’t fall for at least some of that hype.” Maddy’s stomach clenched.
Go on, Maddy. Tell him. She’s his daughter. He has the right to know.
“Could she have an eating disorder?”

“I haven’t noticed anything.”

“She’s at school all day. You’re at work most evenings. It would be easy to miss.”

“Wouldn’t she be skin and bones if she was into that?”

“There are degrees of illness,” Maddy said cautiously. “I’m really no expert, Aidan. You need to speak to Kelly about it.”