Delicious Do-Over (18 page)

As unaccustomed as he was to the racket and small squabbles that occasionally broke out, Rick enjoyed watching the kids the most. Funny, how he’d never seriously thought about having a family. These visits home when everyone got together were always his favorite times.

Lindsey had thought he’d make a good father. At the time, she’d kind of rattled him. Man, talking about kids…that wasn’t something he thought about. Kids were a huge responsibility. Took needing a plan to a whole new level.

Yet, he was thinking about it now, he realized, his heart beginning to pound as he studied his three-year-old niece, Chelsea, with her pretty blond hair and sky-blue eyes. He pictured himself and Lindsey loving, worrying, protecting a child.
Their
child. Like he did with the kids at the beach, only a hundred, no, a thousand times more. If anything, his surfing life had taught him that kinds need firm but fair parents. Parents who cared no matter what. Lindsey could be all that with one hand tied behind her back, but as for him? He searched his heart and his mind, and the answer was clear. Yeah. He could do that. For a wife, for a family. Holy…he didn’t just want kids. He wanted to make babies with Lindsey.

He swallowed and straightened. What would be so wrong with having the big noisy house just like he grew up in? A big yard where the neighborhood kids could play ball, maybe even big enough to have a pool, too. Lindsey could plant flowers beds if she wanted. He rocked when it came to barbecuing.

Yeah, the house, the kids, he could get down with all of that, he realized, but what he wanted more than anything was Lindsey.

“Hey.” Jenny brought him a beer. “You all right? You look pale.” Her gaze troubled, she touched his forehead. “You’re clammy.”

He took a pull of the ice-cold beer, let the brew slide down his dry throat. “You were right. It’s about a woman.”

Jenny sat beside him, laid her head on his shoulder like she had since she was a kid. “I knew it. I’ve never seen you like you’ve been these past two days.”

He smiled. “You’d really like Lindsey.”

“So when do I get to meet her?”

“I don’t know that you ever will.”

Jenny got to her feet and glared at him. “She lives in Hawaii?”

“New York.”

Her hazel eyes widened. “Good God, what is that—a two-hour plane ride? You have to go. You do.”

Rick smiled. “You don’t even know what happened between us.”

“It doesn’t matter. I know you. Go. You have to go.”

“Can I wait until after Mom serves my birthday dinner?” he asked teasingly.

Jenny laughed. “Yes, you may. In the meantime, I’ll find you a flight.”

She adjusted the clip she used to keep her hair away from her face but the tickle of a tendril on her ear let her know she’d only made things worse. “What are you doing here?”

“I came for you.”

She laughed nervously, only she didn’t sound a thing like herself. “What do you mean? It’s a bit far to hop over to take me to lunch.”

“I didn’t come to take you to lunch.”

“Oh, it was just a figure of speech.” She helplessly glanced over her shoulder. Shelby was in the back room waiting for a delivery, but she could appear at any second. This was crazy. She couldn’t stand here talking to Rick like everything was all right. Except it was, wasn’t it?

She’d been holding it together really well. Shelby and Mia suspected something was up, but they’d bought that she simply missed Rick and Hawaii and would get over it.

“I miss you, Lindsey,” he said quietly, watching her, his intense gaze overlooking nothing. “Something fierce.”

“I’ve missed you, too,” she admitted, because it was the truth, and if she hadn’t he’d know she was lying. “You cut your hair.”

“Yeah.” He shrugged, raked his hand through the back. “Made my mom and sister happy.”

“Your birthday. You went to— Was it yesterday?” she asked even though she’d remembered, and had thought about calling him at least fifty times. When he nodded, she came around the counter to give him a hug. “Happy late birthday.”

He held her tight and buried his face in her hair. “God, how I’ve missed you.”

She trembled, ordered herself to move away. She only managed to back up a few inches. “It’s not enough, you know.”

“Missing each other?”

She nodded. “You can’t know someone in ten days.”

“And eight hours?” He smiled.

“Don’t,” she said. Because she wasn’t strong, not when it came to Rick. Seeing him weakened her resolve, shook her reason and made her ache, but dammit, she’d come so far. “The sex was great. Better than great.” She glanced back, lowered her voice. “Honestly, I didn’t know it could be that way. But consider what we do know about each other. We’re like night and day.”

“If I were three years younger, or even two years younger, I’d have to agree. Not now. We aren’t that different, Lindsey. You think you don’t know me, but I opened myself up to you, more than I’ve opened myself up to anyone. Even six years ago, I listened to what you had to say. Did you know I finished school because of you? It would’ve been easy to quit. I didn’t need a degree or a job. But you convinced me to stay the course, keep my options open.”

“Shelby’s in the back,” she warned softly.

“Everybody can hear what I have to say as long as
you
hear it. We know each other better than you think, and if I’m wrong, what’s the harm in getting to know one another better?”

How could she take such a risk and find nothing? She was already in love with him. He didn’t know, and she couldn’t tell him. Although, in truth, she was stronger now, more sure of herself. “I’m not Jill,” she said finally. “I’m nothing like the woman you thought you knew.”

“You’re exactly the woman I knew in Hawaii. Did you think you could make yourself over, share what we shared, and me not see you for who you are? Give me some credit.” He sighed. “You haven’t changed. You’ve just grown more into the woman you were meant to be.”

“I understand, and I agree with part of that, but I’m not Lani, either,” she said, immediately sorry she had. She saw how angry that made him, and she didn’t blame him because it had come out wrong.

“Do not hold her against me. That is not fair.”

“What I meant was that I’m not like your friends, your surfing crowd. I can’t treat sex so casually.” She darted a look toward the back. Unless Shelby had stepped outside to meet the truck, she’d heard everything. “I need a clear path to follow. I need routine. I need—”

“I know what you need, Linds,” Rick said quietly, taking her hand. “That’s what’s taken me so long to step up. I had to be sure I was a man you could depend on.”

Dammit, she was going to cry. She swallowed, wanting to be strong more than ever. “Rick, you—” Her voice broke. She tried again. “You have this great big life and you’re not afraid to participate. Me, I’m this little mouse who’s content to stay in her small corner. That’s who I am.”

He shook his head. “My big life? It’s all filler, Lindsey. It’s just stuff I do until—” He sighed with frustration. “You’re right. There is a lot you don’t know about me. Things I’d planned on telling you that last night you were in Hawaii. Like how I’ve done everything in reverse. You think I’m too free with money, don’t you?”

Lindsey pressed her lips together.

He smiled. “Yes, I know it seems that way. I made a lot of money when I was twenty, while I was diving I found a fix for this weird pressure valve. I ended up with a patent that made me a bundle. I invested well, and not only do all of my nieces and nephews have college funds, but I don’t have to worry for the rest of my life. I’ve made over a quarter million in surfing prize money, which takes care of the shop and leaves me some cash. If I wanted to commit to the sport, I could make ten times that amount. So it’s not about money or commitment, Lindsey.” He grinned. “You were worried about the commitment part, admit it.”

She blushed. “A little,” she said, breathless as so many things fell into place.

“Are you wondering why I never mentioned any of this?”

“I suppose so.” It was quite an understatement.

He took a deep breath. “I didn’t want to disappoint you.”

She frowned. “I don’t understand.”

He shrugged, the hesitance on his face unnerving. “Ask me anything you’d like. The first thing that pops into your head.”

“Rick, I don’t know what you want—”

“Take a minute, think about everything I just told you. Then ask me something. Anything.”

Lindsey tried to wade through the ocean of information. “Anything, and you promise to tell me the truth.”

“Yes.”

“How’s your shoulder?”

Rick blinked, then started laughing. “That’s the only question you have?”

“No, I have another,” she admitted, “but I want you to answer that one first.”

“The shoulder is good.” He flexed it. “Almost perfect.”

She eyed him closely. “Have you been in the water?”

He smiled. “No, I have not been in the water.”

She sighed and smiled. “I’m proud of you.”

Rick scrubbed at his face, emotion burning in his eyes. “
You
would be concerned
only
with my shoulder,” he murmured. “Everyone else wants to know what I’ve done lately. I’d be asking that question, too. I did, in fact. Until it started eating a hole in me.” He shook his head. “There’s no one who pushes themselves harder. Truth is, sometimes I try too hard.”

Lindsey smiled. “I kind of got that impression.”

His brows went up. “How?”

“Your office at the house and the sketchings you leave around, how you sometimes space out.”

“I never space out when I’m with you.”

“Mmm, sometimes, when we’d be sitting quietly, looking out over the water or whenever. Just like I did when I would dream about….”

“Lindsey, I love you.”

She gasped. At some level she’d known as soon as she saw him walk through the door, but… “I love you, too,” she said weakly. “I knew I was in trouble over two weeks ago.”

He hugged her, then held her out to look at her. “Trouble?”

“I can’t leave New York. I have obligations here.” She shook her head. “Mia and Shelby are my family, and we have a business to run. I want it to succeed.”

Rick smiled. “You’ll succeed. Look at you. You have the most incredible resolve. You’re amazing, you know that?”

She smiled back, then sighed. “A long-distance relationship would be tough. I can’t take time off now.”

“I wouldn’t ask you to. I’ll move here.”

“Rick…” She touched his face. “Here? You’d hate it. You’d miss Hawaii and surfing—”

“Yeah, I’ll miss Hawaii. But we’ll still visit. Believe it or not, there is surfing on the mainland. Waves aren’t so big.” He kissed her. “You’ll like that.”

“What about the shop and Wally and the kids?”

“Yep, I’ll miss them. I’ll still see Wally when I visit, and the kids…” He shrugged. “They’re kids, they aren’t going to stick around forever. In a way, they’re like family, too. I want great things for them and I’m glad I’m in a position to help.” His expression got serious. “But I want my own family, Linds. Our family. Marry me.”

Lindsey’s heart swelled. Hadn’t she once thought he’d make a good dad? So why was the fear still there? She loved him. She believed he loved her. “But, Rick—”

He released her, leaned on the counter and smiled that great big smile of confidence she loved and envied. “Bring it on. Throw out every obstacle you want. I’m not going anywhere. I’m sticking around, Linds, until you get it, even if I have to rent a place down the street. I love you. We belong together.”

A noise came from the back. They both turned. It was Shelby, her eyes damp. “Lindsey! If you don’t marry him, I will.”

Even as her eyes filled with tears, Lindsey laughed, then turned back to Rick. “I do love you.”

His eyes closed briefly. When he opened them, they were full of love. “For now, that’s all I need,” he whispered as he kissed her.