Hoping for Love (21 page)

“
Right
,” she said, laughing. “Because it’s all about me.”

“It certainly is.” He ran a finger lightly over her face, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “Everything is suddenly all about you.”

“Why?” she asked, unnerved by the intensity of his gaze and the sincerity of his words.

“For one thing, you’re beautiful—inside and out. But of course you already knew that.”

She shook her head. “Not until you said so.”

“Come on! What’s wrong with the guys in Mystic? Are they blind?”

“They… I…”
Tell him! Say it!
“I don’t know.” Anxious to redirect his attention, she rested her hand over the scabs on his face. “Does it hurt?”

“Not so bad. That’s also your fault, you know.”

“How in the world is your surfing accident my fault?”

“I was thinking about you when I should’ve been paying attention to the wave.”

Touched by his confession, Grace brought his face down closer to her and placed soft kisses on the wounds.

“That makes it all better.”

She smiled at him and rolled her eyes as he snuggled into her chest, seemingly his favorite place to be when they weren’t making love. “You’re full of it, McCarthy.”

“So I’ve been told.”

“Have there been a lot of them?”

“A lot of who?”

“Women.” Grace was already sorry she’d asked because she didn’t really want to know. Well, she kind of wanted to know.

“None that mattered.” He brought her hand to his lips. “Until recently.”

They were quiet for a long time before she said, “Evan?”

“Hmm?”

“Last night, you said something about your CD and the record company being bankrupt. Is that true?”

Releasing a deep sigh, he said, “I’m afraid so.”

“What will happen to your album?”

“That’s a very good question. There’s some talk about Buddy Longstreet’s record company trying to buy it from Starlight—that’s the company I signed with. If that happens, I’m saved.”

“And if not?”

“I don’t want to think about that. It’ll mean years of litigation that’ll totally screw my career before it even starts.”

“I hope that doesn’t happen. You’ve worked so hard. I want to see you get your big break.”

“Even if it means you’ll be here and I’ll be God knows where most of the time?”

The question was asked somewhat flippantly, but there was nothing flippant about the way he looked at her, as if his very happiness depended upon her answer. “If this is what we both want, then we’ll make it work. Somehow.”

“And is this what you want, Grace? Am I what you want?”

“I, ah…” She was afraid of appearing far too eager if she blurted out her true feelings on the matter.

“I’ve put you on the spot. I’m sorry.”

“No, no.” Before she could say anything more, there was a sharp rap at the door.

“That’ll be breakfast,” he said, bounding out of bed and heading for the door.

“Evan! Put some pants on!”

“Oh, hell, I knew I forgot something,” he said as he pulled on his shorts.

Grace was seized by a fit of laughter as she tugged the covers up and over her shoulders, mortified by the idea of the waiter seeing her in bed.

Apparently, Evan had thought of that because he took the tray at the door and didn’t let the waiter in. With a great flourish, he presented the meal to her in bed, tucking the rose from the tray behind her ear. “Coffee?”

“Absolutely,” she said, ridiculously pleased by the romantic gesture.

“I take it you’re addicted?”

“Completely and totally. I normally can’t function without my first cup.”

“You functioned just fine without it this morning.”

The comment made her blush, which seemed to please him.

“Cream and sugar?”

“Both please.”

He handed her the mug and watched her take the first sip, awaiting her verdict.

“Perfect,” she declared. In fact, coffee had never tasted better. She watched his brows furrow with concentration as he spread butter over her English muffin.

“Jelly?”

“Grape.”

When he was satisfied with the distribution of condiments, he held it up for her to take a bite.

“You need to go ahead and eat,” she said, “before it gets cold.”

“If you insist.” He handed the rest of the muffin to her and dove into the eggs and pancakes he’d ordered for himself. Sitting cross-legged on the bed, he looked like a little boy who’d had a particularly nasty crash on his two-wheeler the day before. But when he looked over at her with intent in his eyes, he was every bit the man. “You never answered me, you know.”

Of course she knew exactly what he meant. “What was the question again?” she asked with a coy smile.

“The question, as you know darned well,” he said, leaning over the tray to bring his face in close to hers, “is…am I what you want, Grace Ryan?”

At ten o’clock, Owen took the stairs to the third floor two at a time. Sure enough, the sounds of violent retching greeted him. Right on schedule, he thought grimly, hating that she had to go through this every day. Wondering how much longer the morning sickness would continue as a daily event, he stepped into Laura’s suite and went to the kitchen to fill the kettle.

Leaving the tea to steep, he waited until the vomiting finally stopped and went into the bathroom to collect her off the floor. After he helped her to rinse out her mouth and brush her teeth, he scooped her up.

“We’ve really got to stop meeting like this,” she murmured as she looped her arms around his neck and rested her head on his chest.

Amazed that she could be so droll when she was clearly miserable, Owen chuckled. Her good humor in the face of so many daunting challenges was just one of the many things he was coming to love about her.
Love?
Yes, he thought with a sigh. At this point, it would be foolish to deny that he was falling fast and hard.

“Why the big sigh? I keep telling you that you don’t have to do this.”

“And I keep telling you I don’t mind.” Rather than take her back to bed, he settled into one of the upholstered armchairs, keeping her on his lap next to the table where he’d set her tea.

“Owen—”

He rested his hand on her head to keep her snuggled into his chest. “Relax, Princess. I’ve got you.”

Her entire body went lax as she released a deep, shuddering sigh of her own.

“Do you want your tea?”

“Not quite yet.” When she flattened a hand on his chest, he wondered if she could feel the effect her nearness was having on his heart rate. “You’ve really got to stop waiting on me hand and foot. What’ll I do without you when you leave?”

“I’m not going.” He hadn’t planned to tell her for a while yet, because he knew she’d protest. But the words were out of his mouth before he could contemplate the consequences of tipping his hand too soon.

She raised her head and met his gaze. Those dark circles under her eyes bothered him more than they should. He’d get rid of them if it was the last thing he ever did. “What do you mean you’re not going? Of course you are! It’s the great gig in Boston that you do every year—”

Owen placed a finger over her lips. “I’m not going.”

“Why?”

His face twisted into a wry smile. “You know why, Princess.”

Incredulous, she stared at him for the longest time, during which he hadn’t the foggiest idea what she was thinking. It suddenly occurred to him that maybe she didn’t want him around, and perhaps he’d made a huge mistake in judgment. Before that unsettling thought could take hold, she cupped his face with her soft hand, making his heart stagger.

“None of this is your problem, Owen.”

“You know, it’s funny, I keep telling myself that, but it doesn’t seem to matter.”

“You’re really staying?”

“I’m really staying.”

“Because of me?”

“No, because of Evan. He needs constant supervision.” Owen cuffed her chin. “Yes, because of you, silly. Someone has to pick you up off the floor every morning. It may as well be me.”

“Oh.”

“Is that okay?”

“You really don’t have to…”

Burying his fingers in her soft blonde hair, he pressed his lips to her forehead. “I want to, Laura. I really want to.”

“I can’t.”

“What can’t you do, honey?”

“I can’t allow myself to depend on you.”

“Why not?”

“Because this isn’t the life you want. You don’t want to be settled and domesticated, and I’d never ask you to change for me. You’d hate me for it someday.”

“First of all, I could never hate you. And second of all, you’re not asking me for anything. All I know is I can’t go off and leave you here all by yourself. I don’t
want
to go off and leave you here.”

“How long will it be before you’re itching to get out of here, before the open road beckons and you feel trapped by responsibilities that shouldn’t even be yours?”

As much as he wanted to argue otherwise, she made good points. “I have an idea.”

“I’m listening.”

“Let’s spend this winter together. I’ll stay until the baby is born, and then we’ll see what’s what. How does that sound?”

“It sounds like just long enough to ensure that I’m completely attached to you and unable to imagine a single day without you in it.”

Which was exactly what he wanted, he realized with sudden clarity. “The idea of being domesticated no longer horrifies me.”

She laughed, which he’d hoped she would. “That’s something, I guess.”

“Give me a chance, Laura. That’s all I’m asking for. You have to know I’d never hurt you.”

“You’d never hurt me on purpose.”

“All I know is being where you are is way more appealing than being anywhere else.”

“I don’t know that I’ve ever received a nicer compliment,” she said, smiling warmly at him.

That smile filled him with a kind of joy he’d never experienced before.

“I’ve been wanting to do this for the longest time.” She reached out to bring order to his unruly hair. Rolling her bottom lip between her teeth, she was the picture of concentration. “There,” she said when she was satisfied. “All better.” She dropped her gaze to meet his.

He’d promised her he wouldn’t kiss her again, but hadn’t they just brokered a tentative agreement to give this thing a whirl? “Laura…”

“Yes?”

“I really want to… That is, would it be okay if…”

She put him out of his misery by drawing him down to her and pressing her lips to his in a sweet, chaste kiss that affected him more profoundly than any kiss ever had. When she started to pull back from him, he stopped her with a hand on the back of her head.

“Do it again.”

With her hand on his cheek, she kissed him again. This time, her lips parted, ever so slightly, and her tongue skimmed over his bottom lip. Nothing in his entire life had ever been more erotic or electrifying.

“If being domesticated means more of that, I think I’m going to like it,” he said, smiling at the shell-shocked look on her face. His own expression had to mirror hers, because he felt as shell-shocked as she looked. “Do we have a deal, Princess? We’ll give it the winter and see where we stand?”

She took his hand and brought it to her lips, placing a soft kiss on the back. “We have a deal.”

Grace watched the clock edge closer to noon. “I have to check out soon.”

Evan released her, turned over and reached for the bedside phone. “Hi, there. I’m in room 320, and I’m wondering if I can reserve it for another night.”

“Evan! I’m leaving at five!”

“It’s available? Great. I’m going to use a different credit card for tonight, so I’ll bring that down later.” After a pause, he added, “You can tell housekeeping we’re all set. Thanks.” He hung up the phone and turned back to her.

“What’re you doing? It’s crazy to waste your money—”

He shut her up with a kiss that cleared her brain of every thought that wasn’t about him. “It’s not a waste if it buys me four more hours right here,” he said, kissing his way to her breasts.

“Evan… This is depraved. We can’t keep doing…” His mouth closed over the tender tip of her breast, and all she could think about was the exquisite feel of his lips and tongue on her sensitive flesh.

“You still haven’t answered my question,” he said as his tongue made circles around her nipple, denying her more.

“I can’t think when you’re doing that.”

He stopped what he was doing, lifted his head to make eye contact and raised a brow in question.

“You know I want you. Why do you need me to say it?”

“Because it’d be nice to know we’re on the same page here.”

“Haven’t we been on the same page all morning?” she asked with a smile, hoping to diffuse some of the tension.

Shifting onto his back, he stared up at the ceiling.

Grace put her hand on his chest. “Evan—”

His cell phone rang, breaking the uneasy silence. “Sorry,” he said as he got up, “I’ve got to take this with everything that’s going on.”

“Go ahead.”

“Oh, it’s Grant. Hey, bro, what’s up?” Evan listened for a minute and then turned to look at Grace. “Let me ask her.” Holding his hand over the phone, he said, “Stephanie’s new lawyer, Dan Torrington, managed to get the hearing for her stepfather’s case moved up to Wednesday. They need to get a car off the island ASAP so they can spend tomorrow with Dan going over her testimony, but the ferries are booked for the rest of the day. Is there any chance—”

“Yes! She can have my spot. Of course she can.”

“They can get you on the eight o’clock boat in the morning, so you’d only be a little late for work.”

“It’s fine. Tell her I said no problem and good luck.”

“Thanks, Grace.”

While Evan worked out the particulars with his brother, Grace thought about Stephanie and how excited and nervous she must be. Her mind also raced with the implications of another night with Evan. By the time she left, she’d be completely in love with him, a thought that would’ve terrified her before the morning they’d spent together.

In the last few hours, she’d gotten a good glimpse at the man Stephanie had told her might be inside the overgrown boy. While she was thrilled to have more time to spend with the man, she was worried about whether the boy would return and ruin everything.

“How about a shower?” he asked when he’d stashed the phone in his shorts pocket.

“Go ahead.”

“I meant together.”

“Oh.”

His face lifted into a sexy half smile as he held out a hand, inviting her to join him. Despite the intimacy they’d shared, it still took an act of courage for her to throw back the sheet, get out of bed and walk across the room naked.

He watched her every move, his eyes heating with desire as she came toward him. “Go start the water,” he said. “I’ll be right there.”

When he joined her, he placed a condom on the soap dish.

Grace’s belly took a dip when she tried to picture how sex in the shower would work.

“Don’t go all tense on me,” he said as his lips skimmed her neck and shoulder from behind. As the warm water created a blanket of steam around them, he cupped her breasts and teased her nipples with talented fingers while his erection found a home in the cleft of her ass. He reached for the bar of soap, lathered up his hands and ran them all over her until her legs quivered and threatened to give out from under her.

“Let me turn around so I can touch you,” she said.

He stepped back and handed her the soap.

She started with his shoulders, continued with his chest and belly, playing with his nipples before venturing to his rigid cock. With soapy hands, she explored his shaft and balls, loving the way his head fell back in utter abandon.

Thinking of what he’d done to her earlier, she dropped to her knees and let the water rinse him clean before she tentatively ran her tongue over the tip. She stroked and licked, marveling how he got even harder.

“Grace…”

“Hmm?”

“Stop teasing,” he growled.

Laughing, she took him into her mouth, lashing him with her tongue and stroking him the way he’d shown her. If his tortured groan was any indication, Evan seemed to like that. He also liked when she sucked on him.

“Shit,” he muttered. “Stop. Grace,
stop
.” He helped her up and crushed his mouth to hers, plundering her mouth with his tongue as his fingers dug into her hips.

“Did I do it right?” she asked when he shifted his focus to her neck.

“If you did it any better, you would’ve finished me off.”

“I’d like to do that sometime.”

“Finish me off?”

As she nodded, her face heated with mortification. “In my mouth.”

“Christ, Grace, when you say things like that, it’s the hottest thing ever.”

“Why?”

“Because I know you’ve never said it to anyone else, and I like that. I like it a lot.” He kissed her softly and reached for the condom. “This way.” Turning her so her back was once again to him, he said, “Put your hands on the wall and trust me. I’ve got you, babe.”

When he put his arm around her waist and slid into her from behind, Grace couldn’t stop the cry that slipped through her parted lips.

He kept up a slow but steady pace that had her quickly on the verge of release. And then he let the hand he’d rested on her belly slide down to where they were joined to stroke her into a shattering climax that powered through her with lightning speed.

His fingers dug into her hips to anchor her for his fierce possession until he too cried out his release. For a long time afterward, he remained inside her as they throbbed with aftershocks. Only when the water started to cool did he finally withdraw and turn her into his embrace.

“You’re amazing,” he whispered, “and one more night isn’t going to be enough.”

“For me either.”

He reached for towels, handed one to her and then led her back to bed when they were dry.

Grace snuggled into his embrace, using his chest as a pillow. His chest hair was soft against her face as she traced a finger along the path that led to the thicker patch of hair that surrounded his penis.

“I need to ask you something,” he said.

Grace was immediately on alert. “Okay.”

“Last night, Stephanie said something that’s been bugging me.”

Since there was any number of things Stephanie could’ve said, Grace’s mind whirled with possibilities. “What’s that?”

“She said that for reasons I couldn’t possibly understand, you were the last person I should’ve snuck out on after having sex. Other than the obvious that it was your first time, what did she mean by that?”

In the scope of a second, Grace thought of a dozen things she could say but decided to go with the truth. She took his hand and brought it to rest on the faded ridge of scar above her belly button. “Feel that?”

“Yeah. What about it?”

“I had what they call lap-band surgery about eighteen months ago. Do you know what that is?”

“I’ve heard of it, but I can’t say I know the particulars.”

Grace swallowed hard and forced herself to look at him, wanting to see his reaction. “For most of my life, I was significantly overweight. I tried every diet, and I spent so much time at the gym that the owner said he should give me stock in the company. But nothing worked.”