Love Everlasting (Isle of Hope series Book 2) (17 page)

Chapter Twenty-Two

“Hey, you’re awfully quiet, Teach, or have I been talking your ear off?”

Shannon managed a smile as she glanced over at Sam while they waited at a red light.
Although
it wasn’t hard to do given the way he’d been bubbling over since they’d gotten in the car—like a boy at Christmas who’d just scored the latest Sony PlayStation with five of his dream-list games. Her smile tipped as she patted one of her ears. “Nope, ears still here, so I must just be tired, although happily so after hearing such good news.”

For Sam.

Not me.

The flash of his grin filled both the car and her heart as he veered onto the highway, from zero to sixty in under five seconds—both Sam
and
the car. A smile tickled at the edge of her lips.

“I’ve said it before, Shan, and I’ll say it again—you missed your calling as a shrink or counselor, my friend, because every single thing you’ve told me to do has worked like a charm.”

She expelled a quite sigh. She should be happy—Sam’s burgeoning romance with Jasmine was going as well as Princess Olivia’s with the playboy, well on track for their “
Love Everlasting
.” Chest expanding with the need for more air, Shannon leaned back in the leather seat with a wry smile. “Charms imply magic, Doc. I prefer to think of it as prayers and a healthy dose of self respect.”

His low chuckle vibrated like the chassis beneath them. “Well, whatever you want to call it, kiddo, it sure worked.”

For one of us, at least.
Resting her hand on the open window, Shannon closed her eyes. How she wished the balmy breeze that fluttered stray wisps of her hair could blow the malaise from her mind as well.

His fingers skimmed her arm, and warm chills followed in their wake, having little to do with the crisp air or rush of speed in a Vette on a highway. “And it’s all due to you, Shan, the true ‘Doctor Love.’” Flipping his blinker to exit the expressway, he shot another grin. “Hey, you could go in business as the Date Doctor! You know, like in the movie,
Hitch
?”

Her lips curved as she shook her head, eyes still closed while she rested against the seat. “No credentials, Doc. One really bad relationship doesn’t exactly qualify on a resume. Besides,” she said, opening her eyes to pin him with a look, “after you, I’m going back into hiding.”

For good.

“Well, that’s a crying shame, Teach, because you’ve got a real knack.”

I know—falling for the wrong guys.

“I mean, if you’d told me two months ago that Jazz would hint at breaking up with Mr. Wonderful to come back to
me
” —he melted her with a crooked grin— “which is a first, by the way, since I’m the one who asked her to come back the last two times—I would have said you’re nuts. And yet, here I am, the ‘good friend’ she says she can trust and rely on, getting positive vibes from the woman I love.” He unleashed a soft exhale of air, the sound pure contentment. “She told me tonight she thinks she made a mistake dating the intern and wanted to know what I thought she should do.”

Shannon’s breath hitched in her throat. “What’d you tell her?” she whispered, half hoping he hadn’t taken her advice to play it straight with integrity rather than swooping in for the kill.

Both his smile and tone were steady and calm. “Told her what you told me, Teach—that choosing a person to love for life is huge and one of the most important decisions she’ll ever make. Said she needed to think about it long and hard, weighing his love for her against his love for himself.
And
that she needed to make darn sure it was a love that could weather life’s storms and fickle feelings.” He looked her way, a deep and serious respect glowing in his eyes. “Unconditional love, Shannon, like you taught me, where we sacrifice our needs for the sake of the person we care about, establishing a rock-solid love we can count on no matter what.”

“A love everlasting,” she whispered, the kind of love her soul had ached for with Eric. And the kind of love that was only rooted in faith.

“Yep.” A twinkle lit in his eyes as he slapped on the blinker again when they approached her exit. “And then I quoted one of the smartest people I’ve ever met.” He glanced her way to deliver a wink. “I said ‘a love worth having is a love worth praying for,’ so she needed to do that too.”

Tears stung at the back of Shannon’s lids.

“So, you see, Teach,
you
taught me about the kind of forever love I never even knew existed or had even seen before, and I’m pretty sure Jazz hasn’t either.” His chest rose and fell in a satisfied sigh. “Till now.” Voice husky, he grazed her arm again. “I owe you my life, Shannon, in more ways than one, and I wish there was something I could do to express how grateful I am.”

She angled toward him, displacing his fingers. “Just be happy, Sam,” she whispered, unable to thwart the sheen of tears in her eyes, “that’s all the thanks I need.”

“Hey …” He reached to caress the side of her face with his thumb, dark brows pinched with concern. “What’s wrong? This doesn’t change anything between us, I promise. We’ll always be friends, kiddo, so why the saltwater?”

Because …
we’ll always be friends.

She quickly swiped at her eyes, relieved when he pulled into her driveway where the darkness could hide the heat in her cheeks. “I guess I’m just worried about my mom,” she said quietly, grateful it was the truth even if it wasn’t all of it. She took the tissue he pulled out of his console. “Cat said Mom left early because she didn’t feel well, asking Chase to give her a lift home since Jack drove his two-seater. But she’s not answering her cell, so I suspect she forgot to recharge the battery again.” Shannon dabbed at her eyes, a semblance of a smile resurfacing. “She calls herself a space cadet, which certainly fits when it comes to her phone.” Drawing in a deep breath, Shannon released it again in a wavering sigh. “But Ben left right after that, promising to check on her, so hopefully she’s okay.”

“Yeah.” Sam turned the car off and shifted to face her, reaching across to twine his fingers through hers. “Probably just a headache from the band—it was pretty loud tonight. Which is fine for us wild clubber types, but not for normal people.” He squeezed her hand, his voice suddenly as serious as his eyes. “I treasure your friendship, Shannon,” he said quietly, grazing her knuckles with his thumb, “and oddly enough, your prayers.” He sagged back into his seat, breaking the clasp of their hands. “Because God knows I’m going to need a boatload to say no to Jazz if we get back together.” He cut loose with a grunt. “Especially if I propose,
which
given this new morality kink you’ve introduced into my life, should be rather soon.”

“It’ll be worth it, Sam, I promise.”

He assessed her beneath dark lashes. “Well, you’ve never lied to me yet, Angel Eyes, so I’m putting my money on you.” He jagged a brow. “Unless, of course, gambling is off-limits in your world too?”

“No comment.” A smile twitched on her lips as she gathered her purse and shawl.

He stilled her with a hand to her arm, the tenderness in his eyes warming her from the inside out. “As God is my witness, Shan, I’ve never met anyone as wholesome as you, not to mention a woman with such a pure heart.”

She shook her head, blood broiling her cheeks. “Nobody has a ‘pure heart,’ Sam, least of all me.”

“I don’t buy it. Believe me, I’ve dated my fair share of liberated women, and after just months knowing you, I’m pretty sure you rank right at the top of the purity scale. And I’ll even bet that moron you dated gave you plenty of grief for your commitment to stay pure, didn’t he?”

“He did,” she said quietly, too ashamed to admit that she’d failed in that commitment, at least not to this man she was hoping to nudge toward morality.

“See? That’s what I mean—you’re an anomaly in today’s society—untainted and pure.”

Her pulse stuttered along with her words. “Oh, Sam, no—”

“Strangely enough,” he continued, cutting her off with a wink, “despite my proclivity for wild women, I’ve always been a sucker for ‘pure,’ so who knows?” One edge of his mouth crooked as he opened his door. “I just might like celibacy till marriage more than I think.”

Shannon’s heart pounded as he circled the car to open her door.
Tell him.

He grinned. “And then again, maybe not, because it sure isn’t going to be easy. But the way I figure it, Teach, is if you can do it, I can too.” He helped her out and gave her a quick hug before walking her to the door. “And if all this works out the way I hope and Jazz and I
do
tie the knot someday, Jack may be my ‘best man,’ Shan, but when it comes to counselor and best friend? You’ll always be my ‘best woman.’”

She blinked.

He pressed a kiss to her forehead. Thanks for being my date tonight. It sure didn’t hurt for Jazz to see me dancing with a hot babe and having fun, good friend or no.”

He gave a wave on the way to his car, and she returned a half-hearted one of her own. She watched until his brake lights disappeared down the street before she slipped into the house, a cramp in her heart.

Yeah, best woman.
She swiped at the tears springing to her eyes.

Wrong girl.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Never thought I’d say this, but thank you, God, for that stupid hedge.

Dabbing a tissue to her swollen eyes, Tess rose from the chair she’d tucked in the shadows behind her patio, her hiding place for the last hour while she’d waited for Ben to go to bed. He’d banged on all her doors and phoned and texted nonstop, but she’d ignored it all. Including the last call and text over forty minutes ago, right before his backyard light went out, turning the stupid hedge into an insurmountable black wall.

Like my heart.

She’d been so upset, she’d driven home and gone straight to bed, feigning sleep when both Shannon and Cat had peeked in, never more grateful Davey had spent the night with Spence. She didn’t want to talk to anybody right now, least of all the man who had just shattered her heart into a million pieces.

“We had some pretty long days in Libya as I recall, but we always managed to eat.”
Tess’s eyelids weighted closed as she swayed on her feet.
“Among other things.”

Other things.

The stupid leak in her eyes started up again and she blew her nose hard, the earlier click of his slider lock indicating Ben was safely in bed and long gone.

“Just like me tomorrow morning,” she muttered, her bags packed and stowed in her car while a note to the twins lay on the kitchen table.

Cat and Shan, I left early to spend a few days with Lynne Feuerstein at her Hilton Head beach house, probably till Tuesday. Spoke with her last night, and she needs a good friend right now—lots of heartache going on.

Tess fought the rise of more tears as she fisted the envelope that contained Ben’s ring.
And it’s all mine.

I already called Davey to let him know, so if you could just pick him up from his overnight at Spence’s and keep an eye on him for a few days, I’d really appreciate it. You can reach me on my cell. I promise it’s charged. Love, Mom.

Releasing a shuddering sigh, she swiped at her eyes and marched down the driveway with purpose. She needed to get away to think and pray, and as a recent widow, Lynne had been begging her to come, so the timing was perfect.

Unlike Tess’s love life.

With a quick glance at her watch, she peeked around the hedge, satisfied to see that Ben’s Range Rover was obviously in the garage and all lights were out.
One o’clock.
She’d never gone over to his house this late because Ben was usually in bed early, even before he and Tess had gotten together. An image of the leggy Dr. Andreyuk standing in Ben’s kitchen a year ago in a barely-there bikini suddenly surfaced, taunting her with a whole new take on being “in bed,” and the waterworks started all over again.

“No!” She strode toward the wooden gate with shoulders back and head high. “I will not allow Ben Carmichael to do this to me,” she hissed, resolve coursing through her veins as she unlatched the gate that was, thankfully, on the other side of the house from where Dr. Doom and everyone slept.

Dr. Doom.
Tess unloaded another grunt. Now
there
was a nickname that certainly nailed it to the wall. “Just like I plan to do to you once I get my hands on you … you …middle-aged Romeo,” she muttered, relieved that anger was finally chasing the tears away. But nails and walls would have to wait because she was in no frame of mind to confront Dr. Doom right now, not unless she was fond of manslaughter.

Which was a distinct possibility at the moment.

Tiptoeing to the corner of the house, she paused, surveying Ben’s darkened backyard. Satisfied all was quiet, Tess inched her way to the slider door where Ben had installed an oversized mailbox last year.
Right
after Lacey left a bag of homemade cookies tied to the handle when Ben wasn’t home. Poor, sweet Beau had snarfed the entire bag of cookies down before Ben could even stop him, puking them all over Ben’s bed. Tess opened the mailbox with painstaking care, an evil smile sprouting on her lips at the memory.

Poor Ben.

Her mouth took a slant. She was tempted to go home and bake cookies just to do it all over again. The slant curved into a deliciously slow smile.

Laced with MiraLAX and ipecac.

“I thought you didn’t like sneaking around?”

With a throat-cramping squeal, Tess vaulted at least three inches in the air while the envelope flew even higher, pretty darn sure she was going into cardiac arrest. “Are you deranged?” she shrieked, gaping at Ben as he nonchalantly rose from a lawn chair hidden in the bushes at the back of his yard. She slammed a palm to her chest, rib cage heaving so hard, she thought she might puke. Which could come in handy if he came close enough ... “Oh my gosh, what kind of crazy lunatic sits in the bushes in the middle of the night?”

“The same kind that stalks into a neighbor’s yard at one in the morning, I guess,” he said in a casual tone, strolling forward with hands in the pockets of his Gap pajama bottoms. If she wasn’t so ticked, she would have rolled her eyes at the T-shirt Lacey gave him for Christmas that said, “When Hearts Break, I Fix ‘Em.”

Yeah? Well not this time, Doc.

He nodded to the envelope at her feet, a faint smile on his lips as he slowly approached. “What’d you bring me? Restraining order, lawsuit, or cyanide?”

She jutted her chin, shoulders squared for battle. “I guess you’ll just have to find out after I leave.” Spinning on her heel, she tossed a squinty-eyed glare over her shoulder as she strode toward the gate. “I’d say ‘good night, Doc,’ but I wouldn’t mean it. And unlike some people I know, I don’t lie.”

Oh!

In one violent whoosh, the breath left her lungs when he pinned her to the wall of his house, biceps taut as he held her in place with a grim smile, not even breaking a sweat. Never would she imagine a middle-aged man could move that fast, but then Ben kept himself in great shape. She squirmed to break free.
For Dr. Barbie, no doubt.

“You didn’t really think I’d let you walk away, did you, Tess?” he said in a calm tone that held the slightest bit of an edge. “After camping out in the weeds to catch you on one of your infamous midnight treks?” His lips curved in a tight smile, eyes far more sober than the tease in his tone. “You are
so
predictable, Ms. O’Bryen.”

Her brows slashed high. “Yeah? I’ll-show-you-‘predictable,’ you … you … womanizing, two-timing, lower-than-dirt brute!” Thrashing beneath his iron grip, she reared up a knee, which he promptly disarmed with a knee of his own, butted tightly against hers to lock her in place.

“So, is this how it’s going to be, then?” he said, finally showing some exertion with heavier breathing. “Being married to you? Running away instead of discussing things like a rational human being?”

“No!” she screamed, temper so fried, she didn’t give a flying leap who heard. “Because newsflash, bucko—you’re not
gonna
be married to me!”

“Wanna bet?” Ben jerked her from the wall and swept her up in his arms, carrying her bucking and hissing into his house. “We’re going to talk, Tess, and Jack and Lacey stayed at the hotel, so you can scream, kick, hit, or soak me, but you’re going to listen to my side of the story.”

His arms were like a vise, blocking all resistance, and it took everything in her not to bite him on the shoulder. “You mean the story you failed to mention?”

Chest heaving, he dumped her on his white leather sectional without ceremony, riling her further when it bounced her like a trampoline. “Yes, and for this exact reason.” He stood over her, hands on his hips and feet straddled, obviously ready to pounce if she even thought of bolting. “I was planning to tell you the night on the dock, but then you told me about your problem with jealousy, and I thought it was best to let sleeping dogs lie.”

She singed him with a glare, arms slanted back on the seat of the sofa. “Sleeping dogs or sleeping wolves, Doc? Because I’m a little confused.”

Squatting before her, he reached out, and she lurched back a full foot, arms rigid on the seat to spring up if he even tried to lay another finger on her. “Tess,” he whispered, genuine hurt in his eyes, “look at you. I’ve only seen you like this one other time—when I took a swipe at Cam, and both times it was because of jealousy—your Achilles’ heel, remember?”

The flow of blood in her veins collided with a dam of bitterness as hard as the truth that hit her right between the eyes.

Jealousy.
That insidious little sin that took her down every single time. The blight on her soul that crippled her marriage to Adam, and now was trying to do the same with Ben. Her eyelids sank closed as her head lowered in shame.

“Tess,” he said quietly, the touch of his hand causing water to swell beneath her lids, “that isn’t the same woman who barged in my life and made me face the truth that set me free.” His fingers entwined with hers, and against her will, tears slipped from her eyes. “The same woman who stole my heart without me ever having a say.” He gave her hand a squeeze. “And the only woman who could ever—
ever—
possess me heart and soul.”

Her face crumpled like a soggy Kleenex, and before the sob could quiver from her lips, he swallowed her up, holding her close while she wept in his arms. “I love you, Teresa Catherine O’Bryen, and as God is my witness, you are the only woman my lips have touched since I kissed you goodbye in the hall at Lacey’s wedding.” He pulled back, lifting her chin with his finger as he gave her a tender smile. “Other than my daughter.”

She started blubbering all the more, sniveling through each of the five Kleenex Ben nudged in her hands. When the heaves tapered off, she sagged against his soggy chest, a mountain full of sodden tissues piled in her lap. “Anybody ever tell you have a real knack for inflicting guilt, Ben Carmichael?”

His low chuckle feathered her ear as he brushed a kiss to her cheek. “No, but I’d say that’s the ultimate compliment, Ms. O’Bryen,” he said with a gentle knead of her back, “because I definitely learned from the best.”