“Why? Look at her! She’s smart and beautiful and in the prime of life! She should have a partner! Someone who appreciates her, supports her, gives her a chance to be a mother. She says she doesn’t care about being a mother and maybe she doesn’t, but I can tell you, the best part of my life was raising Leigh. And being her friend now that she’s a true adult.”
He cocked his head. “I can relate to that. Maggie is my reason for living. Has been since she came along.”
“I can’t wait to meet her,” Helen said. “Leigh has talked about her.”
“She’s something special,” Sully said, and Helen noticed his chest did puff up a bit.
“How wonderful,” Helen said.
“Helen, what are you planning for dinner? I bought a bunch of prawns and vegetables and some rice...”
“Are you inviting me to dinner?” she asked.
“I don’t want to take up all your time but... But I do want to take up all your time, but feel free to invite Leigh. I’d be happy to have her, you know that.”
Helen laughed. “I told her she was on her own for dinner and I’d be home at about eight thirty. If you were busy, I’d have gone out to dinner...”
“Alone?” he asked.
“Why, yes, alone. I’m an unmarried woman and I’ve spent many a lunch or dinner as a single diner. But if you’re offering a shrimp and rice dinner, I’m in. I’ll help.”
“Helen, I was cranky all day yesterday,” he said. “I was up late reading your book. It kept me awake.”
She clapped her hands in front of her chest. “Sully! How lovely!”
He was shaking his head. “Listen, you swear a lot. A lot.”
She laughed at him. “No, I don’t swear a lot. Okay, I do—I swear whenever I want but I’m pretty good at judging my audience. Have I offended you somehow?”
“No, no. I hadn’t noticed you swearing...” He was shaking his head. “I meant in your book. You swear like crazy.”
“Oh, for pity’s sake, that’s not me! That’s the character! Under the circumstances, dead bodies, hell and fury, fear and such, it’s totally appropriate. Expected, in fact! Of course, as I said, I do swear. All the time.”
“And dead bodies. And they’re kind of grisly. I mean, I’ve seen a lot out here in the wilderness, but whew! This book.”
Helen arched a brow. “Sully, what is it you really want to ask me?”
He leaned his elbows on the bar. “You’re not wanted for anything, are you?”
Helen laughed her ass off. And that was the moment she began to fall in love with Sully.
* * *
Leigh had just finished with a patient when she noticed she had a missed call from Rob. She closed her office door to call him back.
“Are you taking a lunch hour today?” he asked.
“I was going to do paperwork,” she said. “Do you have a more appealing suggestion?”
“I want to take you to lunch, but if we eat here, people will want to talk to us. What if I brought lunch to you? At your house?”
“That sounds lovely. What time?”
“Noon. I know what you like but what can I bring Aunt Helen?”
“Let me call her and ask her what she’d like,” Leigh said. Then she called Rob one minute later and said, “Aunt Helen won’t be home for lunch today.”
“Oh God,” he said. “Is it noon yet?”
“Almost,” she said in a whisper.
She left her office door closed. She couldn’t remember ever feeling like this. She could feel the heat on her cheeks, a thrill vibrating through her. She could not remember feeling this with Johnny, but surely she must have since they couldn’t wait to live together and pushed Helen so hard. And she was hardly a prude—she’d dated, she’d slept with a few men, nice and sexy men. That they weren’t forever men didn’t mean she hadn’t been sexually driven. Leigh, being fussy and disciplined and cautious, wouldn’t have found herself in that position had she not been driven. But chemistry like this? She was trying to remember ever feeling like this. Since the first time she touched Rob, her libido had been soaring.
She walked the few blocks home, thinking it might be a good idea to burn off some of the sexual energy she seemed to be always feeling. But when she got to her house, he was already there sitting in his car in the drive and, all over again, sunshine filled her up inside. They walked to the front door together, asking after each other’s day. The minute the door closed behind them, the brown paper bag that held lunch dropped to the floor and she was in his arms, his lips hungrily devouring hers. And she was devouring him right back. In ten seconds she was naked and on her back on the bed being completely worked into a frenzy. Within minutes, she was fully satisfied, as though she hadn’t been satisfied in decades.
Leigh laid on her back, flushed from head to toe. Beside her, Rob lay, panting.
“Dear God,” she said. “Have you been slipping extra hormones into my food?”
“You don’t appear to need any extra hormones,” he said.
She turned on her side. “This is not normal!” she said.
“It’s not?”
“Are you always like this?” she asked him.
He turned and looked at her with those gorgeous brown eyes of his. “If I was, I’d have bedsores,” he said.
“Listen to the doctor. You don’t get bedsores when you move around a lot,” Leigh said. “Seriously, this is confusing the hell out of me. I don’t remember ever feeling this crazed before. And I was practically married!”
“I was married and it wasn’t like this. It’s probably the forbidden fruit thing,” he said.
“What forbidden fruit thing?”
“You know—hard to find time to be together so when we get a chance, we go berserk. We’re dodging my kids or your aunt.”
“I hate to tarnish my lily-white image but you’re not the first man with kids I’ve, ah, dated...”
He laughed. “Well, to be honest, my dates, infrequent as they were, haven’t been as lively as this.”
“I’m a maniac!” she shrieked. “What have you done to me?”
He laughed again and pulled her on top of him. “If I knew, I’d bottle it and make a fortune. Hey, feels like you bring a little of the maniac out in me, too. I’m certainly not complaining.”
“Can I ask you something personal?”
“You can always ask,” he said.
“What was your marriage like?”
He thought for a moment. “I can honestly say it was good. It was fulfilling. Satisfying. It was not like this. And that almost-marriage of yours?”
“No,” she said with a little shrug. “But we were so young...”
“I’m no expert but I don’t think many people have this thing we have. And I don’t mean to be a downer but I don’t think it was any great wisdom on either of our parts. I think we got lucky.”
“What if nothing else works this well with us?” she asked.
“Leigh, we have a very nice relationship. We enjoy each other and the conversation is good. Mind-blowing sex appears to be a bonus. Now why would you worry about that?”
“It takes me by surprise, that’s all,” she said. “Not that you’re not a totally studly guy...”
“Thanks,” he said, laughing. “Are you hungry?”
She kissed him. “I’m not that hungry.”
“You’re getting that look in your eye again.”
“I should probably see a professional, find out if there’s something wrong with me...”
“Please don’t do that,” he said, right before rolling her onto her back.
Fifteen minutes later, he said, “My God, woman.”
“I know. Something is definitely wrong with me.”
“Not in my opinion,” he said.
“Um, Rob? Be sure to keep your shirt on around your sons. And others.”
“Why?”
“I think I might’ve accidentally scratched your back a little.” He gave her a wide-eyed look. “Well, it’s mostly your fault!”
* * *
There were indeed scratches on his back and he could remember the exact moment. He’d brought her to a thundering climax and as she shuddered in pleasure her nails raked across his shoulders. He caught her in his embrace and held her as she fell to earth.
He looked over his shoulder to the mirror. The memory of their lovemaking sent a river of pleasure running through him. All the emotions that had been on the back burner while he started his business and raised his boys were now consuming him. He craved her, all of her, like he never had before. He loved her innocence—she couldn’t believe her own abandon! He loved her feistiness. She made him laugh, she made him gasp. When he was with her, he felt cherished.
How had he managed this long without her in his life? He didn’t even know he needed someone like her.
He left Sid and Kathleen to run the pub and close up for him. He went to the park to watch Sean practice baseball, then home to shower and wait up for Finn.
He wondered how the kid could hold it together.
Finn showed up at about ten. “You didn’t have to wait up for me,” he said.
“I might not even be home yet but I took the night off. I wanted to watch Sean hit and pitch for a while. And I wanted to talk to you. How are you holding up?”
“I’m not worth a damn but Maia has been cracking the whip, getting me through the last few weeks of school. She won’t be finishing the year. She’ll graduate, no problem there. And she’s incredibly strong. Focused. Positive. Jesus, it puts the rest of us to shame.”
“Any news?”
“They’re going to Denver tomorrow for a couple of days. Maybe three or four days. They’re trying to make decisions. They’ve talked about trying to shrink it with radiation. They’re talking about the pros and cons of surgery. One of the cons is she could die. If the odds of her surviving the surgery are terrible, they’ll probably try the radiation. But one of the other problems is disability. They’re talking about seeing a couple of other doctors—UCLA and the Mayo Clinic. But they have to do something pretty quick. Before the goddamn thing grows.”