Page 6 of Sullivan

I took a long drink, enjoying the warmth as it flooded my gullet. “Perfect.” I showed her the radio I had brought out with me. “I listened while I was drying off. The train schedule was announced,” I said. “It says all trains canceled until further notice.”

She looked worried. “I didn’t expect the storm to be this bad.”

“I’m not surprised. But don’t worry. These things have a habit of changing overnight. But you’ll stay. I’ll head home. I can come back next week,” I lied. I’d be crazy busy again, and I doubted I’d get back for at least a month. But I didn’t want her to go. Bonnie must have felt she needed to come here, and I wanted to make sure she stayed.

She looked unconvinced.

“We can talk about it in the morning,” I assured her.

I noticed my shoes propped up close to the fire, stuffed with rags. And my coat was gone from the floor. I chuckled as I looked at my shoes. “I think those are a lost cause.”

“I used that trick once of stuffing them into the right shape and letting them dry, then coating them with leather conditioner. It worked. I thought it was worth a shot. They looked expensive. And I hung your coat over two chairs.” She indicated the table behind me. “It should be dry in the morning.”

I was touched by her thoughtfulness. “Thank you.”

She smiled and, once again, I was transfixed by her simple beauty. The warmth in her eyes. The gentleness of her expression and voice.

I found her captivating. And incredibly sexy.

And trapped alone with her in my cottage with only one bed might prove to be too much to handle.

AUTUMN

I watched Sully sip his coffee and eat the buns I had warmed for him. His long legs were stretched toward the fire, and he wiggled his toes often to warm them. I found the action rather adorable.

Not a word I would normally associate with such a tall, imposing man.

But once I realized he wasn’t there to hurt me, I forgot to be frightened. In fact, I found I was quite comfortable with him. He was intelligent and kind. His eyes were warm, and he spoke quietly, even teased me a few times. Bonnie spoke of him highly, her affection for him evident.

“He’s my second cousin,” she explained once. “But he’s always been good to me. He’s more like a big brother than a cousin, really. He’s ten years older than me, and he loves to tease me about babysitting me when I was little.”

That made him forty-eight—ten years my senior. He looked younger. Fit and strong, not a gray hair to be seen. He had a few laugh lines around his eyes, but they only made him handsomer somehow. He was good-looking, his jaw sharp, with eyes the color of deep whiskey and his hair a rich mahogany. I wasn’t sure I had ever seen a solicitor so tall or broad. I wondered if he scared witnesses.

“I rarely am in court with witnesses,” he said with a smirk. “And here, we’re often referred to as advocates.”

“Oh,” I muttered, realizing I had spoken out loud.

“I only appear in court if needed. Most of my work is behind the scenes. I prefer that, but if I need to go, I do.” He flashed me a smile. “My size can be intimidating, even outside the court.”

“Hmm,” I hummed.

“My generation seems to have grown bigger than normal,” he said with a grin. “My cousins Finn and Niall are both tall and broad.”

“Do they live here?”

“No. They’re in Toronto.”

“Oh! So am I.”

“Finn owns O’Reilly’s. Do you know it?”

My eyes grew round. “I love the pub there. We go after work on a Friday and play darts and drink Guinness.”

He laughed. “I’ll have Finn get you in to see his wife sing. She’s an angel.”

“I’d love that.”

We were quiet for a moment. Then I spoke. “Bonnie is tall for a woman too.”