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“Crazy about her. Yeah, I remember. I’ll make it a brotherly duty to ensure she knows all your secrets so you can’t hide anything from her in the future.” In the background, Kyle spoke quietly to someone else before returning to the phone. A woman? Something about the soft exchange gave him that impression. “So are you going to lock that relationship down this time, or what?”
But Jack’s brain was still stuck on the fact that Kyle might be hiding the fact that he was dating someone.
“You dog,” he accused simply, figuring he’d learn more from Kyle’s reaction than by asking him straight out. Besides, the Murphy way was to attack first, ask questions later.
“Don’t know what you’re talking about.” Kyle lied as smooth as you please, his blasé tone confirming he was with someone even as they spoke.
“You’re seeing someone when you denied it up and down to Mom at Ryan’s engagement party.”
“Can I help it that I needed a nurse after I broke my nose?” On Kyle’s end of the phone, a feminine giggle sounded.
“You’re busted.” Jack turned as, behind him, the metal cellar door swung open. Seeing Alicia step outside, he tied up his call as she trailed her hand along a rickety rose arbor nearby. “But I’ll wait to gather more evidence until I interrogate you tonight after your game.”
Kyle firmed up who they needed to speak to at the Will Call window for their passes into the locker room area after the game. Then, before they disconnected, he paused.
“Jack?”
“Yeah?” He rose from the chair, ready to finalize his plans with Alicia for the day.
Ready to discuss the problems with the property she adored.
“The whole family likes Alicia. You feel me? One mistake with her is enough.”
Jack’s eyes went to her and her sun-streaked blond waves. Her endless freckles and wide brown eyes.
But Jack saw more than the killer curves and the full lips. He saw her drive and ambition. Her willingness to work hard for what she wanted in life.
“Agreed.” He swallowed hard, knowing Kyle was right. “I’m going to try like hell to get it right this time.”
Which meant he couldn’t sidestep the awkward conversations. If he wanted Alicia back in his life for good, he’d have to tackle the disagreements head on. He pocketed the phone and waited for inspiration on how to broach a topic that might well send her running.
“I didn’t mean to eavesdrop,” she began, edging past a terra cotta pot of basil and oregano in a well-tended container garden. Apparently the inn owners spent more time on their cooking herbs than the roof over their heads. “But you were looking directly at me when you said you were trying to get something right--”
“That was Kyle,” he explained. “My brother insisted that I be good to you.” He closed the distance between them. “And I assured him I would do just that.”
She cast a wary gaze up to the main house and then sidled into his arms, the scent of roses and ocean breeze still clinging to her. “Yet you didn’t sleep in my bed last night.”
Heat rushed him like a full-on blitz. Being with her these last days had only increased his need for her. He would have thought that time with her would take the edge off, but the hunger seemed to build by the hour.
“I was trying to--.”
She pressed a finger briefly to his lips, gently halting his protest. “I know why you retreated. It was thoughtful of you given how wound up I was last night. I stayed awake until after two a.m. reading articles online about restoration.”
Frowning, he regretted that he hadn’t already spoken to her about the shortcomings of the bed and breakfast.
“I didn’t notice any lights on or I would have checked on you.” He’d peered up at the seaside structure more than once, thinking about Alicia most of the night anyhow. With an effort, he peeled himself away from her, needing a clearer head for a discussion. “Do you have time to talk about the property now? I made a list of a few things you’ll want to take into consideration.”
With one hand, he brought out his cell phone and with the other, he kept her within reach so they could hash through this before their date. Hitting a few buttons, he emailed the detailed write-up to her—one of the other reasons he’d returned to the boat last night. He hadn’t trusted his ability to spell everything out in person since they’d occasionally argued for the sake or arguing. Or for the sake of making up. This was too important for him to get distracted in the middle of his explanation, so he’d put the salient points in writing.
“It must be a long list,” she remarked, glancing down at the touch screen of his phone.
“I figured it would help me stay focused if I wrote it down. Sometimes we fire each other up when we talk.”
There had been a time when Alicia would have taken that comment as an opening to flirt with him and show him how fast she could indeed fire him up. Yet now, her posture turned rigid, her lips tightening.
“Fair enough.” She nodded. “But do you think we could save the list until after our date? I’d like to enjoy tonight without thinking about all the setbacks to my purchase of the inn.”
Surprised, he studied her expression, searching for clues to her mood. Apparently she was as eager to delay the discussion of the bed and breakfast as him.
