CelebrationAfterDarkKobo (17 page)

“My pleasure. It’ll be fun to have everyone here for the night.”

“We’re glad no one has to drive in the snow after partying.”

“That was my thought, too.”

“It’s a lot for you, though. Are you feeling okay?”

“I’m feeling great for someone who’s bigger than a whale.” She rested a hand on her hugely pregnant belly. “I’ll be glad to see these two linebackers born.”

“I’ll bet.” He put his arm around her. “I was thinking about the day I met your Aunt Linda today, which means I was also thinking about your mom. She’d be so proud of you and Shane.”

Unprepared for the sweet sentiment, Laura worked through a surge of emotion. The pain of losing her mother to cancer when she was just nine could still hit at the strangest of times, even all these years later. “Thank you for saying so. That means a lot to me.”

“Your old man sure is happy these days, huh?” They looked toward the dance floor, where Frank was dancing with his girlfriend, Betsy Jacobson.

 
“He waited a long time for Betsy to come along. I couldn’t be happier for him.”

“Me too. I wondered at times if he’d ever get over losing Jo. Those two were quite a pair from the very beginning. Joined at the hip.”

“I actually remember that. They were always dancing in the living room, laughing, whispering, kissing.”
 

“I’m glad you remember them that way.” Big Mac gave her another squeeze and kissed the top of her head. “Life goes on even when you think it won’t. Your dad is living proof of that.”

“Yes, he is. And then there’s Kevin.”

“Ahhh, Kevin. Gotta say, didn’t see that one coming.”
 

Her uncle Kevin was wrapped up in Chelsea, the bartender from the Beachcomber, slow dancing to a fast song.
 

“He’s crazy about her,” Big Mac said.
 

“It looks as if the feeling is mutual.”

“Yes, it does. Good for him after what happened with Deb.”

Owen came up behind her and slid his arm around her waist. “You promised you wouldn’t be on your feet all night, and you’re on your feet.”

“Oh, busted by my keeper.”

“He’s right,” Big Mac said. “You need to be taking it easy, not inviting your entire family to sleep at the hotel.”

“I hired some people to help with that,” Laura said with a wink. “Don’t worry.”

“Thanks again for inviting us to stay and for arranging babysitters for the kids and everything else you did to make tonight special for us,” Big Mac said.

“Are you kidding? You and Auntie Linda saved my childhood. There’s nothing Shane and I wouldn’t do for you.” She went up on tiptoes to kiss his cheek and hug him. “Love you.”

“Love you, too, sweetheart.”

Laura let Owen lead her toward a seat next to the final person she needed to see about the key cards, her new cousin Mallory. “Just the woman I was looking for,” Laura said. “Here’s the key to your room for the night.”

“This is so nice of you, Laura. Thank you for including me.”

“Of course I included you. You’re family now.”

“I’m still getting used to having a big family, let alone one as awesome as this one.”

“We are pretty awesome,” Laura said, making Mallory laugh.

“I wish my mom had told me who my father was a long time ago.”

“We do, too, but we’ll make up for lost time now that we have you here with us.”

“My dad is pressuring me to move out here where I belong—and those are his words, in case you wondered.”

“I had no doubt,” Laura said, laughing.
 

“I keep telling him I have a job and a house and a life in Providence, but he can be rather convincing when he sets his mind to something. And I have to admit, I’m tempted to chuck my life there and go for it. I spent forty years wondering who my father was, and now that I know him and the rest of you, I want to be here all the time.”

“I don’t blame you. Maybe you’ll figure out a way to make that happen at some point.”

“That would be nice. It was great to be here over the summer to help with Lisa Chandler’s hospice care, and my job was very accommodating of the leave of absence.”

“We loved having you here, and I know everyone appreciated what you and Katie and Hope did for Lisa.”

“I was honored to be part of it, and I’m thrilled to see the boys doing so well with Seamus and Carolina.”

“They’ve been so great with the boys, and so has everyone who helped to build the addition to their house.”

“This island is a special place.”

“It really is, and
if
you should decide to make it your home, we’ll make sure you’re never bored or lonely.”

“You sound like my dad,” Mallory said with a smile. “He says the same thing.”

“We must be related. You’re staying for Christmas, right?”

“Wouldn’t miss my first Christmas with my new family for anything.”

“Good,” Laura said, smiling at her new cousin.
 

With the evening beginning to wind down, Kevin was eager to take advantage of the key card Laura had given him earlier to take Chelsea upstairs to bed. But he held off out of respect for his brother and sister-in-law, who’d want to spend time with their family after the other guests left.
 

When they were down to just family, Laura stepped up to the microphone. “Everyone go slip into something more comfortable and meet us in the salon for nightcaps, freshly baked chocolate chip cookies and entertainment from my gorgeous husband, Owen, and my talented cousin Evan.”

“How come he gets to be the talented one?” Owen asked.

“Yeah, and why is he the gorgeous one?” Evan retorted.

Laughing at their good-natured bickering, Kevin looked down at Chelsea, who’d knocked his socks off tonight with the sexy, shimmery silver dress she’d worn to the party with three-inch heels that showed off her incredible legs. He was completely gone over her and had been for months now, ever since that memorable night in September when she’d blatantly propositioned him.
 

“Um, Kev?”

“Yeah?”

“What’re you thinking about?”

“Why do you ask?”

She subtly rubbed against his cock, which had hardened at the thought of the first night he spent with her.
 

“I’m thinking about you, as usual, and that’s what tends to happen when you’re on my mind or in my arms or under me in bed.”

Her soft moan was music to his ears. He loved the way she responded to him. One glorious night with her had made him realize how utterly lacking the last few years of his marriage had been, and now he was seriously addicted to her. He’d be the happiest guy on earth, except for one thing—her insistence on keeping their “relationship” to sex only.

He was getting to the point where the frustration of being stuck in neutral with her was starting to get to him, but he’d been reluctant to push the issue, especially when he was having the best sex of his life with her. She’d agreed to attend his family party tonight, but he’d had to do some serious begging and pleading to get her to agree to something other than sex.

“Let’s go get changed.” He took her by the hand and led her upstairs to the second floor. They’d been told to pack a bag to spend the night, and Kevin couldn’t wait to sleep next to her for a full night. Up until now, she’d always gotten up to go home after they had sex—or expected him to leave if they were at her place.

Her arm’s-length approach was starting to make him a little crazy. If he were being honest with himself, he would confess that he’d never felt about Deb the way he did Chelsea. He and Deb had been great friends and had brought up two exceptional sons together, but they’d never burned up the sheets the way he and Chelsea did.

He turned on the light to reveal a king-size bed and a renovated room done in a coastal theme.
 

“This is so nice,” Chelsea said. “I’d wondered what the new rooms looked like.”

Kevin couldn’t have cared less about the decorating. Not when he had Chelsea alone in a room with a huge bed. He backed her up to the bed until her legs connected with the mattress. She fell onto the bed, bringing him down with her.

“I thought we were getting changed,” she said with a sexy smile.

“We are, but in order to get changed, first we must get naked.”

“You are too much, Kevin McCarthy.”

“Am I?” he asked, propping himself up on his arms so he could see her face.

“No.”

“You look so beautiful tonight.”

“I’m glad you think so.”

“Then again, you always look beautiful.”

As she often did when he complimented her, she diverted her gaze. In the past, he’d let that go, unwilling to scare her off by pushing her for things she said she didn’t want. But they’d been together—or whatever they were—for months now, and he was finding it harder not to push for more.

“Was it something I said?”

“No.”

As he bent to kiss her neck, he sent his left hand to find the hem of her dress, drawing it up to where a thigh-high stocking connected with soft skin. She trembled madly under his touch, her legs falling open in encouragement. The mixed signals were killing him. She was always willing and responsive in bed but closed off and remote out of bed.
 

“Chels,” he whispered.

“Hmm?”

“Can we talk?”

She raised her hips to press against his hard cock. “Right now?”

Though he was torn by the desire that pounded through him, the torment of wanting more from her than she was willing to give trumped desire for once. He dropped his head to her chest.

She ran her fingers through his hair, the loving caress giving him the hope he badly needed. “What’s wrong?”

“I want to know why you won’t let this be more than just sex.”

Sighing, she said, “We’ve talked about this. You just got out of a thirty-year marriage, Kevin. You’re not even officially divorced yet, and most rebound relationships end in disaster. I don’t want to be part of a disaster.”

“I’m not looking to end this. Just the opposite, in fact.”

“You’re in no place to want that.”

Resigned to making his case once again, Kevin moved to his side next to her, propping his head on his upturned hand. “I feel terrible admitting this to myself, let alone anyone else, but the time I’ve spent with you has made me realize that my marriage was over a long time ago. I’ve become almost thankful to Deb for having an affair. I only wish it hadn’t hurt my boys as much as it did.”

“It hurt you, too.”

“My pride more than my heart.” He twirled a strand of her long blond hair around his finger. “If you take a chance on me—a real, all-in chance—I don’t think it will be a disaster.”

She was shaking her head before he finished speaking. “I don’t do relationships, Kevin. I told you that from the beginning.”

“I know you did, and I’m sure you have your reasons for that, but you’ve never told me what they are. If you’re worried about me and where I am in all of this, I’m in.”

“Isn’t what we have good enough?”

“My twenty-year-old self would say hell yes, it’s good enough. It’s fucking fantastic. However, my fifty-year-old self wants more.”

“My thirty-something self is in protection mode. I’ve seen this happen to my friends—they get involved with a guy fresh out of a long marriage, and after he sows some oats with them, he moves on to the one he wants to keep.”

“I’m not looking to move on. If you think that, you haven’t been paying attention.” He slid his hand up her leg again, this time dragging her dress up to her waist, revealing the skimpy, sexy panties she favored. He’d become obsessed with her wide variety of skimpy panties.

“I have been paying attention, and I know you think you want more, but until you’re actually divorced, we need to keep things the way they are now.”

“I’ve filed, and it’s in the works.” He’d told her that, but it didn’t hurt to remind her. “And you know I’m sticking around because I’m opening a practice here after the holidays.” It wouldn't be as lucrative as his practice on the mainland had been, but it didn’t need to be. He’d invested wisely and only needed to make enough to live comfortably.