Full Disclosure (Homefront: The Sheridans Book 2) (19 page)

“I have a bit of a confession to make,” I
say hesitantly.

In the span of a nanosecond, her eyes
snap from sated to wary. “What is it?” she asks.

“Well, I tried to make our lunch date a
little more special this time because I’m hoping you’ll be more receptive to
something.”

“To what?”

“I wanted to see if you’d fly to New York
with me tonight and stay the night at the Plaza.” I hold my breath for her
reply. I know it’s last-minute, but seeing as I can only foresee her refusal,
I’ve kind of avoided asking her.

For a half an instant, I feel a glimmer
of hope, watching her eyes seem to picture it—a night away from Newton’s
Creek and in the lavish hotel overlooking Central Park.

“Ryan, I can’t leave Connor for the night
at my parents with so little notice. They’d never go for it. And I picked up
two foster dogs yesterday after Macaroni got adopted. They’re a bonded
brother-sister pair. Even if I could convince my parents to take Connor, they’d
never take the dogs.”

“I’ve already checked with my parents and
they will—take Connor and the dogs. Mom has a full-time nurse staying
there to help with Dad, too, so if anything happened with Connor, he’d be in
the right place. Hannah will be there. They’ve got an indoor pool, too, so
they’d have a blast.” I feel like I’m trying to sell the idea. Probably because
I am. While most women I’ve dated would snap up the offer, I know Kim is the
complete opposite.

“I don’t know, Ryan. It’s so far. Maybe
we could have a little getaway someplace closer?”

I shake my head. “I have to fly to New
York tonight. There’s a gala I need to attend at the Plaza.” I take her hand.
“You’d have fun, Kim. I’d take you shopping on Fifth Avenue for something to
wear when we arrive. And I’d fly you home the next morning in time for the
Buckeye Festival.”

“A gala?” Her face falls. “I can’t let
people see us like that. It doesn’t matter how much I want to. You’re still my
boss.”

“Let them,” I snap, then wincing at my
tone. I hadn’t intended it. “For God’s sakes, Kim, you know by now that I want
this to last between us. But we can’t keep this up—sneaking around like
we’re a couple damn teenagers breaking curfew.” I clasp both her hands in mine,
bringing them up to my face for a light kiss. “I want to be with you. Let me
take you to New York. Let me show you a little of my world. I want you by my
side, Kim.”

***

Of course, I knew she’d say no.

I remind myself this as I stare at the
fourth and final speaker of the evening in the lush, pillared opulence of the
Grand Ballroom of the Plaza. Dancing will follow, but I have no inclination to
take part, seeing as I’m feeling the stranglehold of the bowtie at my neck and
would like nothing more than to peel this tux off my body after retreating to
my suite overlooking Central Park.

I love coming to the City, especially
when I can make an excuse to get a suite here. Yet somehow the evening feels
stale when I had hoped to be sharing it with Kim. Dinner was cooked to
perfection and the company at my table was amicable, but my mind is drifting to
tomorrow morning—to the run in the Park I plan to take, and maybe a
little shopping before I fly out of Teterboro to home. I’d love to pick up
something for Kim and my first thought is Tiffany’s. But I imagine the
stereotypical blue box from that store might scare her away, especially since
she hasn’t even reached the point when she wants to be seen in public with me.

In fact, I can’t think of a single
present I could buy her that she wouldn’t quickly turn down, telling me it was
inappropriate—too much, too soon, she’d say.

But this is New York. I can find anything
here. Something special and unique. Something that she simply won’t be able to
turn down.

I join in a last round of applause, I’m
already half-eyeing the door as I nod my farewell to the people at my table. My
stride is determined as I near the door, anxious to evade the usual
photographers and posed shots.

“Ryan?” the voice behind me stops me in
my tracks not twenty feet from freedom. I should feel annoyed at the need to
turn around and talk to yet another person this evening, when all I really want
to do is escape to my room.

But her voice is familiar, sweet and melodic.
Aimee Peters. I had dated her for several months before Hannah moved in and
things got geographically challenging. It was a lot harder for me to dart off
to New York to see her, or have her over for the weekend. We just drifted apart
as time passed.

I turn toward her, and she looks as
decadent as ever in a strapless red dress that flirts with the ground as she
steps further toward me. Leaning in, she brushes a kiss to my cheek. “I thought
that was you,” she says.

“Good to see you, Aimee.” I can feel the
smile touching my eyes as I take her in, remembering the many times we enjoyed
together before my life got a little more hectic playing full-time dad.

“How’s Hannah settling in?” she asks.

“She’s doing well. I changed her school a
few weeks ago and it really was a good choice for her.”

“I’m so glad.”

“I got her a dog.”

She grins. “Every girl needs a dog.”

“That’s what I thought, too.”

“What kind?” She moves closer to me,
letting someone pass her in the crowded ballroom.

“Mutt. A rescue dog.”

“How wonderful. Is she from the rescue
that your brother’s fiancée runs?”

She’s been keeping up with the family
news, I see. I raise my eyebrows.

“I read the society pages sometimes,” she
confesses.

“Yes, she did come from Allie’s shelter.”

“Allie. That’s right. I’d forgotten her
name. I can’t believe your brother’s getting married.”

“I can. They were made for each other.”

“So you’re in town for the night?”

“Yes. I’m flying out in the morning.”

“Wouldn’t care to stay a little longer? Maybe
take a walk in the Park or check out the Met like old times?” She gives a coy
shrug and my eyes can’t help noticing the way her pale shoulders seem to glow
against the red dress.

“I can’t,” I say. “I have to be back in
Newton’s Creek. There’s a local festival. I need to make a speech and announce
a new development.”

“Duty calls. Well, I’m free now,” she
says, her voice low and suggestive, eyes filled with promise of a night of
passion. She reaches toward me, ever so lightly caressing the sleeve of my tux
with her fingertip.

It would be so easy to slip into old
habits with someone like Aimee. But there’s no temptation. “I’m actually seeing
someone now, Aimee.”

Quickly, her hand drops from my arm. “Oh,
I see. I’m sorry. I had no idea.” She presses her lips together awkwardly. “Well,
she’s a lucky woman,” she adds.

Aimee never was one to say a bad thing
about anyone else, or pursue a man who was spoken for. It’s one of the things
that I always liked about her.

“Well, keep in touch, Ryan.” She steps
backward a ways, sighing as she does. “If you and your girlfriend are ever in
town, I’d love to catch lunch with you.”

It’s that simple with Aimee. And I know
she means it.

“Thanks, I will. You’re looking as
stunning as ever.”

“Oh, this old thing?” Batting her hand
through the air, she gives a slight glance downward toward a dress displaying her
statuesque body. “You always did say the right things.”

She opens her mouth, as though she is
about to say something else, but then shuts it again, giving her head a little
shake. She steps toward me again, brushing another quick kiss to my cheek. “I
meant what I said. Call me if you’re in town. Any woman who’s managed to turn
your head would be someone I’d want to meet.”

“Thanks, Aimee. I will.”

~ KIM ~

I barely slept a wink last night,
thinking about Ryan in New York. About his invitation. About the hotel room he
was staying in. About how easy it would be for him to find someone else to
share it with him.

And about how I’d have no right to stop
him.

I had wanted to call. To text. To
something
.
But I don’t feel right doing it. I’d be leading him on. I don’t want a
relationship with him. No, cancel that. I want one, but I can’t have one. Maybe
this night in New York City was just the distance we need between us to get our
lives back on the right track—with me in the HR Department, permanently fantasizing
about my boss, and him three floors up, going on with his life with someone
else.

I load Connor and our foster dogs into my
car and head to the Buckeye Festival where Allie has a booth for her rescue
organization. It will be a good day, and with any luck, I’ll have some
applications for Miley and Cyrus by the end of the day. If I have anything to
do with it, we’ll also have talked some solid donations out of people, and I
can’t suppress the surge I feel from that. Ryan is right. I love fundraising,
and ever since he’s introduced the idea of doing it as a career, I can’t resist
fantasizing about it—leaving my dull desk job and actually feeling like
I’m making a difference to a mission I really believe in.

I glance back at Connor to make sure he’s
cinched into his car seat and Cyrus steals a lick on my ear making me laugh from
the chill of a wet tongue on me. Miley’s got her head resting on Connor’s lap,
tolerating the fact that Connor has laid a stack of comics on her furry head as
he giggles at the pictures.

I’m hoping the comics will keep his
attention for the couple hours I promised Allie that I’d sit with her in the
booth. But I didn’t want him vegetating at my parents’ house on such a pretty
day. They’d have him in the family room watching TV all day. Besides, the
Buckeye Festival is one of the rare days in the year when our sleepy little
town comes to life with hundreds of vendors and games for the kids. There are potato
sack races, cake walks, and moon bounces. At the end of the festival, the mayor
even sits in a dunking booth letting kids try to dunk him for a dollar a try
for charity. Ryan told me that they actually tried to get him to do it one
year, but he refused. (Which is damn lucky because if women caught a look at Ryan
Sheridan in a wet shirt, there’s no way anyone would ever bother forking over a
buck to dump the mayor again.)

The Buckeye Festival is like an extra
large scoop of Americana with a cherry on top and there is no way I’d let
Connor miss it for a day of staring at his grandparents’ TV.

“Hey, hon,” Allie says when we arrive. “I
brought some cookies for Connor, and Logan said he’d stop by in a while and
take him off our hands when he gets bored.”

“I love your fiancé.”

“I love him, too. Speaking of love, is
Ryan coming?”

I raise an eyebrow. “Not sure what you
mean by that segue, but yes, I’m pretty sure he’ll be here. He’s supposed to
make a speech. Have you seen Cass?”

“No. Probably won’t see her till she
makes her big appearance.”

Buckeye Festival is when the reigning
Buckeye Princess makes her final appearance to commemorate the close of Buckeye
Land for the season. I feel a lump in my throat. It’s not from the close of
Buckeye Land, of course. The place is a money pit in my eyes. I just hate the thought
of Cass leaving for New York tomorrow.

Allie seems to note the frown on my face.
“Don’t be blue. She’ll be back for the wedding this spring. And maybe then we
can convince her to come back for good.”

I scoff at the idea of it. What does
Newton’s Creek have to offer a woman like Cass? If she ever did leave New York,
I could only picture her moving someplace like Chicago or Los Angeles. Cass
would shrivel up in our small town.

She pulls an iPad out of her monstrous
bag and hands it to Connor. I watch my son’s face light up like a nuclear
explosion.

“Logan said it would be okay for you to
borrow his iPad today if it’s okay with your mom,” Allie says.

I dart her a look. I hate technology,
especially since I simply can’t afford it and any time I try to load one of
Connor’s favorite games on my ancient iPhone it crashes. But I’ll let him play
because I don’t want to be the bad guy.

“Can I play Clay Jam, Mom?”

I eye Allie. “I don’t supposed Logan has
any educational games on there instead?”

Allie laughs. “No. But he does have Clay
Jam. Hannah plays it a lot, too.”

“Okay, I guess so.”

The morning is busy. Allie has three more
volunteers come in, but it’s still not enough to handle the crowd. I’m
exhausted, keeping an eye on Connor, the dogs, and the growing stack of
applications, in that order.

Then around the time I’m planning on
breaking for lunch, my nerves tingle with awareness. I don’t know what to call
it exactly, but I feel it—a sensation tickling my spine and then heating
me, and I know Ryan is near.

“You look like you could use a break.”

I hear his voice behind me and my son
responds before I can.

“Ryan!” Connor says, dropping the iPad to
the grass and giving him a hug.

Oh, God, when did my son fall for this
man?

When did
I
fall for this man?

And how am I going to undo this?

“How was New York?” I ask him, cursing
the breathless tone that escapes me. Why is it that I always sound like just
looking at him turns me into a lust-driven teenager?

Because that’s how I feel. It really is.

“Fine,” he replies casually, then lowers
his mouth to my ear. “I missed you every second.”

I can’t help the smile that passes across
my face at his admission.

“I picked up something for you while I
was there.”

“You didn’t have to do that,” I say,
feeling Allie’s eyes on us curiously as he hands me a box wrapped in silver
paper.

“I saw it and couldn’t resist.”

I tear through the wrapping paper,
tacitly approving of the solar system design on it, and open a generic shirt box.
And then I see it—some thin white fabric with a blue design. Unfolding
it, my jaw gapes.

“Oh my God!” I practically shriek.

“What the hell is that?” Allie’s face is
contorted. Her eyes widen suddenly. “Excuse me, Connor. I mean, what the
heck
is that?”

“It’s the United Federation of Planets
flag,” I reply, my voice awed and reverent. “Oh my God, Ryan. Where did you
find this?”

“This little store on Fifth Avenue. I’ll
have to take you and Connor there sometime. It’s got more sci-fi stuff than
you’ve ever seen in your life.” He lowers his mouth to my ear again. “Maybe
that’s what it will take to entice you to say yes next time.”

Connor strokes the fabric with his tiny
hand. “Cool, Mom. We can put it in front of our house.”

“We can.”

“Announcing to the world that you are a
house of complete nerds,” Allie chides.

“And proud of it.” I finally pull my gaze
from the flag and look at Ryan. His eyes slice right through me, cutting my
heart open. It almost hurts, this feeling of complete and utter vulnerability
to this man. And at the same time, it feels like heaven.

Oh, shit.
I’m in love with him. I’m completely,
utterly in love with this man. He could have bought me diamonds and I probably
would have been able to steel my heart against him. But instead he bought me a
geeky flag, as though to say that he appreciates a side of me that most people
tend to laugh at. And my brain has short-circuited in response.

I’m in love with him and I have no way of
stopping it.

“Do you like it?” Ryan looks at me.

“I love it,” I say, having to remind
myself not to slip and say
I love you
instead. “I don’t think I’ve ever
had a more meaningful gift, except for the gifts Connor gives me,” I add
quickly.

“Oh, I’d never try to compete with that. So
how about grabbing a pulled pork sandwich for lunch, champ?” he says to my son.
“You and your mom, if Allie can survive without her for a few minutes.”

Allie waves us on, meeting my eyes with a
knowing gaze. She knows I’m lost to him now. My heart has surrendered, raising
up a white flag—in this case quite literally—a white flag with a
blue star design on it.

We grab some sandwiches and head to the
games so that Connor can take a crack at winning one of the big stuffed dogs. I
remind him that we already have two
real
dogs, but he’s convinced he
wants one anyway. Ryan hands him a stack of singles and I roll my eyes. This
man will spoil my child, and then how will I make do when he’s gone?

After burning out on trying to throw the
baseball into the milk pail, Connor decides to take a crack at winning a
goldfish. Ryan and I watch him as he tosses ping pong balls toward the tiny
bowls of fish.

“I missed you last night,” he tells me
quietly.

“I missed you more,” I say. Then I feel
it—his hand touching mine, taking it in his gentle grasp, just lightly
enough that I could easily pull away if I wanted to.

But I don’t. I can’t. My heart has taken
over where my brain left off.

I’m done for.