Shannon's Daughter (15 page)

“Mr.
Gregg?
 
There’s a call for you, sir.
 
If you’ll just pick up the receiver, you’ll
be connected to your party.”

“Who on
earth would call me?
 
I don’t know a soul
in New York, other than you, of course.”
 
He eyed the phone suspiciously.

“You
won’t know until you answer, will you?”
 
Peg lifted the receiver and held it out to him.
 
“Go ahead.
 
It won’t bite you.”

“Gregg
here.”
 

“Kendall?”
 

“Mother!
 
What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s
wrong, dear.
 
Other
than the fact that I’ve barely seen you since we arrived.
 
I thought surely you’d stay in this morning
to practice.
 
I know how religious you
are about your practice time.”
 
He
recognized the tone, which said far more than words with regard to her concern.
 

“I’m
having lunch with Peg.
 
Which you already
know since I assume you wheedled our location from Mr. Adamson.
 
I
will
practice, Mother, but we are supposed to be on vacation, aren’t we?”
 
He caught Peg’s eye across the table and
winked.

“Of
course, dear.
 
Now listen to me for a moment.
 
I know you probably can’t say anything, but I
do hope Peg isn’t taking up too much of your time.
 
A young girl like that, well I’m sure she’s
used to everyone catering to her slightest whim.
 
Don’t let her take advantage of you, Kendall.”
 
Dropping his eyes, he ground his teeth at the
irony of the suggestion.

“No
mother.
 
Not at all.
 
Now I think I see our lunch coming.
 
I’ll have to ring off, but I’ll see you
before dinner, I promise.
 
Goodbye, Mum.”

He
passed the receiver to Peg, doing a bit of shaking off of his own.

“Are
you always such a smooth liar?”

“What?”
 

“We
haven’t even ordered lunch yet, so I assume you were lying to your mother to
get off that call.”
 
Her grin was almost
sympathetic.
 
“It’s all right.
 
It must be embarrassing to have her checking
up on you, at your age especially.”

In
spite of himself, he grinned back.
 
“She
worries about me, even at my age.
 
And I
think she’s a bit jealous, frankly.”

“Of
what?”

“Of
you.
 
Mother hasn’t adjusted to the fact that I’m a
fully hatched male and that I might prefer the company of other women to hers.
 
I really hoped when she and Patrick got
together she’d stop requiring so much of my attention, but sadly, that hasn’t
been the case.”

Sipping
her drink, she seemed think that over.
 
“What
will she do when you have a wife and family?”

“That
won’t pose a problem, since I never expect to have either of those things.
 
Nevertheless, she can’t be tracking me down
when I’m having lunch with a beautiful girl in such an exotic setting.”
 
Something about the lingering sadness in her
eyes and the blatantly romantic atmosphere prompted him to give in to his
impulses.
 
If Peg were any other girl,
he’d have long since encouraged her to take full advantage of whatever he had
to offer.
 
As it was, his only option was
to slide his hand across the tablecloth until his fingers linked with
hers.
 
“Now can we let our respective parents
fend for themselves for at least a few hours?
 
I want to enjoy my time here, make a few pleasant memories to take back
to London.”
 

Once
again, she stared briefly at their entwined fingers.
 
When she looked up, her eyes had regained
their sparkle.
 
“I’d like that.
 
We can pretend we don’t have a care in the
world, or anyone worrying about where we are or who we’re with.
 
How’s that?”

“Brilliant.
 
Now tell me what you’d like to do this
afternoon,
or will there be any afternoon left by the time
we’ve eaten?
 
The service here is
leisurely to say the least, isn’t it?”

As if
on cue, the waiter materialized, this time bearing menus.
 
“I’ll give you a moment to make your
choices.”
 
Another bow and he vanished as
smoothly as he’d appeared.

Kendall
scanned the engraved list, trying to translate the dollars into pounds
sterling.
 
His weekly meal allowance
wouldn’t cover lunch here, if his calculations were anywhere near correct.
 
“Good heavens.
 
Is that really the price, just for an egg
salad sandwich?
 
Who laid the eggs, a
golden goose?”

Peg’s
giggle was the reward he’d been hoping for.
 
“I think it was the other way around, wasn’t it?
 
The eggs were golden, but the goose was just
an ordinary goose?
 
Don’t look at the
prices.
 
Just order whatever you want.
 
Besides, we’ll put lunch on Dad’s tab.
 
I only carry enough cash for cab fare.”
 
Reaching suddenly for his hand, she flashed
him an unexpectedly warm smile, sending a shiver streaking straight down his
spine.
 
“Now, try to look as though
you’re enjoying yourself.
 
We’re about to
have our picture taken.”
 

Chapter Thirteen

“Now
that
was
memorable.”
 
He nodded to the doorman as they stepped out
onto the pavement.
 
“I was afraid there
for a second I was expected to kiss her hand, after she’d just been thoroughly
licked by her dog.”

“She
was very impressed with you, I’m sure.
 
She’ll tell everybody she knows about my charming English cousin
now.
 
And, believe me, she knows
everybody
!”

“And I
should be flattered, I suppose?”

“Of
course.
 
You’re practically a celebrity already, and
you’ve only been here for twenty-four hours.”
 
She stopped, looking around and shielding her eyes from the sun.
 
“Let’s go into the park.
 
At least we can find some shade there.”
 

He let
her take his hand and pull him in the direction of the park entrance.
 
Within minutes, they were beneath a canopy of
trees, and while the pathway was bustling with other walkers, there was a
chance here they might have some privacy.
 
Peg’s pace slowed, and he shortened his stride to match hers, adjusting
his grip until her hand was curled securely in his.
 

“Let’s
sit here.
 
I’m too full to do much
walking.”
 
Pausing by a bench, she took a
seat without withdrawing her hand.
 
“It’s
warm, even for July in New York.
 
You
could take off your jacket if you wanted to.”

“I’m
fine, for the moment, anyway.
 
Although I
suppose I could dispense with this now.”
 
One-handed, he untied the scarf and tried to unwind it.”

“Here,
let me.”
 
With her free hand, she
finished the job.
 
“Kendall, could I ask
you something?”
 
Making a great show of
tucking the scarf in his pocket, she peered up at him through her lashes.

“Of
course.”
 

“You
told me you don’t have a girlfriend in London.
 
But you do like women, don’t you?”

“Good
lord, of course I do!
 
Why ever would you
ask that?”
 
He sensed a ploy, although he
couldn’t guess her game.

“Well,
it’s just that I know there are men who don’t especially.
 
I mean, like the men who become priests and
monks.
 
And some artists and musicians
are so dedicated to their work they don’t have any interest in women.
 
When I asked Maeve if you had a girlfriend
she as much as said you weren’t the sort of man who had girlfriends.”

He swallowed
the laughter swelling in his chest.
 
“Maeve
said that, did she?
 
So you just assumed
that since I’m a musician, and I don’t have a girlfriend, I must be one of
those
men?”

“I
didn’t assume.
 
I just wondered.”
 
He was perversely pleased by the blush
coloring her cheeks.

“First
of all, let me assure you that I have a very healthy interest in women.
 
I just lack the time and means to enjoy a
relationship with one at present.
 
As to Maeve,
I confess I may have given her that impression in hopes of discouraging her—how
shall I put this—
overt
assault on my
virtue.
 
A man, even a musician, has his
principles, you know.”

“There
you go again, sounding oh, so proper, when I think you’re really laughing at
me.”
 
She tugged her hand from his grip
and pretended to sulk, folding her arms and looking up the path away from him.

“Peg,
may
I ask you a question now?” he asked gently.

“What?”
 
Though she kept her head turned, he sensed he
had her full attention.

“Are
you flirting with me, just a little perhaps?”

When
she whirled around to face him he half-expected to see anger in her eyes.
 
Instead, after a moment of stunned silence,
an impish grin spread over her face.
 
“Maybe just a little.
 
Who could blame me?”

“Ah.
 
Is this going back to my passing looks, or my
very proper English manners?
 
Because I
should warn you, both can be deceiving.”

“No.
 
It has more to do with the fact that I like
you and you’ve always been nice to me, even back when I was an awful little brat.”

“I see.”
 
He allowed the tenderness she so easily
aroused to deepen his voice.
 
“And what
if I told you I still think of you as that little brat, although admittedly a
somewhat more attractive version of your former self?
 
I do, you know, because that’s the Peg
Shannon I was first drawn to.”
 
In
another instant, he would have to take the supreme risk, but for now, he was
content to watch her face as she digested his words.
 
Slowly, her eyes widened and her lips parted
in a silent gasp.

“You
were?”

“Oh,
yes.
 
Even then, you managed to do
something to my heart no other female had ever done.”
 
With one finger beneath her chin, he tilted
her face until there were mere inches between them.
 
“I have no business doing what I’m about to
do.
 
And you have every right to stop
me.
 
And I hope to God Simon isn’t
hovering in the bushes preparing to break my neck, but may I kiss you?”

“Oh, I
wish you would.
 
I’ve never really been
kissed right, you know.
 
Or at least I
hope I haven’t, because it just felt like someone mashing their mouth against
mine.
 
That’s not what it’s supposed to
feel like, is it?”
 

“Will
you please be quiet long enough for me to show you?”
 
When she nodded slowly, he went on.
 
“Now close your eyes.
 
I hear it’s best that way.”
 
Instantly, her lids drooped.
 
“If at any point you decide you don’t like
it, please let me know.”

“Okay.”
 

He
couldn’t help one cautious glance over his shoulder.
 
The path was vacant, and unless Simon was a
master of disguise, the only human in sight was an elderly woman dozing on a bench
down the way.
 
The breeze stirred a
strand of hair at Peg’s temple and he touched it, letting his hand slide to the
back of her neck.
 
“Ready?”

“Um-hmm.”

He’d
meant to simply drop a chaste kiss on her primly posed mouth, to gauge her
response before going further.
 
Peg,
apparently, had something else in mind.
 
She reached up with both hands, pulling his head down with
a strength
reminiscent of years earlier.
 
Her lips opened beneath his with a low moan,
insisting that he take the kiss to a greater level of intimacy in record time,
even for him.
 
In broad daylight, on a
public park bench, Kendall found himself clasping Peg in his arms, crushing her
in fact to his chest, and being kissed to within an inch of his life by this
girl who claimed she had never been kissed “right” before.
 

He
doubted she would have stopped before nightfall, so involved was she in stroking
his hair, exploring beneath his jacket and discovering the secrets of his
dental work.
 
In the interest of public
decency, he forced his way up for air.
 
“Peg!
 
My word!
 
What do you mean, you’ve never been
kissed?
 
And here I thought I was about
to teach you something.”

“I said
I’ve never been kissed right.
 
And I haven’t.”
 
She hadn’t taken her eyes from his mouth, as
though she were planning further explorations.

“Well
you certainly took to it right off the bat.”
 
He ran a hand over the back of his head, smoothing the hair she’d set on
end.
 
“Good heavens, girl.
 
I think that’s enough of that for now, don’t
you?”

“Not
really.
 
But if you didn’t like it. .
.”
 
The impish grin reappeared.
 

Releasing
her completely, he straightened his jacket and skimmed his palm over his mouth
in an attempt to calm the memory of that kiss before he was tempted to go back
for seconds.
 
“It isn’t a matter of
liking.
 
I hadn’t expected
you
to like it quite so much.
 
You’re sure you’ve never done that before?”

She sat
back with a sigh, her eyes wide with wonder.
 
“No.
 
Never.
 
The three whole times I’ve been kissed, I honestly
thought I was going to gag.
 
But this was
so different.
 
I guess it’s all in
knowing how, isn’t it?”

Tossing
back his head, he barked a laugh.
 
“I’m
not so sure about that.
 
I think you
could teach me a thing or two, frankly.
 
And I’m afraid I’ve been kissed more than three whole times.”

“Lots
more?”
 
She fixed him with an arch stare.

“Lots
more.
 
I’ve been at it for a while, you know.”
 

“Did I
do it right?
 
I mean, it felt really nice
to me, but did it seem all right to you?”
 
Perhaps another ploy, but she seemed to sincerely expect some kind of
score.

“I can
honestly say no kiss ever moved me more deeply.
 
And there’s something of a problem with that, I’m afraid.”

She
looked genuinely alarmed.
 
“What kind of
problem?”

“Knowing
how much we both enjoyed it, it would be tempting to do a bit more of that kind
of thing in the time we’re together.
 
I
am safe in assuming you wouldn’t object to repeating that performance?”

“Right
now, if you don’t mind.”
 
She reached for
him, her eyes a bewitching shade of sapphire.
 

Catching
her hands, he redirected them to her lap.
 
“It isn’t that I mind.
 
It’s what
your father and every other member of your family might think, not to mention
my mother’s opinion of the two of us carrying on that way.
 
You have to know they wouldn’t approve.”

She
shrugged.
 
“You’re probably right.
 
Although I know Dad really likes you.
 
You think, because I’m only eighteen, they
would really mind us being more than just sort of cousins?”
 

He
smiled, tipping her face up again.
 
“I
do.
 
And I wouldn’t want to make things
uncomfortable for any of us.
 
That’s why
I said I had no business kissing you in the first place.
 
But quite honestly, sweetheart, I haven’t
thought about much else since I first saw you yesterday.
 
Remember I said once I shuddered to think
what sort of woman you’d grow up to be?”

She
seemed mesmerized, her eyes fixed on his lips.
 
“Yes.
 
And I said if you were
lucky you’d be around to find out.”

“I
consider myself the luckiest man on earth right now.
 
And damn me, but I’m going to kiss you again,
if you have no objection.”
 

Not
only did she fail to object, she insisted he kiss her repeatedly, ignoring a
line of young boys on roller skates who breezed by laughing and making rude
noises.
 
Once again, he was the one who
ended the thing, aware of the real danger of losing control completely, public
park or not.

“I
could very quickly become addicted to you, I believe.”

She
snuggled against him, resting her head on his shoulder.
 
“It is nice, isn’t it?”

“Nice?
 
That’s hardly a word I’d use for the effect
you’re having on me.
 
Promise me
something.
 
Don’t ever,
ever
kiss any of those poor, innocent
boys who were at that party last night.
 
You don’t understand the harm you could do them.”

She
chuckled softly, leaning her head back to look up into the trees.
 
“Don’t worry.
 
I wouldn’t.
 
None of them could
compete with a man like you.”