Shoreline Drive (33 page)

*   *   *

It was exactly what Ben thought he wanted, handed to him across the bench seat of his old pickup truck. Merry was watching him with bright eyes, her hair still a mess and grass stains on her knees from hitting the dirt to protect her baby.

Ben’s chest was in lockdown, his ribs cranked too tight for breath, but all he knew was that as much as he wanted Alex as his son, he wanted everything out on the table with Merry even more.

“Can we forget about our agreement for a minute?” His mouth was so dry, dust scouring his lungs and turning his voice into a heavy croak.

Fear speared through Merry’s gaze. She curled her hands around the hem of her sweatshirt and nodded.

“I’m sorry,” she babbled. “I know it’s too little, too late—and I don’t want to be like Ivan, always apologizing as if that makes up for the fact that he does whatever the hell he wants the rest of the time, regardless of anyone else’s feelings. But I am sorry, Ben. This marriage is important to me.”

She swallowed. With amazement, Ben realized he could actually see the flutter of her rapid pulse in the hollow of her throat. “I don’t want anything to come between us … because I’m in love with you.”

Ben felt the smile start in the pit of his stomach and travel up through his chest, loosening the constriction there, before it ever hit his mouth. She loved him. Merry loved him, after all.

“As apologies go, that was a pretty good one,” he said, hauling himself up into the cab of the truck to get closer to her. “Come here.”

Merry leaned eagerly over the drive shaft and Ben met her halfway, thrusting his hands into her hair to hold her head for a kiss.

“I love you, too,” he whispered against her mouth, the words escaping like a prayer or a vow. “And I love Alex. You’re right, I’ll be there for him no matter what … even if there’s no piece of paper out there that legally binds us together as father and son.”

“But…” Merry drew back to search his eyes. “You are the last Fairfax heir. Do you really not care about passing it on?”

Ben considered the caldron of anger still seething in his belly at the stunt his parents pulled with Ivan. “Right now? I’m thinking it would be a good thing for the Fairfax name to die with me. That much attachment to a legacy isn’t healthy or rational.”

“You might feel differently as we get older,” Merry pointed out. “When your parents pass on, and you’re the only one left.”

Ben smiled and nudged kisses against her cheek, her temple, her nose, the fragile skin of her closed eyelid—whatever he could reach. “I won’t be alone. I’ll have you. And as long as I have you and Alex in my life, for good, he can call me whatever he wants. Stepdad, Daddy, Pops, Uncle Ben … okay, maybe not Uncle Ben. I don’t like rice.”

Merry laughed, and in the backseat, Alex clapped and laughed, too, already starting to mimic the emotions of those around him. That’s why it was so important to keep his mother happy, Ben reflected with satisfaction as Merry pushed her face up for another kiss.

“The point is,” Ben finished, a few long, heated moments later. “I’ve loved you for a long time. And if you want to stay married to me and be a family, not because of an arrangement but because you love me—I’m happy. That’s all I wanted from life.”

Merry pulled away and kicked open her door, rushing around to the back to pull Alex, barefoot and giggling, from his car seat.

“What are you doing?” Ben asked, heart clenching.

“Ivan can wait—we’ll figure out what to do about him later. Right now, I’m taking our son up to the barn and telling his grandmother she’s on babysitting duty,” Merry said, wrestling with the diaper bag. “And then I’m taking you home and kissing the daylights out of you.”

Joy went off like a firecracker in Ben’s chest, a spinning pinwheel of sparks and love. “Are you sure?” he said gravely. “I know how much you hate asking for your mom’s help.”

He was mostly teasing, so he was a little dismayed when Merry stilled and stared at him thoughtfully. “You know,” she said, “I think I’m over that. If I’ve learned anything, it’s that no parent is perfect—we all make mistakes. All you can do is work hard to do better.”

Ben jumped down and went to help her with the diaper bag, which was wedged under the driver’s side seat. “Everyone can use a second chance, sometimes.”

“Or a third or fourth,” Merry said, laughing, as Ben hefted the bag onto his shoulder. Side by side, holding hands, they walked up to the barn. “Besides, being with you—I feel stronger. More confident. Like, what am I trying to prove by cutting my mother out of Alex’s childhood?”

“All you’d be doing is depriving us of a free babysitter,” Ben agreed.

At the door of the barn, Merry stopped and turned around. They looked out over the sloping coastal farmland and the red-gold glory of fall on Sanctuary Island.

“It’s amazing,” Merry said. “I moved here to get to know my mother and try to put our family back together. And now that family has grown and expanded to include Grady, Harrison, Taylor, everyone on the island … it’s more love than I ever dreamed I’d have in my life. But the best, most surprising part is that not only did I find the family I always wanted on Sanctuary Island, I found you. The man I didn’t even know enough to dream about.”

Ben reveled in the fact that he could put his arms around Merry and Alex now, the way he couldn’t all those weeks and months ago. She rested her head on his chest with a happy sigh, and Alex clutched at the chest pocket on Ben’s shirt with his strong little fist.

Standing there with his whole, perfect world in his arms, Ben’s rational side told him there was no such thing as perfection. “I love the fall,” he said. “But winter always comes after. It will be that way for us, too. There are storms ahead, problems to face and arguments to negotiate. There will be tears and laughter, joy and heartache, trouble and strife.”

“Mmm,” Merry hummed, content as a cat sprawled in the sun. “And you’ll be there for all of it.”

“I will,” Ben said, and that was his vow. Right there, standing in the spot where he’d first decided to propose. He would be there for everything—really there. “No more hiding behind a wall of sarcasm and cynicism to keep people out.”

“Fair warning: this family is going to knock down all your walls and leave you nowhere to hide. We’ll burrow so deep into your heart, you’ll never get us out again.”

Ben buried a kiss in his wife’s hair, breathing in sweet hay and apples. “I’m good with that.”

Being part of a family like Merry’s would never be simple or easy—but it would always, always be worth it.

Also by Lily Everett

Sanctuary Island

Available from St. Martin’s Paperbacks

The Firefly Café

The Summer Cottage

Island Road

The Fireside Inn

Bonfire Beach

Lantern Lake

E-books available from St. Martin’s Press

Praise for
Sanctuary Island

“I didn’t read this book, I inhaled it. An incredible story of love, forgiveness, healing and joy.”

—Debbie Macomber, #1
New York Times
bestselling author

“
Sanctuary Island
is a novel to curl up with and enjoy by a crackling fire or on a sunny beach. It’s a beautifully told story of hope and forgiveness, celebrating the healing power of love. Lily Everett writes with warmth, wisdom and deep insight.”

—Susan Wiggs, #1
New York Times
bestselling author of the Willow Lake series

“I loved it! A rare find.”

—Lori Wilde,
New York Times
bestselling author of
The First Love Cookie Club

“A heartwarming, emotional, extremely romantic story that I couldn’t read fast enough!”

—Bella Andre,
New York Times
bestselling author of the Sullivan series

“With richly nuanced characters and able plotting … Everett’s sweet contemporary debut illustrates the power of forgiveness and the strength of relationships that may falter but never fail.”

—
Publishers Weekly

“I loved learning about
Sanctuary Island
and I felt as if I was there seeing and feeling everything first hand. A wonderful book to get lost in for a few hours. I definitely recommend it to other readers.”

—
Night Owl Reviews

“The nostalgic, almost introspective story of a young woman, the mother who neglected her, and the wounded man who will walk the road to a happy ending with her. The story is the perfect blend of romance and women’s fiction that will equally satisfy readers of both genres as well as those who meet in the middle.”

—
Heroes and Heartbreakers

“Everett’s newest novel is stirring. She skillfully blends the tender story of two daughters reuniting with their estranged mother with the love story of two emotionally closed people desperately trying to move toward each other. Readers will eagerly anticipate its sequel.”

—
RT Bookreviews

“I couldn’t help but fall in love with Sanctuary Island and want to move there myself. This was an enchanting romance that swept me away!”

—
Books N Kisses

“Lily has a talent for metaphors that make me melt … and I love the way she ties the story together. I’m so looking forward to the next book in the series.”

—
USA Today’s Happily Ever After
blog

“Everett captures the very special relationship sisters have.… A good comfort read,
Sanctuary Island
is a very peaceful place where you could cure all of your ills with ease.”

—
A Bookish Affair

“A satisfying read about family, loyalty, taking risks, and love that any fan of women’s fiction would enjoy.”

—
Kindles and Wine

“A riveting tale of overcoming fear and emotional roadblocks,
Sanctuary Island
makes you fall in love with the island and its inhabitants. Author Lily Everett brings tears, laughter and a happy-ever-after smile to your face while you’re experiencing her well-written, compassionate novel. I highly recommend
Sanctuary Island
as a ‘no excuses’ emotional fight for a happy life in a book that hits home with real-to-life characters.”

—
Romance Junkies

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

SHORELINE DRIVE

Copyright © 2014 by Lily Everett.

All rights reserved.

For information address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.

ISBN: 978-1-250-01839-7

St. Martin’s Paperbacks edition / February 2014

St. Martin’s Paperbacks are published by St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.

eISBN 9781466808102

The beloved Billionaire Brothers novella trilogy comes to print in …

HOMECOMING:
The Billionaire Brothers

Coming in Summer 2014 from St. Martin’s Paperbacks

Look for Lily Everett’s heartwarming novella trilogies.

Now available in eBook, and coming to print soon!

Find out more at
www.lilyeverett.com

T
HE
B
ILLIONAIRE
B
ROTHERS
TRILOGY

The Firefly Café

The Summer Cottage

Island Road

T
HE
B
ILLIONAIRE
B
ACHELORS TRILOGY

The Fireside Inn

Bonfire Beach

Lantern Lake