The Mighty Quinns: Ronan (10 page)

“Are you trying to wake me up?” she murmured, her eyes still closed.

“I thought you were still sleeping.”

“No, I heard you come in.” She sat up and brushed the hair from her eyes, then took the mug of coffee from his hand. “Thanks.” She took a careful sip and then sighed. “I could use another three or four hours of sleep.”

“Why don’t you stay in bed? I can find my way to work on my own. And I’ll just work on Jake’s skiff today. You can have the whole day to yourself.”

“No,” she said. “I’ll be fine once I have a few cups of coffee. We’ve got a lot to do today. And the bicentennial celebration starts next week. I want to harvest more this week and then give everyone Friday off since they have to work our food booth for a shift over the weekend.”

He tucked an errant strand of hair behind her ear. “All right. But instead of engaging in other activities tonight we’re going to go to bed and sleep.”

She stretched out across his lap, her head resting on his thigh. “We keep saying we should do that, but we never do. Why is that?”

Ronan smoothed his hand over her hair. “Because I can’t keep my hands off you. Maybe I should seek out professional help.”

“What? Go to a hooker? We don’t have any of those in Sibleyville.”

“No! Go to a shrink. Someone who can help me stifle my desires.”

“We don’t have any shrinks in Sibleyville either. We’re New Englanders. When we have a problem we just suck it up and get on with our lives. Besides, I don’t want you to get rid of your desires. I’ve grown rather fond of them.” She sat up and kissed him, nuzzling at his lips until he returned the favor. And when he was lost in the kiss, she gently pulled him back into bed.

Ronan groaned softly as his hands ran freely over her naked body. He’d grown so accustomed to touching her whenever it pleased him. “If you start this now, we’re really going to be late for work.”

“I’m the boss,” she said.

He chuckled. “Yes, you are.”

“And as the boss, I order you to remove your clothes and come back to bed.”

It wasn’t a difficult decision to make. Ronan followed his boss’s request and stripped out of his clothes, then seduced her slowly and deliberately, taking the time to tease her until she begged for release.

And when she did, Ronan buried himself deep inside her, her body convulsing around his until he could no longer maintain his control. They were more together than either one of them could hope to be alone. And with every moment of exquisite pleasure that they shared, Ronan came closer to the conclusion that he couldn’t live without her.

“Tonight, we’ll crawl into bed early and just sleep,” he whispered. “I promise. No messing around.”

She kissed him again. “All right.” Charlie drew a deep breath and sat up, then retrieved the coffee mug from the bedside table.

“And there are some things I want to talk to you about,” Ronan added.

She frowned. “That sounds serious.”

“It is.”

“Maybe we should talk now,” she suggested.

“It’ll wait.” He hadn’t quite decided how to begin the conversation about their future. But with everyone in town hellbent on putting them together, it was time for the two of them to decide what it was that
they
wanted.

* * *

T
HEY
WALKED
TOGETHER
up to the boathouse, Ronan’s arm thrown around her shoulder. It was a perfect relationship, she mused as she laughed at a silly joke Ronan had told. They got along as if they’d known each other for three decades rather than three weeks. And though they spent almost twenty-four hours a day together, it hadn’t caused any problems in their relationship. They seemed perfectly suited to each other, a match that seemed almost too good to be true.

“Charlie!”

She looked up to find Michelle, her cousin, standing on the wharf above them. Michelle handled the shipping for Mistry Bay Oyster Farm. She worked afternoons, from one to five, packing oysters into dry ice and boxing them up to ship overnight.

“Hey!” Charlie called. “What’s up?”

“We’ve got a huge problem.”

“Hang on,” she said. “I’ll be up in a second.”

She and Ronan climbed the stairs and found Michelle waiting for them, a clipboard clutched in her hands, a worried look on her face.

“I’m gonna go clean up,” Ronan said. “I’ll see you upstairs.”

Charlie and Michelle watched him walk the short distance to the boathouse and when he disappeared inside, Michelle sighed dramatically. “What a hunk,” she muttered. She turned back to Charlie. “Are you going to marry him?”

“No!” Charlie said. “Have you been listening to Lettie?”

“Your mother,” she said. “My mother. My aunt. Three of my cousins. The whole town is talking.” She leaned close to Charlie. “I heard that Lettie approached your Ronan this morning at the bakery and offered him money!”

“For what?” Charlie asked.

“To marry you. I guess the village board authorized an emergency expenditure. And some of the folks have started a fund at the bank. They want to find a way to keep him here in town.”

“Oh, God,” Charlie murmured. “This has gotten completely out of hand.” She reached out and patted Michelle’s arm. “Thanks for telling me. If there’s anything else, just—”

“That’s not the problem,” Michelle said.

“It’s not?”

“No. We screwed up the Bellingham order,” she said, wincing. “I don’t know how it happened, but we put the wrong address on the package and it’s going to one of our restaurants in New York instead of Boston. We tried to catch it, but once it’s in the system, we can’t.” She sighed. “And this is his first order so we have a lot riding on it. His soft opening is tomorrow night.”

“All right,” she said. “Pack up another order. In fact, double the number and I’ll take them down this evening. It’s only a three-hour drive. I’ll drop them at the restaurant and come right back.”

“I can do that, Charlotte,” Michelle said. “It’s my fault. I didn’t double check the address after we put it in the system.”

Charlie shook her head. “No, I really need to get out of town for awhile.” Her thoughts wandered back to earlier that morning. Ronan had come back from the bakery and mentioned he had some things he wanted to discuss that evening. After Michelle’s revelation, Charlie knew exactly what would be on the agenda.

This kind of pressure wasn’t fair to him. He’d come to town hoping to find a job and a place to live for six weeks. He hadn’t bargained for an Irish curse, a misguided marriage proposal and two-thousand anxious citizens watching his every move.

“Leave the oysters on the work table and I’ll grab them,” Charlie said.

“Thanks,” Michelle replied. “And it won’t happen again, I promise.”

“Hey, it’s no big deal. At least we have a chance to fix it.”

When she got inside the boathouse, she tossed off her waders and boots and ran up the stairs. As she walked inside, she stripped off her work clothes and tossed them into an empty laundry basket, then walked naked to the bathroom.

The room was filled with steam and she opened the door to the shower stall and stepped inside, smoothing her hand over Ronan’s back.

“Hey, there,” he said, glancing over his shoulder in surprise.

“Switch.”

He grabbed her waist and turned them both, putting her beneath the warm spray. Charlie let the water sluice through her hair, then grabbed the shampoo.

“Let me do that,” he said, taking the bottle from her.

She turned and tipped her head back. Ronan poured a bit of shampoo onto her head and slowly worked it through her wet hair. She closed her eyes and let his massaging fingers do their work. He always knew exactly how to touch her, how to make her feel excited or relaxed, desperate or determined. He read her moods like he owned the manual.

“You know, taking a shower together is not going to help us avoid sex tonight.”

“Oh, right,” Charlie said. “Well, forget that.”

“I thought you wanted to get some sleep.”

“We can’t. We’re driving to Boston as soon as we get out of the shower.”

“Boston?”

Charlie finished rinsing her hair and opened her eyes, looking up into this handsome face. “There was a mistake in the delivery address for the Bellingham order. Remember Chef Joel? His restaurant opens tomorrow and he needs oysters. Right now his oysters are on their way to some restaurant in New York City. So we’re taking him his order.”

“Yeah? How far is it?”

“Three hours. I was thinking maybe we could have dinner there. Spend the night. Get a hotel. I need a day away from this town.”

“You need a day to relax.”

“We’ll make it up day after tomorrow.”

He cupped her face in his hands and gave her a long, deep kiss. “I’m going to get out of this shower before I take advantage of you.”

“Wear something nice,” she said. “We may go to an expensive restaurant.”

“I’ll do that,” Ronan said.

He stepped out of the shower, leaving Charlie to finish on her own. She felt a surge of excitement at the thought of getting out of town. Though she enjoyed the routine that she and Ronan had fallen into, it was time to shake things up. If he thought he knew her, then this was a good opportunity for her to prove that there were still some surprises between them.

She finished her shower, then stepped out, wrapping a towel around her body. She wiped the steam off the mirror and looked at her reflection. A summer spent in the sun had given her a golden tan along with a light dusting of freckles across her nose. Charlie raked her fingers through her damp hair, pulling it away from her face, then reached for her make-up case.

She hadn’t worn make-up in months. She’d left all the girly beauty routines behind in New York. But it was time to show Ronan that she wasn’t just the plain old tomboy he thought she was. She could be glamorous and exotic and seductive if she wanted to.

After she finished with her make-up, she dried and curled her hair, fashioning it into a rumpled finger-curled style that had been her customary look as an actress. She looked…sexy.

She peeked out of the bathroom door. The bedroom was empty and Ronan’s duffel was sitting on the end of the bed, packed. Charlie kept a few nice dresses at the apartment for business meetings. She found her favorite flowered sundress and slipped into it, the low cut back making it impossible to wear a bra. After pulling on a pair of lacy panties, she slipped her feet into her favorite sandals, then looked at herself in the mirror.

“All right,” she murmured. “Time to shake things up.”

“Hey, should I load the oysters into—” Ronan stopped dead the moment he saw her standing in the middle of the bedroom. He frowned and then a slow smile broke over his face. “Wow. Holy…wow. You look incredible.”

His reaction was exactly what she needed. She felt beautiful and sexy and to have him react the way he did made her spirits soar. Everyone in town might have a vested interest in their relationship, but it really was all about this—the current of attraction that crackled between them.

“I just thought I’d dress up a little.”

“You look so beautiful. Not that you don’t look beautiful every other day. Because you do. You always look beautiful. But this is…different.”

She smiled. “Thank you. Let me just put a few things in a bag and we’ll be ready to go. We’ll take the SUV. If you want, you can grab the boxes of oysters from the table downstairs and put them in the truck. I’ll be down in a few minutes.”

Ronan grabbed his duffel and slipped the strap over his shoulder. Then he crossed the room and pulled her into a lingering kiss. “I’m really looking forward to this,” he said.

“You should be,” Charlie said. “You might just get lucky tonight.”

“With you?”

“Who else?”

“Are you wearing underwear?”

“Bottoms. No top.”

He groaned. “All right. Well, I really didn’t need to know that. Maybe you should put underwear on. It’s going to be really distracting for me.”

“I can’t,” she said. “Not with this dress. Do you want me to change?”

“Nope. I’m just gonna go put the oysters in the car. I’ll meet you downstairs.”

Charlie giggled softly as he hurried out of the room. No matter how she was dressed or how raggedy she looked, Ronan always made her feel like the most beautiful woman on the planet.

After she’d returned from New York, she hadn’t really known what her life would be. She’d been waiting, wondering if anything—or anyone—might come along to change the course of her existence. And now that Ronan had, she felt as if her future might just lie with him. She had no idea where that might be or what they’d do, but since the moment she’d met him, she hadn’t been able to picture her life without Ronan Quinn in it.

“Maybe it’s time to talk about the future,” she murmured as she grabbed a bag from the floor of the closet. A shiver of indecision skittered through her and she wondered if it might be too soon. But she wanted to call the terms, not leave it to Lettie and her town council. She needed to know how Ronan felt before all the busybodies started to weigh in on their prospects.

It would be tempting to stay in Boston a little longer. But one night would have to be enough. When they returned tomorrow, she’d have a better idea of where she stood with Ronan. And that was all she needed for now.

7

I
T
WAS
A
beautiful September night in Boston and after Ronan and Charlie had delivered the oysters to Chef Joel’s new restaurant, he’d invited them to stay for dinner. At a small table in a quiet corner of the upscale bistro, they dined on diver scallops, red prawns and tiramisu for dessert.

Stuffed and sleepy, they decided to take a walk before looking for a hotel for the night. They hadn’t had a lot of time to just relax and enjoy each other’s company in public back in Sibeyville, spending most of their time alone at the apartment. For some odd reason, Ronan suddenly felt a little bit nervous away from his comfort zone.

Their respective roles in Sibleyville had been carefully outlined from the moment they met, but now, without the structure of a workday or the passion of a night in bed, he wasn’t quite sure what was expected of him.

He wanted to talk to her about his encounter with Lettie in the bakery shop. He wanted to know how she felt about the plans they were making for her. But if he and Charlie had done one thing in their short time together, and done it well, they’d avoided talking about their relationship. He’d never been one to enjoy dissecting the dynamics between himself and a woman, but then, he’d never been particularly interested in what women had to say about him.

But with Charlie he felt differently. He wanted to know exactly where he stood with her. Was she falling for him as hard as he’d fallen for her? Did she think about a future together? Or was she simply enjoying herself until he got back on the bus and drove out of her life?

“You’ve been quiet,” Charlie said. “Are you all right?”

Ronan nodded. He drew her hand up to his lips and kissed the soft skin on the inside of her wrist. “I’m great. It’s nice to get away. I’ve always wanted to visit Boston. I think I have some distant cousins here. At least that’s what my grandfather tells us.”

“Maybe you
are
related to Bridie Quinn,” she said. “Bridie came from Boston, too.”

Another long silence grew between them. They usually had so much to talk about. Ronan searched for a subject but all that came to mind were the questions he had about the future. “I—I suppose Sibleyville must seem really small to you after living in New York.”

She nodded, then stopped dead and turned to him, her gaze intent. “I know about what happened this morning at the bakery and I’m really sorry.”

“How did you—”

“It’s a small town, Ronan. Everyone knows everything about everybody. You certainly didn’t deserve that. And I want you to know that what’s going on with Lettie and the rest of the town has nothing to do with me.”

“Of course I know that.” He slipped his arms around her waist and pulled her against his body. “So you think I should refuse all that money? I was kind of thinking that I could use a little extra cash.”

Her serious expression faded and she laughed. “Believe me, I’m the last person any man would want to marry.”

He frowned. Did she actually believe what she was saying? In his mind, she was quickly becoming his first pick for a happily-ever-after. “And why is that?”

“I’m kind of bossy.”

“Yes, you are.”

“And I like to do what I like to do.”

“Yes, I’ve noticed that, too. But those aren’t really deal breakers. I kind of like you just the way you are.”

“Kind of?”

He nodded.

Charlie hugged him tight. “You are the only man who has ever said that to me.”

“Correct me if I’m wrong, but there’s only been one other man in your life. And he was an idiot who let you go.”

She took his hand and they continued their walk. “Yes, that is true.”

Ronan reached out and brushed a strand of windblown hair from her eyes, then tucked it behind her ear. “So, do you think you need to go out there and try out a few more guys, just to be sure that you have the right one? Or is two enough?”

The moment he said the words, he knew they hadn’t come out right. He’d meant to tease her, but his question sounded more like an upside down proposal. Hell, maybe it was. Maybe, deep down, he wanted to be the last man she ever kissed…or touched…or crawled into bed with.

“I’m not sure,” she murmured.

Her answer took him by surprise. Yes, the question was clumsily worded. But her reply was quite clear. “So you do have plans to move on to someone else?”

“I don’t have any plans,” she snapped. “I haven’t made plans since I came back from New York.”

He shook his head. “Go ahead, say it, Charlie. I’m just the guy you’re sleeping with for six weeks.”

“No!” she cried. “That’s not it.”

“Then how is it? Tell me. Because I’d kinda like to know where I stand with you.”

She hurried on ahead. “I really don’t want to talk about this right now. Can we just find the SUV and go?”

“I thought we were going to stay for the night?”

“No. No, I just want to get home. Everything feels so different here. I don’t like it.”

She looked so upset that Ronan wasn’t sure what to do. He’d always known Charlie to be cool and in control, but she seemed like she was dancing on the edge of a meltdown. Hell, he never knew what to do in situations like this. He could barely identify his own emotions, much less read those of the feminine variety.

Should he kiss her? Should he ask her what’s wrong? Or should he just find her a tissue and let her cry it out? She wanted to go home, so he’d work on that first. Hopefully, the rest would solve itself along the way.

After a short search for the SUV, they found it parked near Joel Bellingham’s new restaurant. Charlie opened the locks with her keyfob, but then Ronan took the keys from her fingers and helped her into the passenger side. “I’ll drive,” he murmured.

“Fine,” she said.

He settled himself behind the wheel and started the engine, then pulled out into traffic. He didn’t really know where he was going, but Ronan wasn’t about to ask for help. The atmosphere was so tense he was afraid that whatever was keeping her silent would suddenly snap.

It took a bit of driving around before he found a sign for the interstate, but a few minutes later they were pulling onto I-93 heading out of the city.

“I thought I’d have everything figured out by now,” she said. “I thought I knew what my life was supposed to be and when that didn’t work out, there wasn’t anything else I really wanted. I guess I’ve just been waiting around for something to drop out of the sky at my feet.” She turned to face him. “And then you did. And I wanted you.”

Ronan reached out and slid his fingers through the hair at her nape. “There’s nothing wrong with that, is there?”

“Not on the surface. But I can’t figure out if I want you because I have nothing else or if I want you because you’re supposed to be in my life.” She cursed softly. “And it doesn’t help that the sex is so good, because that really confuses things.”

“You’d rather we had bad sex?”

“No. But it would certainly make sorting out my feelings a lot easier.”

“What do you want, Charlie?”

“I don’t have a clue. I’m twenty-five years old. People are supposed to have it all figured out by now.”

“I’m twenty-six and I’m still trying to figure it out,” Ronan said. “But I think I’m getting closer.”

Charlie studied him for a long moment. “What does that mean?”

Ronan wasn’t sure how much he ought to say. He and Charlie had always been pretty honest with each other. And maybe it was time to admit his feelings for her. “I like Sibleyville. I like working on the farm with you. And I really like you. A lot.”

“I—I really like you, too.” She let out a long sigh. “And that’s enough, right? We don’t need to say anymore than that.”

She seemed to be so happy with the decision that Ronan didn’t have the heart to push Charlie any further. “What are we going to do about Lettie?”

“Ignore her?” Charlie suggested. “I know, that won’t work. But she honestly believes that marrying the two of us off will break the curse. She’s not going to let up until we’re walking down the aisle or we both leave town.”

Ronan ran his hand down her arm and tangled his fingers in hers. “Do you think she’s right? Do you think the curse could be broken if we got married?”

“My family has always said that the curse was utter nonsense. When Danny and I ran off to New York, everyone thought that it was finally broken. Two people from Sibleyville were in love and would finally end up together. Only when it didn’t work out, everyone was disappointed. I feel badly because it’s my ancestors’ fault that there was a curse in the first place. No one in Sibleyville falls in love with each other because they believe in the curse. And they believe in the curse because no one in Sibleyville falls in love with each other.”

“What do they call that?”

“Crazy,” she muttered.

“No, a self-fulfilling prophecy.”

“Exactly,” Charlie said. “It happens because they believe it’s going to happen. So why do I have to be a part of it all?”

“I think you should stop worrying about everyone else,” Ronan said.

“That’s easier said than done.”

He took her hand and pressed it to his lips. “I promise I’ll do my best to help.”

Ronan wasn’t sure what he could do for her, especially against an entire town who wanted to marry her off to a guy she’d just met three weeks ago. Considering that guy was him, he ought to be a bit more concerned. But the thought of marrying Charlie, of spending the rest of their lives together, didn’t frighten him at all. In fact, it intrigued him.

Was this how it was all supposed to happen? Was this how he’d realize he was in love? His mind told him that falling in love in three weeks was impossible. But there had been something between them from the very start, a powerful, undeniable attraction. At first, he’d thought it was just sexual. But now, he knew it was more.

Ronan looked at the next exit coming up and noticed the name of a nice hotel chain. He didn’t want to spend another three hours waiting to touch her and kiss her. He wanted Charlie in his arms and in his bed right now.

He pulled over to the off ramp and she glanced at him. “Where are we going?”

“To get a room,” he said.

“I thought we were going back home.”

Ronan shook his head. “Nope. Home is three hours away and I need to take care of a few things right now.”

Once they parked at the hotel, it took him exactly fourteen minutes to register and get their key. They rode up the elevator in silence. But when Ronan opened the door to the room, need took over. Desperate, overwhelming, undeniable need.

Ronan pulled her body against his and captured her mouth in a fierce, possessive kiss. She responded immediately, her fingers fumbling with the zipper of his khakis. When she freed him, she quickly smoothed the latex over his hard shaft.

Grabbing her backside, he picked her up and wrapped her legs around his waist. Everything had moved so fast and then, suddenly, slowed again. The delicious sensation of burying himself deep inside of her stole the breath from his body and Ronan paused, his lips pressed into the curve of her neck.

As he drew on his self-control, Ronan had only one thought in his mind. This woman had stolen his heart and his soul. And he really didn’t care.

* * *

C
HARLIE
GOT
THE
phone call from Lettie at six p.m., while she and Ronan were getting ready to make some dinner for themselves. When she saw Lettie’s name on her caller I.D., she put the phone down, refusing to answer. But then a minute later, it rang again. Lettie was nothing if not tenacious.

“Hello, Lettie.”

“Charlotte? I’m sorry to be calling you at such a late date. I know you’re not anxious about resuming your career as an actress, but I’ve run out of choices. I need you to fill in. Opening night is just four days away.”

“I thought you were going to try to get someone else,” Charlie said.

“I’d convinced Emma Woburn to do it. But once we got to the stage kiss, she just couldn’t. She has a terrible fear of germs, and she simply refused.”

“Cut the kiss, then,” Charlie said. “That’s easy enough to do.”

“No, the kiss is the climax of the entire play. I couldn’t possibly do it. Besides, Emma was just horrid. She couldn’t act her way out of a paper bag, even if you gave her a roadmap and a pair of scissors.”

Charlie glanced over the counter to find Ronan watching her closely. “Maybe you should make a deal with her,” he whispered.

She covered the phone. “What kind of deal?”

“If you do her play, she lays off the marriage talk.”

Charlie grinned at the suggestion. “Lettie, I’ll do it. Under one condition. You forget all about your plans to marry me off to Ronan Quinn.”

The demand was met with twenty seconds of silence. “Lettie, are you still there?”

“All right,” she finally said. “Fine. What’s the point anyway? If I want to live with my sister, she can move back to Sibleyville.”

“It’s a deal,” she said. “When do you need me?”

“Now,” Lettie replied. “And bring your tap shoes.”

“There’s tap dancing?”

“Not yet. But I may add some if the mood strikes me.”

Charlie switched off the phone and looked up at Ronan. He was having a hard time holding back his laughter. “Stop,” she warned. “If you laugh at me, I will find a way to get you up on the stage with me.”

He held out his hands in mock surrender. “No, no. Not me.”

She pointed at him, her eyes narrowed. “Then stop it.”

“I’m just looking forward to seeing tap dancing in a play about a nineteenth century Irish witch. That could be very interesting.”

She circled the counter and stood in front of Ronan who was sitting on a kitchen stool. “You’re going to come with me.”

“Is that really necessary?”

“Yes. You can help me with my lines. The only thing that will make this remotely tolerable is you. And I know exactly what’s going to happen the minute I set foot in that theater. Everyone is going to be pushing Lettie’s plan—except Lettie.”

“All right,” he said. He grabbed the car keys from the counter, then pulled a bottle of water from the fridge. “What else do you need? Should I go out and get you an entourage? Maybe a few celebrity photographers? How about a red carpet?”