With This Kiss (25 page)

Only, where Rebecca was concerned, his self-control was clearly in short supply.

“Good morning.” Rebecca’s first words of the day were husky. Lazy with fulfilled pleasure.

But he could hear the uncertainty in them, too.

Sean couldn’t give her the words she needed to push
that uncertainty away, but he could kiss her again, just the two of them safe beneath the sheets even as the rest of the world waited outside her front door… a world full of people who would eventually find out about the two of them, even if they did their best to hide what was between them.

If control had been there, Sean would have felt confident in his ability to keep his feelings for Rebecca to himself. But given that he couldn’t seem to look at her without wanting to touch her, kiss her—or just plain keep drinking in her beauty—he knew there’d be talk.

Questions.

That was why he forced himself to stop kissing her. And to say, “We won’t be able to hide our relationship.”

She reacted to his statement as if it were a bucket full of icy water poured over them both. Her muscles immediately went from loose to stiff and she scooted from his arms, pulling the sheet over her naked skin.

Did she have any idea how beautiful she looked sitting there, her silky hair tumbling over her shoulders, her mouth full from his kisses, her eyes big and so green they could have named Emerald Lake for her?

“Sean?”

He shook his head, trying to clear it. “I’m sorry. I got lost for a minute.”

“Lost?”

He met her confused gaze, knew that he was a fool for saying it aloud, but there was no keeping it inside. “You’re beautiful, Rebecca.” At her flustered expression, he moved closer, picked up her hands, kissed them. “I’ve screwed up every second with you since waking up.”

He was glad to see a small smile work its way onto her lips. “Not
every
second.”

Sean knew the easiest thing would be to pull Rebecca back into his arms and make that flush of desire spread across her skin. And it was tempting, so damn tempting, to do just that.

But for all the pleasure it would bring him—the pleasure it would bring both of them—he’d spend the rest of the day hating himself for avoiding the truth. And knowing that he was a coward.

He’d never been so tempted to chuck everything in for sex. Still, despite how much he wanted her again, he knew this conversation was more important.

Sex would come again. It was inevitable given their attraction. Their physical connection to each other. But words, important things that needed so badly to be said… he’d learned so long ago that the longer one waited to have a difficult conversation, the more difficult it was to ever have it. Until the day when there was no way to talk anymore, at all.

“I’ve never been with anyone from town.”

He watched as Rebecca took a deep breath. Finally, she said, “We’re not together, Sean. We simply slept together.”

It should have been what he wanted to hear. She wasn’t trying to hold him down to anything more than physical attraction. So then, why did her words grate at him, at his heart more than anywhere else?

Still holding her hands, he tugged her closer, close enough that the sheet slipped and slid from her curves.

“I want to take you out. Tonight. On a real date.”

“Why?”

Her blunt question had him smiling. If this conversation had been with any other woman, he’d be itching to get out of bed. To get on with the day. To get away from the woman’s hopes. Her dreams.

Instead, he was the one asking for more. And making sure he got it.

“Why am I asking you out?”

“Yes. Why?”

“Because I like you, Rebecca.”

So much.

Too much.

And she deserved more from a man than one night—and morning—of scorching sex.

Something flashed in her eyes as she murmured, “I like you, too, Sean.”

His chest clenched at the simple words. Liking each other was perfect. Ideal.

Liking her would be enough.

It had to be.

“So we’ll like each other during the day and have sex at night?” she asked. “For as long as you’re in town?”

Telling himself, yet again, that he didn’t want more than that, he nodded. “Exactly.”

Rebecca slid from the bed, pulling the sheet with her. “You’re right, you know. People are going to have a field day talking about us. You’re Stu’s brother and I’m his ex-fiancée. It’s a gossip goldmine.”

Her eyes, her expression, were clouding over more and more with each sentence. “It’s one of the reasons I tried to stay away from you. But I couldn’t.” He blew out a breath. “I just couldn’t.”

Just like that, her pretty smile returned as she shrugged. “Who cares what people think? People are already talking about me. Might as well give them something fresh to gossip about.”

She said it so easily, but he already knew her well
enough to know how sensitive she was. Strangers were simply friends she hadn’t met yet. The urge to protect her from being hurt throbbed inside of him.

And the worst part of all was the sure knowledge that the person who was going to hurt her most of all wasn’t a gossip… it was him.

Sean knew a hell of a lot better than to get involved with her. But then she was kissing him and it didn’t matter what he knew.

He could focus only on what he felt. Not just desire, but the kind of peace he hadn’t known for two decades.

When the phone rang, she pulled back, her eyes dilated, her breathing uneven. “It could be Alice. Downstairs.”

“You have to get it, don’t you?”

When she nodded, he reached over for the phone beside her bed and handed it to her.

“Oh, yes. Sure. Thanks for letting me know, Alice. I’ll be right there.” She gave him the phone to hang up. When he had, she said, “Your mother is waiting for me downstairs.” Her voice dropped to a hush. “She’ll know. She’ll see me and know about you.”

Sean didn’t doubt that she somehow would. “I’ll come meet her with you.”

She jumped out of his lap. “No!”

“No?”

She shook her head. “Whatever she wants, you’ll only make it worse.” As if she realized what she’d said a beat too late, she grimaced. “I just mean that because the two of you don’t really get along—” She pressed two fingers to her lips. “I’m going to shut up now and get in the shower so that I can meet your mother without looking like I’ve
been having crazy sex all night long with her son.” Her mouth quirked up on one side for a split second. “All morning, too, I guess.”

But Sean couldn’t stand the thought of their night together ending so suddenly. Especially not if his mother was the reason it had to end.

Standing up, he reached for Rebecca before she could lock herself in the bathroom. “Last night, this morning… they were perfect.”

She blinked up him, before echoing, “Yes, perfect.”

“You never gave me an answer about tonight,” he reminded her, lightly caressing the pulse point at her wrist, dizzy with wanting her… even though he’d just had her. Surely there would come a day when he’d have had his fill of her sweetness, her smile, the silk of her hair between his fingertips as they made love. “Will you let me take you on a real date?”

Rebecca was silent for a moment before saying, “I like Thai food.” She pulled out of his arms and was halfway into the bathroom when she turned back to him. “Just sex would be easier, you know.”

He couldn’t account for his response to that statement. “Just sex” should have been enough for him. He’d already told her he wasn’t going to fall in love with her. They both knew he was leaving as soon as Stu came back and resolved things with everyone.

But Sean didn’t like what she’d just said. Not one bit.

“Oh, Rebecca,” Elizabeth said in a bright voice. “I’m so glad you’re finally up and about. I didn’t wake you, did I? Or interrupt something important?”

Rebecca had barely gotten to the bottom of the
stairs when Elizabeth stood up, looking as pressed and perfect as she always did. Even though Rebecca was by no means a messy person, she always felt like she should fix her hair or do her makeup better around Sean’s mother.

“Good morning,” she said. “No, you didn’t wake me.”

She fought the battle against blushing over the thought of precisely what Elizabeth had interrupted… and lost. Fortunately, apart from a slightly questioning quirk of her eyebrows, Elizabeth didn’t seem particularly interested in Rebecca’s too-hot cheeks.

“I had a thought about your festival this morning. And I think I know how we might be able to save it.”

Utterly thrown off by Elizabeth’s very unexpected statement, Rebecca fumbled for time to settle herself down. “Would you like to sit down in the dining room and have a cup of tea?”

The two of them went into the sunlit room. “You really have done a lovely job with the inn, Rebecca.”

Hold on a minute. Was trying to help with the festival and complimenting her on the inn Elizabeth’s way of apologizing for her behavior at dinner?

She studied Sean’s mother’s face carefully before saying, “Thank you.”

Elizabeth held her gaze and Rebecca was sure she saw a silent
I’m sorry for the way I treated you
in them even though the words she actually said were, “You’re welcome.”

Alice popped by to take their breakfast orders and Rebecca was surprised to realize she was starving. Normally, sitting down with Sean’s mother would have made her lose her appetite.

Then again, she’d probably burned off a ton of calories having all that sex.

With Sean.

Her eyes flew to the other woman’s face and she couldn’t stop her hands from covering her even hotter cheeks. Fortunately, Elizabeth wasn’t looking at her. She was gazing around at the room.

“There is so much history here. So much beauty everywhere you look. The first time I came to Emerald Lake, I knew I wanted to stay forever.”

Rebecca had never felt any real connection to Elizabeth. Until now.

The surprises just kept on coming.

“It was the same for me,” she said softly. “I saw the lake, the mountains, this inn, and I knew.”

Elizabeth turned her gaze back to Rebecca. “Have I ever told you how Bill and I met?”

Rebecca was glad that Angie came to them with the teapots and croissants right then. She needed way more time to gather her composure. Perhaps if she’d gotten more sleep, she’d be better up to handling this strange conversation.

Finally, she replied, “No, you haven’t.”

“We met right here. In this dining room. Bill was on a date with another woman.” She chuckled, but Rebecca couldn’t help but think there was some sadness behind it. “I didn’t care, you know.”

“Oh.”

Really, what was she supposed to say to that? Especially when she was sleeping with her ex-fiancé’s brother. Talk about stones and glass houses.

“I’ve shocked you, haven’t I?”

She wanted to say no. Anyone else would have, darn it. Instead, that truth serum that she must have drunk at birth had the words “A little bit” coming out instead.

“Well, you know how gorgeous my sons are, so—”

Rebecca swallowed wrong and started coughing.

“Are you all right, honey?”

Honey?
Had she gone to bed on one planet and woken up in another one—one where Elizabeth called her honey?

“I’m fine,” Rebecca said, dabbing her watering eyes with the napkin as she tried to deal with the startling shift in Elizabeth’s behavior toward her. “Sorry. Go on.”

“As I was saying, Bill was quite something when he was younger. He still is.” Elizabeth was silent for a moment. Pensive. Giving herself a little shake, she continued, saying, “My family was renting a house across the lake for one week that summer. It was our last night here.” She pinned Rebecca with her gaze. “I had one night to win him so I pulled out all the stops, first in this restaurant and then later at the Saturday night bonfire that all the kids were going to.”

“You must have dazzled him.”

She expected Elizabeth to smile back at her. Instead, deep sorrow moved across the woman’s face.

“Once upon a time I guess I did.”

Rebecca wanted to say something to comfort her, but how could she? They weren’t friends. And she had no idea what it was like to be married thirty-six years and to hit a rough patch.

“In any case, we were talking about the festival, weren’t we?” Elizabeth said, suddenly.

Rebecca forced her brain to whiplash back to the
beginning of their conversation. “You had an idea for the festival?”

Elizabeth leaned forward. “Do you know what the land around the inn was originally zoned for?” She didn’t wait for Rebecca to answer. “Agriculture.”

“Wait a minute,” Rebecca said slowly. “I thought the inn was originally a tycoon’s summer house.”

“It was. He got rich from newspapers, but what he really dreamed of doing was farming.” Elizabeth gave her a wide smile. “I called a friend at the courthouse this morning and asked her to check their files. When the inn was turned into lodging, they added the commercial zoning. But they never took away the other zoning.”