He shook his head, trying to clear it. "You're so damned beautiful that I can't think straight." At her flustered expression, he moved closer, taking her hands and kissing them. "And 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."
Still holding her hands, he tugged her closer, close enough that the sheet slipped away from her curves. "I want to take you out. Tonight. On a real date."
"Why?"
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 he was damn well going to make sure he got it.
"Because I like you." So much. Too much. Enough that she deserved a hell of a lot more from him than one night--and morning--of scorching sex.
Emotion flashed in her eyes as she murmured, "I like you too."
His chest clenched at the simple words. Liking each other was perfect. Liking her would be enough.
It had to be.
"So we'll like each other during the day and have hot sex at night?" she asked. "For as long as you're in town?"
Just as she'd said to him last night, she wasn't trying to hold him to anything more than physical attraction. So then, why did her words grate on him so badly? On his heart more than anywhere else, as he made himself nod and say, "Exactly."
She 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 Wesley's brother and I'm his ex-fiancee." Her eyes, her expression, were clouding over more and more with each sentence. "It's a gossip gold mine for any town, but especially a small one like this."
"It's one of the reasons I tried to stay away from you," he told her. "But I couldn't." He held her gaze, wanting her to see the truth in his eyes. "I just couldn't."
She lifted a hand to his cheek and lightly stroked his jaw. "Well then, who cares what people think? Everyone is already talking about me. Might as well give them something fresh to gossip about."
She said it so easily, but he already knew how sensitive she was. The urge to protect her from being hurt throbbed inside of him. And the worst part of all was the sure knowledge that the people who were going to hurt her most of all weren't those who gossiped about her.
It was Liam himself, when he packed up and left again, the way he always had before.
But then she was lifting her mouth to his...and he could focus only on what he felt. Not just desire, but the kind of peace that he hadn't known for two decades.
Their kiss quickly spiraled into her legs around his waist, his hands on her hips, another blissfully sweet climb toward release. But then the phone rang, and she pulled back, her eyes dilated, her breathing uneven.
"You have to get it, don't you?"
"It could be Alice. Downstairs at reception."
A few moments later, she turned out to be right. "Thanks for letting me know. I'll be there." She hung up. "Your mother is waiting for me downstairs." Her voice dropped to a hush. "She'll know. She'll see me and know about you. About us. I know we just agreed not to hide our relationship, but I hadn't planned on telling your mother first."
"I'll come meet her with you."
She jumped out of his lap. "No! Whatever she wants, you'll only make it worse." As if she realized a beat too late what she'd said, she grimaced. "I just mean that because the two of you don't 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 Liam couldn't stand the thought of their night together ending so suddenly. Especially not if his mother was the reason for it.
He reached for Christie before she could lock herself in the bathroom. "Last night, this morning...they were perfect."
"Yes," she said with a smile, "they were."
"You never gave me an answer about tonight," he reminded her, lightly caressing the pulse point at her wrist, still dizzy with wanting her. Would there ever come a day when he'd have his fill of her sweetness, her smile, the silk of her hair between his fingertips? "Will you let me take you on a real date?"
She 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. "Although, just sex would be easier than you taking me out on a real date in front of the whole town, you know."
He'd already told her he wasn't going to fall in love with her. And they both knew he was leaving the lake as soon as Wesley came back and resolved things with everyone.
She was right that just sex should have been enough for him. But it wasn't.
Not even close.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
"Good morning, Christie," Susan 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?"
"No," Christie said, "you didn't wake me." She fought the battle against blushing over the thought of precisely what Susan had interrupted...and lost. Fortunately, apart from a slightly questioning quirk of her eyebrows, Susan didn't seem particularly interested in Christie'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 Susan's very unexpected statement, Christie fumbled for time to settle herself down. "Would you like to sit in the dining room and have a cup of tea?"
They went into the sunlit room. "You really have done a lovely job with the inn," Susan said.
Hold on a minute. Was trying to help with the festival and complimenting her on the inn Susan's way of apologizing for her behavior at dinner?
Christie studied Liam's mother's face carefully before saying, "Thank you."
Susan held her gaze, and Christie was fairly certain she saw a silent I'm sorry for the way I treated you in her eyes, even though the words the other woman actually said were, "You're welcome."
Alice popped by to take their breakfast orders, and Christie was surprised to realize she was starving. Normally, sitting down with Liam's mother would have made her lose her appetite. Then again, she'd burned off a ton of calories having all that sex.
With Liam.
Her gaze flew to the other woman's face, and she couldn't stop her hands from covering her even hotter cheeks. Fortunately, Susan 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 Summer Lake, I knew I wanted to stay forever."
Christie had never felt any real connection to Susan. 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."
Susan turned her gaze back to Christie. "Have I ever told you how Henry and I met?"
Christie was glad that Alice came to them with the teapots and croissants right then. She needed more time to gather her composure. Perhaps if she'd had more sleep, she'd be better able to handle this strange conversation. Finally, she replied, "No, you haven't."
"We met right here. In this dining room. Henry was on a date with another woman." Susan chuckled, but Christie 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-fiance's brother. Talk about stones and glass houses.
"I've shocked you, haven't I?"
Christie wanted to say no. Anyone else would have, darn it. Instead, that truth serum that she drank at birth had the words, "A little bit," coming out instead.
"Well, you know how gorgeous my sons are, so--"
Christie swallowed her tea wrong and started coughing.
"Are you all right, honey?"
Honey? Had she gone to bed on one planet and woken up on another? One where Susan called her honey?
"I'm fine," Christie said, dabbing her watering eyes with the napkin as she tried to deal with the startling shift in Susan's behavior toward her. "Sorry. Go on."
"As I was saying, Henry was quite something when he was younger. He still is." Susan was silent for a moment. Pensive. Giving herself a little shake, she continued, "My family was renting a house across the lake for one week that summer. It was our last night here. 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 Susan to smile back at her. Instead, sorrow moved across the woman's face. "Once upon a time, I guess I did."
Christie 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 years and hit a rough patch.
"In any case, we were talking about the festival, weren't we?" Susan said. "Do you know what the land around the inn was originally zoned for?" She didn't wait for Christie to answer. "Agriculture."
"Wait a minute," Christie 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." Susan 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 agricultural zoning."
"So, it's still a farm?"
"Technically, yes. And maple syrup comes from maple tree farms."
In her excitement, Christie couldn't stop herself from reaching out and squeezing Susan's hand. "Thank you for finding this." Now she and Liam could go back to the council with real firepower to ask them to pull the petition.
Liam walked into the room then, and Christie felt Susan's hand go still beneath hers. Slowly, Christie moved hers away.
"Liam, honey," his mother said. "Join us."
"Actually," Christie said, pushing back her chair, "I need to take over for Alice at the front desk. You can take my seat, Liam."
She was careful not to look at him, or touch him, knowing she was sure to give herself away. Liam might not be able to see that she was falling head over heels for him, but a woman would know it. His mother, especially. And Christie didn't think Susan would be at all happy about it.
Christie quickly said, "Thank you again, Susan," then left the room.
*
"What was Christie thanking you for?" And why had the woman whose bed he'd just left been holding his mother's hand? It was the last thing he'd expected to see.
"I think I've found a way around the festival petition."
Even though he'd been hot on the trail of loopholes, when his mother explained, he wasn't surprised by how smart her plan was. It was a stroke of luck, for sure, but one that might not have come about if not for Susan's knowledge of the Adirondack Park's history.
"It was nice of you to help her."
"I was thinking the same thing about you," she said softly. "You like her, don't you?"
"Everyone likes Christie. The guests. The locals. Even babies stop crying when she picks them up."
His mother's eyes softened. "I can't wait for the day I can hold your children." And then she shifted in her seat, looking more uncomfortable than usual. "I saw you kissing her last night."
Liam felt every muscle in his body go still. Just as he'd told Christie this morning, he hadn't been planning to hide their relationship. But he'd assumed it was their secret to tell. "How could you have seen us?"
"I came by the inn hoping to see you. To talk about--" She paused. "Things. I'd just got out of my car when I realized I wasn't alone in the parking lot."
"And you just stood there and watched us?"
"No."
"You said you saw us kiss."
"I did. But it wasn't like that, I swear to you, Liam."
He pushed back his chair to go, but she reached across the table and grabbed both of his hands. "Please, let me explain."
He'd heard enough of her explanations for one lifetime. He should have left, shouldn't have felt the least bit guilty about it. But she was his mother. And he couldn't walk out on her, no matter how badly he wanted to, especially with Christie's voice in his head.
You make sure everyone is afraid of you. That they don't get close to you. Like how you barely say a word to your mother, even though she's so hurt every time you push her away. Your father too.
"Go ahead," he finally said. "Explain."
"You and Christie were sharing such a private moment. And even though I have to admit I don't know how I feel about the two of you having a relationship--"
"It's none of your business."
"That's what I'm trying to say. I couldn't interrupt you, couldn't possibly have let you know I was there." Her gaze grew wistful. "I know what it's like to fall in love, Liam."
Fall in love?
No. She was wrong.
She had to be.
He'd come down here to talk to his mother about Wesley, not to discuss his first kiss with Christie. A kiss that had turned into a night--and a morning--of the most incredible lovemaking he'd ever known. With the sweetest woman he'd ever had the privilege of kissing. But he definitely hadn't planned on talking about love.
Pushing the word away, he suddenly realized what his mother's spying meant. "If you saw us kiss, then you heard about Wesley too, didn't you?"
She took a shaky breath. "My poor baby. I wish he didn't feel that he had to run."
"He didn't think any of us could handle the truth. And he's right, isn't he? Our family has never been able to handle the truth."
He'd said too much. He'd already stayed too long at Summer Lake, at the inn--and things were only going to get more complicated with his parents and Christie if he didn't shove off soon. Liam slid his hands free of his mother's grip. "There are a lot of people checking out this morning. I should see if they need more help at reception."
*
Susan's mouth was completely dry--so dry she could hardly swallow. She picked up her teacup, but her hands were shaking so hard that she could barely lift it from the saucer without spilling tea all over the table.
Liam had never spoken to her like that before. Never been quite so direct. Our family has never been able to handle the truth.
Fear and guilt rose up inside her in equal measure.
He hadn't given away her secret to Christie last night in the parking lot when the young woman had flat out asked him why he had such a fractured relationship with his mother. Susan should have felt safe, knowing that if he wouldn't tell Christie--the woman who clearly held his heart--he wouldn't tell anyone. But she didn't feel safe.
Not even close.
She'd come to the inn this morning to begin the process of making amends. Christie was easier to approach, of course, which was why Susan had started with her. They didn't have a long history, and the truth was, the young woman really was inherently likable.
There was no point in lying to herself anymore. Just as Henry had said, it had been clear right from the start that while Wesley and Christie obviously enjoyed each other's company a great deal, they were no love match. There were no sparks. Nothing that could possibly hold a family together through the ups and downs of life.
And Susan knew firsthand about those ups and downs. The thrill of saying I do beneath the rose arbor outside the inn. Discovering she was pregnant with each of her sons and then giving birth to them, two years apart. The joy she'd felt when she held each of her children for the very first time, when she'd looked into their eyes and known only love, a love so intense that she'd been stunned by the force of it.
But the flip side to all that joy had come when she'd lost her brother, and grief had propelled her into making a terrible mistake with a virtual str
anger--and then another, even bigger one, with her son.
For two decades, she'd survived the fear, the guilt, but this morning she was suffocating under the weight of both.
Perhaps Christie would allow her to make amends for her chilly behavior over the past months, especially if her suggestion for saving the festival actually made a difference. But would Liam ever forgive her for making him carry the burden of her secret all these years?
And then there was Henry. Her husband had held her for the first time in a long time last night by the fire.
But she'd felt him warring with himself the entire time.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Henry was glad he lived close enough to Jean to help out when she needed it. Sure, she could have fixed her own kitchen sink--could have done it twice as fast as he could in her heyday, as a matter of fact--but working with his hands always helped settle him. And he'd been twisted up in knots for what felt like forever.
"How is Susan doing?" his mother asked as she brought him a glass of lemonade.
He took a long drink, then said, "She's worried about Wesley."
"Has there been any word from him?"
"No." And now that Henry had more of an idea about why Wesley had left, he actually understood why his son had done it. Summer Lake was a wonderful town. Small, nurturing, comfortable, and not at all prejudiced or bigoted. But sometimes, a man needed to figure out some things for himself, away from the people who were so sure they already knew who he was.
Lord knew, there had been plenty of times when Henry wouldn't have minded disappearing himself.
The one person he'd never had to hide from, fortunately, was his own mother. Jean Kane wasn't a woman who pushed. Since he appreciated the care his mother had always taken with him, he wanted to set her mind at ease about Wesley. "He'll come back when he's ready." Henry would let his son tell his grandmother his own truth at his own pace.
"Yes, I expect he will," his mother agreed. "This is home. For all of us."
Her comment had him asking, "Has Liam said anything to you about staying in Summer Lake?"
"Announcements aren't his style." She laughed. "Then again, neither is falling in love, and he's doing a grand job of that."
Henry almost dropped the wrench he was holding. "He's in love?"
"Liam looks at Christie the way you once looked at Susan."