Читать книгу His Destiny Bride - Christyne Butler, Christyne Butler - Страница 9
ОглавлениеA shot of rum didn’t go with today’s festivities. Nolan didn’t care. He needed something stronger than punch or champagne mimosas.
The Murphy family log home was teeming on this chilly yet sunny November afternoon with what he guessed was most of the female population of Destiny. Katie included.
His vantage point at the bar on the far side of the large living room allowed him to keep an eye on her while watching the time-honored rituals associated with a new baby on the way. Or two babies, as was the case today.
The dual baby shower for Fay and Laurie, his sisters-in-law, was in full swing despite the half foot of fresh snow outside. Katie had stepped in to help complete plans for the event after his mother fell on a patch of ice last week and broke her arm. But Katie would’ve been here anyway.
She was friends with Fay and Laurie. Friends with everyone in his family.
Friends with him.
At least they had been.
But since they’d accidentally slept together two weeks ago, she rarely looked at him.
Hell, she hardly spoke to him unless it was work related. Even then, she used the fewest number of syllables possible.
Something he wasn’t used to, because Katie talked. A lot.
She liked to repeat herself, rearranging her words while saying the same thing, all to get her point across. Usually because it took him and his brothers a few pseudosmacks to the back of the head to acknowledge she was right.
So her silence, especially today when she hadn’t yet uttered a sound in his direction, bugged the crap out of him. He debated if he should corner her.
Demand to know how long she planned to treat him like a polite stranger.
It seemed like a good idea.
Then again, his last good idea was to spend the night with a bewitching creature who turned out to be—
“A beer. My kingdom for a beer.” Adam’s words cut into Nolan’s thoughts as he joined him, setting a glass of punch on the bar’s smooth surface. “Ah, I see the captain is enjoying a bit of the Captain.” He grinned. “You going to do that straight or add some soda for taste?”
Nolan stashed the booze away and grabbed a can of diet yuck and a cold beer for his brother from the minifridge below the counter. “Add some soda. And stop calling me the captain.”
“Hey, you pulled off that pirate guise better than Johnny what’s-his-name. After seeing the pictures, you got to expect the nickname’s going to stick for a while.”
Yeah, it would. His brothers would make sure of it.
“So, you never did share any details of the bash at the Blue Creek. How was it?”
Nolan added enough soda to his glass to be respectable. “I told you. I told everyone. It was—”
“Fine. So, I heard,” Adam cut him off. He leaned in close, dropping his voice. “Who’d you hook up with that night?”
He took a quick swallow, keeping his poker face—thankfully he was the king among his brothers at cards—firmly in place. “What makes you think I did?”
“You didn’t?”
“Did I say that?”
“You haven’t said anything...yet.”
Setting his glass back on the bar top, Nolan returned Adam’s stare.
There was less than two years’ difference between them, but the man took his role as the eldest brother seriously. Always the protector, ready to knock heads together or defend any of the family if needed.
He’d also been away for most of his adult life, serving in the military.
Now retired, Adam had planned to center his life on his ranch, which butted up against the family’s land, until he found out Fay had become pregnant with his child after a one-night stand. He had rejoined the family business, and after a bumpy start, he and Fay were happily married with a son, A.J., not quite a year old, and another baby on the way.
“Well?” Adam offered a raised eyebrow.
Nolan thought about the agreement he and Katie had made that morning, but that was before she refused to look him in the eye. To talk to him. Before they started skidding around each other like a pair of new foals sharing the same barn stall.
Maybe he could get a little brotherly advice and still keep their secret.
“Yeah,” he admitted, still not sure he should be doing this. “I met someone.”
Adam nodded. “I figured as much.”
“How’s that?”
“Fay sent me on a late-night run for mint ice cream and corn chips.” He held up a hand. “Don’t ask. I spotted your truck in the Blue Creek parking lot.”
“So?”
“So, four in the morning and yours was one of only a half dozen vehicles still there. You’re not dumb enough to bring a date back to your place. Not with your kids around. You end up at hers?”
Nolan nodded, remembering how Katie explained the room at the boardinghouse. Had she dragged him back to her apartment, he would’ve figured out fast who Harley Quinn was.
Would that have stopped him from being with her?
Her bright yellow floral-print dress caught his eye from across the room. Katie walked among the guests, chatting while balancing a tray of goodies, pretty as a sunny spring day. Her hair was pulled back in a high ponytail that bounced when she moved, and matching yellow heels made her legs look fabulous.
Yeah, she loved her high heels.
He once asked her not long after she started working for them how she managed to keep her balance in those things. She’d said she took a special class in college. Squeezed it between Global Business Ethics and Corporate Law for Entrepreneurs her senior year.
He’d felt like a louse, but she’d laughed and waved off his apology.
She’d then proceeded to point out a missed loophole in one of their biggest contracts, saving them a sizable amount of cash.
“Hello?” Adam rapped a knuckle on the wood counter. “Earth to Nolan.”
“Yeah, I’m here.” He watched her offer the tray to a group of ladies. The move allowed that waterfall of red hair to slide over her shoulder. Just as it had that night. After the wig came off.
Only he hadn’t known the color of his companion’s hair then.
“And yeah, we ended up at her...place.”
“You going to see her again?”
“See who?” Bryant joined them. “Don’t tell me Nolan’s got himself a new girl.”
Nolan groaned. “Tell me why my dating life is so interesting to you guys?”
“Hey, you’re the only one left,” Bryant said. “Who knows when Ric will get home again and Liam and Dev are happily solvent on the other side of the ocean.”
“Stop talking like a finance guy.” Adam took a sip of his beer.
“I am a finance guy. What’s wrong with being solvent?” Bryant gestured his desire for a beer, too. “It’s important for a couple to be financially secure, especially once they decide to start a family.”
“You score points with the missus with all that money talk?” Nolan asked, getting his brother a cold one.
“Thanks to doctor’s orders, I’m not scoring much of anything these days.” Bryant grinned. “I’m okay with that.”
Nolan knew that to be true. Laurie had suffered through a rough miscarriage a year ago. She and Bryant were over the moon about this pregnancy and were taking every precaution the doctors handed down. He and Adam were the celebrating dads-to-be today even though their wives got all the attention.
“No worries,” Adam said. “Nolan’s getting the job done.”
“Halloween party, right?” Bryant asked, lifting the bottle to his lips.
Adam answered before Nolan could open his mouth. “I was about to find out if he plans to see her again.”
“See who?”
“Who is the question. He never told me her name.”
“Well, don’t let me interrupt your girl talk. Go on. Spill.”
Nolan stared at his brothers’ grinning faces. This conversation was getting away from him. Fast. He needed to come up with a diversion, but his mind was a blank.
Except for Katie.
Story of his life for the last two weeks.
He had projects up to his eyeballs. The kids were at each other’s throats. Mom’s accident threatened to derail her complex holiday plans for both Thanksgiving and Christmas. Still, he couldn’t concentrate on anything but what had happened between him and Katie.
This had to stop. He had to find a way to fix things. Now.
Only once he let his brothers in on the truth, they would either kill him for dipping into the company office pool or bust his chops based on nothing but sibling code.
He was so screwed. “Forget about it.”
“No can do. Come on, who was she?” Adam pushed.
“No one.”
“No one important?” Bryant asked.
Nolan’s fingers tightened on his glass. “I didn’t say that.”
“So she is important. Or could be. Maybe we can help.”
Now he was confused. “Help with what?”
“You’ve been an SOB for the last week and if you can’t get help from your bros—” Bryant shrugged “—who can you turn to?”
“I haven’t been an SOB.”
“Yeah, you have,” Adam and Bryant said in unison.
“Hell, even Dad thinks you’ve gone off the deep end,” Adam continued. “You’re either snapping our heads off or shutting down completely. With everyone. Even—”
“Fine.” Nolan tossed back his drink, the rum burning his throat. “It’s Katie.”
As soon as the words left his mouth, he wished for them back. Especially when the blank expressions on his brothers’ faces said they had no idea whom he was talking about.
“Forget I said—”
“Katie?” Bryant asked. “Katie who?”
At that moment the object of their discussion turned, her gaze catching and holding Nolan’s.
She stood on the other side of the room, near the dining room table covered with gifts. Too far away to hear, but something made her glance his way, her facial expression the same as it’d been since that night. Cool. Professional.
No matter, the stiff set of her shoulders said plenty. Someone called out to her and she turned away.
“Yeah, who’s Kat—” Adam started, then stopped. His head whipped to the crowd of ladies then back. “Wait a minute. You mean...” He leaned forward, lowering his voice. “That Katie? Our Katie?”
Bryant’s brows were dipped in confusion for a moment longer before understanding dawned. “Whoa, Katie? Are you nuts?”
Yeah, he was. Especially for opening his big mouth.
“Jeez, she’s practically family.”
He turned to Adam. “Don’t say that.”
“She’s been like a sis—”
“I really wish you wouldn’t say that.” Nolan cut him off, pushing aside his desire for another shot. He instead went for a beer and got two more for his brothers. They looked as if they needed them.
“What in the world made you pick her?” Bryant asked, matching his tone to Adam’s. “Of all people?”
“I didn’t exactly pick—we sort of ran into—hell, she was in costume,” Nolan growled. “So was I. She was drinking. I was drinking. It was late. It was dark—”
“Spare us the details.”
“I didn’t know—she didn’t know. It wasn’t until the next morning we realized what happened.”
“How could you not know?” Adam demanded.
Before Nolan could explain anything else, there was commotion at the entryway. Devlin and Tanya came into the room, loaded down with suitcases and presents, surprising everyone.
Thankful for the interruption, Nolan swallowed half his beer as his folks welcomed home another of their wayward sons. Soon, Tanya joined Fay and Laurie just as they were about to start opening the gifts.
Devlin spotted his brothers and headed their way, but stopped to give Katie a big hug.
A flash of something hot filled Nolan’s gut. Don’t be stupid!
Still, the burn didn’t fade, especially when his brother left a lingering kiss on Katie’s cheek.
“Hey, guys, surprised to see me?” Devlin asked with a big smile when he joined them.
“Believe it or not, you showing up isn’t the biggest surprise today.” Adam shot Nolan a hard glare. “It’s good to have you home.”
“You back to stay?” Nolan asked. He got his brother a cold root beer, as close as Dev got to the real thing since getting sober over a decade ago. “For good?”
“Sure are. Tanya finished up her schooling early and we wanted to be here for Thanksgiving.” Devlin nodded his thanks for the drink. “When we heard about today, we hoped to make it back in time.” He held out his hand to Adam. “Congrats again, Daddy.”
Adam returned his handshake.
Devlin repeated the gesture with Bryant. “You, too, Pops. Geesh, two more rug rats to add to the family. So, what else is new around here?”
Nolan stared at Adam, knowing what he’d told him and Bryant was about to be shared with another brother.
Needing more privacy, he gestured to the leather couches in a nearby alcove. His brothers followed and got comfortable. The laughter and feminine chatter were muted now even with the sliding pocket doors remaining open.
“What’s going on?” Devlin asked. “Did someone die?”
“Not yet.”
Nolan sighed and ignored Adam’s veiled threat. He laid out what had happened two weeks ago between him and Katie, keeping the details light for both her sake and his.
“Dude...” Devlin flopped back against the cushions. “Even I didn’t go there. Not that the thought didn’t cross my mind, but still. She’s practically family.”
Nolan braced his elbows on his knees, his eyes locked on the beer bottle hanging from his clenched fingers. “Would you guys please stop saying that?”
“I guess this explains why every time we called from London you were working out of your home office instead of here,” Dev continued, jerking his head toward the rooms connected with the family business farther down the hall.
“And why our office manager’s been quieter than usual,” Bryant added. “Laurie said she thought Katie might still be hurting from her breakup with the deputy.”
“That was months ago.” Nolan hated the idea she might still be hung up on Jake. “She’s over him.”
He waited for his brothers to argue that fact, but silence filled the air for a long moment. Nolan let it go on, knowing he’d given everyone a shock.
Hell, if any of them had made this same announcement he’d be pissed, too. More so. Not that he had a right to be.
“So, what’s next?”
He looked up when Bryant spoke and found three sets of eyes all mirroring that same question. “Nothing. We...decided things would go on the same. Like before.”
“Good.”
Nolan turned to Adam, not liking the steely glint in his eyes. “Good?”
“She’s been through enough in the last few months.”
“I know that. What happened was a—” Mistake. Nolan held back the word, the taste of it sour in his mouth. “A surprise. To both of us. And yeah, things are a little awkward, but it’ll go back to normal. Eventually.”
Because that’s what they’d agreed upon. What they wanted.
“It’s the right...answer,” Nolan said.
“Is it?” Devlin asked. “If she’s interested and you’re interested—”
“I’m not. Never have been.” Nolan cut him off, ignoring the way his heart pounded in his chest. Li-ar. Li-ar. It didn’t matter. The last thing any of them needed was for his stupidity to wreak havoc with the family and the family business.
He cringed at the F word again. “Katie’s always been...just Katie.”
“Until now.” Adam set his beer on the table with a thud. “You changed that. Changed everything.”
“Not on purpose,” Nolan replied. He could see his brother wasn’t going to let this go.
“Well, you better purposely find a way to fix things with her. Fast. Before we lose—” Adam stopped, his gaze intense. “What?”
Nolan pulled in a deep breath. “She offered to quit. That morning.” His brothers started to protest, and he made a slashing motion, cutting them off. “I told her to forget it. She’s too valuable to the company.”
“Damn straight.”
“Look, neither one of us wants to make anything of this. She’d be mad as hell if she finds out I said anything. Keep your mouths shut. Okay?”
His brothers nodded in agreement, Adam going last.
Nolan set his beer on the table, not interested in it anymore. “It’s going to take time. To get beyond...whatever this is. Sorry if I cast a gloom on the baby-making pride you guys got going on.”
“Not all of us,” Devlin pointed out, reaching into his jacket for a small velvet box. “I’m not at the baby stage yet. I’m still trying to wrap my brain around this.”
“What—what the hell is that—are you serious?”
Nolan’s words overlapped Adam’s and Bryant’s when Devlin shared the diamond ring he’d found in a store in London and his plan to surprise Tanya with a Thanksgiving Day proposal.
“And don’t tell the folks,” Devlin warned, stowing the box away. “About this, or that Liam is planning to bring Missy and Casey back for Christmas. He tagged along on the ring shopping, so Missy should be sporting a sparkler on her finger when they arrive.”
“Well, it seems Mom’s going be surrounded by babies and weddings next year,” Bryant said. “She’ll be over the moon.”
“And pestering you and Liam for more grandchildren not long after the I dos,” Adam added before glancing back at Nolan. “Guess this makes you and Ric the last single Murphy brothers.”
“That’s fine with me.” Nolan leaned back, more relaxed now than he’d been all day, glad the topic of conversation had moved away from him and Katie. “Don’t forget, I did my part already by providing the first round of grandchildren.”
Besides, he’d decided a long time ago he and marriage weren’t a good fit. Not after those unhappy years with his ex-wife in Boston.
Now there was a union that never should’ve happened. And probably wouldn’t have if there hadn’t been a need for a hasty wedding.
He didn’t regret his marriage entirely because of Abby, Luke and Logan, but fatherhood was a far better fit than being a husband.
“So, three and out?” Devlin asked.
“That’s right. Messy diapers and 3:00 a.m. feedings are in my rearview mirror.” Nolan grinned. “I’m busy enough with work, and while I’m not happy with the arguing, at least my kids can feed themselves. I’ll leave the happily-ever-afters and babies to you guys.”
* * *
Katie bit hard on her bottom lip and hurried back to the party on tiptoes.
She’d slipped out to her office to hunt up a couple of notepads and pens to keep track of who gave what gift to the mommies-to-be.
Overhearing Devlin sharing with his brothers his plans to propose to Tanya stopped her in her tracks.
She was genuinely happy for the two of them. If anyone deserved to find true love and happiness, it was Devlin. He’d gone through a tough time recently. A helicopter he’d been piloting had crashed, stranding him and Adam in the forest with Devlin badly hurt. It’d taken him a long time to get better, and Tanya had been a big part of his recovery.
And hearing Nolan’s familiar I’m-happy-the-way-I-am mantra wasn’t surprising.
Not really.
Listening to him say aloud what he’d often said in the past, in one way or another, reaffirmed what she’d always known.
He considered his life complete.
Lead architect in his family’s successful business. With five brothers he loved and who were his best friends. Single dad to three great kids.
A happy bachelor.
Her long-held, silent crush on the guy wasn’t heading anywhere. No matter how attracted she might be to him—and had been from the moment they met—there would never be anything between them.
Well, nothing more than one stolen night of passion.
Girl, get over it!
Another familiar refrain, one she’d repeated daily to herself over the last few weeks. Getting back to normal—whatever that might be—was harder than she’d thought it’d be.
That morning after Nolan left, she’d cleaned up the room and hurried home, determined to live up to the agreement they made. To make sure everything stayed the same. Between her and Nolan. Her and the Murphys. Her and the job she loved so much.
Easier said than done.
Yes, her actions had been dumb that night. Not just dumb, but careless, too.
Hey, it wasn’t the first time she’d been stupid in her never-ending search for—
Nope, don’t use the L word.
What happened that night had been a combination of lust, booze and foolishness. She’d been lucky the man she’d fallen into bed with had been someone like Nolan.
To think one night of amazing sex would lead to something was crazy. He’d made his feelings clear. They should go on with their lives as if nothing happened.
So being in the same room with him today—even with fifty-plus other people—should be easy. Easy to continue with her pleasant but business-is-business demeanor. It’d worked at the office. Mainly because he’d holed up in his place next door, working from there most of the time, instead of at the main house.
Like that wasn’t a big enough hint he meant what he’d said.
Katie handed off the writing implements and took a load of opened gifts to display on the dining room table. Peggy joined her, holding up an infant’s one-piece pajama covered with puppies in green and yellow.
“Boy, it’s getting hard to remember Curtis ever being this small.”
Katie smiled. “I thought you said Curtis was never that small.”
“True.” Peggy refolded the outfit. “That boy arrived at almost eleven pounds and went straight into the three-to-six-month size. He’s been a handful ever since.”
“And you love it.”
“I do. Even if it meant us sharing a nasty flu bug for the last couple of weeks. Thank goodness that’s over. This is the first time either of us has been out of the house since Halloween.”
“I’m glad you’re feeling better.”
“Me, too. I appreciate the Crock-Pot meals you left for us on the front porch.” Peggy moved closer. “We haven’t had the chance to chat lately, and this isn’t the time or place for any girl talk, but are you okay?”
Katie tightened her grip on the fluffy teddy bears she’d saved from toppling to the floor. “I’m fine.” She returned the animals to the table. “Why do you ask?”
“You seem a bit—”
“Frazzled? Well, work’s been crazy, despite the upcoming holidays.” She hoped her smile didn’t appear forced. “Poor Elise, breaking her arm. I was glad to step in and help pull today together for the...for everyone.”
“I know they appreciate your efforts. Fay gushed about you when she stopped in the flower shop last week to go over some business stuff.” Peggy laid a hand on her arm. “No, what I was going to say is you seem a bit sad.”
“Sad?” Katie kept her gaze lowered. “Really?”
“You said all the right things at the Halloween party about starting over, finding someone new.”
“But?” Katie heard the question in her friend’s voice.
“You’ve been through a lot in the last couple of months.” Her friend gave a quick squeeze and let go. “Maybe you’re not as done with Jake as you think.”
Oh, she was done. Over and out with an ease that didn’t surprise her.
No, it was another man who was haunting her every waking hour now.
Keeping her feelings for Nolan under control used to be easy. Dating often and a variety of men helped. When things got serious with Jake, she’d believed her infatuation with a certain Murphy brother was in the past.
Then...yeah, and then.
This time around, it was going to take her a bit longer to bury her desire for someone she could never have, but she would do it.
She had to.
Goodness knows she had enough practice at it.
She needed to think about the future. Her future. It was time to look ahead, not behind.
“I’m okay.” Her smile relaxed now. “Better than okay when it comes to the past.”
“What do you mean?”
Katie shook her head, not sure how to answer her friend. Or where the soft warm glow now blooming deep inside her came from. “I don’t know, exactly, but it’s time.”
“Time for what? You’re talking in riddles.”
Glad when Peggy got asked to help with something in the kitchen, Katie stayed behind, arranging more gifts.
Precious booties that fit in the palm of her hand. Practical burp cloths. Beautiful handmade quilts and blankets. Onesies in all colors and styles, bottles, baby bath gear.
Everything a new life needed.
Not to mention the unconditional love between a parent and a child.
Fay, already a wonderful mother to A.J., was so excited about having another baby. And Laurie had had tears in her eyes while struggling to find the words to describe the first time she felt the baby inside her move.
Neither woman had met their child yet, but they were forever connected with another human being. Someone to love, cherish and protect with every fiber of a mother’s soul.
Had her own mother ever felt that way about her?
It was a question Katie asked herself often over the years.
If she had, how could she have left a three-year-old in an empty church on a snowy winter day and walked away?
Something Katie would never have done.
She would have found a way to keep her child with her, to keep her family together. Beg, borrow or steal, but she would never separate herself from a life she created.
Being abandoned had created a void deep inside her that remained to this day.
It was time to change that.
Time to change everything.
Laying a hand over her belly, she tried to imagine what it would feel like to know a life was growing inside her. A life that would forever be connected with hers. A family of her own.
Right then and there, Katie made a decision.
She was going to get pregnant. She was going to have a baby.
