A Kiss, A Dance & A Diamond

“Sure,” he said and took a bite. “It was time I came home anyway...with everything that was imploding here.”

Nicola sipped her coffee and then looked at him over the rim of her mug. It was true, he certainly had a lot going on with his family. “Do you get along with your new brother?”

His mouth curled up at the edges. “You know me, Nic... I get along with everyone.”

He was right. Kieran had a reputation for being easygoing and likable. Perfect attributes for a physician. But she wasn’t fooled. “Cut the crap.”

He chuckled. “Have you met Jonah?”

“A couple of times, like at Liam and Kayla’s wedding. He seems very...intense.”

Kieran laughed. “That’s a good way to describe him. He is intense. And moody. And kind of unpleasant most of the time. But to be fair, he’s mellowed a little over the past few months. Not that I can blame him for putting up a few walls, considering he’s known about us all his life, but we didn’t know about him. He still lives in Portland but visits his mother, Kathleen, regularly.”

“She moved back to Cedar River,” Nicola remarked and then laughed humorlessly. “We’re heading back in droves.”

“She wanted to spend more time with her mother and brother—you know, Kayla’s grandmother and father.” He shrugged. “It’s become something of a confusing family tree.”

She nodded a little. “And your parents are really getting a divorce?”

“So they say,” he replied and sipped his coffee. “Mom can’t forgive him for the infidelity, even though Dad ended his affair with Kathleen before Jonah was born.”

“She’s a lot younger than him, isn’t she?”

“Yeah,” he said and sighed heavily. “She was eighteen and in love with an older man. To be honest, I don’t think my parents’ marriage was ever a love match. And Dad still appears to care for Kathleen.” He shrugged. “Who knows? I’m not exactly an expert on the subject of what constitutes a successful relationship.”

Nicola saw weariness in his expression, and her insides took a foolish plunge. “Me neither,” she admitted and managed a small smile, annoyed at herself for being so easily swayed by him, but suddenly unable to fight the feeling. “You might get married again.”

“Maybe,” he said quickly and drained his mug. “But I have zero interest on that score for the foreseeable future.”

“Not all marriages end badly,” she said and shrugged. “My parents had a happy marriage. As did Gino and his wife. And your brother and Kayla seem really happy together.”

“I didn’t say it wasn’t possible,” he remarked. “Just that I wasn’t interested in the idea.”

“So, you’ve become a cynic?”

“Exactly. Haven’t you?”

Nicola shrugged again. “I’m hopeful. But next time I intend not falling for a man who’s still in love with someone else.”

“So, you want assurances?” he laughed humorlessly. “Good luck with that.”

She felt her tension return. “Believing in people doesn’t make me naive, Kieran. I can be as cynical as the next person. Let’s face it, I’ve been dumped more than once and have had plenty of experience at being humiliated.”

He rested his elbows on the table and stared at her. “So, I guess about now is where you swear at me in Italian?”

She got to her feet and pushed the chair back. “No, it’s where I say good night.”

He stood immediately and, without another word, he grabbed his jacket and made his way to the door. Nicola hurried after him and almost plowed into his back when he came to a halt outside the living room.

“Do you have a spare bulb?” he inquired and gestured into the room.

“There’s no need to—”

“Just find the bulb, Nic,” he said and walked into the room. “And stop being a pain in the ass.”

Nicola remained in the doorway and watched as he walked across the room and flicked on a small lamp by the fireplace. “I don’t have a ladder.”

“No need for one,” he said and pointed to the wooden chair by the window. “I’ll use that.”

Of course, he was nearly a foot taller than she was and would reach the ceiling easily enough. She just had to get the spare bulb from the laundry room. “Be back in a minute.”

Except that her minute turned into about ten. There were no new bulbs in the laundry room, and she had to venture to the workshop out back and rummage through a few boxes of Gino’s tools and equipment to find what she needed. She headed back inside, locking the back door and swiftly making her way through the kitchen and down the hallway. When she got to the living room, she stopped dead in her tracks.

Kieran was lying on the sofa, legs stretched out, one arm over his forehead, clearly comfortable, and obviously fast asleep.

She pulled up alongside the sofa and looked down at him. His hair was a little long, like he’d forgotten to get it cut. And the whisker growth was too sexy for words. His feet were crossed at the ankles, and his other hand lay across his chest. She looked at his left hand, to where his wedding band would have been, and she couldn’t help wondering how long it had been since he’d taken it off. The skin was paler. So, not long, by the look of things. He must still love his ex-wife, despite what she had done to him. Love often had a way of hanging around...she’d discovered that herself in the years it took her to erase Kieran’s memory from her heart.

Nicola went to tap his shoulder but then snatched her hand back. She remembered how he’d said he’d pulled a double shift at the hospital...and then he’d driven straight over to help her out with Marco. A double shift, combined with his recent move from Sioux Falls, meant he was obviously exhausted. Guilt pressed inside her chest and, instead of waking him up, she grabbed a soft chenille blanket from the love seat by the window and gently draped it over him. He didn’t stir, didn’t move, didn’t do anything other than take a deep breath and then sigh.

As she left the room and headed upstairs, Nicola mused that, if someone had told her earlier that day that Kieran O’Sullivan would be sleeping in her house, she would have told them they were out of their mind and to go straight to hell. And she didn’t want to think about how she was trying to cling onto anger and resentment because hating him made things easier. Hating him made her forget how much she had once loved him.

And hating him made her immune to falling in love with him ever again.

Chapter Three (#u6e94682a-dfbe-5f01-97e1-3d320b1fa724)

Kieran awoke with a crick in his neck, an aching back and two sets of curious eyes staring at him.

Marco and Johnny were both sitting on the opposite sofa clearly waiting for him to wake up. He grimaced when he spotted a ridiculously pink blanket draped over his legs and quickly swung his feet to the floor. He ran a weary hand through his hair and glanced at the clock on the wall. Seven fifty. He’d been asleep for over nine hours. And on Nicola’s couch, no less!

“Did you sleep over?” Marco asked, eyes wide.

“Looks like it,” he replied and stretched out his back.

“To make sure I was okay?”

“Of course,” he fibbed and rubbed a hand over his face. “How are you feeling, champ?”

Marco nodded. “Okay, I guess. Aunt Nicola said I don’t have to go to school today. She said I could go to JoJo’s with her. But Johnny has to go to school.”

The older boy scowled. “At least I’ve got friends at school.”

“Didn’t I specifically tell you boys not to disturb Kieran this morning?”

They all looked toward the door. Nicola stood at the threshold, dressed in a knee-length black skirt, tucked-in white blouse and black heels. Her hair was pulled back, and she wore gold loop earrings. She held a mug in one hand, and the other hand was perched on her hip. She looked smoking hot and, as awareness curdled in his blood, Kieran tried not to stare at her—but failed.

“Breakfast is on the table,” she said to the boys. “Scoot. And make sure you put the dishes in the sink when you are done.”

The kids took off as though their heels were on fire, and Nicola ruffled their hair as they passed. Then, she walked into the living room and passed Kieran the mug she carried.