The Summer Garden

Chapter 3 (#ud2edb075-9fd3-5f60-a6bd-ce31826fe0a0)

Chapter 4 (#u14009d32-13da-592b-ad26-2034f9d90a6b)

Chapter 5 (#u188954e7-4426-552b-8ed4-d87bcf1b1873)

Chapter 6 (#u0166c702-e75e-5d79-b944-4c5d4b3e5cde)

Chapter 7 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 8 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 9 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 10 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 11 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 12 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 13 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 14 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 15 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 16 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 17 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 18 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 19 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 20 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 21 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 22 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 23 (#litres_trial_promo)

Epilogue (#litres_trial_promo)

Questions for Discussion (#litres_trial_promo)

1

Maddening Moira was still in his head!

Luke O’Brien had been home from Ireland for a month now. He’d been obsessing over his plans for the pub he wanted to open in Chesapeake Shores, worrying about the likely uproar with his family. He’d gone out a few times with the sophisticated, delectable Kristen Lewis, picking up where they’d left off during a brief rendezvous in Ireland. Truth be told, it was a matter of convenience for both of them, not a meeting of the hearts, but until recently it had been an excellent distraction, if only because it had complications galore that appealed to Luke’s desire for a taste of rebellion.

But then along came Moira Malone with the sharp tongue and wry wit.

“I’ll not be taken in by smooth talk and a wink,” she’d told Luke, firmly putting him in his place. “I’ve been around such men all my life.”

They’d met on the O’Brien family’s holiday excursion to Ireland a few months ago. She was the granddaughter of his own grandmother’s old flame, Dillon O’Malley. She was beautiful, but impossible. In fact, it was entirely likely that she was the most frustrating female he’d ever had the pleasure of meeting, in part because she’d been mostly immune to his charm. She’d complicated his life in an entirely different way. She’d unexpectedly engaged his heart.

After staying on in Ireland for several weeks after the rest of the family had returned to Chesapeake Shores, Luke had eventually come home, ready to move on with his life. Ready to finally get serious about life, according to his impatient father, who’d vocally protested the wasting of his college education.

He had a degree in history, for heaven’s sakes! Had anyone seriously thought he’d use that? He certainly hadn’t. He’d chosen history because he enjoyed the subject as much as any other and he’d needed to get the college off his back by declaring a major.

Now, though, the clock was ticking, and the tightly knit O’Briens were all watching and waiting to see what he—the youngest of family matriarch Nell’s grandchildren—planned to make of himself. He doubted that opening an Irish pub on Shore Road was what anyone in the family would have guessed his calling to be.

Restless after going over his plans for the thousandth time, hoping to be so sure of himself, so confident of his path that no one would even attempt to talk him out of it, he wandered over to his brother’s office.

Matthew was currently proving himself to be almost as talented and innovative an architect as their world-renowned uncle Mick. Like most of Luke’s family, Matthew had discovered his passion early on. Luke had envied everyone in his family, not only for knowing what they wanted, but also for succeeding at it, sometimes phenomenally well. He had daunting examples to follow.

When Luke arrived, Matthew was so absorbed in the blueprints on his desk he never even glanced up, which gave Luke more pacing time to get his thoughts in order. He intended to try out his idea first on the most receptive audience he was likely to find.

Eventually, Matthew looked up, spotted him and blinked. “How long have you been here?”

“Long enough,” Luke said. “How many towns and villages have you designed today?”

“Only the one,” Matthew replied, grinning. “I think the plans for this community in Florida are just about set to go to the developer for final approval. He’s very anxious to break ground, judging by the frequency of his calls for updates on my progress.”

Luke had seen his share of architectural renderings over the years, but he had to admit that he lacked the vision to translate them into brick-and-mortar towns. Still, he peered over his brother’s shoulder, prepared to feign the proper enthusiasm. What he saw, though, as he leafed through the pages, left him dumbstruck.

“You designed this? From scratch? A whole community, from houses to Main Street to schools, a library and even a church? You just looked over a few acres of vacant land and imagined all this?”

Matthew’s grin spread as he nodded. “Pretty awesome, if I do say so myself.”

“I guess all that time you spent playing with Lego as a kid wasn’t wasted, after all. Has Uncle Mick seen it?”

“Of course. He’s in here pestering me every other day. I gather when he isn’t calling me, the developer’s calling Uncle Mick to nudge things along.”

“And?”

“Uncle Mick says it’s as good as anything he’s ever done,” Matthew said, looking pleased.

“Which means it’s a thousand times better,” Luke concluded. “He’s not going to say so on your first big job and risk your having a swelled head and demanding a bigger salary.”

Matthew shrugged off the compliment. “Things can always be better. Uncle Mick has even talked to me about things he would have done differently if he had Chesapeake Shores to design over again.”

Luke regarded him with surprise. “Really? Like what?”

“He admits that Uncle Thomas was right about wanting the community to be built in an environmentally friendly way. He says he wouldn’t have given him such a tough time about it.”

Luke laughed. “No, he’d just give him a tough time on general principle, the same as he does with Dad.”