8. Nora
Chapter 8
Nora
I was a little early. I forgot how everything was so close together in town.
I grabbed the bouquet of Gerbera daisies and the bakery box on my passenger seat and got out. A dog barked as I shut my door. I glanced over at the yard and found Sully and Danny laying on the grass. They both sat up and I was struck by how alike they looked.
And then came the double shot of longing I’d never felt before.
What would it be like to have a man like Sully and his mini me?
I shook off the thought and braced for impact as the dog came at me.
Danny headed after him. “Trouble, no!”
His father was faster and scooped up the wriggling chocolate lab puppy just before he could jump on me. “Sorry, not for you, idiot.”
I laughed. “Good save.” I slumped against my car.
Sully handed the dog to Danny. “Can you go feed him? We’re going to eat at Gram’s in twenty.”
Danny nodded and took off with the dog who wiggled until he could look over Danny’s shoulder at me. His big tongue rolling out, giving him a goofy smile.
He took the box from me. “You didn’t have to bring anything.”
“My mom would roll in her grave.” I tucked the flowers in the crook of my arm.
“I was sorry to hear about your mom.”
“Yeah, I know. Always knew the cigarettes would get her.”
“Still sucks.” He moved into my space, his boots touching the tips of my shoes. He set the box on the hood of my car. “You look incredible.”
The surprising tug intensified from this afternoon. When he’d caged me in against the doorway, I’d been stunned stupid. Now I wasn’t doing much better. “Thanks,” I whispered.
“Mom will like the flowers,” he said, lowering his head.
“That’s good.”
“Think I’m going to try kissing you, Nora.”
“I think I might like that.”
“Good.” His breath teased my lips a moment before he bridged the gap.
At first, I didn’t know what to do. I’d only kissed two men in my life, and the first one had been a clumsy moment when I was eleven. The other had been my ex.
Booker had been so confident, I’d just been tossed into the current of his overwhelming presence.
Nothing like this.
Sullivan teased my lips apart with a soft sweep of his tongue. But instead of taking over, he lured me in. The kiss was sweet and easy as a spring day. His fingers slid along my waist to tug me away from the car and against him. Distantly, I heard the crunch of cellophane from the flowers, but I ignored it in favor of his taste.
He deepened the kiss, and my heart throbbed in my ears and lower .
So much lower.
I lifted my free hand to tunnel through his hair, dragging him in tighter.
His fingers twisted in the sundress I was wearing, then they gripped the curve of my hip to pull me flush against him. I dropped the flowers, and wrapped my other arm around his neck, going up on my toes.
He tasted of mint and sunshine and heat.
I didn’t know heat had a taste, but Sullivan Murdock definitely did. I’d been so afraid I was broken. That I would never feel something for a man again.
Indifference had been the whole of my life for so damn long.
Sully broke the kiss and tipped his head back. “Damn, Nora.”
I smiled up at him. “Is that a good damn ?”
He met my gaze and tipped my hips against the bulge of his zipper. “What do you think?”
I licked my lips. “Is that for me?”
His jaw flexed. “A thousand times yes.”
I grinned. “Not sure your mom would appreciate that as much as I do.”
He groaned and dropped his head to my bare shoulder, then surprised me when he pressed a kiss along the curve before straightening. “Fair point.” He stepped back and crouched to pick up the flowers. “Dropped these.”
“Smug isn’t your color.”
“Isn’t it though?” He grinned down at me, then he dropped another hot kiss on my lips before he drew me away from the car and ahead of him. “You’ll have to hide the evidence for a second while I calm down. Not that this view is going to help me.”
I grinned over my shoulder. “Just a sundress.”
“You know it’s more than a sundress,” he growled.
I turned back around and couldn’t stop a smile until I saw Anna and Joe Murdock standing on the porch. “Crap.”
Sullivan crowded into me. “Sorry about that.”
I glanced up at him. Somehow I didn’t think he was sorry at all, and I wasn’t sure what to do with that information. “Hi, Mr. and Mrs. Murdock.”
“You know it’s Joe and Anna.” Anna leaned against her husband. “Especially now.”
I was pretty sure my neck and face were the same color as my poppy sundress. I turned up the volume on my smile, ignoring the fact that they probably saw us kissing the hell out of each other. “For you.” I held out the daisies to Anna.
“They’re gorgeous. Thank you.”
“I brought brownies from Sweet Beat.”
“Well, if my son didn’t kiss the stuffing out of you, I would.”
Anna elbowed him.
Joe chuckled. “Nice to see you again, Nora. How’s your dad doing?”
“Good. He just got back from snowbirding down in Georgia. He says he’s ready for golf when you are.”
“Now that’s what I like to hear.” He rubbed Anna’s back. “Hope you’re in the mood for spaghetti and meatballs.”
“Always ready for Anna’s pasta.”
“Aren’t we all.” Joe rubbed his flat belly. “C’mon in.”
“I’m just going to get Danny.” Sullivan handed the bakery box to his dad. “I’ll be right back.”
“You’re leaving me?” I whispered.
He laughed. “Be right back.”
I followed his parents inside. “Oh, gosh. This is much different than the last time I was here.”
The kitchen was full-on farmhouse with white shiplap and butcher block counters. Soft blue cabinets with nickel hardware wreathed the entire room with recessed lighting, giving off a soft light against the fading sunlight. A massive table filled half the room and was set for five.
“Oh, you know me. Always like to change things up.” Anna went to a cabinet and pulled down a pretty green pitcher and went to the sink. “These are lovely. Just what we needed for the table.”
“Can I help with anything?”
“No, you’re fine. Would you like wine?”
“Uh, sure.”
A far cry from my days in the backyard with iced tea. I wandered to the wide, picture window and looked out on the endless yard. How many days had I crashed out there when we’d been too lazy to go to the lake?
“I’m sure the valley seems quiet after LA.”
I turned to Joe’s voice and returned to the table, sinking into a seat near him. “Very. I love it though. Takes nineteen years to get anywhere in LA. I can drive through Hope Street in less than ten minutes, even when it’s busy.”
“Not much has changed around here.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t say that. I saw they had to build onto the high school, and I heard that you even have a decent football team finally.”
Joe laughed. “Kai was all about football, unlike my other boys.”
“Where is Kai these days?”
“Here and there. He flits around like the wind.”
I could tell that didn’t exactly make Joe happy. Kai was a good deal younger than us, and I’d been long gone before he was even out of elementary school.
“He’s actually on his way back from Denver.” Anna set the green pitcher on the table, fussing with one of the blooms before sitting next to me. “He was teaching skiing of all things.”
Joe shook his head.
“So, it was your idea to make Sully go shirtless?”
My jaw dropped. “God, no. I found him like that. Evidently, the dishwasher wasn’t hooked up correctly.”
Sully picked then to come inside with Danny in tow, a package of Fruit Snacks in hand. He waved and went to the other side of the table to sit near Joe.
“And since when do you forget to turn off the water?” Joe asked Sully.
“Since there were multiple lines. I don’t know who did that set up, but they were idiots. All fixed now.”
“Thanks to you and your gleaming chest.” Joe’s voice was deadpan.
“Dad.”
Then Joe’s booming laugh filled the room. “You should see your face.”
Sully rolled his eyes and went to the cabinet for a big pot for the pasta. He filled it and set it on the range to cook. I popped up and crossed to him. “Oh, this is a lovely range.”
“Thanks.” Anna rose to meet me. “Do you cook?”
“I dabble. Only thing I miss from Los Angeles is my kitchen.”
“So, definitely not your ex-husband?”
I pressed my lips together a minute before a giggle escaped. “Not at all, actually.”
“Good to know.” Anna glanced at Sully. “Isn’t it?”
His gaze locked on mine. “Very.”
I tucked my fingers into the pockets of my dress so I didn’t twist them together like a nervous idiot. “I’d be happy to trade recipes.”
“That sounds wonderful.” Anna hooked her arm through mine. “Come sit down. I want to hear all about what you’ve been up to.”
“Not much to tell. I have my own business. Hoping that I can make it work here.”
“What do you do?”
“Besides make my son go viral,” Joe put in with a smirk.
“Do you even know what viral means, dad?”
He shrugged. “Not at all, but that’s all I’ve heard all afternoon.”
I laughed. “If only all my work was so easy. I have a marketing company. I usually have to do a lot of sweating and research to get the reach that Sully got with one video.”
“I have no idea what that means,” Anna said as she got up to put the pasta into the now boiling water.
My stomach growled at the scent of garlic and butter on top of the sauce bubbling away on the stove. “I help companies with visibility. I was hoping Sully would let me use him as a guinea pig and then I walked into my kitchen and saw him in all his...”
Sully glanced over at me with a grin.
I swallowed a laugh. “ Glory . I didn’t even think about it, just jumped in.”
“I’d say both of you will get some good out of this.” Anna stirred the pasta. “This will be done in a few minutes. Sully, pour wine for us.”
“Got it. Dad, you want a beer instead?”
“I’ll have a glass of wine this time.” He looked over at Danny. “Milk or juice for you?”
Danny barely looked up from his Fruit Snacks. “Milk, please.”
“Danny, why don’t you ask Miss Nora where she got her chair since you like it so much?”
He locked eyes with me, and I saw his shyness warring with his need for an answer.
I waited patiently for him.
He huffed out a breath and picked out a gummy, pushing his finger deep into the grape-like shape. “I really like your chair. May I know where you got it?”
I suppressed a laugh. The obvious influence of Anna and Sullivan were mixed in the little boy. “I’ll let your dad know the store. It’s right in Saratoga. I bet he could get you one really easily.”
He nodded. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.”
Sullivan ruffled his hair, and he wrinkled his nose in reaction, but I noticed Sullivan’s face soften.
The love was so obvious in Sully, but the boy seemed in a shell.
Sully glanced at me with a soft smile and a new layer was added to the tug inside me from earlier. Anna called from Joe’s help with the big platter-sized bowl of pasta and meatballs.
It had been a long time since I’d been at a family meal. My dad was a certified bachelor these days, after my mom passed away. They had a good relationship, but I was pretty sure I’d been the real link between them. Once I’d gone away to school, things had changed between them, then my mom got sick.
I’d planned to move home to take care of her, but she’d already been ready to go. She’d gone mercifully quick, and buttoning up their life had been almost anticlimactic.
My dad had been sad, but it was more of a guilt-ridden sadness along with a good bit of relief.
Between Booker and his career and my blooming career, there had been no real reason to come home after that.
Funny that Indigo Valley had been my first thought after the divorce had been final.
It had to be the simpler life.
Sullivan met my gaze with a smile as he helped Danny cut up his meatball.
Not this man.
It couldn’t be this easy, could it?