A Christmas Miracle for Daisy (Taming of the Sheenans Book 5) (25 page)

Despite Cormac’s misgivings
about one more holiday event, it ended up being a great meal. Daisy loved the special kids’ menu and taking a picture with the two Santa’s helpers that walked around the dining room chatting with the kids.

After they’d finished eating and talking and visiting with the elves, Cormac suggested they go ice skating. Cormac took Daisy upstairs to change into warmer clothes and then once back downstairs, they all headed to Miracle Lake in Cormac’s SUV.

Miracle Lake was a fancy name for what was essentially just a frozen pond in the middle of the woods ten minutes outside of town. In the evenings and weekends, kids would light a bonfire and roast marshmallows. During the day you could rent skates from the shack at the east end of the lake, or buy something hot to drink.

By the time they rented skates and got on the ice, it was feeling a little crowded. Whitney had never been a great skater and it’d been years since she’d last been on the ice and she wobbled her way around, laughing as she struggled not to fall.

Cormac could skate. He and his brothers had all played ice hockey growing up and he moved on the ice the same way he moved off the ice—with confidence and skill.

After a while Cormac suggested Whitney take Daisy’s other hand and they made it around once before Whitney hit a rough patch of ice and lost her balance, pulling everyone down with her.

Cormac broke Daisy’s fall, but Whitney went down hard, landing on her hip. She laughed it off but Cormac saw her limping as she tried to skate back to the side.

“Hurt?” he asked.

She shook her head. “Fine. But I think I’ll sit for a bit and let my bones settle into place.”

“That was a hard fall.”

“I’m not as young as I used to be.”

“Why don’t you and Daisy sit here on the bench and I’ll go get us some hot ciders?”

Daisy and Whitney huddled together for warmth on the bench, which was little more than a fallen log dragged close to the edge of the frozen pond.

Cormac returned with three cups, and took a seat at the end, next to Whitney. Sipping their cider, they laughingly relived Whitney’s spectacular fall.

“It was terrible,” Whitney choked, tapping the back edge of her blades to knock off excess ice. “I feel terrible for bringing you all down with me. Next time I swear I’ll let go of Daisy’s hand.” Whitney wrapped an arm around the girl. “Daisy, you’re sure you’re okay?”

“Yes.” Daisy blew on her cider. “It didn’t hurt at all.”

Whitney turned her head and looked the other way. “How about you? Are you going to be sore tomorrow?”

“I’ll survive,” he said, smiling.

She smiled back at him and his gaze met hers and held. Cormac’s gaze was so warm she went hot all over. It might be freezing outside but he was not.

He wanted her. His desire was a tangible thing and it made her burn. When he looked at her like this, it was far too easy to remember that once upon a time he’d loved her completely. If not emotionally, then certainly physically.

She told herself she didn’t want sex, she wanted love, but the sudden heat between them made her heart race and her blood pound in her veins.

She’d missed him, so very much.

And even though in Marietta, she’d changed hotels, avoided office hours where she might see him, skipped dinners and activities that she could, again to limit contact, all she wanted right now was to be with him. Just being near him made her feel more alive and the world suddenly became more interesting.

*

This time she
kissed him.

She leaned in close, and brushed her mouth across his. It was a light, fleeting kiss. A taste, a tease. His mouth was warm and firm. Just that brief touch made everything inside her tingle.

“Do it again,” he dared her, his deep voice raspy.

Her gaze locked with his. Heat flared in his eyes, sending a delicious shiver shooting down her spine.

“You know this stuff will get us into serious trouble,” she answered breathlessly.

“I’ve got my hands pretty full right now. Not sure if I need more trouble,” he replied, cupping her chin and bringing her mouth back to his. “But I can’t resist you.”

His lips covered hers and the firm pressure parted hers. His tongue flicked her lower lip, and she arched helplessly, tingling with pleasure. The kiss felt so good and her fingers itched to touch him.

“Daddy! Why are you kissing Whitney?” Daisy giggled, squeezing between Cormac and Whitney, breaking them apart.

Blushing, Whitney glanced down into Daisy’s face. The girl’s eyes were bright, her expression hopeful as she looked from Cormac to Whitney and back again. “Does this mean you’re going to marry her?”

They both froze. Cormac’s eyes locked with hers. Whitney’s mind went completely blank. For a moment no one said anything and then Whitney managed to jump to her feet without spilling cider or knocking over a young child. “I might try to skate some more. I’m feeling much better.”

And she staggered onto the ice, her hip aching, her knee now throbbing but she valiantly made a circle around the pond hoping the cold air would cool her feverish state.

This was crazy and dangerous. Cormac didn’t ever play fair. She couldn’t let emotion and passion cloud her thinking. She was here for work—and a relationship with Daisy—not for a dalliance with Cormac.

Although dallying with Cormac right now sounded really, really appealing…

Cormac suddenly skated up behind her, and his hands went to her waist to steady her as she nearly tripped over her own feet in surprise. “You are adorable, Whitney. Like a newborn foal on ice.”

She shot him a panicked glance. “You said it’d be like riding a bike.”

“I’m beginning to wonder how well you ride a bike.”

She laughed and nearly fell over and grabbed at his arm for support. “Probably not all that well. Where’s Daisy?”

“Brock and the twins just arrived. Daisy wants to stay with them and Brock said he didn’t mind. He and Mack are going to get in some stick time for hockey and Molly promised to look after Daisy. Later Brock will feed her lunch and then drop her off at the hotel.” His gaze met hers, the clear gray green depths full of heat. “Which means you and I are on our own.”

‡

T
hey walked hand
in hand to Cormac’s SUV, and Whitney’s pulse raced like mad. She darted nervous side glances at Cormac’s profile and her heart turned over every time she looked at him.

He was so gorgeous and there was no man on the planet who could kiss like Cormac Sheenan, but the fact that she was so very attracted scared her to death.

He’d broken her heart before…as well as her trust. Could she really afford to risk it all again?

“You keep looking at me as if I’m about to bite you,” he said, unlocking the car door and holding the passenger side open for her.

She laughed weakly as she climbed in. “I think I don’t know what to think.”

He didn’t close the door. He stepped closer and leaned in, his broad shoulders filling the space. He looked amazing up close. She loved how white his teeth were against his skin, and the little creases at his eyes, and even the bright green flecks in the cool gray depths. Her fingers itched to touch him. It was all she could do to keep her hands to herself.

“You don’t have to be afraid of me,” he said. “You know me.”

Yes, she did. Which made this all that much harder. “We are in the middle of two big projects,” she said, her voice pitched low. “I made a commitment to you, to getting these jobs done. I’m not sure I can handle the stress if I’m not calm and focused.”

He lowered his head, his lips brushing hers. “I’m not going to hurt you,” he murmured. “I never want to hurt you again.”

Her chest squeezed tight. She struggled to drag air into her lungs. “I don’t think you have ever meant to hurt me, but it has happened.”
Twice
, she mentally added. “And with Daisy now involved, it’s important we take extra care to protect her.” Her eyes searched his, wanting him to understand because it would be so easy to lose her head and get close to him but her gut told her it’d have disastrous results.

“We have so much history,” she added. “And you know from our history, I have a huge soft spot for you.” Her lips curved, her smile tremulous. “But this time we have to look at the big picture. I am here for work. I’m on your payroll until the end of the month. It wouldn’t be fair to Daisy, or my publishing group, to do something impulsive that would just later blow up in our face.”

He lifted a strand of hair from her cheek and pushed it back behind her ear. “Then let me earn your trust back. Let me prove to you that we can work, and that we can be good together again.”

“What about Daisy? She could be hurt by this. And I don’t want her hurt—”

“We will both protect her, you and me. Together this time.”

“But there isn’t a you and me. There is only you. You have custody. You have power. You have a huge company, where I work for you. I’m your Girl Friday. I’m talented and convenient.” Her lips quivered and she bit ruthlessly down.

“I’m not trying to be a pessimist,” she added after a moment, her voice unsteady, “but Daisy will be hurt by all this. I know it. I can feel it. We’re not okay. We’re not who we were, and we’re not sure who we are now. I’m here, but I don’t see how I fit into the future. I wish I could see more of the future—”

“You don’t have to see the future,” he interrupted. “It’s not here yet. We just have to try today. We need to live today. And I think we’re doing that. Let’s keep doing that—”

“I loved you,” she interrupted hoarsely.

“And I loved you, too. I wanted to marry you—”

“How can you say that? You didn’t. You most definitely did not want to marry me.”

“I did. Briefly. But then I panicked. I didn’t want to make you unhappy. I didn’t want to do to you what my dad did to my mom.”

“You didn’t want to hurt me, so you hurt me.”

“Yes.”

She shook her head, tears falling. “That’s cruel, you know? You dread failing me so you fail me. That’s awesome.”

“I’m ashamed—”

“You should be,” she choked, cutting him off. “It’s one thing to break my heart, but it’s another to never even speak to me about it, or try to explain. You made the pain worse. You made it worse by cutting me off…pushing me away.”

“I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t know what to do. I wasn’t raised to use works. And I screwed up. I know it. I regretted it then, and regret it now—”

“Can I ask you something?” Her gaze met his and held. “What has changed? How have you changed? What makes you a different man now?”

“Daisy changed me.”

“How?”

“I don’t know. But she cracked that protective wall I had around my heart and once it cracked open, it just…came down.” Cormac reached out to wipe away the tears from one cheek and then the other. “I’m not that man I was. I never want to be that man again. But I’m also not perfect. I will fail you again, but I know this, I’d rather try and fail with you, than not try and fail without you. You’re the only woman I want in my life, Whitney. You’re the only woman for my life, Whitney. Give me a chance to show you we can make this work.”

“And what if you change your mind? What if you wake up in a few months or a few years and realize this was all a mistake?”

“I won’t. I am different now. I’m not that guy you met….not that bachelor in a bar. I’m a dad. A family man. But my family isn’t complete without you.”

Whitney couldn’t see through the tears. She couldn’t feel anything, either. At least, none of the things he wanted her to feel. “Cormac, you don’t mean this. You’re not the settle-down-kind-of-guy.”

“I need you to forgive me, baby.”

“I do forgive you. But that doesn’t mean I…trust…you.”

“So let me earn your trust. Let’s take our time. Take the pressure off. Let’s just enjoy each other. Can we do that? It would mean the world to me.”

“You’re trying awfully hard to close the deal, Sheenan.”

“I’m trying awfully hard to let my girl know I love her.”

Her heart fell, tumbling to her feet. This is how it’d been in the beginning. He just…did it…for her. “I’m not your girl.”