A Wedding in Apple Grove (27 page)

Her insides were on fire. With the flick of his tongue, he added to the heat. Shifting her up, he slid her jeans off and tossed them to the floor. He sat on the bed next to her and let his fingers glide from her shoulder, along her collarbone, to the hollow of her throat. When his fingers slid down her breastbone, she moaned.

“Does that feel good?”

His voice added a new dimension to his sensual foray. “Yes,” she hissed.

He stopped. “Did I hurt you?”

“No.”

Their gazes collided and she knew she wasn't the only one turned on. When she nodded, he leaned over her and let his tongue trace the path his fingertips had journeyed. He blew on the skin he'd moistened with his tongue, tormenting her.

“Dan… I—”

“Not yet, Meg,” he whispered. “Let me show you how I feel about you.” His lips claimed hers in a heart-pounding kiss that had her body going limp and her juices flowing to the surface.

One look and she knew he understood. His lips tortured her as they slid along her collarbone to her throat. Molding her in his hands, he played with her breasts until the nipples pearled in his hands and she was writhing beneath him.

He put his mouth on her and she shot up and over the first peak. When her eyes could focus again, he'd stripped off his shirt and was stepping out of his work pants. “Again,” he urged as he straddled her and bent to take her other breast in his mouth.

She grabbed a hold of him with her good hand and gave herself over to the splendor of his lovemaking. When he suckled her deeply into his mouth another orgasm shook her to the bone, and still he didn't pause to take off his tight-knit boxers or her black lace panties.

He swept his hands up her sides and down over her breasts with a feather-light touch, again and again, until her skin was sensitized and her core was weeping for him to fill her.

“I can't wait,” she moaned.

“Come just once more for me… please?” He slid his hands inside her panties and slowly inched them down to her knees. His dark and desperate gaze set off a chain reaction. Her heart filled to bursting as her belly fluttered and her head spun. When he slid one finger inside her, she reached for him, but he evaded her. “This first time is all you, Meg.”

He slid down next to her on the bed and nipped her shoulder. Sliding his tongue downward, he took her breast in his mouth as he slid a second finger inside of her. Working her with fingers, teeth, lips, and tongue, she screamed out his name as she came apart in his arms.

“You're like a wildfire, burning out of control.”

He pulled her beneath him. His hot flesh pulsed against her.
When
did
he
strip
out
of
his
briefs?

He traced the tip of his tongue around the rim of her ear. “Burn for me, Meg.”

She moaned as he nipped her earlobe.

His big body stilled, and she felt the tension coming off of him in waves.

She lifted her hips and brushed against his erection, inviting him to take what they both desperately wanted, but he held back as he covered himself with latex. Sheathed, ready to protect her, he paused. “Meg, tell me what you want.”

She looked up into his eyes and saw everything she felt reflected back at her. “You, Daniel. I want you.”

He slipped the tip of his erection inside of her. “What if you change your mind?”

She lifted her hips again; this time he groaned out her name. “I won't.”

He slowly withdrew and then surged into her.

Meg knew the answer in her heart; all she had to do was share it with Dan. She arched her back so he was as deep as he could go. “I love you, Dan.”

Her words seemed to break the tight leash he had on his control. He drove into her again and again, coaxing her with whispered words, lips, and tongue to come with him.

She willingly followed, soaring into the heavens with his whispered words filling her heart. “I love you, Meg.”

Meg woke to the scent of coffee. She opened her eyes and saw a swirl of steam and a bright red mug. “You made me coffee?” She sat up and shifted so she was sitting with her back against the headboard.

“It was a hardship, but you're worth it.” He bent so he could capture her lips in a kiss that had her skin tingling and parts of her ready for another bout of lovemaking.

Instead, he drew back and handed the mug to her. She blew across the surface and sipped. “Your coffee beats Peggy's any day.”

He grinned at her. “Speaking of Peggy…” he said slowly.

She frowned. “I wasn't.”

He took a step back and held up his hands. She worked hard to concentrate on what he was saying—all those yummy muscles were hard to dismiss.

“I just didn't want you to hear it from anyone else; the pic you sent was from the other night when I was in the diner. It was funny—one bite of pie and we started talking piecrust.”

She grinned into her cup and sipped. “I hate it when you talk pastry with another woman.”

He laughed. “Well, one thing led to another and we have a contest going.”

Her interest piqued, she asked, “What kind of contest?”

“We're both going to bake pie for the turkey supper and not tell anyone which is which and we'll see at the end of the dinner whose piecrust wins.”

“How will you know whose is whose?”

“That is the beauty of the plan—it's like a blind taste-testing, but I'm leaving the judging up to my aunt and Mrs. Winter to decide.”

She tucked her legs beneath her and the sheet slid off her shoulder. His eyes widened and his nostrils flared; she loved that she got to him as quickly as he did to her. She'd hate to feel this way alone. It totally sucked being in love alone—been there, survived that.

He closed the distance between them and reached for her mug. “I think we need a shower.” He set it on the bedside table and lifted her into his arms. “Let's start with your hair and work our way down.”

She shivered at the blatant desire in his eyes. “If we get a baggy and some duct tape, we won't have to worry about my hand getting wet and we could start by washing you.”

He changed direction and headed downstairs.

“You didn't have to carry me all the way down here. I could have walked.”

He bent slightly and opened the drawer in the corner of the kitchen. “There should be a roll of duct tape there.”

She pulled it out and he spun around and asked her to open the cabinet above them. “The Baggies are up there.”

“Really, Dan, I can walk—”

“I can't bear to let you go yet, Meg,” he confessed. “Humor me.”

She laid her head on his shoulder. “I love you, Dan.”

“Good.”

She pinched his ear.

“Ouch! What was that for?”

“I just told you I loved you, damn it.”

“And I just said good.”

“And you think that's OK because…”

“I'd hate to be in love alone. I love you, Megan Maureen Mulcahy.”

She kissed the ear she'd just pinched. “You're right,” she teased. “It is a good thing.”

***

Meg couldn't stop smiling. She was in a good mood and knew she was never going to hear the end of it. Grace knew she hated to work in the office and if Meg was in a good mood, Grace would just badger her until she told Grace why.

Despite that possibility, she was humming when Dan dropped her off Monday morning. It might have been the eye-popping kiss they'd just shared. Whatever the reason, nothing could bring her down today.

Grace stared at her when she opened the door. “You're late.”

“Sorry,” Meg told her. “I'm not used to office hours, so I wasn't sure what time to get here.”

Her sister snorted out a laugh. “Good one, Meg.”

To her surprise, her sister went back to whatever she was doing on her computer, ignoring Meg.

They worked in companionable silence for the rest of the morning until Meg made the mistake of looking at the clock and then her sister, saying, “I'm hungry, do you want lunch?”

Grace shot to her feet and said, “OK, tell me. I can't stand it.”

Meg shook her head. “Tell you what?”

“Don't pretend you don't know what I'm talking about. Just because you're older than me doesn't mean that I have no idea what you and that gorgeous hunk of soccer coach have been doing together.”

“For the record, what business is it of yours?”

Grace put her hands on her hips. “I'm your sister! I should know what's really going on before Peggy finds out and starts spreading rumors that might not be true.”

Meg agreed and said, “Dan and I are enjoying spending time with one another.”

Grace snorted again.

Meg frowned. “Well, we are.”

“Playing canasta, no doubt.”

Meg smiled. “Grandpa always loved playing cards when we were kids.”

“OK,” Grace said. “So if anyone asks, I'm supposed to tell them what for instance?”

Meg shrugged. “Nothing. It's nobody's business what Dan and I happen to be doing.”

“For God's sake, Meg, we both grew up in Apple Grove… not in a convent. We both know that anything that goes on in town is fair game as far as the gossips are concerned.”

“One of those gossips happens to be Dan's great-aunt.”

“All the more reason to tell me first so I can make sure I spread the right story.”

“Ah,” Meg said slowly. “So you really don't care if I'm happy or not?”

Grace picked up her tape dispenser and threw it at Meg's head.

Meg ducked in time and it hit the wall behind her.

“Of course I care.” Grace folded her arms. “I just would prefer hearing it from you than from Miss Trudi or Mrs. Winter.”

“Fair enough,” Meg said. And it was. “Dan and I are having a mutually satisfying relationship… with all the trimmings.”

Grace's eyes rounded. “He has a seriously stellar set of abs.”

Meg sighed. “Mmmm.”

“I'm not asking you to spill everything—” her sister began.

“Good,” Meg interrupted. “Because that's all I'm going to tell you.”

“But, Meg—”

The phone rang and Meg reached for it. Better to answer the phone than argue with her youngest sister. “Mulcahy's, Meg speaking.”

“Megan!” a deep voice answered. “I wasn't sure if you'd be at the shop.”

She frowned; the voice sounded familiar, but she couldn't place the face.

“I just got to town and was visiting with my mom. Will you wait for me?”

“I don't mean to be rude,” she said, “but who is this?”

There was a pause before he answered. “It's me, Jimmy.”

Meg's world ground to a halt as the past and all of the heartache came crashing back.

When she didn't say anything he said, “I want to see you, Meg.”

Suspicion filled her heart. She'd loved him so desperately when they were teenagers, and had been his hometown girlfriend every time he came back, but then he'd left—again—and she realized that she'd been convenient… nothing more than someone to be with so he didn't have to be alone. She'd never been important in Jimmy's life. “Why?”

“What do you mean, why? I always call you when I come home. Doesn't what we have mean anything to you?”

She couldn't believe she was having this conversation over the phone. Needing to get a grip so she didn't say something she'd regret, she quietly told him, “Yes. Our relationship has taught me one thing—you don't always get everything you want in life… but you get exactly what you need.”

Before he could respond, she hung up the phone.

“Who was that?”

She shot to her feet and strode to the front door. “Nobody. I'll be back later.”

“Wait,” her sister called out. “Where are you going?”

“I'm going to talk to Honey B.” Meeting Grace's questioning gaze, she finally told her sister, “That was Jimmy on the phone.”

“Van Orden?”

Meg nodded and left. The walk in the cool, fresh air cleared her head. By the time she walked into Honey's Hair Salon, she was ready to stand up for herself and blast the hell out of Jimmy Van Orden.

Honey's gaze met hers and then swept the salon. Every head had turned toward Meg. She sighed; may as well begin the way she intended to continue—with the truth. Clearing her throat she announced, “James Van Orden is back in town.”

She waited a beat, taking in the expectant looks on the faces of the women in the salon. Before anyone could ask, she crossed her arms and said, “Dan Eagan and I are having a mad, passionate affair.”

Honey smiled and asked, “What about Jimmy?”

“I'm convenient. If he felt anything more for me, he would have declared himself years ago and we would have worked out where and how to live. Dan helped me finally figure things out.”

“Are you sure?” Honey asked, watching Meg closely.

“Dan is the man I didn't realize I'd been waiting for. I'm in love, Honey B.”

Her friend's eyes filled with tears, but her hands were filled with the perm rods she'd been rolling on Mrs. Doyle's head. “Congratulations, Meg.”

One by one the ladies in the shop started clapping until Meg realized they weren't trying to make her feel uncomfortable; they were actually applauding the fact that she'd taken a huge step forward getting on with her life.

“He's such a good catch,” Mrs. Hawkins told her.

“He really fills out the seat of his jeans,” Mrs. Jones said with a grin.

“The boys on his team think the world of him,” Mrs. Doyle confided. “It takes a lot of hard work to step in and keep a team together and take them all the way to the state championships.”

Meg normally didn't gossip, but she felt she owed it to the ladies who were rallying around her. “I thought I was in love years ago… and then I met Dan and I learned the true value of loving someone and being loved in return.”

No one spoke until she added, “He's everything to me.”

Honey B. finished putting the rollers in Mrs. Doyle's hair, put the cotton batting around her face, covered the woman's head with a towel, and set the timer. While the other women took turns hugging Meg, Honey B. took off her gloves and washed up.

When it was her turn, she hugged Meg tight and whispered, “Dan's worth it. Jimmy never was.”

“Does Dan know that your old flame is back in town?”

Meg looked over at Mrs. Hawkins and shook her head. “I'm not sure. Jimmy called the shop and I hung up on him—I needed to talk to Honey B.”

“I'm sure if Grace was in the office at the time, then Peggy and Katie already know,” Mrs. Doyle said.

Honey brewed a fresh pot of coffee and the ladies sat down to plan out a strategy.

“Are you're interested in making that young man pay for what he did to you?” Mrs. Jones asked.

A part of Meg wanted to say yes, but deep down, there wasn't any room left in her heart for vengeance. All of those feelings had been replaced by the bone-deep love she felt for one very special man. “Not really.”

“Would you mind if a few of us let the word out about how you feel about Dan?” Mrs. Hawkins asked with a glance at Mrs. Doyle. “We do owe the man so much for saving our boys.”

As if on cue the door the shop opened and her teenaged nightmare walked back into her life. “I thought I'd find you here, Meg.”

“Jimmy?” She could not believe he'd show up here after the way she'd hung up on him. Did he think he could just keep waltzing back into her life, proving to her and the town just how little he valued her?

Before she could think of a snappy come back that would have the man heading for the hills, he'd grabbed a hold of her hand and pulled her into his arms and bent his lips to kiss her.

“Get your hands off my woman.” Dan's deep voice had Meg's head spinning.

“It's not what you think—” she began.

But Dan was focused on his adversary and was too busy staring him down to listen. “I think that someone in town called Van Orden and told him that his childhood sweetheart has finally stopped pining for him.”

The anger in Dan's voice had Meg realizing that he wasn't angry with her. “He caught me by surprise.” She paused then asked, “Who would do something like that?”

As soon as she asked, her gaze met Jimmy's and she knew—his mother. The woman never did approve of Meg for her son.

The ladies in the shop had been silent up until that point, but Mrs. Doyle agreed. “Just walks right in as if the months of silence in between visits never happened.”

“He always had more ego than brains,” Mrs. Hawkins added with a smile.

“Now wait just a minute,” Van Orden ground out.

“No,” Dan said, taking Meg by the hand and tucking her against his side. “You'd better listen because I'm only going to say this once.” He brushed his lips against her forehead. “Meg Mulcahy is the best thing that's ever happened to me.”

When Van Orden drew in a breath to speak, Dan pulled Meg flush against him and kissed her as if now was the only moment that mattered—the world could end and he wouldn't care as long as he had Meg in his arms. He lifted his head and looked over the top of Meg's head and asked, “Are you still here?”

“She's my girl—”

Dan hugged Meg to his heart and shook his head. “You had your chance over the last few years, but never did anything about it. In my book you forfeited any claim you had to Meg's heart.” He dipped down and kissed her; when he came up for air, he heard the sound of the door slamming and the ladies of the salon cheering.

“I love you, Meg.”

Meg looked as if she'd been given the sun and the moon. Heart in her eyes, she smiled. “I love you more.”

The door to the shop burst open and Dan spun around, fists ready to do serious damage to Van Orden, but it was the sheriff who stalked inside. Without a word he grabbed Honey B. and yanked her close for a kiss that had everyone in the shop hooting and hollering again. “You won't be going out to dinner with anyone else but me, Honey B. Harrington.”