The Courage To Love (Love On The North Shore) (6 page)

When Brendan’s fist connected with nothing but air, he lost his balance and fell to the ground.

“Leave her alone, Brendan. She’s not interested,” Sean said. His voice contained a clear warning of what would happen if Brendan bothered Mia again while she was in town. While he never sought out fights, he had the skills to decimate an opponent if the need arose.

From the ground, Brendan glared up at him but didn’t get back up. Instead he studied Mia, who now stood next to Sean, her arm brushing against his.

“You should mind your own business, O’Brien,” Brendan said, as a small group formed around them.

“Let’s go, Sean.” A soft hand touched his forearm, and he looked over at Mia who watched the growing crowd with alarm.

“Get off your ass, Brendan.”

Sean looked back as Brendan’s older brother, Liam, helped him up. Sean and Liam had graduated together, and Liam knew what a jerk his brother could be.

“I suggest you get him home and make sure you keep him away from my friend,” Sean said, before taking Mia by the hand and leading her away from the crowd.

He kept her hand in his as they crossed the common. On the stage the band started back up, but Mia didn’t mention dancing again. In fact, she remained silent until they climbed in his truck.

He started up the truck but kept it in park. “I’m sorry about that scene back there. Not everyone in town is like that.” He looked over at her as he spoke. Her carefree attitude from earlier no longer lit up her face, but at the same time she appeared calm.

“There’s nothing for you to be sorry about. It wasn’t your fault.” Mia met his gaze. “And thank you for your help.”

Heat climbed up his neck and he looked out the windshield. “Don’t mention it. Brendan gets like that when he’s drunk. He always has, even in high school.”

“Does it hurt?” she asked with genuine concern.

He almost asked what she referred to when her fingers slid across his jaw and the heat he’d felt a moment before spread.

“There’s already a bruise there.”

Uncomfortable with the concern he heard, he cleared his throat. “I’m fine.” From the corner of his eye, he saw Mia fold her hands in her lap, but his skin still burned where her fingers had been. “Are you okay?” he asked to fill the silence. Normally, he liked the quiet. Tonight, seated in the cab of his truck with this beautiful woman, he found it oppressive.

“Great. I had fun, well, until that anyway. It’s been a long time since I went to an event like that.”

Neither spoke again until they walked inside The Victorian Rose. The entire first floor appeared empty, but all the lights remained on.

“Thank you again for everything tonight.” Mia pulled the baseball cap off her head. “If you’re not busy, maybe we can go out again while I’m here.”

The overhead lights bounced off her hair, picking up the golden highlights, and he focused on that as his brain registered her words. He’d assumed that morning’s invitation came because she didn’t want to attend the town block party alone. This invitation didn’t fit with that assumption.

“Tomorrow I’m having dinner in Boston with an old friend, but maybe another night this week?”

“Yeah, sure.” No single straight man alive would turn down Mia Troy.

Mia’s famous smile spread across her face, making her look more like the movie star that graced the covers of magazines than the woman he’d eaten fried dough with at the party. Using all his will power he forced himself not to move closer and kiss her.

“Great. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Without any warning, Mia took a step closer and dropped a kiss on the developing bruise. “Goodnight. Thank you again.”

The simple kiss sent all the blood in his body south. “Goodnight.” Confused, he watched her climb the stairs, then with a slight shake of his head, he turned and went toward the kitchen. He needed something ice cold to cool him off before he set the entire house on fire.

Chapter 4

“So are you ready to leave yet?” Avery asked a few days later. “I can book you a room in Boston. Or maybe you can meet me in New York. I planned to stop there for a few days before coming to Boston. I can push up my plans. We could go shopping, maybe catch a show on Broadway.”

Mia stood next to her bedroom window. Facing the back of the house, she saw the white gazebo surrounded by colorful flowers. The day before she’d taken a book out there and read for hours. Today the gazebo remained empty, and ominous dark clouds hung low in the sky.

“No, I’m good. I went to visit Gram and Pop a few days ago, and the other night I went to a town block party.” Outside, Sean’s huge Irish Wolfhound, Max, crossed the yard. She’d never realized how big the breed was until the dog had joined her in the gazebo while she read. “I had dinner with Casey this week, too. She works at a law office in Boston.”

“Seriously, Mia, a town block party? It’s worse than I thought.”

Even when they’d lived in Woodlawn before Mia landed her first TV role, Avery had disliked small town life. She constantly bugged her mom to take her into Boston or New York. After moving to California and spending most of her time in cities, her disdain for small towns only grew.

“How boring was that?”

“Knock it off, Avery. I had fun.” The memory of eating fried dough covered with cinnamon and sugar came to the forefront of her mind. Quickly that memory faded and was replaced by the image of Sean protecting her from the drunk guy. She’d never had a guy intervene on her behalf like that. Sure she’d had a bodyguard to keep over-zealous fans or photographers away, but she paid them to do that. If not for the fat paychecks they received, she doubted most would lift a finger for her. Sean had stepped in because he wanted to, and she found that incredibly sexy.

“If you say so. How’s Gram and Pop?” Avery asked, sounding unconvinced.

“They’re fine. They want us to come by when you get here.” From the other side of the yard, Sean appeared, walking the same path his dog had a moment earlier, a tool box in his hand. She’d only seen him once since Saturday night. Sunday she spent most of the day in Boston with Casey, one of the few friends she’d stayed in contact with after leaving Harvard, and the day before his truck had been gone most of the day.

“Hello, Mia. Did you hear me?”

“Sorry, what?” Mia asked as Sean disappeared from her line of sight.

“Did you see Rae Ann? She called me the other day, but I was out.” Born a month apart, Avery and their cousin Rae Ann had always been close despite the distance between them.

“She stopped by for a little while. Did you know she’s pregnant again? She’s due in December.”

For another twenty minutes or so Avery bombarded her with questions about the family.

“Maybe you should skip New York and come here and visit everyone. Gram and Pop would love to see you. You could stay here with me for a few days. I can check with Sean and see if he has any vacancies soon.”

“Sean?”

“The owner, well, one of the owners here. He and his mom run the bed and breakfast.” Outside a huge flash of light erupted across the sky followed by a clap of thunder.

“I know all about The Victorian Rose. I just didn’t realize you were on a first name basis with the owners.”

Mia didn’t miss the curiosity in her sister’s voice.

“Are you having a little extra fun while you’re out there? Is that why you are so eager to stick around?”

Another flash of light lit up the dark afternoon sky and a deluge of rain hit the window. “Knock it off, Avery. I’m not doing anything but relaxing. Seriously, why don’t you fly out here early and stay with me? I can pick you up in Boston. It’ll be fun.”

“I’ll think about it. And before I forget, I ran into Brad St. Pierre at Club 20 last weekend. He asked about you.”

Mia rolled her eyes. She’d first met Brad when she’d gone back to acting after an attempt at college. They’d dated on and off for years, but after their last break up she’d promised herself no more. Brad was a nice guy, but they’d tried it enough times now to know it didn’t work between them. “If you see him again tell him I said hello. I don’t think I’ve seen him since last November.”

When her sister started with the usual questions about her failed attempts at romance with Brad, Mia brought the conversation to an end. For whatever reason, her sister never understood why they couldn’t work things out.

Outside, Sean appeared again, this time heading back toward the house. Tossing her phone down, she headed downstairs in the hopes of intercepting him. They still hadn’t agreed on another date and, man, if she didn’t want to do that. The man occupied way too many of her thoughts for her not get to know him better before she left North Salem.

Sean came around the corner into the back hallway just as she reached the bottom step. Drenched from head to toe, water dripped down his face and his dark gray T-shirt was plastered to his body, clearly outlining the hard, well-formed muscles it covered. Living and working in Hollywood, she’d come in contact with plenty of drop-dead sexy men, yet for some reason the sight of Sean stopped her short. Was it because he’d refined his body through real hard work rather than a combination of steroids and hours with a personal trainer? Or maybe it was the combination of the ugly purple bruise on his face and the thin scar near his right eye that gave him that bad boy look so many men strived for but most never quite achieved. Whatever it was, Sean had it.

“Sean, I hoped to see you today,” Mia said, acting as if she hadn’t used the back stairway knowing he was on his way inside.

“Is something wrong?” He met and held her gaze, not once looking anywhere but her face.

She stepped off the bottom step and smiled at him. “No. I wondered if you were busy tonight. If you’re free I thought we could go out.”

When he stared at her, she wondered if perhaps she had food from lunch stuck in her teeth or something. She didn’t ask men out often, but when she did, they said yes without blinking an eye. It had  always been that way, so Sean’s continued silence surprised her.

“What did you have in mind? I need to stick around here until Ma gets back. She drove a friend to a doctor’s appointment in Boston.”

“Honestly, I thought maybe a ghost tour in Salem, but now it’s raining so maybe just dinner.” The attraction booklet in her room listed the ghost tours as a popular event held every night from mid-spring until Thanksgiving.

“She’s supposed to be home around six, but with traffic you never know.”

How awful it must be to always have every minute of your life dictated by others. “I don’t mind waiting. Find me when she gets home.”

“Will do.” Sean moved closer to the staircase. “I need to change.”

“See you later.” She smiled again and watched him head up the stairs. When she’d decided on a little vacation before work started on the movie, dating hadn’t been on her agenda. Regardless, it was there now. Humming to herself she consider what outfit she should wear tonight as she popped into the kitchen. Then after grabbing an iced tea, she returned to her room and the script on her nightstand. Over the years she’d developed the reputation of always being well-prepared for scenes. Right now she didn’t consider herself even close to prepared for her upcoming role.

After a few hours of reading over the script, Mia tossed the pages down and pulled off the glasses she only used for reading. So focused on the script, she had lost track of time, and now the clock next to her bed read six thirty. Since Sean hadn’t come up looking for her, his mother must not be home yet. Rather than sit around and wait for him, she checked her reflection in the bathroom mirror, then went in search of him.

She’d just reached the bottom steps to the front foyer when the door opened and a man, perhaps in his early fifties, walked in. Well over six feet tall, the man had a full head of dark blond hair streaked with gray, and his face was covered by a well-trimmed beard. She’d never laid eyes on him before, yet somehow he looked familiar. He wasn’t a guest. She’d met all of them over the past few days. Perhaps this was Ray, the man Maureen played bridge with.

Mia smiled and wondered if she should say something. On the day she’d arrived, Maureen had appeared just moments after she walked in. Right now, though, the seconds ticked by and Maureen wasn’t here. Neither was Sean.

“Do you know if Sean O’Brien is around?” the man at the door asked as he glanced around.

“He should be. He’s probably in the office, I can go check for you.”

The man’s gaze focused on her face, and she knew he was trying to place her. “Yeah. I’ll wait here. Thanks.”

She considered asking him for his name, but then thought better of it. The man didn’t seem interested in talking to her, and she didn’t want to draw to much attention to herself.

Seated in front of the computer, Sean’s hands danced across the keyboard, his eyes glued to the screen. He’d exchanged his wet clothes from earlier for a dark blue Harley-Davidson T-shirt and well-worn jeans.

She remained in the doorway unable to draw her eyes away from his work-worn hands as an image of them moving across her body materialized. “Hi, Sean. There’s someone here asking for you.”.

Sean’s hands stilled but hovered over the keyboard as he turned his gaze toward her. “Now? We’re not expecting any guests today.”