“You said you didn’t want anything serious, either,” he reminded her as he started the engine.

  “I don’t,” she fibbed, stunned that they were having such a conversation. “And I wasn’t flirting with the doctor. He was just trying to help. And clearly thinks you need to consider getting the hearing aids.”

  He banged a hand on the steering wheel. “I said I’m not ready for that yet.”

  She didn’t flinch. Because he sounded so utterly vulnerable beneath his anger, Leah’s irritation subsided immediately. “But Sean,” she said and touched his arm. “At some point, knowing your family, they’ll probably have an intervention and you’ll be forced to tell them what’s going on. Wouldn’t you rather tell them on your own terms?”

  “Then I’ll just stay out of their way until I’m ready,” he said.

  “You’re being a little stubborn,” she stated and huffed out an impatient breath.

  “What?” he asked, frowning.

  Leah repeated her words, then added, “And stubborness is a flaw, by the way. The art gallery is that way,” she said and hitched a thumb in the other direction. “You promised.”

  “I know,” he said and sighed. “I really don’t like fighting with you, Leah. Although,” he added and smiled, “it could be a good reason to have make up sex.”

  “Oh no,” she said the words with a fiery glare. “We not having sex anymore.”

  “We’re not?”

  “No,” she replied. “It will just be friendship and business.”

  “Business?”

  “Yes,” she said and smiled tightly. “The business of my art showing. Unless you’ve changed your mind?”

  “I haven’t changed my mind,” he said and drove into the parking area in front of the art gallery. “You’re the one who seems to do that.”

  Leah rallied her resolve and decided the best decision she’d ever made was the one to get their relationship back to platonic. Except, of course, later that afternoon, once they were back in Cedar River and at his house, she tumbled straight into bed with him again for several hours of passionate, uninhibited, mind-blowing sex. Afterward she was exhausted and completely out her mind with wanting him. And needing him. And loving him.

  So much for platonic.

  * * *

  When Sean arrived at his mother’s place on Wednesday, both his brothers were sitting in the kitchen. Of course he knew his mother had probably arranged the whole scene. He uttered an irritated greeting and was forced to listen to several minutes of pointless chitchat before Liam, who always got to the point with things, asked him a direct question.

  “Are you sick?”

  Sean’s back straightened. “Do I look it?”

  Kieran interjected in his best physician’s tone. “No, but there could be—”

  “I’m not sick,” Sean replied irritably. “I don’t have cancer, or lupus or heart disease or anything like that,” he said, looking at his mother. “So, relax, I’m fine.”

  Kieran’s gaze narrowed. “What about addiction?”

  Sean stilled instantly, looking at the concerned faces of the three other people in the room. Jesus, they actually thought he might be on the wagon from dependency of some narcotic. It was too ridiculous for words. He rarely drank, loathed cigarettes, hadn’t smoked weed since his early twenties and had never touched any other drug, even though it was readily available. His friends and colleagues had called him uptight and too straight and boring...but that scene had never interested him. He’d left Cedar River to get a life, not wreck his life.

  He laughed loudly. “I’m not detoxing, either. I know you think everyone who lives in LA is a drug addict, but that’s not the case, I assure you.”

  “Of course we don’t think that,” Kieran said and sighed. “But your behavior since you’ve been back could indicate—”

  “What exactly do you want me to say?” he interrupted and got to his feet. “Look, I’m not like the rest of you, okay. I don’t have that family first gene ingrained in my DNA. I liked my life in LA. I liked the work I did and the money I made and the house I lived in by the beach and the friends I had. But now I’m here, and I don’t want the third degree about why every time I see you guys.”

  “Getting angry isn’t helping,” Kieran said—or at least that’s what Sean thought he’d said.

  “I’m not angry,” he replied, irritated by his brother’s calm and even tone. “But you all need to back off.”

  “We can’t,” Liam said, shaking his head. “You’re family and like you said, for us, family comes first. I was thinking that maybe you’d like to come and work at the hotel. Connie begins her maternity leave at the end of this week and the assistant manager’s job is available.”

  Sean rolled his eyes. “I don’t know anything about running a hotel.”

  “You can learn,” his brother said. “And I really want to step back a bit more now that Kayla and I have two kids. What do you say?”

  Heat snaked up his spine. “No, thanks. I don’t need a job.”

  “You need something,” Kieran said. “Working might be a good diversion.”

  “From what?”

  “From whatever it is that’s haunting you.”

  It was his mother’s voice he heard—clear and obviously concerned. Sean let out a long breath and walked to his mother, hugging her briefly. “I’m fine, Mom. Looks like you have enough muscle here to help you move that furniture. I’ll see you later.”

  He left and headed into town, tamping down his irritation and keeping his foot off the gas to ensure he didn’t get a speeding ticket. He dropped by the hardware store and ordered some more paint and then stopped at the supermarket to pick up a few things. He was pushing a shopping cart when he spotted Leah in the produce section, sniffing melons. Her hair was down, and he experienced a familiar tightening in his gut at the sight of her. She moved with such an easy, feminine grace and he watched her for several seconds, remembering how good she felt in his arms, how sexy she was when her beautiful hair fanned over his chest, how utterly mesmerizing her lips were, how good it felt to have her in his arms.

  She looked up and their gazes clashed, but within seconds she was smiling, and Sean thought how odd it was that the tension in his gut seeped away. She had an unusual cathartic effect on him, as though her presence was some kind of balm, made to soothe and make things seem right with the world. He’d never met anyone like her. And certainly never been involved with anyone who was more friend than lover, even though the sex was out of this world.

  He pushed his cart forward and met her beside a table of beets. “Hey there.”

  “Hi. I’m just picking up a few things to make a pie,” she said and pointed to her cart. “You know, for Thanksgiving.”

  Sean had almost forgotten about the holiday. He knew his mother was expecting him to attend the family celebration at Kieran’s and of course he would show his face, but he knew he wasn’t in the frame of mind to linger. The truth was, he’d had his fill of family gatherings in the last week.

  “I won’t be making pie,” he said and grinned.

  Her brows furrowed. “Aren’t you seeing your family tomorrow?”

  He nodded. “Yeah. I thought I’d pick up a gift basket from the deli section.”

  “You can’t do that,” she retorted. “I’ll tell you what, come over tonight and I’ll teach you how to make apple pie and you can take it tomorrow.”

  Sean grimaced. “I suck at baking.”

  “You’re never too old to learn a new skill,” she reminded him. “I think my dad is going to see a play at the local theater tonight with your mom.”

  Sean’s gut twitched, and Leah noticed his darkening expression. “Don’t get all thingy about it,” she scolded. “They’re friends. You should be happy about that.”

  “Friends like we’re friends?” he remarked, tugging at his collar a little. “Anyway, I’d rather not think about it. It’s my mom, remember.”

  “You’re such a baby about some things,” she said and laughed. “I’ll see you tonight, about seven.”

  She headed off in the other direction, and Sean remained where he was for a moment, watching the gentle sway of her hips as she moved, thinking things he figured were a little too X-rated for the supermarket. When he got home a short while later, he put the groceries away and settled at the table with his laptop and cell phone. He had a few ideas on who to invite to Leah’s show and began making arrangements.

  At about ten to seven he grabbed a six-pack of cider and walked to Ivan’s place. The dogs barked for a few seconds and then greeted him excitedly. He petted them both just as Leah appeared on the front veranda. It was a cold night, and she was dressed in jeans, a colorful tunic and bright purple moccasins.

  “You look nice,” he said as he followed her inside.

  Sean passed her the cider and then quickly ditched his jacket before following her down the hall and into the kitchen. He grinned when he noticed how she had the bowls already lined up on the countertop. She flipped the tops of two cider bottles and placed the rest in the refrigerator.

  “Ready for your baking lesson?” she asked and slid a bottle across the counter.

  “Sure,” he replied.

  Half an hour later Sean admitted to himself that pie making wasn’t nearly as bad an idea as he’d first thought. As usual, Leah was good company and patient as she explained the art of making pastry.

  “Do you do this often?” he asked, smiling at the smear of flour on her nose.

  She nodded. “I like to cook. I like being creative, I guess.”

  “When I lived in LA, there was an Italian place around the corner, and I used to order dinner to go at least three nights a week. Shameful.” He tsked, then grinned.

  She shook her head with mock dismay. “Preparing food is half the fun.”

  “Well,” he said agreeably, “it’s fun when you have company. By the way, Liam offered me a job today.” He shrugged, not sure why he was telling her, since he had no intention of accepting the offer.

  “Really?”

  He briefly explained about Connie’s maternity leave and how Liam wanted to step back a little from his workload. “Oh, and Kieran thinks I’m back in town because I’m a recovering drug addict.”

  She laughed loudly. “They don’t know you very well, do they? Anyone can see that you’re too vanilla to do drugs.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “That your bad boy reputation is just a disguise for your Goody Two-shoes reality.”

  Sean’s hands stilled and he stared at her. “My what?”

  “I’m not fooled,” she said and bumped her hip against his. “You like helping people. Like, hanging out with my dad, or helping me get over my fear of failure. Addicts aren’t that selfless. Besides, I don’t imagine you’d like being out of control. I’ve also noticed that you hardly drink, don’t smoke and have no obvious vices.”

  “I sound near perfect.”

  She laughed again. “Hardly.”

  The camaraderie he experienced being with her was humbling. And arousing. And confusing. “I’m sorry if I was a jerk yesterday. I don’t mean to be.”

  “I know,” she said and passed him a wooden spoon. “Some habits are heard to break. So, are you going to take Liam up on his offer?”

  “Of course not,” he replied. “I don’t have any idea how to run a hotel.”

  Leah rose one speculative brow, motioned toward the lumps of pastry dough on the counter and shrugged. “I guess it’s like anything—you could learn. And it is the O’Sullivan Hotel, and you are an O’Sullivan,” she reminded him. “Just saying.”

  “He only offered because he thinks I need something to keep me occupied. I’m not interested in a pity offer.”

  She turned, resting one hip against the counter, and reached up to touch his face with her flour-smeared hands, turning his gaze toward her. “You don’t think it could be because you’re smart, successful, influential and have a stellar résumé?”

  Sean’s gut took a dive. Damn, the woman knew which buttons to push to make him think. “There’s that near perfect thing again.”

  “I’m only saying,” she said and dropped her hand, “that you shouldn’t be suspicious of everyone’s motives, particularly not your family’s. It’s well-known that Liam has really turned the hotel around in the last five years. It’s something of an icon in this town and important to not only the dozens of people who work there, but also the rest of the community. Other businesses rely on it to bring tourist dollars into town. Don’t underestimate the value of the hotel—without it, Cedar River wouldn’t be flourishing, but would be just like so many other small towns around the state. I wouldn’t be so quick to dismiss the idea, or what you could bring to it to ensure it continues to grow. Besides, who knows where it might lead. It doesn’t mean you have to give up any other plans to get back to the music industry. And maybe Liam needs you, have you thought about that?”

  Sean stared at her, mesmerized by the passion in her voice. “You know, you should run for mayor.”

  “Maybe I will one day,” she replied. “You should at least consider it.”

  “I will,” he said and nodded, grabbing her hands, forgetting the cooking lesson for a moment as he urged her closer. “I’d prefer to think about something else at the moment.”

  She laughed. “I know exactly what you’re thinking about,” she said as her hips came into contact with his.

  Sean kissed her hotly, because he wanted to and mostly because he couldn’t help himself. She kissed him back, and her arms settled around his waist. She felt so good in his arms.

  “Leah,” he whispered and trailed his mouth down her neck, lingering at the soft skin below her jaw because he couldn’t get enough of the way she shivered when he kissed her there. “I don’t think anyone has ever done what you do to my libido.”

  “Have you grown tired of long-legged blondes?”

  “I like brunettes,” he muttered, kissing her neck, “with purple and pink streaks. And great legs.”

  “And a flat chest?” she teased and dug her fingers into his back, urging him closer.

  Sean pulled back a little and grasped her chin, gently forcing her to meet his gaze. “You are beautiful,” he said, looking at her mouth because its lusciousness mesmerized him. “Don’t you let anyone ever tell you different.”

  Sean watched as her eyes glittered, and then glistened. He hadn’t expected tears, and they threw him, forming an ache deep in his chest, making him want to haul her closer and protect her from whatever it was that was upsetting her. The notion instantly stunned him. Had he ever experienced such an intense and overprotective reaction before? He couldn’t recall, couldn’t remember ever experiencing such a raw and powerful pull toward another human being.

  It shocked him. Calmed him. Terrified him. And the idea that he was so at the mercy of his feelings made Sean want to simultaneously run and stay.

  He wiped the tear that formed at the corner of her eye and dropped his forehead to hers. What could he say? Let me stay? Let me make love to you? My arms feel empty when you’re not in them?

  Sean shook off his thoughts. He couldn’t get in any deeper. And yet he didn’t know how to drag himself out of what he was feeling. And that meant he had to end it. Soon.

  * * *

  Leah sent Sean home not long before her dad returned, pushing the fabulously baked pie into his hands and accepting a long and delicious kiss before he left. It would have been easier to ask him to stay the night, or at least follow him back to his place and enjoy a long night of lovemaking. But...she had to keep her boundaries strong on occasion so he didn’t see how much she craved him.

  Or loved him.

  It had been a startling revelation and one she wasn’t entirely ready to admit, since it had crept up on her, sometimes even making her question her sanity. Because she had to be out of her mind to fall in love with a man like Sean—who’d made it clear he wasn’t in the market for love or anything remotely resembling a relationship.

  But she was in love with him, despite the futility that accompanied that love in her heart.

  It was nothing like her feelings for Gary, or even Xavier. Gary had swooped in and used her attraction to confuse and manipulate her. And Xavier hadn’t been much better. But there was nothing manipulative about Sean—he was forthright about their arrangement. They were friends who had sex. Falling in love with him was on her, not him. She certainly wasn’t about to burden him with the news, not when he had so much of his own going on. Still, she knew she needed to take a step back, so sending him home after making pies was a step in that direction. Even if all she truly wanted was to fall into his arms and never leave.

  Her father returned a little after ten, and she noticed how much happier he seemed lately and figured it had little to do with her moving back in, and everything to do with Gwen.

  “You’ve been baking,” he said and gestured to the pans drying on the draining board.

  “We made pies for tomorrow.”

  His brow cocked. “We?”

  She looked away for a moment, busying herself with drying dishes. “Sean came over.”

  Ivan’s expression softened. “You’ve been spending a lot of time together.”

  She shrugged. “We’re just friends, Dad, I told you.”

  “Are you sure that’s all?”

  Leah met her father’s gaze and sighed. “You know that’s not all. But it’s complicated. He’s not...emotionally available. I know what you’re thinking,” she added when she saw his expression shift. “Trust me to fall for the wrong guy, again.”

  “You think he’s wrong for you?”