Suddenly Last Summer (O'Neil Brothers 3)

He was back in a place that made him feel as if he were being suffocated. And now, to complicate things, he was with a woman who made him think of nothing but sex.

A woman who had walked off with the flashlight.

He followed her down the path, making his way, barely able to see where he was going, cursing fluently as his feet crunched on twigs and sank into something soft and unidentifiable.

“That’s a perfectly good pair of shoes ruined. I should have followed Gramps’s orders and driven straight back to Boston.”

She turned, almost blinding him with the beam of the flashlight. “So why didn’t you?”

“Because I’ve had a long day.” And because the sight of his grandmother’s pale face had been enough to weld his feet to the floor. “And the food is pretty good around here. I’m planning on hanging around for a while.”

“Good. Because whatever Walter says, your family needs you.” She paused, her shoulders stiff. “I apologize for shouting. You made me angry.”

“Yeah, I got that. Still, at least you didn’t smack me over the head with the flashlight. I should probably be grateful for that. Any chance you could shine it at my feet so I can see what I’m stepping in?”

“It’s a forest! How did you ever survive growing up here?”

“I didn’t wear expensive shoes.” He contemplated wiping them on something but decided it would make it worse. “We used to play down here when we were kids. Mom would send us out with a picnic and we played pirates on the lake and built a camp in the forest. We smeared ourselves with mud to camouflage ourselves and then hid when Gramps came looking for us.”

She eyed his suit. “I cannot imagine you filthy and covered in mud.”

“Take a closer look and you’ll see it now.” He cursed again as his foot slid. “These shoes are Italian.” Giving up on his feet, he glanced up though leaves and branches. “Tyler fell out of this one. He never could keep quiet. He was wriggling, fell and broke his arm. That was the first time I saw what bone looked like. He screamed himself hoarse. Jackson was white and rushing around trying to remember the first aid we’d been taught while I stood there thinking, it would be so cool to know how to fix that. The following winter Jackson broke his arm snowboarding and that was when I knew for sure I wanted to be a doctor. I was seven years old.” He grinned at her. “Of course, I also thought it would be a great way to pull women.”

She glared at him. “You don’t charm me. I’m still angry with you.”

“There’s no justice in the world.”

“You think women are impressed by the fact you’re a doctor?”

Plenty were, but he decided this wasn’t a good moment to mention that. “Obviously you’re not.”

“Maybe you should have chosen something impressive like brain surgery.”

“I could retrain. You think that would make a difference to my hit rate?”

Her scathing look told him she knew exactly how good his hit rate was. “If you’re trying to pull women you should change the way you tell the story—less mention of bone and more heroics might help.”

“You want heroics?”

“Every woman wants heroics.”

“Really? I had no idea. It’s a wonder I’ve scored at all in the past. So give me some help here—what do I have to do to impress you? Fight a moose? Wrestle a bear?”

“Wouldn’t that ruin your suit?” She was softening, her anger a faint glow instead of an intense burn.

“I could ask the bear to wait while I hang my jacket on a tree.” The scent of her hair made him dizzy. He was sure if a bear walked up now, he wouldn’t notice it.

“You pretend to worry about your suit, but you are quite at home in the forest.”

Sean’s foot sank into mud again and he turned the air blue. “Trust me, I really am worried about my suit. It’s done nothing to deserve this treatment.”

“So it has to be intellectual heroism. Nothing physical.”

“I have no problems with physical.” He moved closer to her and saw her back away fractionally. “I just might remove my clothes first.”

She backed away until she was pressed up against the tree. “Don’t flirt with me.”

“Why not? It’s the perfect way to take our minds off a bad day.” He planted his hand against the tree and smiled down at her, forcing himself not to kiss that mouth. Not yet.