Suddenly Last Summer (O'Neil Brothers 3)

She decided that with this man as her date ambiance was irrelevant because no woman in her right mind would be focusing on anything but him. And it wasn’t just his looks that drew her, he was sharp and clever and talking to him gave her a rush she could never remember having with anyone else.

She barely remembered what she and Pascal had talked about. It had been a relationship based around food. Their job. And he’d never shown any interest in what she wanted. Never asked her about her dreams. Never paid her the attention Sean did.

She thought about the night they’d spent in the tent. The night he’d spent just listening while she’d spilled all her secrets.

And he was listening now, his gaze warm and attentive. “You’ve done a good job with the Boathouse. It will give Snow Crystal a real boost.”

“Without you it would not have been finished, but it all had a happy ending. And talking of happy endings, little Sam went home yesterday. He seemed none the worse for his scary experience and they’ve already rebooked for Christmas and next summer.” It unsettled her less to talk about work, to keep the conversation neutral, and perhaps he realized that because he did the same thing.

“That will keep Jackson and Kayla happy. How about you? Still having flashbacks?”

She shuddered and put her fork down. “I do not allow myself to think about it.” That was one topic she wasn’t prepared to use for distraction purposes.

She glanced across at him, ignoring the uneven thud of her heart.

His shirt was open at the neck, showing just a hint of his throat, but all she needed was a hint. She was more than able to fill in the blanks.

She noticed the woman at the table nearby sneak a glance in his direction and was torn between annoyance and sympathy. If you were female it would have been a waste not to look at Sean and to be fair to him the only person he’d looked at since entering the room was her. “He told me that you texted him. That was kind.”

“He had a fright. I’m glad to hear it hasn’t put them off coming back. So is the Boathouse busy?”

“Full every day, breakfast, lunch and dinner. Locals are using it for Sunday brunch. Jackson is pleased.”

He paused. “I spoke to him last week. I told him about Dad.”

“About the phone calls? I’m glad. You shouldn’t have had to carry that burden by yourself.”

“Turned out I should have told him a lot sooner.” His mouth tightened. “I was wrong about a lot of things.”

“About your father?” Élise put her glass down slowly. “Do you want to talk about it?”

He gave a tired smile. “We both know the person I should be talking to is Gramps. You were right about that. And pretty much everything else. I think he’s coming around a bit. For a moment last week I thought he was going to bring the subject up.”

“He didn’t?”

“No. Just told me he was proud of me.” A faint smile pulled at the corners of his mouth. “Which was unusual.”

“I think seeing what you did for Sam made him realize how good you are at what you do. How medicine is the right thing for you.”

“I don’t suppose that will stop him nagging me to get a job closer to home.”

“No. And it won’t stop him nagging you to show up for family night.”

Sean laughed. “Tyler calls it Fright Night.”

They were talking, but every glance was filled with the promise of something more. The atmosphere snapped tight. Heat pulsed between them. It was almost impossible to conduct a conversation, but she was determined to try.

“I think it’s a lovely tradition. Not so different from my mother taking me out to dinner once a month. It was a time for us. A time we talked about things without distraction. Your family night is the same thing except there are lots of you and it’s very noisy. You’re lucky. So when are you planning to talk to your grandfather?”

“Tomorrow.”

“You’re staying the night at Snow Crystal.”

“That’s the plan.” His gaze was focused on her. “Of course, my brother is sick of having me as a house guest so I might end up driving back to Boston unless I can find somewhere else to sleep.”

Neither of them noticed as the waiter removed their plates.

“Sean—”