Suddenly Last Summer (O'Neil Brothers 3)
Page 111
Sean thought of Élise. “Sometimes it’s good to say these things aloud, just so everyone is clear. But it’s not easy.”
“You’ve never found it easy to talk about your feelings. I don’t, either.”
“Funny you should say that. Élise thinks you and I are alike.”
His grandfather smiled. “Clever girl, that one. Strong. And Kayla, too. She and Jackson are breathing new life into this place and that’s good. Now she’s going to be living here full-time things will be even better.”
“I worry about Kayla. She’s giving up a lot, quitting her job to come and live and work here.”
“You think so?” Walter watched as a flock of birds flew overhead. “I’d say she’s gaining more than she’s giving up.”
“She worked for a top New York PR company. She had a career.”
“And now she’s working with the man she loves, planning a future. A happy life needs more than work. It needs balance. I’m lucky. For me, work, home, family are intertwined. I have it all in one place. You have a great career, no question, but it’s a hell of a price you’re paying. One hell of a sacrifice. Be sure it’s worth it.”
“Sacrifice?” Sean was astonished. “I’m not the one making the sacrifice. I don’t have to think about anyone but myself. I can spend as much time as I like at the hospital without anyone asking what time I’ll be home.”
His grandfather stared at the forest, framed by blue sky. “Sound like a lonely life to me.”
“I’m surrounded by people.”
“But do those people give a damn about you? Would they care if you collapsed on your deck and couldn’t get yourself back up again? Do they laugh with you and keep you warm at night? Do they sit with you when you’re lying in a hospital bed and hold your hand the whole time? Are they still going to be by your side in sixty years?” His grandfather’s voice shook. “Do those people do that?”
Sean stared at him, stunned. “Gramps—”
“Love isn’t sacrifice, it’s a gift. But you’re afraid, and I understand that. It takes a brave man to admit he’s in love.”
“I’m not in love.” Sean frowned. “Why would you even suggest that? For a start, I don’t have time to date. There’s no one I—” He broke off and clenched his jaw. “If you’re suggesting—”
“I’m not suggesting anything. I know better than to suggest anything to you.”
It wasn’t love.
“Élise and I have been working alongside each other, that’s all.”
“Good.” Walter eased himself to his feet and strolled over to his new machine. He stood looking at it while Sean stared at him in exasperation.
“I fixed the deck because I wanted to be around for you and Grams. It had nothing to do with Élise.”
“Thoughtful of you. We all appreciate it. And it was thoughtful of you to take her camping.”
Sean clenched his jaw. “Tyler was busy.”
He thought he saw his grandfather smile but when he looked again Walter was staring intently at his new toy. “Does this thing come with a manual?”
It wasn’t love.
There was no way this was love. It was a serious case of lust with a whole lot of like and laughter thrown in.
“She doesn’t want a relationship. Neither do I.”
“Sounds like you’re perfectly matched.”
Perfectly matched?
Sweat bathed the back of his neck. He thought about Élise breathless and laughing in the rain. Hugging his grandfather. Dancing on the deck. Ripping his shirt off. He thought of her legs, her passion, her kindness, her dimple, her mouth. Oh, God, that mouth. The mouth he could happily kiss every day for the rest of his life.
No!