Suddenly Last Summer (O'Neil Brothers 3)

Her gaze slid from him to the door. “I thought you wanted to be inside.”

“I’ve changed my mind. I want to do this outside.”

“Do what?”

But he was already striding through the door.

She followed him, baffled. “What’s wrong? Is this to do with family night? Are you feeling pressure? Did you have a bad day at work?”

“No and no.” He paced to the edge of the deck and locked his hands over the smooth wood of the railings. For a moment he stared down at the water and then he drew a deep breath. “I told myself this couldn’t happen to me. I’ve always believed that.”

“What couldn’t happen to you?”

“I refused to look at the truth because looking at it scared me.”

“What truth? What scared you?” Frustration mingled with exasperation and a deeper concern that his relationship with his grandfather, still fragile, was about to be shattered again. “I do not understand what you are saying. Merde, in a minute I will push you in the lake again if you do not tell me.”

“I didn’t think I wanted this.”

“What didn’t you want? You are making no sense at all and I am the foreigner here.”

“I didn’t want to fall in love. I never wanted that. I didn’t think it would happen to me.”

The air was still. The only sound was the occasional faint splash as birds skimmed the water. “You—?”

“I love you.” Everything about him was tense. Jaw. Shoulders. “Christ, before this summer I’d never said those words before in my life and suddenly I’m saying them all the time.”

“What do you mean, you are saying them all the time?”

“I said them to Gramps.”

The breath left her in a rush. “Of course you did.” Relief flooded her. “That is good. You love him. For a moment I thought you were saying the words to me.”

“I was. I am.”

She stared at him stunned, wondering if she’d misunderstood. If this was a language thing.

“You love me? No, you don’t.”

“I do.” His eyes met hers and his voice was soft. “I love you, Élise.”

“What? C’est pas vrai. You’re wrong.” Panic simmered below the surface. “Sean, you’re freaking me out.”

He gave a short laugh. “Believe me, I’ve been freaking out all week.”

“All week?”

“Since Gramps suggested it.”

“Your grandfather—?”

“He knew. He knows.”

Some of the tension left her. Finally there was an explanation for his strange behavior. “Thank goodness. It is just Walter playing his games, interfering. He has been pressuring you again and it has confused you.”

“No. Not this time. He just made me think about a few things, that’s all. And I’m not confused. I’m very clear about my feelings.”

The panic was back, this time increasing in intensity. “It is pressure, just subtle pressure. It is what he does best, you know that. You have to ignore him just as you have for the past three decades.”