The Summer of Sunshine and Margot(109)

“You do. This is your vacation, too.”

“I want to go to the Grand Canyon. Or Legoland. Can we go to Florida and see the Universal Studios there? Or Disney World?”

Declan laughed. “We’ll make a list and then decide.”

“We have to ask Sunshine where she wants to go because it wouldn’t be a vacation without her.”

Declan thought of all he had to discuss with her and hoped at the end, taking a vacation together was the next logical step.

“Why don’t you let me talk to her first, Connor? Then we can talk about our vacation.”

“Okay.” Connor finished his cone, then grinned. “You know, Dad, when we get back from our trip, we should think about getting a dog.”

“We should?”

“Uh-huh. It’s kind of a thing.”

Declan laughed. “All right. We’ll think about it.”

A dog? He supposed they had a yard and plenty of room in the house. He wondered if Sunshine liked dogs. She certainly liked kids. Now if only he could figure out how she felt about him.



Chapter Twenty-Seven


Sunshine had definitely decided she had to tell Declan she was leaving. It was the only thing that made sense. She would do it right, with plenty of planning and time for Connor to get used to the idea. She would be responsible and mature and then she would get the hell out of his house and figure out how to start over with a shattered heart.

She wanted to stay. She belonged here, with the two of them. She loved them both, but if she stayed, she would be what she’d always been. She wouldn’t have grown as a person at all. She would be ashamed and sad and eventually that would destroy her.

Her plan was to explain to Declan that she thought they had something special and that she hoped he would want them to date and get to know each other and see where things ended up. Which was the weaselly way of avoiding saying she wanted him to figure out if he could love her back. Because that was her ultimate goal.

She’d gone looking for normal. She wanted a husband and kids and a degree and she wanted to be just like everyone else. For once in her life, she was going to do the right thing.

Her determination lasted right up until he walked in the door with Connor wheeling his dad’s large suitcase. The second she saw him, her heart whimpered, her determination crumbled and she desperately wanted to throw herself at him and beg him to see if it was possible for him to fall in love with her.

He looked at her and smiled. “Hi. It’s really good to see you.”

His kind words totally unnerved her. She folded her arms across her chest, then unfolded them and shoved her hands in her back pockets which immediately made her wonder if he thought she was thrusting out her breasts, which made her hunch over and oh dear God this was worse than she’d thought.

“It’s, ah, good to see, you, too.”

They stared at each other. She had no idea what he was thinking, which was probably okay as she had no idea what she was thinking, either.

He looked good. Tired, but good. Connor had taken his suitcase down the hall, leaving them alone.

She stayed where she was but what she wanted to do was go to him and hold him. She wanted to feel his body against hers and kiss him until they were both senseless.

Ridiculous, she told herself. She had to remember what was important.

“We need to talk,” he said quietly. “This isn’t a good time, though.”

“Right. Later is fine.”

“After Connor goes to bed?” He handed her a small container. “We brought you ice cream.”

She nodded as she took it. “I’ll meet you in your office.”

She went into the kitchen to put away the ice cream and start dinner. Only a few hours, she told herself. She would enjoy the evening, then explain to Declan that there was no way to go back to what they’d been before and that she had no idea how they were going to go forward.

  Sunshine got through the evening. She’d planned a simple dinner of barbecued turkey burgers and a salad. She’d made a welcome home cake with the sprinkle mix Connor liked. Once they’d cleaned up the kitchen, she said good-night to Connor and excused herself to hang out in her room until it was time to talk to Declan.

She made a few notes, paced, tried to watch TV, then gave up on pretending she was all right. She spent the last half hour curled up on her bed, wishing she could go back a week and undo what had been done.

A little after nine, her phone buzzed.

He’s in bed and asleep.

She appreciated the impersonal contact. Having him come to her bedroom door would have been five kinds of awkward. Not at all sure what was going to happen and genuinely not sure what the realistic best outcome would be, she walked through the kitchen and down the hall, then entered his office. She closed the door behind her, just in case Connor woke up and came to see his dad.

Declan motioned for her to take the sofa while he settled in a chair across from her. When they were both seated, they looked at each other, then away.

“I thought we should—”

“If you don’t mind—”

They both stopped talking.

“I’ll go first, if that’s all right,” he said.

She nodded, both grateful for the brief reprieve and terrified about what he was going to say.

He studied her for a few seconds, then drew in a breath.