Lilac Lane (Chesapeake Shores #14)(70)

At last she seemed to relax, and her lips twitched ever so slightly. “And were you considering taking advantage of me?”

He kept his gaze on her steady. “I’ve been seriously considering seducing you,” he admitted candidly.

Her eyes went wide. “And if I were to allow it,” she said with an endearing hitch to her voice, “I would consider that to be a mutual decision, not a man taking advantage of a woman.”

“It might not be as simple as that,” he told her. “There are things you should know before we ever get to such a point, things it’s only fair that I tell you so that you can consider all the facts.”

She frowned at him. “I don’t like the sound of that. Are you an alcoholic, like my Sean?”

He lifted his glass of wine. “I like to think I would not be drinking this if I were.”

“And you run miles every day, so it can’t be that your health is in jeopardy like Peter, who had no notion at all of how to take proper care of himself.”

“My health is good.”

“Then what else could put such a dire note in your voice? Do you have some sort of criminal past?”

He could tell that she was deliberately reaching for explanations, each one a bit wilder than the one before. He doubted she would ever land on the truth, though.

“Kiera, you could ask a hundred questions and probably not stumble on the truth. Just let me say this before I lose my courage. I told you about my daughter, about my wife taking off with her years ago.”

“Yes. And you told me that she didn’t run because you’d ever done either of them any harm.”

“That’s true.” He took a deep breath, then added, “But she left without divorcing me.”

Kiera didn’t look dismayed. She looked confused. “But it’s been years and years. Surely in all that time, one of you...”

Bryan shook his head before she could finish. “I never filed. I wouldn’t have known where to have the papers served. As far as I know she never filed, either. Nor was there any attempt at an annulment that I’m aware of.”

He fell silent to allow his news to sink in.

“So you could still be married?” she said eventually.

“In all likelihood, I’m still married,” he confirmed. “Obviously it would be in name only after all this time, but it would be legally binding. It’s never really mattered to me.” He held her gaze. “Until now. I wish the situation had been clarified long ago, but it wasn’t, so here we are with me in some sort of marital limbo. What might have been simple between any other people, seeing where an attraction might take them, is complicated for the two of us.”

“I see.” She stared out toward the bay, though it was invisible in the darkness. Still, the gentle waves could be heard lapping against the shore. “That’s definitely something to consider, then.”

“No one else knows about this. Luke and Moira never asked when they hired me. They know I rarely date, but not the real reason why. I assume they think I’m pretty much a loner, which I have been for years. I’ve dated off and on, but it’s never reached a point where I felt I had to share this information. I’m content with the life I lead. I never minded being alone until you came along. Now, to my surprise, I find I like the companionship and the sparks that fly between us from time to time.”

“Sparks can be dangerous,” she said with weary understanding. “They can set off a fire that burns out of control. Reason doesn’t enter into it. I’ve spent years trying to avoid just such a thing.”

“Which is why it’s only fair that you know I may be the worst possible man to ask you to change that.” Even as he spoke so candidly, he feared that his words would end whatever had been beginning between them. Still, it had to be said.

To his regret, but not his surprise, she stood up. “I need time to think about this.”

“I understand. Take as long as you need,” he told her.

She made it all the way to the top step before turning back. She closed the distance between them, leaned down and brushed a shy, hesitant kiss across his lips.

“Good night, Bryan.”

“Good night, Kiera,” he whispered, smiling as he watched her walk away. He waited until she was safely inside her own cottage before releasing his breath.

Maybe this wasn’t quite the end between them, after all.

*

With her thoughts in turmoil, Kiera left her cottage early in the morning, escaping while she knew Bryan was on his run. She wasn’t quite ready to deal with everything he’d told her the night before. To her way of thinking, a married man was a married man and, therefore, off-limits.

But in God’s eyes were there ever extenuating circumstances? she wondered. If so, this would seem to be such a time, but she doubted a priest or a lawyer would see it quite that way. In good conscience, could she? Or would she simply be making excuses for doing what she knew was wrong?

To her added frustration, this was hardly a topic she could discuss with anyone. This was Bryan’s secret, not hers, to share.

At Sally’s she found only Megan seated at the back table.

“You’re out early,” Megan said when she spotted Kiera. “As busy as everyone was yesterday, I wasn’t sure anyone would get here this morning before I have to go to the gallery. I debated spending another hour in bed myself, but Mick is always up with the birds, so sleeping in is impossible.”