Page 55 of Only for the Moment
Before he realized what he was doing, Isaac bent to untie his shoes. He set them safely aside, then his socks. Slipped outof his jeans and T-shirt, leaving him in dark boxer briefs. Already shivering, he removed the cap, dropped it on the pile at his feet, and walked toward the water. Had Oliver felt the chill? Had the sand torn at his feet? Had that first shock of water made him wonder if he was making the right decision?
Isaac sucked in a breath as the cold water went from ankles to knees to thighs. He shook uncontrollablywhen it reached his shoulders, not because of the temperature, but because of the emotion inside him. The agony raging in his chest, threatening to tear him apart. The sorrow weighing like cement blocks on his soul. As he took that last step and allowed the water to cover his head, enveloping him, he thought of Oliver, of what it had taken for his friend to go this far—and swore he heardhis mate laughing once more, carefree. Happy. Whole.
I love you, brother. I forgive you.
∞
“What in the world happened to you?”
Isaac gathered the petite blonde against his chest, careful to avoid pressing her against too many wet spots. “How you doing, Grace?”
Intense blue eyes glared up at him. “You didn’t answer my question.”
He knew that, but he couldn’t talk about it, not yet.“Later, okay?” He turned, gesturing Kennedy forward. It was the first time he’d ever presented a woman to someone he considered family, but he wasn’t nervous. “This is Kennedy O’Connell.”
Grace turned that same serious gaze on Kennedy, eyeing the way Isaac reached for her, the way Kennedy went straight into his arms despite the state of his clothes. An approving smile finally lit her face. “Kennedy,a pleasure.”
Kennedy offered her hand; Grace hmphed and drew her into a warm hug.
“I’d like to change real quick,” he said. “Am I in my old bedroom?”
“Of course; where else would I dare put you?” Grace waved a hand toward the staircase that filled the center of the enormous entryway. “Just don’t linger.”
“If Kennedy’s going with him, lingering is guaranteed,” Nick said from behind them.
Grace’s eyes went wide. She peered around Isaac. When her gaze landed on Nick, she blushed. “Nick.”
“In the flesh. Finally.” His grin hinted at something Isaac was definitely going to have to put a stop to. Later. Right now his friend was the perfect distraction, so perfect that Grace and Nick didn’t even seem to notice as Isaac sneaked Kennedy up the stairs and out of sight.
“That was easy.”Kennedy chuckled as she followed him toward the back wing of the house, the one that had held the nursery and then, as Oliver and Grace had grown, become the teen hangout.
“Too easy. Nick better keep his hands off my sister.”
The chuckle became a full-blown laugh. “I’m sure Vinny was thinking the same thing about you when I called to talk to him. Look how that turned out.”
He jerked to a stop,feeling the blood drain from his face.No way in hell.“What?”
Kennedy kept walking. “Come on, Daddy. Grace is a big girl. And so am I,” she said, throwing a look over her shoulder.
She was right on both counts; he knew that, even if he didn’t want to admit it. Still, it might take a while to get used to the idea of Grace and Nick together. Maybe years.
In the meantime… A grin took over hisface as he hurried after Kennedy.
His room wasn’t the same. Sometime in the past five years the child-size furniture had been replaced with a masculine, adult bedroom set, one that fit him to a T. Grace knew his tastes well. Kennedy set her carry-on on the bed. Isaac used a nearby chair, opening his suitcase to grab fresh clothes. When he turned, Kennedy had gone serious.
“Do you want to tellme?”
Notwhat happened?She was giving him the option. But it was simply too soon, too much to share, even with the person he considered himself closest to. “I can’t.”
“Okay.” She reached for his hand. “Shower, then?”
Even with all that had happened earlier, a kick of desire hit his gut. He guessed it always would with her. “Definitely.”
Kennedy gave him a wink as she rounded the bed. “Arewe taking cuffs or something?” she asked lightly, purposefully drawing his smile as she led him this time, toward the bathroom. “Is this a kinky shower or no?”
With everyone waiting downstairs? He groaned. “No kink, Sassy. You know we don’t have time for that.” But the image was already in his head: Kennedy with her hands secured over her head, nothing but the two of them and the water and theshock wave of hunger that always hit them when they were together. Concerns about time did a slow slide into the background.
“Oh really?” Moving farther into the spacious bathroom, she grabbed the hem of her shirt and raised it, way too slowly for his liking, over her head. Her spine arched as she reached to open her bra, and then her back was bare. And her front, though he couldn’t see thatyet.
