A Kiss, A Dance & A Diamond. Helen Lacey

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СКАЧАТЬ style="font-size:15px;">      The foyer was already busy with guests and several staff milling around the reception area assisting them, their green corporate jackets giving them a professional and upscale look. He spotted his brother by the concierge desk and headed for him. Liam looked up and waved.

      “Where were you last night?” Liam asked, one eyebrow cocked. “I thought you were coming here on your way home from work. We need to talk about Mom’s birthday thing.”

      He shrugged. “I was tied up with a favor for a friend.”

      Liam’s eyebrows further cocked with humor. “Making friends already? Good for you.”

      His brother knew he wasn’t in any kind of emotional shape to get involved with anyone...but he wasn’t averse to making fun if he had the chance. Kieran shrugged indifferently, ignoring his brother’s tone. “No comment.”

      Liam grinned. “It’s a small town. You know I’ll find out.”

      Kieran managed a wry smile. “Yes, Godfather,” he said and shook his head. “But if you must know, I stopped by Nicola’s after work,” he said and then quickly explained about Marco’s injury and how he had attended to him at the hospital but then glossed over Nicola’s frantic phone call and didn’t mention how he’d ended up sleeping on her couch.

      “So,” Liam mused, “you and Nicola, eh?”

      “Don’t be ridiculous. I need breakfast, are you coming?”

      “Sure,” Liam said and hooked a thumb in the direction of the restaurant. “Mom’s already here, by the way. With Tina and Kayla and the baby.”

      Liam and Kayla’s son, Jack, was three weeks old and the light of their lives. “Okay.”

      “Don’t let Mom know you were hanging out with Nicola Radici. If you do, you know you’ll get the third degree. And then Mom will start sending out wedding invitations.”

      Kieran spluttered. “Can’t I help out an old...a former...someone I used to...”

      “Keep digging,” Liam mocked. “If the hole gets any bigger, you’ll end up in Montana.”

      “Sometimes I wish I was an only child.”

      “Where’s the fun in that?” Liam teased. “And I think it’s great. It’s time you came back into the land of the living. I’m tired of watching you pretend to be happy. Your fake smile makes my jaw ache.”

      “You know what else would make your jaw ache? My fist.”

      Liam laughed. “Actually, come to think of it, this is all great timing. You should join the Big Brothers program at the hospital. I’ve been the patron of the program for a couple of years, but I think I need to pass the baton to you. I was only talking to Nicola about it a couple of weeks back. She’s been having a few problems with the younger boy... I suggested Big Brothers might be exactly what both of those kids need. And since you work at the hospital...”

      Kieran’s gut churned. The last thing he wanted to do was be responsible for troubled kids looking for a brother or father figure. Particularly kids linked to Nicola. Liam should have known better than to suggest such an idea to him. He wasn’t anyone’s father. Not now. Probably not ever again.

      “I need food and coffee,” he said.

      Liam laughed. “Okay, let’s go.”

      When they entered the restaurant, Kieran saw his mother and sister-in-law immediately. Kayla was stunningly beautiful, but she was also kind and clearly loved his brother dearly. And Kieran had never seen Liam happier.

      His mother, Gwen, was clearly delighted to see him, and her happy expression made him smile. She liked having her chicks close by and was thrilled that Kieran had returned. He knew she worried about his brother Sean’s rumored wild lifestyle in LA and would be over the moon if her youngest child decided to give up his success, money and women and return home, where she believed he belonged. But Kieran wasn’t so sure of that. Sean had never been small-town. He’d always craved the action of a bigger city and had certainly carved out a successful life for himself as a music and movie producer. Kieran was different. And, for him, returning to Cedar River had been an easy decision. Staying in Sioux Falls, where everything reminded him of all he had lost, was never going to be an option.

      Gwen O’Sullivan was tall and statuesque, with a silvery bob and a creaseless face that defied her sixty years. She’d been a model long ago and still carried herself as though she could grace the catwalk.

      “You were missed last night,” his mother said when he reached their table. “We decided you are going to be in charge of sending out the invitations.”

      His mother’s sixtieth birthday party was going to be a big bash, with out-of-state relatives already committed to the event. “We?” he echoed and smiled. “How come you’re on the organizing committee for your own party?”

      “Well, if I leave it to you and Liam, I suspect nothing will get done,” she said and raised both her brows. “Thankfully, I have Kayla and Connie to help.”

      Liam’s wife and Liam’s personal assistant. Kieran suddenly felt like apologizing for the fact that he was divorced and single and had inadvertently robbed his parent of her daughter-in-law and the grandchild she’d loved. Logically, he knew that there was no malice in his mother’s words. Gwen knew what he’d been through, knew how broken he was at losing his son and his marriage. But he still experienced an acute sense of failure. From his broken relationship with Nicola to his busted marriage, he clearly sucked at commitment. He glanced toward Kayla, and his sister-in-law gave him a quick, reassuring wink, as though she knew exactly what was going on in his head.

      Nothing is going on...

      Watching his family, Kieran couldn’t help but reflect on all he had lost. He’d loved being a father and missed Christian so much he ached inside. And he missed being a husband. And then, as always, the ache was replaced by a feeling of betrayal and rage so intense he had to take a couple of long breaths to stop the sensation taking hold.

      “Everything all right?”

      Liam’s voice. His brother knew him better than anyone. “Yeah, fine.”

      “You look tired.”

      “I did a double shift at the hospital,” he said casually.

      “And then had a date with Nicola Radici.”

      And just like that, his hold of the situation spectacularly fell apart because two feminine sets of startled eyes immediately zoomed in on him. Kayla’s eyes were as wide as saucers. His mother looked at him with a kind of delighted shock. He had to backpedal—and fast.

      “It wasn’t a date.”

      Thankfully, a couple of orders of pancakes arrived just then, but Kieran knew he wasn’t about to be let off the hook so easily.

      “I’ve always liked Nicola,” Gwen said quietly. “She’s a sweet girl. She’s helped out on the hospital committee a few times, you know. She’s so good at organizing things. I might stop by the restaurant today and see if she’d like to help me with the latest fundraiser. And the way she’s taken to caring for her nephews when her brother СКАЧАТЬ