Snowbound with the Boss(15)

His parents’ marriage had always seemed pretty damn perfect to Sean. It was only recently that he’d learned what Mike had discovered at the tender age of thirteen—that parents were people who made mistakes. It still didn’t sit well with him that Mike had kept the secret of the trouble in their parents’ marriage to himself for so many years. But on the other hand, Sean mused as he watched his mom lean her head on his dad’s shoulder, Sean had secrets of his own.

He’d never actually lied to the family about anything, but he’d never told them everything, either. So he really wasn’t in a position to complain too loud or too long.

But this wasn’t the time to think about the past. This was about Mike and Jenny, who had somehow gone from antagonism to the kind of love most people never knew.

Naturally, thinking about antagonists brought him around to thoughts of Kate. But to be honest, his mind was always ready to dredge up Kate’s image. Five months and he could still smell her. Taste her. Her face swam in his mind every night when he tried to sleep. It wasn’t getting better. If anything, his brain seemed to be working overtime reminding him about Kate, as if to ensure he didn’t forget.

As if he could. Memories of their days and nights together kept his body at a slow burn constantly. Maybe, he told himself, it was time to go back to Wyoming. Check on the hotel’s progress in person rather than reading about it in faxed reports and sterile emails. And while he was at it, he could see Kate again and resolve whatever the hell was gnawing at him. He had no doubt that his memories were playing with him, convincing him that Kate was more than she really was. Making the memories of the incredible, breathtaking sex they’d shared wildly better than the reality. Seeing her again could clear up all of that. Help him put things in perspective so he could finally get her the hell out of his head.

With that thought in mind, he stepped away from the music and the crowd, pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and hit the number for a video chat. After a couple of rings, she answered and the instant her face appeared on the screen, his body tightened in response.

What was it about this one woman?

“Sean?” She didn’t look happy to see him. Her eyes narrowed and she bit at her bottom lip before saying, “I wasn’t expecting to hear from you.” She glanced away, then back, as if she was reluctant to meet his eyes. “We’re, um, kind of busy here. Is there a problem?”

He hadn’t thought so, but he was changing his mind fast. Whatever else Kate was, she wasn’t a game player. And judging by her expression right now, she shouldn’t play poker.

“You tell me,” he said, moving farther from the festivities so he could hear her better. He left the Pavilion and stepped out into the summer night, where the music from inside was muffled and the slap of water against the dock sounded like a heartbeat. “Something wrong?”

“No,” she assured him quickly. “Everything’s fine. Great, really. Uh, what’s all the music I hear?”

“My brother, Mike, just got married. I’m at the reception.”

“Oh, that’s nice.” She bit her lip again. “Um, I’m a little busy, Sean.”

Anxious. Why?

“Yeah,” he said shortly. “Me, too, so why don’t you save us both some time and tell me what’s going on?”

She took a breath and impatiently huffed it out again. “Fine. We’re making serious progress on the hotel and—”

She kept talking, but Sean was hardly listening. Instead he watched her face and studied the secrecy shining in her eyes. There was something going on, and she clearly didn’t want to talk to him about it. If it was job related, she wouldn’t have a problem. He already knew that Kate took her work as seriously as he took his. She was on schedule with the remodel, so what the hell was it that could make her so clearly uneasy about talking to him? Did she have a new man in her life?

Sean really didn’t like that thought. Gritting his teeth, he interrupted her rapid flow of words with one sharp question. “Why are you so nervous about talking to me?”

“Nervous?” She forced a laugh, then shook her head so hard her ponytail swung like a pendulum behind her head. “I’m not nervous, Sean. Just busy. We’re at a critical stage in the job, and I should be out supervising the concrete pour for the cabin foundations. I really don’t have time for this, Sean.”

“Is that right?” His voice was cool, distant, but she didn’t seem to notice.

She smiled, but it didn’t touch the shadows in her eyes. “Absolutely. I appreciate you checking in, but everything’s good. I’ll contact you next week. You should really go enjoy the wedding.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Sorry, one of my guys is calling for me. Gotta run.” Then she hung up.

Sean was left staring at his phone while behind him, music, laughter and celebration rang out. She was lying. Or if not lying then at least hiding something. The question was what? And why? Scowling, he slipped the phone back into his pocket and turned to head back into the reception. The temper he hadn’t really experienced since the last time he was with Kate was back now. She had hung up on him. Nobody did that to Sean Ryan.

The damn woman was apparently still convinced that she was in charge. Giving him the brush-off? Saying she was too busy to talk to him? Yeah, that wasn’t going to fly.

He turned his gaze out to the dance floor, where his brother was dancing with their mom and Jenny was dancing with her uncle Hank. And while he watched everyone, his mind was at work. After the party, Mike and Jenny were heading out for a weeklong honeymoon. The minute they got back, Sean told himself, he’d be taking another trip to Wyoming to check out the situation for himself.

“Let’s see her avoid me when I’m standing right in front of her,” he muttered.

* * *

“Why don’t I ever get snowbound with a gorgeous bazillionaire?” Molly Feeney plopped into one of Kate’s comfy chairs and picked up her wineglass from the nearby table.

“Because you’re lucky?” Kate asked.

“Please.” Molly took a sip of her chardonnay and said, “Women around the world would have loved to be snowbound with Sean Ryan. He’s...” She paused and slapped one hand to her heart. “I’m feeling a little faint.”

Kate laughed at the drama. “That’s because you haven’t met him.”

“You could fix that and introduce me,” Molly said.

“I like you too much,” Kate told her.

Laughing, Molly said, “Come on. It’s not like he’s an ogre.”

No, he wasn’t. This would all be so much easier if he was. Instead, he was as charming as he claimed to be, along with irritating, funny, frustrating. He made her feel too many things at once, which was just one reason why she should be grateful he’d gone back home to California. Having several hundred miles between them seemed much safer to Kate.

“Molly, those three days in the hotel changed everything for me,” Kate mused, grabbing her tea for a long drink.

“You don’t seem to be suffering for it, though,” Molly pointed out with a smile.

“No, I’m not,” Kate said. Suffering, no. Worrying? You bet. Along with guilt and too many other wildly divergent emotions to even consider listing.

When Sean first left Wyoming, it had been hard. She’d gotten accustomed to seeing him every day, having him challenge her both on the job and personally. She’d thought her life would be easier once he was gone. She hadn’t expected to miss him, hadn’t wanted to admit even to herself how deeply he’d gotten to her. But the truth was difficult to ignore, and lying to yourself never did any good because you knew the truth no matter what you told yourself. And now I’m officially rambling.

“Maybe if you weren’t hiding...” Molly cradled her wineglass between her palms.

“Don’t start.” Kate shook her head and frowned at her very best friend. Molly had been dogging her about this for months. Heck, so had Kate’s father, for that matter. But no matter what anyone had to say, she knew what she was doing. She’d made a decision, and she was sticking to it. “I’m doing the right thing.”

Hadn’t she dreamed of this very situation for years? When Sam died, Kate had accepted that those dreams were gone. Now, she had a chance to grab hold of them, and she wouldn’t let it go.

“Right for who?” Molly asked, tipping her head to one side until her long, strawberry blond hair fell in a curtain of curls.

“For me. For Sean.” She paused, thought about it, then nodded for emphasis. “For everyone.”

“Your life, sweetie,” Molly said. “And God knows I hate to interfere—”

Kate snorted.

Molly’s eyebrows arched. “But secrets are hard to keep. The truth will eventually jump up and bite you in the butt at the worst possible time.”

Kate didn’t want to believe that, so she made a joke instead. “Is that a sort of variation on Murphy’s Law?”

“I’m Irish,” Molly told her. “We’re all about Murphy’s Law and all of its subsidiaries.” Sighing a little, she set down her glass on the table and braced her forearms on her knees. “At least think about it, Kate.”