Kate Hoffmann - Marcus

“And who would I be telling?” she asked as if insulted by the notion.

“Oh, I don’t know. My sisters. My father. Your ladies down at St. Joe’s.”

She pushed up on her toes and gave Marcus a peck on the cheek. “I hope you’re practicing that safe sex they’re always talking about. If you’re having relations, use a condom. Not that I want to know if you’re having relations. It’s not something a mother needs to know. And considering it’s against the church, I’d rather not know so I don’t have to confess it.” She paused. “So have you been using a condom?”

“Ma, I’m not going to discuss my sex life with you.”

She patted Marcus on the shoulder. “Then you talk to your da. He knows the score on those things.”

“Tell Da I’ll be down in a minute to help him with those crates.”

His mother gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. “He’ll be fine. It’s Sunday and he shouldn’t be working anyway. You go upstairs and tend to your guest and I’ll take care of your father. And I hope to see you both tomorrow.”

“We’ll see, Ma. I’ve got a lot of work to finish.” Marcus watched as she walked back through the boatyard, weaving around the timber cradles and wooden ladders. There were times when his mother still treated him like a teenager. She’d missed so much of his life and the lives of Ian and Declan that she was sometimes unable to accept they were grown men.

At least they’d managed to get beyond past hurts. When he’d returned from Ireland, his relationship with his mother had been in tatters. The anger had lasted years, and he’d kept his distance, afraid to allow her back into his life for fear that he’d lose her again. But over time Marcus had come to understand the choices she’d made.

He couldn’t imagine what she’d gone through while he and his brothers had been growing up in Ireland. His older siblings refused to speak of it, as did his father, but he’d heard from a family friend that the priest had been called for last rites five separate times.

Her illness had nearly destroyed Marcus’s family, and the specter still hung over them all. But his mother had taught them all that they must live each day and stop worrying about the future. She had an amazing outlook, considering what she’d been through, and she never wasted time feeling sorry for herself.

So why couldn’t he apply that theory to Eden? What would be, would be, and worrying over it wouldn’t change anything.

Marcus slowly climbed the stairs to the loft. Eden was waiting for him, perched on a stool, her mug of tea clutched in her hand. “I’m sorry,” she said. “She came in and was cleaning up in the kitchen. I thought she was the housekeeper.”

He frowned. “You thought I had a housekeeper?”

“Well, I didn’t know,” Eden replied. “Your place is pretty clean for a guy.”

Marcus crossed to the refrigerator and pulled out a carton of orange juice, then poured himself a glass. “So what did you talk about?”

“Nothing, really. You, mostly. Did she say anything about me?”

“You mean about Liselotte Bunderstrassen?”

“She asked my name. It’s the first thing that came to mind. You didn’t think I was going to admit to being Eden Ross, did you? I wanted your mother to like me.”

Marcus sat down beside Eden. “She thought you were pretty. And she reminded me that we need to practice safe sex.”

“You told her we were having sex?” Eden cried.

“You’re in my bed at ten o’clock on a Sunday morning.” He looked down and frowned. “And wearing my underwear. My mother’s not an idiot.”

“I’d never tell my father we were having sex.”

“He knows you’re not a virgin.”

Eden took a sip of her tea. “But he doesn’t know the details. He’s a very powerful man. If he wanted to make you disappear, he could. Like Benny, my summer boyfriend when I was sixteen. He caught us swimming naked off the pier one night.”

“And he had Benny killed?”

“No,” Eden replied. “He’s not a mobster, he’s just a businessman. He called in a favor and had Benny’s father transferred to Alaska. They moved two weeks later and I never saw him again.”

“Well, your father isn’t going to find out about us because you’re going to call him today and you’re going tell him you’re all right.”

She stared at him, her lips slightly parted. “No. I’m not ready to talk to him.”

“Then I will,” Marcus said. “I’ll call him and tell him you showed up on the boat, that you’re sorry for everything that’s going on and that you’ll be coming to see him soon.”

“Don’t try to run my life,” Eden snapped.

“Someone has to. You’re not doing it for yourself. Eden, he’s your father and he has a right to know you’re okay. At least give him that much.” A stubborn pout settled onto her pretty face, and Marcus knew he had pushed her about as far as he could. “The sooner you face your problems, the sooner they’ll go away,” he added.

“And what am I supposed say?” she asked. “‘Hi, Daddy, I just wanted to let you know that you’ll probably be getting a call from my former lover, who will probably try to extort a few million dollars from you. So you wanna have lunch?’” She shook her head. “See, it’s not so easy.”

Marcus reached out and smoothed the hair out of her eyes. He could understand her problem. It had taken him nearly a year to confess to Nana Callahan that he’d broken her favorite crystal vase. A sex tape and extortion were a bit dodgier than that. “Maybe you should write him a letter. Or send him an e-mail.”

“I will,” she said. “Sooner or later I have to. Don’t worry, Marcus, I don’t expect you to take care of me forever.”

That was it, Marcus mused. The perfect admission of where they stood. She was biding her time with him until she worked up the courage to face her real life. And when she did, they’d be finished and she’d leave.

“Can we go back to bed now?” she asked.

“Are you still tired?”

“Not at all,” Eden said. She grabbed his hand and dragged him along behind her. “In fact, I’m wide-awake.”

Marcus resisted but only for a moment. Eden might be able to divert his attention for an hour or two, but all the desire in the world wasn’t going to dissolve the cloud that hung over them.

He crawled into bed beside her and pulled her up against his body, kissing her forehead. She seemed to fit perfectly against him, her legs tangled in his, her arms wrapped around his neck. Marcus slowly smoothed his hand over her back, then slipped his palm beneath the T-shirt she wore.

As he caressed her soft skin, he closed his eyes and tried to memorize the feel of her. There would come a night when she no longer slept in his bed, a night when he’d want to remember every perfect detail about her. A dull ache settled inside him. Though Marcus didn’t want to admit it, he’d miss her. Even though Eden could be a pain in the ass, she’d become his pain in the ass, at least for a while.

“Your mother invited me for a picnic tomorrow,” she murmured.

“I made our excuses,” he said.

Eden pushed up on her elbow and met his gaze. “But I want to go.”

“You can’t,” Marcus replied.

“Why not? She invited me. I don’t want to be rude to your mother.” She paused. “Why don’t you want me to go?”

“Isn’t it obvious?”

“No, it’s not. Are you embarrassed to be with me?”

Marcus groaned and threw his arm over his eyes. He’d already decided that he could handle her leaving, but he didn’t want to dissect his feelings before she did. “You’re the one who’s trying to hide out here. If you go to a family dinner, then your presence is not going to be a secret anymore. My brother Declan will be there, and he’s spent the last week looking for you.”