I Saw Her Standing There (28 page)

Cameron dabbed at her eyes. “Of course he is. You both loved him.”

“Sometimes I worry I’m not being fair to Nolan by thinking so much about Caleb.”

“From all I’ve heard, Nolan is better able to understand what you’ve endured than any other man ever could.”

“You’re right. He’s amazing and understanding and everything I could’ve hoped for.”

Cameron reached across the table for Hannah’s hand. “Be kind to yourself, Hannah. Any thoughts or feelings you have right now are yours, and you’re entitled to each and every of them. No one is judging you, least of all Nolan. He’s crazy in love with you.”

“Yes,” Hannah said, smiling through the tears that continued to come despite how much she wished she could talk about this without them. “He is.”

“You should go home and let him give you some TLC.”

“That actually sounds rather divine. I think I’ll do just that.”

Cameron grabbed the check. “I’ve got this one.”

“Thank you for that and everything else.” Hannah hugged her. “You’ve been the most incredible friend.”

“Same to you. You’ve made me feel so welcome in my new home, and I’ll always love you for that.”

“Stop.” Hannah wiped away new tears. “I’m already a hot mess.”

They laughed and hugged like two longtime girlfriends.

“I’m here if you need me in the next two weeks,” Cameron said. “Anything you need. Any time you need it.”

“Thanks, Cam. I’m so glad my brother decided to keep you.”

“So am I. I get him and all of the rest of you, too. What a lovely thing that is.”

They walked out of the diner arm in arm, laughing and talking, and parted with another hug.

Hannah drove home feeling relieved that she’d unburdened herself to Cameron, who was such a kind and understanding friend. But while she felt better to have gotten a few things off her chest, she was still feeling queasy, overheated and tired. The exhaustion was pervasive, so pervasive in fact that she wondered whether she might need to see a doctor. Maybe she was anemic, and wouldn’t that be magical with everything she had coming up in the next few weeks.

She arrived home to a freshly cut lawn but no sign of Nolan’s truck in the driveway. He’d probably left to run an errand or to pick up something from his own house where he spent very little time these days.

With some time to herself, Hannah scooped up Homer and went directly to the sofa in her cozy sitting room to lie down, grateful for the house that was hard to keep warm in the winter but cool and comfortable in the unforgiving heat of summer. That was her last conscious thought until Nolan kissed her awake to a room that had grown considerably darker.

“Hey there.” He held the puppy in his arms as he gazed down at her. “You were out cold.”

Her eyes felt too heavy to keep open. “Mmm, what time is it?”

“Almost six.”

She’d been asleep for close to three hours? How was that possible?

“Is everything okay?”

She reached for the puppy, who struggled to break free of Nolan so he could get to her. “Uh-huh.”

“Hannah?”

“Hmm?”

“I’m worried about you. I kept thinking you’d wake up, but you’ve been asleep for hours. It’s not like you to sleep like that in the middle of the day. Would you tell me if something was wrong?”

She nodded. “I would, but I don’t know what’s wrong. I feel sick and tired, and Cam’s tuna sandwich nearly made me barf, and I cry over
everything
.” She was crying again now and swept angrily at the tears. “It’s ridiculous! I’m getting married, not staring down a firing squad.”

Laughing softly, he reached for her and helped her sit up. Somehow he managed to smoothly arrange things so she was on his lap, cuddled up to him with Homer cuddled up to her. Nolan smelled of freshly cut grass and cologne that made her want to nuzzle closer. “I suspect there might be something else entirely going on here, my love.”

“And that is?”

“Is it possible you might be pregnant?”

“
What?
No. I’m not pregnant.”

“You’re sure?”

“Of course I’m sure. If I were pregnant, I’d know it. Wouldn’t I?”

“Having never been pregnant myself, I couldn’t say for certain. It just seems that you’re sort of all over the place and tired and hungry—that is, when you aren’t nauseated. I’m certainly no expert on such things, but the thought occurred to me, and . . . Oh God, Hannah, why are you crying again?”

“Because! That’s it! That’s what’s wrong with me, and I didn’t even know it. And what kind of mother will I be if I didn’t even
know
I was pregnant?”

His body shook under her, and for a moment she thought he was crying, too. Then she realized he was laughing.

“You’re
laughing
at me? Seriously?”

“Hannah, I love you so much. So goddamned much.” His eyes were bright and full of emotion and tears that probably weren’t entirely due to the laughter. “You have no idea how adorable you are right now. And if you
are
pregnant, which we’ll confirm one way or the other first thing in the morning, the child we made together will be the luckiest kid in the universe to have you and your great big generous heart as his or her mother.”

“This wasn’t supposed to happen so fast. We just stopped being careful a couple of weeks ago.”

“I can’t help that I’m a stud, babe. You’re just going to have to learn to live with it.”

She poked him in the belly, which made him gasp before he laughed. “Is all of this really happening? Tell me I’m not dreaming.”

“It’s a dream come true,” he said, kissing her. “In every possible way.” He kissed away her tears and then captured her lips in another passionate kiss that cleared her mind of every thought that didn’t involve him and the sublime way he made her feel. “I was promised some naked snuggling,” he reminded her, his lips soft against her ear. The combination of his words and the heat of his mouth sent goose bumps down her arm.

“I always keep my promises.”

He tightened his arms around her and stood, carrying her upstairs. Not wanting to be left out of anything, Homer Junior followed right behind them.

“Nolan?”

“Hmm?”

“Thank you.”

“For what, honey?”

“Everything. You’ve given me everything.”

He laid her on their bed and came down over her, careful not to put too much weight on her. “If I’ve given you everything, why do I feel like the luckiest guy who ever lived?”

“I guess we’re both lucky.”

“Fourteen days until you’re my wife, Hannah. I can’t wait.”

“Neither can I.”

Number of boiling days: 22 (not 23 as reported earlier). March vs. April: April won with 55 percent of the crop.

—Colton Abbott’s sugaring journal, after the boil

“Y
ou’re totally cheating!
Snood
is not a word!”

“Then go ahead and challenge me.” Lying facedown on the floor wearing nothing more than well-faded jeans, Colton was the picture of sexy insolence. His hair was tousled from their earlier nap. Late-day whiskers covered his jaw, and his blue eyes danced with mischief. The stinker was effortlessly gorgeous, and he knew it.

Lucy had already made the mistake of challenging him twice before and came out on the losing end both times. He was kicking her ass rather significantly, and she was beginning to regret suggesting a game of Scrabble. “I had no idea you were such a cheater.”

“I am
not
a cheater,” he said emphatically. “Just because I have a more intellectually developed vocabulary than you do doesn’t make me a cheater.”

Lucy tossed the Q tile she’d been unable to use at him and hit him square in the forehead.

“That’s a declaration of war.” He moved so quickly she had no time to defend herself before he was upon her.

She let out a feeble squeak of protest but didn’t try too hard to keep him from overtaking her—and disrupting the board. Tiles went flying all around them, which was fine with her. “You ruined our game.”

“You threw a Q at me.”

“Get your snood off me.”

“Ah-ha! So you admit it’s a word!”

“Too bad you messed up the game and can’t collect your forty-six points or whatever it would’ve been this time.”

“Fifty-five, and did you intentionally provoke me to get out of finishing the game?”

“Would I do that?” she asked, batting her eyelashes at him.

“Yes, I believe you would.”

“Sadly, you pounced before we finished, which means your ninety-point lead never happened.”

“And you say
I
cheat . . .”

“Getting trounced in Scrabble always makes me cranky,” she said. “You wouldn’t want me to be cranky, would you?”

“Don’t you mean
crankier
?”

She scowled at him. “Speaking of declarations of war . . .”

“There’re so many better things we can do besides fight over who’s a cheater at Scrabble. Like this, for one thing.” He kissed her lips. “And this.” More kisses to her neck. “And this is a personal favorite,” he said of the kisses to the upper slope of her breast.

“Colton?”

“Mmm?”

“My sick day with you was the best day I’ve ever spent with anyone.”

“Your sick day has been one of my favorite days ever, too. I’d say you should get sick more often, but I never again want to see you suffer the way you did last night.”

“I never again want to suffer like that either—or have you see it.”

“You’re still not over that, huh?”

“I may never get over the horror of puking in front of my boyfriend.”

“I love when you call me your boyfriend, even if we’re talking about puke.”

“Again I say there’s something wrong with you.”

He was smiling and coming in for more kisses when the buzzer sounded. “Ugh. Don’t they know I’m busy here?”

“Put it on hold, Romeo. That’s probably my dad.”

“Oh. Shit.” Colton got up comically fast and held out a hand to help her up from the floor.

She patted his bare chest. “A shirt would be good. Just while he’s here though. Then I want it off again.”

“Right. Going to get a shirt now.”

While Colton headed for the bedroom, Lucy went to deal with the intercom.

“Hello?”

“It’s your dad.”

“Come on up.” She buzzed him in and went to pick up the game pieces that were scattered all about on the area rug in her living room.
Snood
 . . . That was
not
a word.

Colton returned wearing a red T-shirt that was wrinkled but presentable. He’d combed his hair, too. He seemed nervous about meeting her dad, which was adorable.

She was about to tell him he looked good when he handed her his phone to show her something on the screen.

Snood: a decorative hair net or ribbon worn by unmarried Scottish women.

Damn him! “How do you know about unmarried Scottish women? Do you have one of
them
in your harem, too?”

He pinched her butt. “That’ll learn you not to challenge the master, babe.”

“You’re an arrogant ass, and I’m never playing Scrabble with you again.”

“You forgot the part about how you love me.” He gave her a gentle nudge. “Now get the door for your dad.”

*   *   *

Colton stood back and watched as Lucy opened the door to her dad, who came in carrying two brown paper bags. He took a quick look at Colton before continuing to the kitchen with his bundles. “I got chicken noodle for you and beef stew for him.”

At the words
beef stew
Colton’s stomach let out a loud growl that made Lucy laugh.

“I’d say he approves of your choice.” Lucy took hold of her father’s hand and led him into the living room. “Colton, this is my dad, Ray Mulvaney. Dad, my boyfriend, Colton Abbott.”

Never had the word
boyfriend
carried more significance than it did at this moment. Colton shook hands with Ray. “Nice to meet you, sir.”

“Call me Ray.”

“I will. Thank you.”

Since he hadn’t been much for relationships in the past, he hadn’t met many parents and wasn’t all that experienced at this. But something about the way Ray Mulvaney sized him up had Colton’s hands feeling clammy and the rest of him sweaty. “You’re a big guy. Spend a lot of time in the gym, do you?”

“Um, no. Never been in a gym in my life.”

“He works on a mountain, Dad, making maple syrup. It’s very physical work.”

“Is that right?”

“Yes, sir. I mean Ray. I’d be happy to send you some of our syrup. There’s nothing quite like it in the world.”

“So I’ve heard. I wouldn’t say no to trying some.”

“I’ll get your address from Lucy.”

Ray sat on one of the bar stools and crossed his arms, settling in. “I understand you come from a big family.”

“There’re ten of us kids.”

“Ten kids.” Ray shook his head. “How many girls?”

“Three.”

“Well, at least your poor parents only had to deal with three teenage girls.” His gray eyes twinkled with glee at his own joke.

“Thanks a lot, Dad.”

“My parents would probably tell you their boys were far more of a handful than their girls.”

Ray raised a brow. “Is that right? You were a hellion, were you?”

“If enjoying all forms of extreme skiing, snowboarding, snowmobiling, mountain climbing and other such exploits make me a hellion, then I guess I was. Our form of trouble was more in the way of broken bones and stitches than anything illegal.”

“Hmpf,” Ray said. “You don’t plan to take my daughter on any of these extreme adventures, do you?”

“No, sir. The kinds of things we consider fun in the mountains are far too dangerous for a nice city girl like Lucy.”

“That’s a good answer.”

“However, I do think she might enjoy cold-weather camping, and I hope we get to do that sometime.”

“Oh boy,” she said dryly. “Can’t wait for that.”

Both men laughed at her obvious distress at the thought of camping in the cold.

“You’re feeling better, honey?” Ray asked his daughter.

“Much better. Colton was a saint. Thank goodness he was here last night. It got kind of ugly.”

“She was a trooper,” Colton added.

“When I wasn’t puking my guts up.”

“I heard you guys have Simone tonight. I can take her if you want.”

“We’re happy to do it,” Colton said. “She’s adorable.”

“Yes, she is,” Ray said, once again studying Colton with those shrewd eyes that seemed to see right through him.

The guy had a good penetrating stare. Colton would give him that. He did his best not to wilt until Ray looked away, his focus once again on his daughter. “Is there anything else I can get for you?”

“No, Dad. We’re good.”

“You’ll come home for dinner tomorrow night.” He glanced at Colton. “Both of you.”

“We’d love to,” Lucy said. “Thanks for the invite and for the soup, too.”

Ray got up and kissed Lucy’s cheek. “Glad you’re feeling better, honey. You gave me a scare when you didn’t answer your phone all night.”

“I guess I scared a few people by dropping off the radar.”

“Yes, you did,” Colton said as he shook hands with Ray. “Nice to meet you, Ray.”

“You, too. See you tomorrow.”

“We’ll be there.”

“Lock the doors behind me.”

“I will, Dad. Be careful going home.”

Ray waved as he headed down the stairs.

As instructed, Lucy closed and locked the door and set the deadbolt. She turned to him. “He liked you.”

“Really? I didn’t think he did.”

“No, he did. I can tell when he doesn’t like someone, and he liked you.”

“He seemed . . . I don’t know . . . Suspicious or something.”

Lucy took the containers of soup out of the bag, which also contained two crusty loaves of freshly baked bread. “He’s worried I’m going to move like Cameron did.”

“I take it you told him that’s not going to happen.”

“I did, but I’m not sure he believes me.”

Colton crossed the room to her, unable to stand being so close to her but not able to touch her. He slid his arms around her and enjoyed the way her satin robe clung to all her curves. “I have no desire to take you away from the people you love, Luce. You’d never be happy living that way, and I want you to be happy.”

“And you’d never be happy living away from your mountain or your family.”

“I don’t know if that’s true.”

She drew back from him, looking up at him tentatively. “What’re you saying?”

“That I’m not ruling anything out. My mind is wide open to the possibilities as long as those possibilities include you.”

“Are you thinking you might want to move? At some point, I mean. I’m not looking to put pressure on you to decide something I don’t even want to talk about.”

“Not ruling anything out at the moment.” He held her face in his hands, compelling her to look at him. “But I heard you when you said you can’t move, and after seeing you here with your family, I get it. I truly do, and I’m not going to suddenly expect you to change your mind. I promise.”

“That’s good to know, but you forget that I’ve seen you with your family and in your element on the mountain. I can’t imagine you happy anywhere else.”

“I’ve been really happy right here with you this weekend.”

“And I was puking for much of that time.”

“You just proved my point, Luce.” He kissed her. “I’m happiest when you’re in the room with me. It doesn’t matter what we’re doing. Although some things are a lot more fun than others.”

He made her laugh. He made her smile. He made her think. He made her mad and glad all in the same ten-minute period. He made her
want
like she’d never wanted anyone or anything before. More than anything, he made her happy.

“I’m happiest when I’m with you, too. I don’t care where we are.”

“I want you to remember that and stay focused on it. This isn’t going to be easy. It’s going to be challenging beyond belief at times. But if we both remember when we’re happiest, I think we can make it work.”

“You’re starting to make me a little hopeful.”

“It’s safe to be hopeful. I’ve been giving our situation a lot of thought, and I’m not quite ready to talk about it yet, but will you trust me for a little while longer?”

“I trust you, Colton. I’ve thought a lot about our situation, too. I feel like it’s all I think about lately when you’re not scrambling my brains with kisses and other such things.” She flattened her hands on his chest. “I’ve also thought about what you said about losing your brother-in-law and how you’ve tried to live in the moment ever since, to enjoy right now and not ruin that by obsessing about what might or might not happen. I’m trying to do that, too.”

“Right now is really, really good.”

“Yes.” She let her head fall to his chest. “It is.”

He wrapped his arms around her. “Right now is as close to perfect as perfect gets.”

“I want to hold on very tight to right now.”

“Hold on to me, Lucy. I won’t let you down. I promise.”

Because she wanted so badly to believe him, she held on as tight as she could.

*   *   *

On Monday morning, Colton took a cab uptown to the hotel where the trade show was being held. As he rode through rush-hour traffic, he thought about the weekend he’d spent with Lucy. Saturday night, they’d played pretty princess, watched movies and eaten popcorn with Simone until she fell asleep leaning against him. After settling her on the sofa, he and Lucy had gone to bed.

The next morning, he’d awakened to a little face looking down at him. He’d held his breath, waiting to hear what she had to say about finding him in bed with her aunt.

“What’s for breakfast?” she’d asked.

Colton had breathed a sigh of relief and got busy making pancakes for Simone and Lucy, who’d finally felt a lot better. After Emma came to pick up her daughter, he and Lucy had gone out for a long walk around her neighborhood. She’d taken him to the beer store, where she said he acted like a kid in a candy store. They’d had lunch at a sidewalk café and then returned to her place to spend the rest of the afternoon in bed before they left for dinner in Queens.