Sean's Reckoning - By Sherryl Woods Page 0,51

sounded good, noble even. A week on Cape Cod keeping Hank from going completely bonkers while his broken ankle began to heal. Ruby had even bought into the scheme.

“But I’ll only go if you will,” she’d told Deanna not ten seconds ago.

Now Ruby and Sean sat side by side awaiting Deanna’s decision.

“And this is all about Hank?” Deanna asked, her gaze on Sean’s face.

“Absolutely,” he said. “Taking time off is hard on him, especially when he can’t get around all that well. Hank’s an active guy. Forced immobility will make him impossible to live with.”

She grinned. “So you want us around to be a distraction for an incredibly cranky man? Sounds like fun.”

“Oh, I think I can guarantee his mood will improve with you ladies underfoot, Ruby especially.”

“Charlotte will have a cow if the two of us ask for vacation at the same time,” Deanna said to Ruby. “You know she counts on you to fill in for me if I so much as go to the ladies’ room.”

“She can hire a temp,” Ruby countered. “The firm can afford it. Hodges has won two huge settlements in the past week.”

“Not to change the subject, but speaking of settlements,” Sean said to Deanna, “what’s he done for you lately? Has he managed to get you a dime from that irresponsible landlord of yours?”

Deanna thought back to the conversation she’d had with her boss just two days ago. She’d kept the news to herself, because she could hardly believe it was going to happen. “He settled,” she confessed. “The check’s supposedly in the mail.”

Ruby whooped and ran over to give her a hug. “Way to go, Dee! How much?”

“Not a fortune,” she said, trying to caution Ruby against getting too excited. “But five thousand dollars will go a long way toward getting Kevin and me a place of our own and a little bit of furniture.”

“Is Hodges taking a cut?” Sean asked suspiciously.

She shook her head. “Not a dime. I offered, but he said I deserved a lot more, so he wasn’t taking any of it.”

“Well, well, well, a lawyer with a conscience. I’m impressed,” Sean said.

“Don’t be,” Ruby said wryly. “All he did was make a couple of threatening phone calls to the guy. He didn’t even waste any corporate stationery.”

“Well, whatever he did, it worked and I’m grateful,” Deanna said. She looked at Sean. “So your timing couldn’t be better, actually. I was thinking that Kevin deserved a vacation before summer’s completely over, and that I’d use a little of this money to pay for a couple of days at the beach.”

Sean’s expression brightened. “You’re saying yes?”

“Yes,” she said, unwilling to think about the prospect of spending several lazy nights in Sean’s company on a romantic, moonlit beach. “But we’re chipping in for part of the expenses.”

“Absolutely not,” Sean said, his jaw set stubbornly.

“Absolutely yes,” Deanna said just as firmly.

“Can we dicker over the finances later?” Ruby begged. “I want to go tell Hank.”

“Go,” Sean and Deanna said in unison.

Sean chuckled. “I think we can finish this discussion without bloodshed.”

Deanna frowned at him. “Don’t count on it.”

Ruby shook her head. “Can you two play nice, or do I need to send Kevin in here to referee?”

“We’re two civilized adults. We’ll be fine,” Sean reassured her.

“One of us is civilized. The other one is stubborn as a mule,” Deanna countered.

When Ruby had gone, Sean met Deanna’s gaze. “I’m glad you said yes.”

Her heart flipped over in her chest at the heat that rose in his eyes. “Sean, we’re not going to be alone out there.”

“I know that, but I imagine we can steal a few minutes to ourselves from time to time.”

“To do what?”

He drew her to her feet and into his arms. “This,” he murmured, kissing her until her toes curled.

“And no more,” she said in a shaky voice.

“And no more,” he agreed solemnly, then grinned. “At least not the first night.”

Anticipation shot through her, tempered only by a stern reminder that this was going to be essentially a family vacation with lots of people under that same roof. Sean would never pressure her into turning it into something else, not with Kevin just down the hall.

But he might tempt her, she thought, glancing into his eyes. They were sparkling with pure mischief. Oh, yes, he was definitely going to tempt her. And she was going to have to draw on an already overtaxed reserve of willpower to resist. Heaven help her! It was going to be a really, really