His Best Mistake (17 page)

“Not for food.”

“Then I suggest we take my dad’s advice and do the rest of our talking in bed.”

She pressed a series of kisses along his jaw. “I agree. No matter what went wrong with our relationship before, and what problems we might encounter in the future, we’ve always gotten lovemaking right and we probably always will.”

Kevin couldn’t argue with that. “We’ve done something else right, too.”

Together they smiled and at the same time said, “Carly.”

L
EAH TOOK
Kevin by the hand and led him into the room that housed the bed where they’d first made love. A fitting place to begin again, she decided. A merging of the best moments from their past and the promise of more in the future.

Kevin didn’t bother to turn down the lights before he began to undress her, and she honestly didn’t care. She wanted to see his face, to see every beautiful inch of him when she returned the favor. But instead of dispensing of their clothes, they remained in the center of the room for a long while, simply holding each other until Kevin released her, sat on the edge of the mattress and lowered his head.

Leah moved beside him and leaned her head against his shoulder. “Kevin, what’s wrong?”

“I was about to get a condom, then I realized we don’t really need one, and that’s still killing me inside. Seeing the picture of Logan’s son this evening only reinforced how inadequate I feel.”

She pressed a kiss against his cheek. “Kevin, being able to biologically create children makes you a sperm donor, not necessarily a good man. Being an incredible father does, and you are an incredible father. Besides, I saw the lab results. There’s still hope. After all, I never thought we’d be together again, and look what happened.”

“But I want to give you everything, sweetheart. And that’s why this is so tough.”

Never in her wildest imagination had she believed she would ever see this side of him. Or that she could ever love him more. Yet, in that moment, she did. “You’ve already given me a beautiful baby, Kevin. And if I’ve somehow made you doubt yourself, then I’m so sorry.” She lay back on the bed and held out her arms to him. “Come here and forget the condom. I don’t want anything between us.”

He joined her on the bed, and, in very short order, they undressed each other. As always, Kevin used his hands and mouth on her like fine satin, with all the sureness of a man who knew everything about her body. But when she was ready to plead with him to hurry, he moved over her, braced on straight arms and studied her eyes. “Marry me, Leah.”

He had her exactly where he wanted her, and he knew it. “You’re wicked, Kevin, and you don’t always play fair.”

“But this time, I’m playing for keeps. I promise I’ll always love you, babe.”

Leah sensed there was no falseness in that promise. He’d grown in character, but she’d seen glimpses of that from the moment they’d met. And that’s why she’d so easily fallen in love with him. Why she loved him so much now. Why she was going to take that final leap of faith. “Yes, I’ll marry you, but only if you finish making love to me immediately.”

“I’m definitely your man,” he said as he eased inside her.

Yes, he was her man. All hers. And he knew her better than any man. He could do things to her that no man ever had.

Their lovemaking was still as passionate, but she noted subtle differences. Kevin held on a little longer, held her a little tighter, both before and after they were totally spent and struggling for air. They stayed tangled together for a long time until he finally rolled to his back and settled her against his chest. For the next few
hours, they dozed on and off, but when Leah inadvertently moved even an inch, he brought her back to him. Yet she didn’t feel suffocated or stifled in any form or fashion. She felt loved.

Shortly after dawn, Leah opened her eyes to find Kevin watching her. “I thought you’d never wake up,” he said.

She stretched and circled her arms around his neck. “Why? Do you have something in mind?”

“I’ve decided I want to do it before we leave Houston,” he said abruptly.

She grinned. “Unlike your brother’s fiancée, I don’t plan to withhold sexual favors at any point in time.”

He frowned. “I meant I want to get
married
before we leave town. I’d like to have the whole family there.”

Leah could think of several reasons why that might be a problem. “That’s three weeks away, Kevin. How can we plan a wedding when I’m finishing up my fellowship and you’re working as well as taking care of our daughter?”

“Trust me. I already have that figured out.”

“T
HANKS
for letting us share in your big day, bud.”

Kieran shook Kevin’s offered hand and grinned. “Not a problem. My wedding is your wedding.”

Said wedding had taken place at the estate belonging to Avery Fordyce, Logan’s extremely wealthy father-in-law. Kevin had never seen such extensive gardens, not to mention the mansion attached to them. Aside from a rare August rainfall that morning, all had gone as planned with the sunset ceremony. Their dad had served as official best man and the brothers, along
with Whit, had filled in as groomsmen. The bridesmaids consisted of Mallory and the sisters-in-law and Erica’s daughter, Stormy. Assuming the role of flower girls, Mallory’s twins had had a great time hurling rose petals at their male cousins who were seated in the audience. And that audience had been made up of in-laws and outlaws in the form of old college buddies and even a couple of old girlfriends who were still family friends. Nothing unusual there. For as long as Kevin could remember, their house had been a haven for kids. Once you got caught up in the O’Brien family web, it was difficult, if not impossible, to break away, even though he’d tried, fortunately without success.

Kevin was amazed that in spite of a short planning time frame, at least for Leah, the ceremony had happened without a hitch, except for an understandably bewildered pastor. “I almost lost it when Reverend Aldine kept getting us mixed up.”

“I know,” Kieran said. “He came real close to marrying us to the wrong women.”

Kevin laughed. “Yeah, and I thought me wearing a tux and you going with the suit and tie would remedy that.”

“I told you to get your hair cut, Kev.”

He had to admit, they were now the definition of identical twins. At one time he would’ve rather eaten nails than have anyone mistake him for his brother. Now he was honored. Only one more change in his life to add to all the others. “I’m going to cut it all off before we move. I just thought it might be fun to see who we could confuse, like in the old days.”

Kieran loosened his tie and unbuttoned his jacket. “I’m ready for a different kind of fun, and it ain’t gonna happen until I get Erica out of here.”

Kevin recalled Erica’s no-sex-until-the-ceremony rule. That had to suck for his brother. Big-time. “I’m surprised you’re walking straight since you’ve been doing without for weeks.”

Kieran smirked. “Actually, that only lasted about four days.”

Not at all a shock to Kevin. “You couldn’t hold out, could you?”

“Erica couldn’t. She came by the house one night and I made her beg for it.”

Yeah, right. “For what? About two minutes?”

“Try thirty seconds.”

They shared in another laugh before Kieran looked around and said, “Is this a kid menagerie or what?”

Kevin had to agree with that. To their left, Devin’s oldest son, Sean, along with Logan’s stepson, J.D., were on their hands and knees, playing hide-and-seek beneath the round tables set out for the reception, while Lucy and Maddie wove in and out of the nearby bushes, their skirts hiked up to their knees. Then came the baby section. With Patrick in her arms, Jenna was seated next to Corri, who was playing keep-away-the-cake with her toddler, Emma. And that left Kevin’s and Kieran’s families. To their right, Stormy had Carly balanced on her hip while Erica and Leah looked on.

Leah…

Kevin would never forget seeing her walk down the aisle wearing the white strapless wedding dress that contrasted with her golden skin. He would always remember the way she looked at him, as though he mattered more than anything else on earth. He’d never seen her look more beautiful, except in the mornings when she’d waken him with a kiss. And also at night when she held their daughter in her arms. He didn’t know what he’d done to deserve her, but he refused to question it any longer. He accepted that he’d been blessed and that their time had finally come.

Dermot stood and rapped a spoon on his champagne glass, signaling the moment had arrived for the traditional wedding toast, which earned him a cautioning look from Lucy. Kevin and Kieran rejoined their wives and they all stood together, arms around waists to await the O’Brien patriarch’s words of wisdom.

Leah leaned toward Kevin and whispered, “I’ve heard I should prepare for anything.”

“You’re right,” Kevin said. “With Dad, whatever comes to his mind shoots out of his mouth.”

After clearing his throat and garnering everyone’s attention, Dermot began. “First, I stand in honor of my youngest lads, once known as the last O’Briens standing, before they took the fall today. To Kieran, may your love for your bride be as big as those blasted biceps. And Erica, may you always be the sun in his morn and the zing in his treadmill. And may you give me another grandchild within the year.”

Dermot waited long enough for the laughter to die
down before he held up his glass in Kevin and Leah’s direction, his expression much more somber than before. “And to my son, Kevin. I never thought I would live long enough to see you wed. A short year ago, I am certain you did not believe you would live to see it, either. But here you are, with your bonnie bride and your little daughter, having weathered the storms. Although distance may separate us after this day, we know that you must go where your heart leads you, and your heart now belongs to Leah. Kieran, Erica, Kevin and Leah, long life to you all.”

As the crowd broke out in “Hear, hear,” Kevin smiled at Leah and she smiled back. Then he kissed her to a round of applause. Once they parted, he noticed that Kieran was still engaging in some serious mouth-to-mouth with Erica. “Knock it off, Kieran,” he said. “Here comes Mom.”

Kieran instantly broke all contact with his wife and looked around, only to find Lucy still seated at the table with their dad. “Real funny, Kev.”

Kevin couldn’t help but laugh, even when Leah elbowed him in the side and said, “Be nice to your brother. Remember, he’s the one who saved us from going to the courthouse.”

Erica muffled her own laughter behind her hand before she added, “Leah tells me you’ve already sold your house, Kevin.”

“Yeah, and it’s a good thing since we put an offer on a restored farmhouse when we visited her folks last weekend.”

Kieran shook his head. “I’m trying to picture you living in a farmhouse in some rural town.”

“Noble Oak is only fifteen minutes from Jackson, and it’s a huge farmhouse,” Leah said. “Three stories with five bedrooms.”

Bedrooms that Kevin hoped to fill with kids one day, either biological or adopted. Anything to make Leah happy. “A year ago, I couldn’t imagine it either, Kieran.”

But like his father, he would willingly go wherever life with Leah and Carly led him. And he was looking forward to it.

Mississippi
Three years later

“D
ADDY
, Daddy!”

Kevin spun around in his chair and braced for the curly-headed bundle of exuberance before she landed in his lap. She hugged him hard around the neck then leaned back and stared at him with all the excitement of a major league baseball player who’d just won the series. “Kiss me night.”

He popped a kiss on her cheek and set her on her feet about the time a frowning Leah walked in. “Looks like Mom’s not happy with you right now, kiddo.”

“I’ve already put her in bed once and told her you’d be in shortly.”

Carly went from escape artist to angel in about three seconds. “I kissed Daddy.”

Leah pointed behind her. “Now that you’ve done that, it’s time for bed. You have a playdate in the morning.”

Carly turned to Kevin again. “Kiss the baby.”

“I’ve already kissed P.J.,” he said. “And he’s already asleep, which is where you should be.”

“Not P.J., silly daddy.” She pointed at her mother’s stomach. “That baby.”

Leah gave him a sly grin as she sauntered over to him. Man, oh, man, she could still send him on a slow burn at any given moment with that look. He lifted the bottom of her blouse with one hand, clasped her hip with the other and pressed his lips against the slight bulge in her belly. This particular baby had been two years in the making following several less-than-pleasant procedures and a little help from science. But success had never tasted so sweet.

He looked up at Leah and presented his own smile. “I’ll kiss the baby some more a little later.”

Carly giggled and rushed away, seemingly satisfied over the turn of events. Leah climbed into his lap and kissed him in earnest. A down-and-dirty kiss designed to distract him, like she hadn’t done that already just by walking into his office. “How long before you come to bed, you sexy stud?”

“If you get out of here, I might make it in fifteen minutes. Twenty minutes, tops. I just have to knock out my final column.”

She studied his eyes for a long moment. “Are you sad over leaving the column behind?”

He would be sadder if he’d had to leave her behind. “Maybe a little. But I’m looking forward to the challenge of owning a magazine.” He’d purchased and begun to revamp a regional sports magazine. Fortunately, he had a good editorial crew in place, which left him time to care for Carly and their newest addition,
Paul James, the ten-month-old abandoned boy who’d come to them through the free clinic where Leah worked part-time. He’d been born drug-addicted with several other medical problems due to his premature birth. They’d agreed to adopt him even knowing his care involved a long-term commitment. But Kevin didn’t shy away from commitment these days.

Leah slid off his lap and blew him a kiss as she backed toward the door. “Hurry up. My hormones are in an uproar.”

So was a major part of Kevin’s anatomy. “You bet. Now leave before I strip you right here and take you for a ride on the carpet.”

“Promises, promises,” she said as she closed the door behind her.

Getting back to business, Kevin whirled the chair around and poised his hands on the computer’s keyboard. He’d obsessed for days how to end the column he’d written for several years. Then something occurred to him—he was finally ready to finish the column he’d discarded the day that Leah had come back into his life. The same day he’d found out about his daughter.

O’Brien’s Sports Scene
August
Final Edition