Stay With Me (The Montgomery Brothers) (13 page)

“Where are you sleeping?”

“I’m probably going to watch a little TV so I’ll either fall asleep on the couch or I’ll go up to one of the spare bedrooms.”

“I can take the spare room, Mac.  It’s okay.”  Gina stood but Mac’s hands on her shoulders had her sitting back down quickly. 

“I want you to stay in here tonight.  I’d feel better knowing that you were in here.”  Gina stared at him as he leaned forward and kissed her forehead.  “Get some sleep.”  Mac turned to walk away but Gina’s hand grabbing his stopped him.

“I don’t want to be alone, Mac.”

“Gina,” he began hesitantly.

She shook her head.  “I’ve been alone for so long and right now I really want to be here with you.”  A single tear streaked down her cheek.  “It’s okay if you don’t love me or if you don’t want me anymore but please don’t make me be alone tonight.”  Her big green eyes stared up at him and in that moment he would have given her everything that he had and more.  “Stay with me.  Please.”

Mac pulled his hand from hers and walked away.  He heard Gina gasp but he simply closed the door and walked back to her side.  Without a word he stripped down to his briefs and then pulled her to her feet.  Gina kicked off her shoes and then Mac helped her take off her skirt and blouse.  When she stood before him in nothing but white lace, he kept his eyes on hers as he reached behind her for the shirt he had taken out for her to sleep in.  Gina took it from his hands and dropped it on the floor.

Along with her bra.

“Just for tonight,” she whispered.  “I need you to just love me for tonight.”  Mac whispered her name but she put her finger over h
is lips.  “Please don’t say anything.  I don’t expect you to make promises to me.  I just need you.”  She reached up and wrapped one hand around his neck and pulled him toward her.  The kiss was tentative at first but once she brought her nearly naked body flush up against him, Mac was lost.

He lay them down on the bed and sighed with the pleasure of feeling Gina’s body against his
again.  He’d missed this; needed this.  The kiss became greedy but he couldn’t be sure who was taking and who was giving, all he knew was that this wasn’t one sided.  She may have been the one to ask him to stay but he most certainly was the one who didn’t want to leave.

****

Morning came far too soon.  Mac never let Gina leave his arms all night long.  Several times she had disentangled herself from him but he managed to coax her back.  He knew that she was trying to distance herself from him, but Mac wouldn’t allow it.  They had made love numerous times before but something about the way they connected last night went beyond anything Mac had ever experienced before.

They never said a word and yet they had held each other’s gazes the entire time.  Mac didn’t need Gina to tell him that she loved him; it was there in her eyes.  He could only hope that she read the same in his because he knew now that he was in love with Gina Micelli, only now was not the time to throw that emotional curveball at her. 

Today she was going to have enough to deal with; funeral arrangements had to be made and he was sure that there was going to be a ton of legal matters dealing with Arthur’s estate that was going to have to be gone over.  The last thing she needed was him confessing that he was in love with her.  The timing was off; she’d probably think that he was saying it out of pity, to make her feel better.  No, he had to wait until she got through the funeral and all that went with it before they could sit down and talk about it; about their future.

He would stay by her side; be whatever it was that she needed him to be.  Everything that he should have been from the moment he first laid eyes on her. 
With a sigh, Mac pulled Gina close and kissed her forehead.  He whispered her name in an attempt to wake her up.  Gina’s eyes opened slowly and when she looked up and saw him, she smiled warmly; the events of the day before came washing over her and Mac had to watch as that serene smile turned to sadness.

“You’re not alone,” he said to her.  “The whole family is here to help you through this.”

Confusion marked her face as her brows furrowed.  “They’re here now?”

Mac chuckled.  “I didn’t mean literally.  Whenever you’re ready, we’ll go back to my parents
’ place and see what needs to be done.  You don’t have to rush; Dad knows that we’ll be there at some point this morning.”

Gina pushed the hair from her eyes and looked around the room as she held the sheet tightly to her chest.  For a brief moment she had forgotten all that had happened the previous day; waking up in Mac’s arms was more than she’d ever thought to experience again.  Now all that was left was grief and remorse.  She never should have asked him to stay with her last night and she certainly shouldn’t have made love with him. 

Rising from the bed Mac dressed quickly before turning to face Gina again.  “I’m going to go and make us some coffee and call my parents.  You can use the shower if you’d like.  If you aren’t ready to get dressed yet there’s a robe hanging on the bathroom door.”  He stepped up beside her and kissed her on the cheek.  “Take your time.”

Once she was alone, Gina didn’t know where to begin.  Everything was out of sorts; she wanted to burrow back under the blankets and just forget everything.  She was so grateful to the Montgomerys and she knew that William and Monica were going to do everything possible to help her through all of the planning and legalities that she was sure to be faced with. 

That just left Mac.  When he had shown up at the hospital at the exact moment she needed him she thought she had been dreaming.  The way he had held her and calmed her and taken care of her was in direct conflict to the way they had ended things.  For someone who talked about their relationship being temporary, he certainly was doing everything that implied permanence. 

Gina closed her eyes and remembered the intensity in which he had made love to her.  The way he had looked at her, held her gaze as he’d loved her told her that he felt more deeply for her than he was letting on.  Unfortunately, until he
was able to open up to her and ask her to stay, Gina knew that she would eventually have to leave.

By the time she met up with him in the kitchen, she had showered and dressed.  Mac handed her a mug of steaming coffee while he spoke on the phone. 
Within minutes he had hung up and sat beside her at the breakfast bar where they had eaten the previous evening.  “Are you hungry?  I think I can whip up some pancakes.”

As tempting as it sounded, Gina had no appetite.  She shook her head.  “I’m not hungry.”  Mac nodded and they sat in companionable silence. 

“I spoke to my father and he said that whenever you’re ready, we can just go over and discuss all of the arrangements.”  It was Gina’s turn to nod and then she rose.  “Do you want to head over now?”

“I think I do,” she said quietly.  She gathered her few meager belongings and when they were getting ready to head out the door, she stopped and placed a hand on Mac’s arm.  “In case I forget to say it later, I want to thank you for everything that you’re doing.”

Mac smiled down at her.  “You don’t have to thank me, Gina.”  He trailed his fingers along the side of her face, relishing the softness of her skin.  “Whatever you need, I’m here for you.”

If only he knew that she needed him by her side forever.

****

For the next four days
, Gina felt like she was caught in a whirlwind.  Her father had planned everything for his own funeral and Gina had been relieved to not have to even think about those decisions.  As expected, there was a ton of paperwork to go over due to the size of her father’s estate and, as promised, William Montgomery was by her side and held her hand through it all as he walked her through it.

The entire Montgomery family had been wonderful.  With William helping her with the legal and financial decisions, Monica, Emma and Maggie had been there like sisters and a mother to her when her emotions began to overwhelm her.  Emma had brought over every kind of baked treat from her bakery that she knew Gina loved and Maggie had sat beside her and listened to stories of her childhood.  Lucas and Jason had been overly attentive to her and she found that she drew strength just from having them all around.

And then there was Mac.

He was never out of her sight.  While William had walked her through countless documents, Mac had been right beside her and helped his father explain some of the overwhelming papers.  During the wake and funeral and reception afterwards, he was right by her side.  She never had to lift a finger for anything because he seemed to know what she needed and when.

At night, when the lights were out and her memories threatened to overwhelm her, Mac was there to hold her close.  They hadn’t made love since the night at his home but the time that they spent clinging to each other was just as intimate to Gina.  He comforted her when she needed it and she found that it was getting easier to make it through each day with Mac beside her.

They were eating dinner with his family a few nights later when Jason mentioned that he was preparing to go to San Francisco for business.  “It’s beautiful there,” Gina commented.  “I always love going to Fisherman’s Wharf.  The food there is amazing.”

“I’ve never been there personally,” Maggie said, “and I’m hoping that we’ll find some time to do some sight-seeing.”

“I could recommend some great restaurants if you’d like,” Gina said casually and that’s when it hit Mac. 
The funeral had merely been a distraction from real life.  Now that Arthur was laid to rest and his estate was well on its way to being settled, Gina was going to head back to the west coast.  He could ask her to stay; they could talk about it tonight after they went back to the guest house but the thought of asking her and making her leave the life that she knows behind didn’t sit well with him.

Conversation continued to flow but Mac chose to not be a part of it.  Everyone was so focused on keeping Gina’s spirits up that no one seemed to notice his silence.  When the meal was done and everyone was saying their good-night’s, William came to stand beside his eldest son.  “Kind of quiet tonight,” he said conversationally.  They were standing alone in the family room while everyone else was heading for the door. 

“Wasn’t a whole lot to say.”

“You’ve been to California a bunch of times; I’m sure you could have added a tip or two for your brother and Maggie.”

Mac shrugged.  “Gina’s the native; she knows far more than I do.”

“She’s not a native; she was born and raised here in North Carolina.  This is where she belongs; this is where her father wanted her to be.”

Mac was desperate for a change of subject.  “How are you doing with all of this, Dad?  We’ve all been so focused on helping Gina that I feel like we’ve sort of overlooked the fact that you lost your best friend.”

His father’s gaze softened.  “I’m not going to lie to you, Son; it’s pretty damn devastating.  I can’t remember a time in my life when I wasn’t friends with Arthur.  Knowing that I’m not ever going to see him again is more painful than I ever thought possible.”

“I’m so sorry,” Mac said gruffly.  “I can’t even imagine that.”

“Pray that you never do, Mac.  I’m trying to
do everything that I can for Gina; everything that Arthur would want me to do, but I’m battling my own grief at the same time and I don’t know what else I’m supposed to do.”

“Just love her, Dad.  She’s lost her father and now you’re the closest thing that she has to one.”

“It’s a big responsibility, Mac.  It’s easy to love your own kids; as a parent you can’t help it.  Gina has always been special to me.  She’s the daughter your mother and I never had.  It’s easy to keep thinking of her that way and love her.”  Mac smiled and nodded.  “You’re in love with her, too.  Aren’t you?”

Mac’s eyes shot to his father’s.  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

William reached out and placed a reassuring hand on his son’s shoulder.  “Someday you won’t be so afraid of it.”

“Of what?”

“Letting go of the control.  You were always one to want to control everything and everybody and loving someone means that you’re not always in control.  But you know what?  It’s worth it, Mac.  Don’t fight it so damn hard.”

“I’m not like Lucas and Jason, Dad,” Mac said adamantly.  “You’re not going to play that game with me.  It won’t work.”

“There’s no game here,” William assured him.  “I could tell how you felt about Gina every time I saw the two of you together.  It’s obvious that you’re both crazy about one another.”

“Oh, you’d love that, wouldn’t you?  Then you could tell everyone how you played matchmaker to all three of your sons who were too stupid to realize how you were setting them up.”  With every word Mac was getting more and more agitated.  “I don’t like being played, Dad; you know that.  Is that why you left it up to me to check in on Gina?  Pick her up from the airport?”

Now it was William’s turn to be angry and he crowded close to his son and spoke in a near growl.  “In case you’ve forgotten, that poor girl came here to watch her father die.  How dare you make this about you or me or something as trivial as me putting a damn feather in my cap?  I told you from the get-go that you weren’t right for Gina; I told you that I wouldn’t do that to her and judging by the way that you’re behaving right now, I’m glad I didn’t.”  With a near sneer, he stepped away from his son.  “Grow up, Mac.  None of this was about you.”  William strode from the room and Mac was left standing alone and wondering what the hell had just happened.