do with age.”
Her chin jutted out in opposition. “It has
“Why, because it makes you so much more
The corner of her mouth twitched with a smile, giving him what he’d been after, but it didn’t completely erase the unease in her gaze. “Let’s just say that I had to grow up fast.”
Now they were getting somewhere. Beyond the superficial to the emotional, which was exactly what he wanted. “Why?” he asked, low and soft.
She looked out at the silver cast of moonlight spilling across the lake, and he prayed that she wouldn’t shut him out now that he’d finally managed to scale one of those walls of hers. His gut told him that her reasons were key to Rebecca and who she was, and why she was so guarded. And he needed to know exactly what he was up against.
After a silent minute passed, she spoke. “My mother passed away when I was sixteen and Celeste was ten. It was hard enough trying to deal with the adjustment of my mother’s death, who was a stay-at-home mom, but my father’s job required him to travel often and he was gone more than he was home, even after she passed away.”
“That couldn’t have been easy for you and your sister.”
“No, it wasn’t.” She drew her knees up and wrapped her arms around her legs, her gaze still focused on the gently rippling water. “Our neighbor at the time, Mrs. Sedgewick, stayed with us while my father was out of town, but I automatically took over the responsibilities at home that my mother used to take care of: cooking, cleaning, shopping, that sort of stuff.”
“And taking care of Celeste,” he added, already getting a clear view of Rebecca’s abnormal childhood. So much responsibility for someone so young.
“Yes.” She met his gaze and smiled, and there wasn’t the slightest glimmer of regret in her expression for what she’d sacrificed during her teenage years. “In a lot of ways I became a mother figure for her. Our situation was difficult enough with my mother being gone and our father always out of town, and the last thing I wanted was for Celeste to feel insecure, to feel like she didn’t have someone in her life she could count on. And because my sister was all I really had, it was easy to focus all my attention on her.”
He had a sister, as well, and knew just how strong those sibling bonds could be. “She’s very lucky to have you.”
“We’re lucky to have one another,” she corrected emphatically. “Especially since my father didn’t provide much in the way of emotional support or even financial security.”
He frowned, surprised by that comment. He knew their father had passed away of a heart attack years ago, but Rebecca’s remark seemed to apply to their lives right before he passed away. “How do you mean?” he asked curiously.
Again, she hesitated, as if realizing that she’d said too much. Again, he waited calmly and quietly for her to confide in him.
“I always thought that my father had a decent paying job,” she finally said. “I never knew how much he actually made, but we lived in a nice house in a good neighborhood, and my father drove a BMW Coupe. We had the big- screen TV, a pool and spa in the backyard, and a computer with all the bells and whistles on it, which cost a fortune at the time. Any new electronic gadget that came out, he had to have, too, and he didn’t think twice about his spending sprees.”
A gentle gust of breeze threaded through her hair, and she absently brushed a stray strand off her smooth cheek before continuing. “Anyway, after my mother passed away, whenever my father had to go out of town he gave me some cash to buy groceries and whatever Celeste and I needed for school, such as supplies, clothes and shoes. I learned to be frugal and thrifty with what he gave me, which was often barely enough, because I hated asking for more, and I always wanted to make sure that I took care of Celeste’s needs.” She shrugged, her shoulders shifting beneath her fleece jacket. “I never needed much myself.”
Or she’d just learned to do without, he thought, seeing just how incredibly selfless she’d been. It was just another reason for him to fall hard for this woman.
“What I didn’t realize until much later was that my father had a spending problem, and he charged everything on credit cards but never paid off the balance. So, over time he’d accumulated a huge debt that was nearly impossible to pay off. And, eventually, that led to him having to file for bankruptcy. We even lost the house we were living in.”
Rebecca swallowed hard, feeling the old flare of resentment and pain swell within her, and she struggled to keep that anger toward her father’s irresponsible actions from rising to the surface. “Celeste didn’t take the news as hard as I did, but I was absolutely devastated by the loss. It was the only home that Celeste and I had ever known, and suddenly it was gone, along with most everything inside. And it never should have happened.”
Compassion etched Connor’s masculine features. “I’m sorry you had to go through that, Rebecca.”
She was touched by his sincerity, yet a part of her was too aware that he had the potential of being every bit as frivolous with his spending as her own father had been. “It was a very valuable lesson to learn, even at such a young age. Losing everything like that taught me the value of saving money and being financially secure. I don’t ever want to be in that kind of situation again.”
He nodded in understanding. “You gave up so much to raise your sister, even after your father’s death.”
She dropped her head back and stared up at the clear sky, and its scattering of a thousand brilliant stars. “I’d do it again in a heartbeat.”
“I don’t doubt that for one second.” The gentle caress of his fingers along her cheek made her turn to look at him again, and then he asked, “But what about you, Rebecca?”
Uncertain about what he meant, she blinked at him in confusion. “What about me?”
“You’ve done a phenomenal job taking care of your sister, but now that she’s getting married and starting a life of her own with Greg, what about
How could the man be so perceptive? It was as if he knew what a difficult time she was having letting her sister go, not that she was going to admit it out loud to him. “My life is good.”
“As good as you want it to be?”
His dark brown stare was direct and unwavering, making her feel as though he could see all the way to her soul. It was an unnerving sensation, especially since he was the first man that she’d so openly and honestly shared her past with. “Nobody’s life is perfect.”
“True,” he agreed. “But maybe it’s time for you to think about what
That frightening thought shook her up inside, but she refused to let her fears override what she longed for the most. “For this moment, and this weekend, I want you,” she said, then gave into the impulse to lean toward Connor, place her hand on the soft cotton T-shirt covering his chest, and kiss him.
His mouth was incredibly warm and soft against hers, and when his lips gradually parted she was the one who initiated the kind of deeper, hotter kiss she craved. Tongues touched and mated, and as each slow kiss melded into another, a knot of pure, sensual need tightened in her belly, and lower.
His clean, male scent filled her senses, and beneath her hand she could feel the rapid beat of his heart, which matched her own. Her breasts swelled, her nipples tightened, and before long her entire body hungered for so much more. Like throwing caution and modesty to the wind and making love to Connor right out here in the open.
It was Connor who eventually ended the kiss, then pressed his forehead against hers. “It’s getting late,” he said, his voice gruff with arousal. “We should head back to the hotel.”
She managed a nod, grateful that at least Connor was able to think straight. A soft bed would be so much more comfortable than the hard ground or maneuvering around on a rock. “Okay.”
The ride back to the resort seemed to take twice as long. Once they arrived at the hotel, Connor dropped her off at the side entrance where he’d originally picked her up, then went to park his motorcycle.
She entered the hotel alone, wondering if this was the end of their night together since Connor hadn’t mentioned anything about seeing her in a few minutes, or even later. Obviously, he was respecting her request that
