Then, of course, there was the insight Liz had given him into a town where seemingly everyone knew everyone else’s business. In New York, though he had plenty of friends in the city, he was barely acquainted with most of his neighbors. That had always suited him just fine. There were enough real celebrities around town that a professional athlete could easily avoid the limelight if that was his choice. In his case, it had been.
How could this possibly be the best match for him? Even if the town didn’t come with a whole slew of emotional baggage attached, small-town living probably wasn’t right for him. He’d go stir-crazy in a month, quite probably sooner.
Sighing heavily, he came to what had to be the best decision. He’d set up an interview for tomorrow, because he’d made a commitment and commitments meant something to him. He’d even try to listen with an open heart, but his mind was already made up. He’d decline the job, wish them well, then take off right after the interview.
There were bound to be other coaching jobs, jobs that wouldn’t put him anywhere near a man he’d now convinced himself he didn’t really need to know or even meet. Thomas O’Brien was a name on a piece of paper, an important piece of paper to be sure, but meeting him wouldn’t change the fact that he’d been nothing to Aidan his entire life. At least he knew where to find him if some genetic health issue cropped up years from now.
An image of Liz crept into his head and he felt a moment’s regret. Not only was she beautiful, she had a good heart. He’d felt an instantaneous connection to her, something that rarely happened with the women who tended to flock around professional athletes. Liz was real.
Still, he couldn’t allow a momentary attraction to a woman to sway him into making a decision that was so obviously all wrong. He’d have a nice dinner, get a good night’s sleep, meet with the high school principal and then go on his way.
Satisfied with his plan, he checked the directions and headed toward The Inn at Eagle Point. As he drove along the winding road, he couldn’t help noticing the nearby bay, and once more Liz’s mention of Thomas O’Brien’s passion for that body of water slipped past his defenses. He pieced her words together with what little his mother had told him over the years and wondered what it must be like to be so idealistic that a cause mattered more than people, more than a son. If he left, he’d never know the answer to that.
“Stop it!” he muttered, as emphatic with himself as Liz had been with Archie earlier. The decision was made.
Somehow, though, it didn’t seem quite as valid as when he’d first reached it.
* * *
When Liz got home that night, Archie, Sasha and Dominique met her at the door of her little bungalow across the street from Dogwood Hill. The two terrier mixes that she’d rescued soon after coming to Chesapeake Shores might be small compared to Archie, but there was little question about who the alpha dogs were in her home. Girls ruled! After a few failed attempts to herd them, Archie had acquiesced to their dominance.
Now he sat quietly by and waited for his turn to get Liz’s attention. Then all three dogs trailed her into the kitchen, where her imperial majesty, a one-eared Siamese known as Anastasia, regarded them all with a superior look as she sat beside her kitty dish awaiting dinner. When Liz once again tried a less-expensive brand of cat food, Anastasia regarded her with an accusing look and turned up her nose.
“I don’t even know why I try,” Liz grumbled. “Other than the fact that this other stuff is going to bankrupt me.” Even so, she dumped the rejected food in the garbage and replaced it with the cat’s preferred brand.
As she looked around her small, but nicely updated kitchen, the mismatched group of strays brought a smile to Liz’s lips.
“Bree’s wrong,” she told them emphatically as she doled out more hugs and scratches behind the ears, then dished up dinner for the dogs. “You guys are all the companionship I need.”
But even as she said the words, an image of Aidan Mitchell crept in to make her blood pump just a little faster. And that was exactly why she had to stay far, far away from him.
2
Aidan was staring out the window of the restaurant at The Inn at Eagle Point with its unobstructed view of the bay, nursing his second cup of coffee after a surprisingly excellent breakfast, when a shadow loomed over the table. He looked up to find a man standing there, hand outstretched, a welcoming expression on his face.
“Mick O’Brien, son. And you’re Aidan Mitchell,” he said confidently. “Welcome to Chesapeake Shores.” Without asking, he pulled out a chair and sat. “I’ve been expecting your call since yesterday.”
For an instant Aidan couldn’t find his voice. This man was his uncle! He had absolutely no experience with extended family beyond his maternal grandparents, and no experience at all when it came to his paternal family. Obviously his decision to get out of town without crossing paths with any O’Briens hadn’t taken into account Mick O’Brien’s determination to court him for this job. Aidan wasn’t sure what his real role had been in the search for a new coach, but he’d been aggressive once Aidan had submitted his application.
When Aidan had called the school yesterday to confirm the appointment with the principal for this morning, he’d been told yet again how eager everyone—especially the town’s founder—was to close the deal. The enthusiasm had been rewarding, but disconcerting given his determination to leave without signing on for the job.
Mick glanced around for a waiter, then stood up and grabbed a cup from a neighboring table and poured himself some coffee from the pot the waiter had
