If I Can't Have You (If You Come Back To Me #3) (4 page)

Brendan’s eyelids flickered at the sound of the nurse’s voice.

“Mom?” he asked hoarsely, sounding a little anxious and disoriented. Colleen placed her hand on his forearm and squeezed gently.

“I’m right here, honey,” she soothed.

He focused on her sitting next to his bedside, and his anxiety immediately vanished. “I’m thirsty,” he said.

“Perfect timing, kid,” Liam said as Brigit stood to pour him some water. Brendan turned his head on the pillow and returned his uncle’s grin groggily.

“How are you feeling, Brendan?” Brigit asked.

“Okay.”

“Your foot doesn’t hurt?” she asked. As if her words had reminded him, Brendan lifted his head and stared down at his bandaged foot. He groaned, and his head fall back on the pillow.

“Does that mean yes?” Colleen asked anxiously.

“It doesn’t hurt, Mom,” Brendan assured, meeting her eyes.

Colleen loved her son to the ends of the world at the moment. He got exasperated with her mom-worry sometimes, but deep down, he knew how much she loved him.

“He just saw the bandages and thought of all the boring hours of lying in bed,” Liam said knowingly.

“Dr. Reyes said I can start moving around later this afternoon. He says it’ll make my foot stronger,” Brendan told Liam between sips of water.

“Did someone say my name?” Eric asked. The curtained-off portion of the already small space suddenly seemed as crowded as a dorm-room party.

“Hi,” Brendan said, smiling at Eric. “Did you do a good job on my foot?”

“Your mom didn’t tell you?” Eric asked.

“I just woke up,” Brendan said, leading Colleen to believe he didn’t remember much about his groggy transfer from the recovery room to his hospital bed.

“Then I’ll tell you,” Eric said. “You’re going to be tackling your uncle here by Thanksgiving, because I did a
fantastic
job.”

Brendan gave a tired little whoop of celebration.

Colleen couldn’t help but give a grudging smile as she watched Eric and Liam shake hands in greeting. She had to hand it to him. His cockiness was only exceeded by his charm.

Brigit and Liam stepped out of the room to give Eric room to examine Brendan, giving Colleen a chance to observe Eric’s easy banter with her son and the way Brendan seemed so comfortable with him.

“Do you work with kids a lot?” Colleen mused after he’d finished Brendan’s nerve response test, joking and talking with her son and distracting him with the fact that he was gently poking at his exposed toes with a sharp-looking metal instrument.

“I did my residency in pediatric orthopedic surgery,” Eric said. “When I was hired at Harbor Town Memorial, it was with an understanding that I’d be serving both adults and children, though.”

“Why did you decide to come back to Harbor Town when you could have worked in a larger hospital and just focused on children?” Colleen asked, puzzled. It suddenly struck her that she really knew absolutely nothing about him. Eric opened his mouth to respond but was interrupted.

“Hi, Brendan. Hey, Colleen.” Colleen looked around to see Natalie Reyes, Eric’s sister, peering around the curtain hesitantly. Eric glanced at Natalie and then back at Colleen. Suddenly, Colleen had her answer. He’d sacrificed some of his personal goals because he’d felt a fraternal responsibility toward his younger sister.

Natalie must have come from her office, because she wore an attractive chocolate-brown suit that highlighted her svelte figure and dark eyes.

“Should I come back later?” she asked.

“No, I’m all finished. My patient gets perfect marks,” Eric said. He walked over and gave his sister a peck on the cheek. Colleen noticed that Brendan’s eyes went wide at the gesture. He looked stunned that his newly acquired friend had just done something as treasonous as kiss his uncle’s girl right in front of him. Eric must have noticed, because he grinned.

“Natalie is my sister, Brendan.” He threw Colleen a quick, wry glance. “I see no one told you that, either.”

“Well, I’m sorry! It never came up. We were thinking about other things, like emergency surgeries,” Colleen said defensively.

“Natalie is your
sister?
” Brendan asked.

Natalie smiled and nodded.

“Didn’t the same last name ring any bells?” Eric asked, chuckling at Brendan’s continued wide-eyed stare of amazement.

Brendan grinned and shook his head.

“Liam told me you’re doing really well, Brendan,” Natalie said.

“I’m okay. Just sleepy,” Brendan said before he grimaced slightly. “And a little…”

“What?” Colleen asked.

“Sick to your stomach?” Eric asked from behind her.

“A little,” Brendan admitted.

Colleen glanced around at Eric. He obviously read her concern, because he gave her a small smile.

“It’s normal to be groggy and a little nauseous after the anesthesia. I’ll have the nurse bring in some soda and crackers. Then Brendan can take a nice long nap.”

Natalie walked out of the room with her brother while Colleen stayed with Brendan, who was having trouble keeping his eyes open. Eric returned a few minutes later. He hadn’t just told a nurse to bring something to soothe Brendan’s stomach. He’d brought the items himself.

“I really didn’t expect you to do all this,” Colleen said in a hushed tone as she stared at Brendan’s sleeping face. He had drunk half a cup of soda and eaten two crackers. He’d said his stomach felt better before he’d promptly fallen asleep.

“Why do you sound so surprised?”

Colleen blinked and turned around from where she was sitting at the edge of Brendan’s bed. She’d been surprised, all right—by the nearness of Eric’s quiet, gruff voice, not by his solicitation. He stood a foot or so behind her. Her face was at the level of his abdomen. Her gaze flickered up the length of his scrubs. His eyes gleamed in his shadowed face as he looked down at her. She found it impossible to break his stare. The moment stretched.

Her heart seemed to stall in her chest as he reached to touch her cheek.

Chapter Two

“I
s he sleeping?” a woman whispered from behind them. Colleen started out of her trance, feeling like she’d been caught in an illicit act, which was ridiculous. She self-consciously brushed at her cheek with her fingertips, feeling nothing but her heated skin. There must be something there, though. Surely Eric had just been about to innocently remove some dust or dirt from her face.

Natalie peered at them next to the drawn curtain. Something about the hopeful, hesitant expression on her delicate features made Colleen forget her unease.

“Yes,” Colleen replied.

“I…I was wondering if Liam and I could speak to you two?” Natalie asked.

She glanced up at Eric, who looked just as confused as Colleen felt, then back at Natalie. “Us? Together?”

Natalie nodded. “Maybe we can talk down in the waiting room at the end of the hall? There’s something important we’d like to discuss with both of you,” she whispered, a trembling smile on her lips. Colleen couldn’t quite interpret her expression. Was it excitement? Or anxiety?

“Sure,” Colleen said more confidently than she felt. She turned to Brigit, who had just re-entered the room. “Mom, could you stay with Brendan while we run down to the waiting area? I could use a soda. I’ll be back in just a bit.”

Brigit agreed, and Colleen, Natalie and Eric filed out of the room. When they reached the waiting area, she saw Liam was the only other occupant. Natalie sat next to him, and Eric and Colleen took seats just across from the couple.

“We could do this another time if you’re
uninterested,
Eric,” Natalie said, her mouth settling into a grim line that didn’t at all match her lovely, delicate features. Looking at Eric, Colleen realized his expression had turned cold. Hard. As she glanced back and forth between their stubborn faces, Colleen realized just how much brother and sister resembled one another. Two identical pairs of eyes shot sparks back and forth.

What the heck?
Colleen thought. She’d only really gotten to know Natalie over the last several months, but she’d never once seen her any way but even-tempered and pleasant. Leave it to Eric to be the one to instigate this unlikely reaction in a paragon of virtue like Natalie. Still…why had Natalie’s suggestion about their meeting turned Eric into a glaring block of ice?

“I didn’t say I was uninterested,” Eric said.

“Fine,” Natalie replied, her eyebrows still arched in a challenge.

Colleen didn’t get what was going on here, but she had a long history with brothers. Marc and Liam were fantastic, but she and her sister, Deidre, had learned long ago the importance of banding together in the face of male arrogance. Eric remained turned in profile to her, but she could almost feel his disapproval like a cold breeze. Yes,
this
was the Eric Reyes she knew—the man who had turned brooding into an art form.

“Anybody want a soda?” Liam asked, standing.

“What did you want to talk to us about?” Colleen asked Liam immediately once he’d handed them their drinks and sat down again.

“We were going to take you two to lunch separately—someplace nice—to break the news, but then Brendan got admitted into the hospital and our plans had to be changed. I suggested we get in the squad car, turn on the sirens and use the bullhorn to spread the news to everyone in Harbor Town, but Natalie wouldn’t let me. Spoilsport.”

“Liam,” Natalie remonstrated with a smile and a slap on his arm that turned into a caress. They both were glowing. Liam stared at Natalie, grinning, and suddenly they were kissing.

“Wait,” Colleen said, the truth slowly dawning. “You two aren’t… You’re not…”

“We’re getting married,” Liam said in a perfunctory manner before he leaned down to kiss Natalie again.

Natalie’s laugh before she was silenced by Liam’s kiss was clear and musical, the very sound of happiness. Colleen just sat there holding her unopened can of soda, dumbfounded.

“But you haven’t even known each other for four months now,” she said, even though Liam and Natalie looked far too busy to be listening.

“Not even three,” Eric corrected morosely from beside her.

Colleen did give him a quelling glance that time. He lifted one raven-dark brow and levelly returned her sardonic stare. The fact that he could look as handsome as the devil when he was being such a jerk really steamed her.

In truth, she felt torn. The last thing she wanted to do was agree with Eric on something—anything—but she
did
feel that Liam and Natalie were being rash. Surely it was too soon in their relationship to decide on marriage. She and Darin had engaged in a whirlwind love affair before they’d married. They’d been young and foolish, and wild to be together before he was deployed to the Persian Gulf for his first tour of duty. Colleen wouldn’t have changed that decision for anything, given the way things had turned out, but at this point in her life, she recognized they hadn’t exactly behaved wisely.

Then there was the news of what she’d learned about her own parents several months ago. She’d always assumed her parents were the ideal couple. She’d considered their marriage inviolate. Recent events had proved her wrong.

In a gut-punching type of way.

Brigit and Derry Kavanaugh had each engaged in an extramarital affair in the early stages of their marriage. Colleen’s sister, Deidre, was in truth her half sister. Finding out that Deidre wasn’t his biological daughter was what had instigated Derry’s extreme distress and intoxication on the night of the crash that had changed their lives forever.

Yes, Colleen was a bit jaded on the concept of marriage at the moment.

“So, you plan on a long engagement, Liam?” Colleen asked. “The two of you should have plenty of time to be sure about—”

Liam lifted his head and spoke, interrupting her. “We’re getting married December 14. We’ve already booked the date at Holy Name. We took the first day we could get.” He gave Natalie one last kiss, this one quick and tender, before he leaned back and took a swig of his soda. Both of them were grinning from ear to ear.

“It’ll be a Christmas wedding,” Natalie said to Colleen.

Since Natalie had started seeing Liam, she didn’t hide as much behind the dark glasses that helped to protect her light-sensitive eye. The glasses also covered the scars on her left temple—scars she’d received in the accident as a child. At the moment, the lighting in the waiting room was dim enough that Natalie wasn’t wearing her glasses. There might never have been a devastating car wreck sixteen years ago if Natalie’s shining eyes and joyous expression were any indication.

“
Christmas.
But it’s already almost Halloween,” Colleen exclaimed.

“We can’t wait a day longer,” Liam said.

Natalie leaned forward, looking concerned. “I know it’s probably a bit of a surprise. But Liam and I could really use both of your support and help in this. We don’t want a large wedding, but there will be a great deal to organize, I suppose.”

“I’ll do whatever I can do to help, of course,” Colleen said, all the while feeling guilty about the fact that she was harboring reservations about the quickness of this decision. Liam was courageous—true—but his boldness bordered on impulsivity at times. He’d been known to volunteer for the most dangerous assignments when he’d been a Chicago police detective. Not that marrying Natalie was the same as a risky assignment, but still…

“Are you sure?” Liam asked her. “You knocked yourself out with the planning for Mari and Marc’s wedding, Colleen. Ours won’t be as fancy. We just want family and good friends.” He grinned. “And a great party, of course.”

Natalie was studying her brother. “You haven’t said anything, Eric.”

“I don’t think it should come as a shock to you that I think you two are jumping the gun on this,” Eric replied bluntly.

A tense silence ensued. Colleen squirmed uncomfortably in her chair. She agreed with Eric, but she hated the sadness that seeped into Natalie’s radiant expression and the way Liam’s grin flattened.

“I want to make it clear, we’re not asking for permission,” Liam stated after a moment. “Or for approval,” Liam added, meeting Eric’s stare. “Natalie and I
are
getting married. I’m crazy about her, and I want to take care of her for the rest of my life, be there for her…love her.” He glanced over at Natalie, and the glow of love flared once again in her dark eyes. “Some people take years to know whether or not they want to make that commitment. Natalie and I have known since this summer.” Liam glanced from Colleen and back to Eric. “Believe or don’t believe. Just know that Natalie and I
do
believe in each other…in this.” He took Natalie’s hand in his and faced them again. “If that’s good enough for you, we’d like both of you to be in the wedding, too.”

Despite her anxiety over the situation, Colleen couldn’t ignore the love and determination, the pure joy, in his tone.

She stood and rushed over to him, hugging him tight and offering her congratulations. Natalie came next. Colleen kissed her on the cheek.

“I’m finally going to have a sister who lives here in town,” she said before she gave Natalie a hug.

“I’m finally going to have a sister, period,” Natalie replied, laughing.

Over Natalie’s shoulder, she noticed Eric still sat. Colleen hitched her chin slightly at Natalie in a pointed gesture, glaring at him the whole time.

Get off your butt this instant and congratulate your sister, Reyes.

His hard mouth twitched—probably in annoyance, because it couldn’t possibly have been in humor, given the situation—and he stepped toward his sister.

“You’re sure?” he asked simply.

“I am. I love Liam so much,” Natalie replied before she flew into her brother’s arms.

“I just want you to be happy.” Colleen blinked back a tear when she heard the deep feeling infused into Eric’s usually level voice.

“I’ve never been so happy in my life,” Natalie said.

Liam’s smile was unusually tender when Colleen met his stare. She realized her face was damp with tears. When she glanced back at Eric and Natalie, she saw that Eric watched her as well over Natalie’s head, his eyes dark and inexplicable.

Later that afternoon, Eric called out to Colleen as she was walking out of the hospital gift shop.

“Did they take Brendan down to the physical-therapy gym?” he asked as he caught up with her. He couldn’t help but notice how her expression became guarded when she recognized him. Every time he told himself he was used to her defensiveness and dislike, that it really didn’t matter, Colleen surprised him.

It mattered.

She nodded. “It seems strange to have him moving around right after surgery.”

“Don’t worry. The physical therapists here are real pros. They’ll just be assessing him and doing some simple stretches to keep his muscles flexible and strong. I’m glad I caught up with you. Can we talk in my office?” he asked as they progressed down the hallway together.

Her bluish green eyes flashed. “Why?”

“Liam and Natalie.”

“I can’t believe they’re getting married,” she murmured.

“That’s what I want to talk to you about.”

“What do you mean?”

He held out his arm, beckoning her down a corridor to the right of them. “My office is down here. Please?”

She wore a pair of supple black leather boots that hugged her shapely calves just as tightly as her form-fitting jeans hugged her thighs. Colleen didn’t look like the mother of any kid he’d ever operated on before, but that wasn’t saying much. Colleen made a habit of breaking most stereotypes, even if she could be rather predictable when it came to certain things.

Like hating him, for instance.

“What’s wrong? Not afraid of being alone with me, are you?” he teased softly when he noticed her wavering in those sexy black boots.

“Don’t be ridiculous. Let’s make it quick, though. I want to get back before Brendan’s appointment is over.” She strode down the hallway, her boot heels clicking briskly. Per her typical MO, she left him standing there like a gawping teenager stunned into immobility by her golden beauty.

Fortunately, he wasn’t a teenager anymore. He did what any red-blooded man would have done under the circumstances and stood still, admiring the rear view of Colleen Kavanaugh Sinclair in a pair of tight jeans. She came to a halt and turned her head, the abrupt gesture causing her mane of long blond hair to whip around her.

“Are you coming or what, Reyes?”

He knew she didn’t expect an answer, just compliance, so he said nothing as he caught up to her. Neither of them spoke as they walked side by side down the hospital corridor to his office.

He’d known her since he was seventeen years old—or at least, he’d known
of
her. They hadn’t exactly moved in the same social circle. She was a Kavanaugh, after all, and he was the son of an immigrant who cleaned Harbor Town offices and hotel rooms. She was a daughter of a wealthy Chicago attorney who could afford to buy a vacation home in Harbor Town and provide his wife and children with sunny, perfect vacations that lasted not just for two weeks but entire summers. Colleen had been the prettiest girl in a group of very pretty girls. She’d been the best athlete, the bravest and the smartest of that elite group, as well.