After he’d done more than he’d ever know by sending me that song this morning, I hated the idea of hurting him. I had to make him understand. I bridged the distance between us. “Murray, I was only trying to save you from more stress. You have so much going on with Kelly and Jill, and I know there’s something stressing you at work too. I didn’t want to add to that.”
Murray took a step toward me, closing the distance entirely. When he bent his head to mine, I sucked in a breath because wewere so close our noses almost touched. He smelled of a heady mix of his woodsy cologne and the salt air of the sea. There were specks of yellow gold in his eyes; it was what made his mossy green irises so compelling. Or was it the warmth in them, even when he was disappointed with me?
“I have very broad shoulders, London. I can handle it. I want …” He searched my face almost frantically. “I need you to know you can trust me.”
Without thinking, I reached for him, my palms resting on his hard chest. “I do trust you. I don’t want you to think my going to Ramsay was a slight. I was just trying to protect you and Kelly. It wasn’t … it’s not that I don’t think you can handle it. I would never … especially after this morning. That song you sent …” Tears stung my nose. “It means more than you’ll ever know. I needed to hear your message more than I’ve ever needed to hear anything.”
Murray’s gaze dipped to my lips as he covered my hands with his, curling his fingers around mine. “Good.” The one-word response was gruff.
My belly flipped as the tension tightened between us like a coiled spring, his gaze never wavering from my mouth. Excitement heated my blood because it was the first time Murray had ever overtly shown attraction for me.
Pulse throbbing in my ears and neck, I lost all rational thought, thinking only of his lips. On mine. My skin burned hot, the tension connected by a thread to the throbbing place between my legs. It tugged and tugged on it until I couldn’t quite catch my breath and all I could imagine was that the solution to my problem laid within Murray Shaw’s kiss. Pushing up onto my tiptoes, my lips had barely brushed his when the door to his room crashed open.
“Dad!”
We jolted apart, my lips tingling, my nerves jangling as we turned to find Kelly, pale-faced and holding out her phone. If she was aware of catching us in a moment, she didn’t let on. Instead, she waved the phone desperately in the air, her voice shaking as she announced, “It’s Mum.”
Just like that, the air chilled as Murray marched past me and took the phone from Kelly’s grasp. He strode out of the room, and I heard him demand, “Why are you calling Kelly?”
Kelly stared after him, her hands clenched at her sides.
Shaking off whatever had almost passed between me and her father, I walked over to press a comforting hand to her shoulder. “My mac and cheese is probably ready. Why don’t you help me set the table?”
Kelly nodded numbly and followed me upstairs, leaving Murray to deal with Jill.
25.Murray
“Not that you’re Mr. Loquacious, but you seem extra quiet tonight,” Quinn observed, expression concerned. “You all right, Murray?”
My eyes flickered toward Ramsay who was in the middle of tuning his bagpipes. He didn’t return my gaze, and I lowered mine to the bass drum at my feet. I very rarely played the Lantern with the rest of the band because the bass drum was so loud. However, it was also an underrated and underappreciated instrument because it really provided the heartbeat of the melody.
Tonight, I’d act as an intro for Quinn on the snare drum, Forde on the tenor drum, and Ramsay as the piper. Laird, the second bagpiper in the Leth Sholas Pipe Band, wasn’t playing because we never used two pipers in small venues. He and Ramsay alternated gigs. Laird was at home tonight, and I would join our friends and family in the audience after my intro piece.
“It’s just been difficult,” I finally replied to Quinn, “bringing Kelly home under those circumstances.”
“You know we’re all here for you both. Well, for thethreeof you.”
“Aye, how’s that going?” Forde grinned behind Quinn.
We were crammed into Aodhan’s office while we waited to go out into the pub to play our first gig of the season.
I pretended not to know what Forde meant. “How’s what going?”
“Having a beautiful, young wife in your life.” Forde winked, still wearing that shit-eating grin.
For Forde, I imagined the thought of committing to one woman was a scary thing. At thirty-seven he’d never shown any signs of settling down. He was the island’s mechanic and paramedic and he volunteered for the lifeboat service. The man had more awards for heroics and bravery than anyone I’d ever met … but to me, it seemed to stem from an idea that his life was somehow expendable.
If I said that out loud, he’d probably swing for me.
Forde always got tight-lipped and defensive whenever someone tried to discuss his lack of personal commitments.
“It’s none of your business,” I replied with quiet sternness.
Forde chuckled. “Well, that sounds promising.”
Quinn cut a look over his shoulder at his best friend. “Read the fucking room, Forde.”
He just shrugged, still laughing under his breath.