Turning the Tide (Eastern Shore Swingers, #5) Read online

  “Yup.”

  “Damn it, man. Well, I hope she can get some relief.” Jim reached up to put a comforting hand on his partner’s shoulder.

  “Me too,” Luke agreed. “Well, have fun on your errand. I have a feeling I’ll get sent on a few of those on my way home from work.”

  “It’s all in the name of love, right?” Jim squeezed Luke’s shoulder affectionately.

  “Yeah, something like that.”

  Once he was sitting across from Connie, he hoped the silence of the short car ride to the waterfront restaurant at the Sunset Marina would finally be broken. She wouldn’t even make eye contact with him, but she had a warm smile for the waitress as soon as she arrived to take their drink order.

  After she left the table, Luke cleared his throat. “I don’t know what to say...but I think we need to talk.”

  Connie glanced up, spearing him with her bright blue eyes. They seemed bluer than the sky, which seemed pretty damn blue in its own right. “Why didn’t you tell me you were married?”

  He blew out a breath. Of all the things they needed to discuss, he didn’t realize that topic would be the first one out the gate. “I mentioned my wife on Saturday night, but you didn’t say anything, so I thought maybe it wasn’t a concern—”

  “Oh, come on.” She rolled her eyes so hard, the maneuver looked painful. “We texted all day yesterday, and it never occurred to you to mention the fact you are married?” She said the M-word with emphasis, but fortunately not loud enough to attract the attention of nearby diners.

  When Jim had ditched their lunch plans, at first Luke was relieved. They wouldn’t have to sit there at a table with Jim and the huge elephant in the room. But in reality, having Jim there as a buffer right about now would have been welcomed.

  “I wanted to tell you.” The words stumbled out of his mouth ungracefully. He wished he’d been able to order an alcoholic beverage, but there probably wasn’t enough liquor at the bar to make this conversation go smoothly. “But I was really enjoying talking to you, and I hoped you’d give me a chance.”

  “A chance to what?” Her gaze burned into his retinas as the waitress rushed over to their table, carefully placing their drinks in front of them. She was a pro at reading the mood of the table and quickly announced she’d stop by later to get their orders.

  Connie didn’t give him a chance to reply to her question, though.

  “Does Cap know you’re married? What about my sister?” she pressed. “Didn’t they set us up?”

  He shrugged. “I really don’t know if it was planned or not. Cap does know my situation, yes. I had never met your sister before.”

  “I can’t imagine why they thought this would be okay.” Connie’s mouth was set in a thin, firm line, looking so different from the soft, plump lips he’d nibbled on two days ago at The Factory. “I can’t wait to give Casey a piece of my mind.”

  Luke looked out across the water. His eyes traveled up and down the boats rocking in the gentle waves of the bay as he tried to muster up some regret for doing what he did. He was coming up short. He did regret having to leave The Factory before he told Connie about his situation, but he didn’t regret kissing her. Not by a long shot. And he didn’t regret the series of flirty texts they’d exchanged. It was the highlight of his year so far.

  And he couldn’t regret hiring her, because he didn’t make that decision—but it was one hell of an inconvenience.

  The waitress sneaked up on them like she was testing to see if the foul mood she’d detected earlier had dissipated. She must have felt the coast was clear, because she grinned as she held her notepad at the ready to jot down their orders. He got the scallops. She ordered the crab imperial. Then the young woman flitted away.

  “I know this is kind of a mess—”

  “’Kind of a mess’ is probably the biggest understatement I’ve heard in a long while,” she corrected him before taking a sip of her iced tea. “I knew I should have told Casey I had no business going to her stupid club.”

  “How did you know I was married? Did Jim tell you? Someone else in the office?”

  She shook her head. “I saw your family photos in your office. You, your wife, a son and a daughter, it looks like?”

  He folded his hands together on top of the table and studied her face. He wondered how old she was. This was the first time he’d seen her in natural light, and she had crow’s feet and a couple of lines around her mouth, giving her a wise, seasoned look. Her hair looked freshly dyed, like she’d colored it since he met her at the club. She was so lovely, with a graceful long neck and beautifully sculpted cheekbones. She hardly wore any makeup, and the blue color of her scrubs accentuated the golden tan skin of her arms and upper chest. She wore a thin silver necklace with a “C” made of diamonds that hung right in the hollow between her collarbones.

  “Maybe we should start over?” He was used to conceding, accustomed to giving up what he wanted to make others comfortable.

  If he had his way, he’d say to hell with her job and his wife and all the other bullshit facts of life that only press you deeper and deeper into your self-dug grave. He’d sweep her into his arms and see if her lips felt as magical against his as he remembered.

  “Start over how?” She leaned in, her eyes on his again, bouncing back and forth as though she wanted to guess the answer before he could vocalize it.

  “Well, you’re working for me now.” He groaned. That’s not how he wanted that to come out. “We’re working together now. I don’t want things to be weird or awkward. It was a mistake to falsely represent myself, and I feel really horrible about it. But I would love to put it behind us and move forward as colleagues.”

  “Oh, sure, you’d love to put it behind you,” she fired back, her gaze narrowing. “That would be convenient for you, wouldn’t it? If I just said, ‘no harm, no foul’ and we just pretended like nothing ever happened between us—that’d be just about perfect for you, huh?”

  Her tone instantly set his heartbeat racing. He wasn’t expecting her to push back. He was her boss. It’s not like she didn’t know how authority worked at her age. Apparently she didn’t care if she rubbed him the wrong way.

  Sigh. I’m mostly afraid she won’t rub me again in any way, he mused. Hell, I might have to settle for being rubbed the wrong way at this point of my life.

  “Then what do you suggest we do?” He returned her stare, pressing back with equal intensity. She didn’t look away. If they were having a staring contest, they were in a dead heat.

  She got a little smirk on her face, which surprised the hell out of him. She had no idea how seductive she was. She was one of those women who exuded sexuality but had absolutely no clue about it. Her sister knew her powers. Connie didn’t. Luke could already see having met both of them that Casey was the older sister who’d gotten all the attention from men, and Connie was the little sister hiding in her shadow, completely unaware she wielded the exact same power herself.

  “I want to know why you lied to me,” she said, leaning back into her chair. “And don’t pull the bullshit ‘I didn’t lie.’ It was a lie of omission, and you know damn well it was.”

  He liked her spunk. He couldn’t help it. After dealing with the whiny, manipulative soul-sucking woman he’d lived with for over two decades now, this independent, feisty streak was a breath of fresh air. He was going to match her spunk with pure, unadulterated honesty.

  “Cap invited me to the club because I confessed to him a few weeks ago that I haven’t had sex in ten years.”

  There. Bombshell dropped. There was no going back now.

  Connie was easily able to cover up the gasp that wanted to pop out of her mouth when a tray-wielding server arrived with their piping-hot meals.

  Nice timing.

  But her wide eyes gave away her surprise.

  Not just surprise. It looked like actual shock. She didn’t even look at her food; she just stared at him, her blue eyes meeting his brown.

  “It’s be
en a few years for me,” she said quietly. Her features softened as her gaze swept over him and then down to her crab imperial. “But I’ve been divorced for a really long time now.”

  He didn’t know what else to say. His situation was complicated. It wasn’t black and white like how many wanted to frame adultery.

  If you want to cheat, get a divorce. He’d heard that line a million times. It just wasn’t that simple.

  “I want to apologize again that we are even having this conversation,” he said, trying to get his bearings as he stabbed a tender scallop with his fork. He brought the bite to his mouth, hoping he’d come up with something more profound to say while he chewed. But words seemed to fail him at this juncture.

  “Ten years is a long time to go without sex,” she finally said. “Your kids are grown up now, so you’re not staying together for the kids.”

  He shook his head.

  “It’s none of my business, though.” She forced a smile and shoveled a bite of her crab imperial into her mouth.

  “Cap has done a number on me, I’m afraid.” Luke smiled then dabbed at his mouth with the white cloth napkin. “He made me believe I deserved some fun in my life. He’s probably wrong though.” He laughed. That’s all he could do about his situation some days. If he didn’t, resentment and bitterness would eat him alive.

  “So that’s why he invited you to the club.” Connie nodded with understanding. “Well, there are probably women there who are in the same boat. Or who aren’t looking for a relationship, so they don’t care.” She smiled at him with kindness in her eyes. It was the kind of soft letdown he had experienced the only other times he’d tried to step out on Barbara. It was the kind of rejection that didn’t sting; it wasn’t a kick to the balls, but it caused a long, dull ache in his heart.

  “Yeah, I guess so.” Maybe he should have tried to pick up some random single woman. Maybe he should have found a couple where the man liked to share. No feelings. No time to get to know each other. Just the raw physicality of it. The release.

  “So, are we going to be able to make this work thing happen?” She crossed her arms over her chest as if she just felt a chill come off the water, but Luke thought maybe she was resigning herself to the awkward situation they’d found themselves in.

  “It’s really up to you...” His voice trailed off wistfully as he tried to force his eyes and other parts of his body not to find her so attractive. He couldn’t seem to turn it off, though. This was not going to be easy. “I need a nurse.”

  “And I need a job.” She smiled as she looked at him, arms still crossed.

  He wanted to say a hundred other things, but he knew this was for the best. “Well, Jim and I are lucky to have you. I did look at your resume, by the way. I would have never imaged that Constance Stewart was you when I met you on Saturday. You don’t look old enough to have all that experience.”

  She surprised him again with a girlish giggle. “Well, you know, I started nursing when I was six.”

  “That explains it.” He drank in her glowing aura, wishing for so much more. At least he’d always have the memory of that kiss, and what might have been if...

  FOUR

  Marriage is a wonderful institution. But who wants to live in an institution? – Groucho Marx

  “You’re never here when I need you!” Barbara’s voice was so shrill that Alfie’s ears perked up, disturbing him from his late afternoon snooze. Once the dog realized it was her, he settled back down, unimpressed.

  “I have a job, you know.” Luke crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m sorry, but someone has to support the family and pay the bills.”

  Her scowl deepened. “Oh, so rub it in again that I can’t work, and I have to be fully dependent on you for everything. Thanks a lot. That makes me feel a lot better!”

  “Barbara, we’ve been over this a thousand times. If you call or text me when I’m with a patient, I won’t be able to respond to you till I’m done. And if I’m in surgery, I might be unavailable for hours.”

  “You’re supposed to tell me when you’re going into surgery,” she berated him. “You didn’t do that today. I was calling for hours, and there was no response. I had to call Beverly.”

  “And Beverly sent Jasmine over to take a look at your leg, right?”

  He could see her wheels turning, just looking for something else to throw in his face. She’d had a few symptoms of a blood clot in her leg and wanted someone to check it out. Jasmine was able to confirm that she was fine.

  “You know what? I’m going to Karen’s this weekend,” she said. “I need a getaway.”

  “You went to DC last weekend,” Luke reminded her. In all honesty, he was eager for her to go. He’d even pack her bag. But if he didn’t push back, she might change her mind. The more he pretended he’d be put out by her leaving, the more likely she was to go.

  “So what? You want to control where I go now too?”

  What?! he wanted to fire back. How was he the one controlling her?

  “I thought we were going to Jim and Helen’s dinner party on Saturday night?” he pressed, trying to conceal the excitement that was already beginning to bubble up inside him.

  Sure, he’d ruined things with Connie, but maybe he could find some other diversion this weekend? One way or another, sweet freedom for an entire weekend sounded blissful in and of itself!

  “I am in no mood to go hang out with your friends,” she seethed. “When was the last time you came with me to visit my family in DC?”

  “Do you want me to come with you?”

  No, of course, he didn’t want to go, but if he acted willing and even eager, she would gladly shoot down his suggestion. He’d been playing these games for a decade now. He was as skillful at this challenge as he was in the OR with a scalpel.

  “No. I want some alone time with Karen, and we’ll probably ask Chloe to join us. It will be a girls’ weekend.” She sniffed and nodded, pleased with her resolution.

  He rolled his eyes as though he were annoyed by the idea. “Whatever.”

  “Just promise me you’ll get those bookcases done this weekend finally? I can’t believe you’ve been sitting on your ass all week and haven’t gotten to them yet.” She didn’t even wait for a rebuttal; she simply pivoted on her heel and headed down the hall to pack.

  Never mind that he’d had a new employee start and had already worked sixty-plus hours. The only time he’d really had off was to take her to the doctor. But, yeah, he could see how it might appear that he’d been lounging around all week eating bonbons and not lifting a finger around the house. Never mind that he’d done all the dishes, laundry, and taken care of Alfie every moment he was home. Hell, he even paid someone to take Alfie for walks every day while he worked since Barbara couldn’t manage to do it reliably.

  Within an hour, his wife was packed. She dragged her suitcase out from the bedroom and shot him an expectant look. He rolled his eyes again and retrieved the heavy, overstuffed piece of luggage. How she could possibly need this much gear for a weekend trip was beyond him. He packed everything in the car, including her CPAP machine and all of her assorted drugs and medical paraphernalia: her special pillows, walker, and cane.

  It always baffled him that Barbara seemed perfectly capable of doing anything she wanted to do. It was only things she didn’t want to do that she balked at. Drive herself to Washington DC, nearly three hours away? That was no problem. But could she load up the dishwasher? Hell no.

  Another twenty minutes after running down her list of expectations for him for the weekend—during which he felt like the male version of Cinderella all over again—and she was finally on her way. He watched her back out of the driveway, still trying to suppress his glee until her car disappeared down the street.

  He fought the urge to re-enact that scene from Risky Business where Tom Cruise dances around the house in his undies playing air guitar. He felt like a teenager when his parents would leave him alone for the night, and he could eat whatever he wanted
, watch whatever he wanted—do whatever he wanted. He pulled out his phone and glanced wistfully at the conversation he’d had with Connie on Sunday. He meant to delete it, but he hadn’t been able to. He would keep her number in his phone in case he needed to reach her for work purposes. And the conversation...it served as a reminder that someone was interested in him, albeit briefly.

  Before they knew the truth.

  He’d read through the conversation so many times and fought the urge to text Connie so many times that he jumped when his phone actually buzzed with a text.

  Cap: What happened with you and Connie?

  Luke sighed at the thought of having to explain, but he was grateful for the distraction. He texted back: Well, I never got to tell her I was married, for one thing.

  Cap: Did you tell her you haven’t had sex in 10 years?

  Luke: I found out Monday morning she’s the new nurse my partner hired.

  It took a few minutes to receive a response, but when he did, it was simply WTF?!

  Luke: This is my life. I deserve it, I’m sure. I did manage to score a weekend alone though. Wife went to DC again.

  Cap: You should come back to the club tonight. BDSM theme. It’ll be fun.

  Luke: I know nothing about BDSM.

  Cap: Just come watch. It’ll be fun.

  Luke: You said that last time.

  Cap: And it was fun, right?

  Luke sighed so loudly that Alfie came racing in from the other room. “Hey, boy,” Luke said, rubbing the fur on the collie’s back. The dog locked his dark brown eyes on Luke and tilted his head inquisitively as if to ask if his master was alright. “Come on, let’s get your leash. I think we both need a walk.”

  Tail wagging, Alfie rushed into the kitchen to sit obediently by his leash. Luke clipped it on and guided the dog out the door, through the garage and out onto the street. They lived in a quiet neighborhood, one of the few single-family homes among apartment and condo complexes. On the other side of the highway, tall condominiums dotted the shoreline. The spring sun was beginning to sink toward the bay, but there was still plenty of sunshine beaming down on the white-capped waves breaking along the coast. He led Alfie to the light at the intersection so they could cross over to the ocean side.