“Wouldn’t miss Ms.Patti’s Sunday dinner.”Couldn’t stay away was more like it.“Hope there’s room for one more.”
“Always room for family and friends,” Rafe said, walking over to join them at the grill, and the words twisted in Gabe’s gut.If they knew what he’d done…“Dad’s been wanting to talk to you about his latest check-up results anyway.”
Saved by the bell.Or in this case, by the older brother.The eldest Boudreau son had always been friendly enough, but lately Gabe had noticed a certain watchfulness in Rafe’s eyes, as if he sensed something wasn’t quite right with his baby sister.
If he only knew.
As Gabe turned toward the back door which Rafe had just come through, he watched as Nica emerged from the house, walking down the porch steps.Their eyes met, and for a moment the rest of the world fell away.He saw the slight catch in her breath, the way her fingers curled around the door frame.Remembered those fingers trailing down his chest, remembered—
“Dr.Summers.”Her voice was perfectly steady, perfectly proper.Only someone who knew her well would catch the slight tremor underneath.“Nice of you to join us.”
“Nica.”He managed a polite nod, ignoring the electricity that crackled between them.“Good to see you.”
“We were wondering if you’d be able to make Sunday dinner.I know Momma’s always happy to see you,” she said, but her eyes told a different story.We need to talk, they seemed to say.This can’t go on.
She was right.The secrets between them were like a powder keg, just waiting for a single spark.One wrong word, one careless glance, and everything would explode.His carefully rebuilt life, her family’s trust—all of it gone in an instant.
But then she moved past him onto the deck, and the subtle scent of her perfume—vanilla and something floral—made his head spin.The same scent would cling to his shirt for days after—
“You coming, Doc?”Rafe’s eyebrows rose slightly.“Or are you planning to stand there holding that casserole dish all afternoon?”
“Sorry.”Gabe shook himself.“Just…admiring the view.”If Rafe knew the view Gabe was really admiring was Nica, well, he’d probably be nursing a black eye while being frog-marched back to his truck.
Inside, the house was alive with the sounds and smells of Sunday dinner.Ms.Patti’s voice carried from the kitchen, directing traffic like a general commanding her troops.Lucas and Chance’s laughter echoed through the kitchen window.Everything normal, everything perfect.
Except everything was a lie.Gabe didn’t belong here, around this happy, smiling family, because his whole life was built on a lie.He didn’t belong anywhere near the Boudreaus and their family, not while he was harboring secrets.Because Gabe Summers, respected small-town doctor, the man who’d rebuilt his life from the ashes of scandal, was in love with Nica Boudreau.And sooner or later, everyone would know exactly what that meant.
He just hoped Shiloh Springs didn’t kick him to the curb when they discovered the truth.
CHAPTER TWO
The Boudreau backyardhummed with the familiar sounds of Sunday dinner—laughter floating over the clinking of ice in glasses, the sizzle of meat on the grill, and the comforting rhythm of family conversation.Nica stood by the old oak tree, nursing a lemonade and half-listening to Harper’s story about her newly commissioned mural in Austin.Her eyes kept drifting to Gabe across the lawn, who stood at the grill talking to her father, fielding questions about his recent medical research.
When he finally broke away and headed toward the cooler, Nica seized her chance.“Need help with that?”she asked, falling into step beside him as he walked toward the house.
“I’ve got it,” he said, then lowered his voice.“But I wouldn’t mind some company.”
They made their way around to the front porch of the sprawling ranch house, away from the festivity of the backyard.Gabe set the cooler down with a sigh on the worn wooden boards that had supported generations of Boudreaus.“Your brother can talk for hours about fishing lures, which is a bit surprising, considering there’s not much fishing done around these parts.”
“Try growing up with him,” Nica said, attempting a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes.
The air between them felt charged, heavy with unspoken words.Past the porch railings, they could see the tall lone oaks, hear the rest of the family and neighbors gathered in cheerful clusters on the back deck, out of view and oblivious to the tension just around the corner.
“So,” Gabe finally broke the silence, “you’re still mad.”
Nica crossed her arms.“I’m not mad.I’m…disappointed.When we got married, I thought we were on the same page about staying in Shiloh Springs for a while.I just finished my master’s, Gabe.I need some time to breathe, to figure things out.”
“The WHO position is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” he said, his voice gentle but firm.“You know how long I’ve dreamed of doing international work.”
“I know,” she sighed, leaning against one of the porch columns.“It’s one of the things we talked about when you visited me at College Station.But does it have to be right now?Right after we…” She glanced toward the yard, lowering her voice even though no one was nearby.“Right after we eloped?Were you planning this all along?”
Gabe ran a hand through his dark hair, the temples showing a bit of salt-and-pepper, and the gesture emphasized the age difference that weighed on him but had never once bothered her.
“Of course not.The timing is terrible, I know.But we can make it work, Nica.You could come with me.Your degree would—”
“I don’t want to make plans based on your career,” she interrupted.“I just spent six years working on achieving my bachelor’s and master’s degrees.I always planned on getting a job close to home, maybe Austin, where I could still live in or close to Shiloh Springs.I want to use my degree here, where my family is, at least for now.”
“And I respect that,” Gabe said, reaching for her hand and squeezing it gently.She didn’t pull away but didn’t squeeze back either.“But we need to tell them soon.About us.This secret marriage is making everything harder.”
