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  Foolish woman, she berated herself, forcing a smile for the three firefighters helping themselves to the cookies.

  Landon Wright’s eyes lit up when he took a bite. “O.M.G., these are freaking awesome.”

  Ava pressed her lips together to hold back a laugh at his friends’ slack-jawed expressions. Erin was rubbing off on the shaggy-haired Landon. The two were best friends.

  “Tell me I didn’t just hear ‘O.M.G.’ come out of your mouth?” one of the guys said.

  “Seriously, Wright, you just lost your man card,” the tallest of the three said.

  His cheeks a telling pink, Landon ignored his friends. “If you promise to make these cookies every day, I’ll marry you, Ava.”

  “I’ll pass your proposal on to my Aunt Rosa, Landon. She’s the one who—”

  A large hand and muscular forearm appeared from behind her and the tray disappeared. For a big man, her ex-husband moved quietly and quickly. He glanced from her to the three firefighters. “Back off, boys. They’re mine.”

  Liam sauntered over to stand beside them. His hair was darker than Griffin’s, his eyes just as blue. He was six foot two to his brother’s six-four, leaner, too, but just as devastatingly handsome. All the Gallagher men were.

  “You better do as he says, boys. My brother’s pretty possessive of his cookies. And don’t be embarrassed, Landon—you’re not the first guy to propose marriage over a cookie. My brother did the same. Didn’t you, Griff?” Ignoring his brother’s killing glare, Liam grinned and took a cookie. “O. M. G, these are freaking awesome. If Ava’s were this good, I totally get why you proposed to her, big brother.”

  Ava didn’t know how Griffin reacted to his brother’s teasing remark because she was too busy scowling at Liam…who winked at her.

  “No way can you eat all of those,” the tall firefighter challenged Griffin.

  Griffin raised an eyebrow and slowly brought a cookie to his mouth. The way in which his strong, white teeth bit into the pastry seemed to give the younger men pause.

  Landon nervously tugged on his friend’s arm. “Let’s go see if Erin can hook us up.”

  “You never did like to share,” Liam said to his brother. “Can’t say I blame you though.” He helped himself to three more cookies. “Leave it to me to fall in love with the only DiRossi who can’t cook. Speaking of my wife, I think I’ll take my cookie break with her.”

  “Make sure it’s only a cookie break you’re taking, baby brother. I wanna get this wall done today,” he called after Liam, who shot him a grin over his shoulder. Griffin shook his head and placed the tray on the scaffolding. Leaning against the steel bars, he crossed his arms. “Why haven’t you told Kitty about your arm?”

  Ava drew her gaze from the black armband tattoo that circled his left bicep. “Because it’s nothing.” She nodded at the dessert cart where the other men had gathered. “There’s coffee. Would you like a cup?”

  “You can’t distract me that easily, Ava. I want to know why you haven’t told anyone you’re hurt. You shouldn’t be working.”

  “Why are you making such a big deal of this? It’s just—”

  “You tell Sophie about it?”

  “No, and would you please just give it a rest?”

  “Tell Sophie and I will.”

  “Fine.”

  He half laughed, half huffed. “I wasn’t born yesterday. I know what it means when a woman says fine. You tell Sophie or I do.” He took another cookie, studying it instead of eating it. “So, Rosa’s trying to butter me up in hopes I’ll vote to keep Greystone in the family, is she?”

  Ava wasn’t surprised he’d clued in. He was a smart and observant man. She was just glad he seemed to believe the cookies had to do with the estate and not her. “Yes, and I’m sure she won’t be the only one. You know, Griffin, Greystone isn’t just important to the Gallaghers. The manor’s important to everyone in town.”

  “The town will survive. If the condos go for what I heard they will, you’ll have a lot of rich folks running around town with money to burn.”

  “What about Liam, Kitty, and Sophie?”

  “What about them? They’ll be rich too.” His mouth quirked at the corner. “You cursing me out in your head?”

  “Maybe. A little.” She made a face. “I’m sorry about earlier. I really do appreciate the shoes. Thank you.”

  “Told you before, it wasn’t a big deal.” He averted his gaze from hers and pushed away from the scaffolding. “I should be getting back to work.”

  “Why are you helping out if you want to sell?” She wished he hadn’t come, and not just because of the book. Spending time with him, being this close to him, reminded her of what she’d given up. It was like being lost in the desert, dying of thirst, and he was a mirage—a cool blue, shimmering lake that was just out of reach. It was simpler, easier, when he visited her in her dreams.

  “My old man. He’s the only reason I’m here. He’s got enough on his plate without dealing with this too,” he said, his tone clipped and harsh, just like it had been yesterday. He briefly closed his eyes and drew a hand down his face. “Sorry, I didn’t get much sleep last night. I’m not trying to be an ass about this, Ava. I do understand what the manor means to all of you. It’s just that feelings won’t pay the bills. You’re going to work your asses off and sink a pile into this place with no payback. The developer’s just going to tear down the manor.

  “You need all ten of us on board, and my uncle’s girls hardly spent any time here. They have no loyalty to Harmony Harbor or Greystone. You’re all too close to see just how much work the place needs, but they will, especially if you put them in Colleen’s suite. I’m surprised I don’t have frostbite. I could see my breath this morning.”

  “Why? I brought you firewood. Didn’t you use it all?” she asked, and heard the anxious note in her voice. She hoped he didn’t.

  “I couldn’t get the damn thing to light.”

  It took everything Ava had not to make a mad dash to his room. “I’ll take care of that for you.”

  He crossed his arms and cocked his head. “You are going to take care of it for me, a Navy SEAL?”

  Her lips tipped up at the offended look on his face. She gave his arm a playful pat. “It’s okay. I won’t tell anyone.” At the feel of his warm skin and hard muscle, an electrical zing of desire shot through her, and she had to force the teasing smile to stay in place. She raised her eyes to meet his, but he was looking at her hand. Her hand that was still on his arm. She jerked it away. “I’ll, um, go and—”

  “Ava, just the person I was looking for,” Dana said, giving them both a smile.

  Ava’s own fell from her face. If she wasn’t mistaken, along with the smile, Dana had a matchmaking glint in her eyes.

  And that’s how Ava got stuck spending five hours watching her ex-husband hammer one hundred and one twelve-by-twelve tiles to the wall. Supposedly she was doing so for quality control. To be fair, four of the one hundred and one tiles had been slightly crooked. Although she may have missed one or two because she spent as much time watching the play of muscles across Griffin’s back and the powerful flex of his bicep when he hammered the nails into the wood. And as though to prove to her that he was a SEAL, the man refused to take a break. Which, in one way, was a good thing because he hadn’t gone to his room.

  “Pizza’s here,” Liam called from the open doors.

  “Thank God,” Ava murmured. She was pretty sure she heard Griffin say the same. Her eyes went wide when he jumped from the scaffolding. “You were a SEAL, not Superman,” she informed him tartly.

  Beneath his heavy scruff, she caught the wink of his dimple. “Pretty much the same thing.”

  She rolled her eyes. “While you go feed your oversized ego, I’ll put the fire on in your room.”

  He laughed, then grew serious. “You’re going to eat before you do.”

  “Ava, can you help me out here?” Sophie called, holding up a pizza box.

  Griffin grabbed
her hand as she went to walk away. “I’m not joking, Ava. You have to eat.”

  “Why? Because you think I’m too skinny? I know I am. But there’s nothing wrong with me if that’s what you’re implying.” She didn’t have an eating disorder. Food just didn’t hold the same appeal for her anymore. It all tasted and smelled the same—bland. Half the time she was too busy or too tired to eat anyway.

  “You never used to be,” he murmured, gently rubbing his thumb over the finger that once wore his ring. He raised his gaze and met hers. “Ava—”

  Jasper appeared from out of nowhere. “Master Griffin, there’s a call for you in the study. It’s your wife.”

  Chapter Five

  Colleen wanted to wrap her hands around Jasper’s neck and squeeze. If they wouldn’t pass right through him, that’s exactly what she’d do. He’d just ruined Ava and Griffin’s moment. Her great-grandson was so close to realizing he was still in love with Ava that Colleen had about done a jig. Though she highly doubted the straight-laced Jasper even knew how to dance, the smug smile he tried to hide made it clear he was doing some celebrating of his own. He’d accomplished exactly what he’d set out to—Griffin looked guilty and Ava stricken.

  Colleen was torn between following after her great-grandson to listen in on his conversation with his ex-wife and following Ava when she begged off pizza duty to finish up the guest rooms. With Ava unable to hear her, it wouldn’t be much use offering the girl comfort. At least with Griffin, if the conversation went in a direction Colleen didn’t like, there was a possibility she could interrupt it. “Come on, Simon, I might need your help messing…” Her gaze narrowed on Ava, who tracked Griffin across the lobby, then hightailed it up the grand staircase when he disappeared from view.

  The girl was up to something.

  “Change of plans. You go with Griffin. Pull the phone jack out of the wall if it sounds like Lexi’s trying to convince him to leave. It’ll buy us some time at least.” Simon blinked up at her, which she’d come to interpret as Have you lost your bloody mind? in cat-speak. “What? You got Kitty to the ballroom in time for her to intervene with Jasper earlier. Just bite through the phone cord if you have to. Off you go now,” she said, and hurried up the grand staircase.

  “What are you up to, Ava my girl?” Colleen wondered aloud as she caught up to her on the third floor. She hadn’t stopped for a service cart, so it wasn’t as if she planned to clean rooms. As Ava’s footsteps rang out on the spiral staircase to the tower, Colleen realized what she was about and chuckled. “Well now, I have to say I’m impressed. I didn’t think you had it in you. A well-planned seduction is just the ticket to get things back on track with Griffin.”

  Ava glanced over her shoulder as she slid her passkey into the door.

  Worried that Jasper might have followed them, Colleen also looked over her shoulder. There was no sign of the man she now thought of as her nemesis.

  She followed Ava into the room. “I used to be a dab hand at seducing my Patrick. It’s too bad I can’t remember where I put the candles,” she said when Ava closed the door and pulled a lighter from her breast pocket.

  Ava headed for the fireplace and the wrought-iron candelabra with the rows of candles.

  “I suppose that’ll work. Though you should close the draperies to set the mood. More romantic, you know.” Colleen’s eyes nearly bugged out of her head when, instead of lighting the candles, Ava moved them aside and stuck her head in the fireplace. “For the love of all that is holy, please tell me you’re not trying to set my book on fire.”

  That’s exactly what the girl intended to do. As Ava held the flickering flame to the small space between the two bricks, Colleen blew with all her might. She did it two more times before Ava stopped to hold the lighter upside down, shaking it. “Don’t do it, child. You have no idea what you’re about. There’s information in the book that can’t be lost. It’ll cause more heartache than you know.”

  Colleen yelled, “Stop!” at the top of her lungs to little effect. She’d used up most of her energy blowing out the flame. Ava, of course, was oblivious and tried again. This wasn’t going to be as easy as with Griffin. If possible, Ava was more stubborn than he was. Colleen prayed the girl ran out of lighter fluid before she ran out of air.

  Thankfully, fifteen minutes later, that’s exactly what happened. Ava released a defeated sigh and leaned against the fireplace, rubbing the tip of her scorched thumb. “Why did you do it, Colleen? Why did you record everyone’s secrets?”

  Colleen heard the censure in Ava’s voice and sat beside her. “I didn’t mean to hurt anyone. You have but one secret, and look what it’s done to you. Try carrying around as many as I have. I needed to get them out of my head, and some things needed to be recorded. I’d planned to pass my book on to a member of the Widows Club. Someone I could trust to keep the secrets that needed to be kept and make right on the others. A man died because of me, and I’d vowed never again to meddle in anyone’s affairs.”

  She glanced at Ava. Her expression hadn’t changed. She was still angry with her. Colleen imagined she wasn’t the only one. But that wasn’t something she could concern herself with now. She had to ensure the book didn’t fall into the wrong hands, at the same time protecting it from those who would destroy it.

  Griffin returned to the ballroom and grabbed the last piece of pizza from the box.

  “Everything okay with Lex?” Liam asked.

  “Yeah…No, I don’t think so,” Griffin admitted because he was worried. “Something’s up with her but she won’t talk about it over the phone. She said it can wait until I get back to Virginia.”

  “Is that why she called? To find out when you’re going home?”

  “No, she said someone left her a message to call that number. She thought it was me.”

  “Weird. I wonder who called her.”

  “I have a fairly good idea who.” He lifted his chin to where Jasper stood in the lobby, talking to the cat. “Jeeves. Anytime I’m around Ava, he goes into watchdog mode.” Griffin didn’t like it, but he understood why. In Jasper’s mind, Ava had hurt one of his own.

  “You’re probably right. He’s Sophie’s number one fan now, but it wasn’t always the case. He tried to warn me away from her too.” Liam glanced over his shoulder and frowned. “Is he lecturing Simon?”

  “Looks like. Simon bit through the phone jack trying to pull it out of the wall in the study.”

  “Huh. Simon’s usually smart enough to stay off Jasper’s radar. You must have done something to tick him off.”

  “I didn’t do anything. And the cat’s not as smart as you think. Last night he managed to get stuck in the fireplace and wouldn’t shut—” Both Griffin and Liam startled when Jasper appeared between them. Liam widened his eyes while grinning at the older man. Griffin knew what his brother was getting at and held back a laugh. The way he seemed to appear out of nowhere, Jasper reminded them of the butler in Mr. Deeds.

  “I couldn’t help but overhear, Master Griffin. Did you say Simon got stuck in the fireplace in Madame’s room?”

  “Yeah, and he wouldn’t shut up.”

  The old man’s eyes narrowed on the cat before returning to Griffin. “I see. Well that explains why you complained about not getting any sleep last night.”

  The cat had nothing to do with his lack of sleep. He wasn’t about to admit that to Jasper though. If Griffin believed in ghosts, he’d lay odds GG’s room was haunted. He spent half the night being woken up by a voice whispering in his ear that Ava needed him. Since he didn’t believe in ghosts, the only explanation he could come up with was that it was his subconscious. As much as he wished it weren’t true, he could no longer deny that he was concerned about Ava…or that it was beginning to feel like something more.

  He hadn’t been able to stop thinking about her, of the girl he remembered. And being around her wasn’t helping. There had been small signs that, if he dug a little deeper, pushed a little harder, he’d find the woman he’d once lov
ed beyond reason.

  He mentally shook the thought from his head and responded to Jasper. “My lack of sleeping had nothing to do with Simon. Guess you missed the part where I told Liam and my dad that I froze my ass off last night, Jeeves. Come to think of it, that’s probably why Simon was sitting in there meowing his head off. He was cold too. Every time I lit a match, the wind would blow it out. So you better add repairing the cracks in the chimney to your mile-long to-do list.”

  “I’ll take care of that straightaway, Master Griffin,” Jasper said, looking like a man on a mission as he left the ballroom.

  “Come on, it’s not a mile long,” said his brother, who was firmly on the Save Greystone Team.

  Griffin raised an eyebrow.

  “Okay, admittedly, we still have some work to do. Speaking of which, we’re getting the evil eye from the guys.” Liam nodded at his buddies from the firehouse. “We better get back to it.”

  “You get right on that. I’m finishing my slice,” Griffin said, taking a bite of the pizza. He wiped his mouth, looked around, and then followed Liam. “You seen Ava around?” he asked his brother casually. Jasper referring to Lexi as his wife had upset Ava, and Griffin wanted to know why.

  “You seen Ava around?” Liam mimicked, chuckling as he climbed onto the scaffolding. “I know you too well, big brother. Cut the act. At least with me.”

  “What are you talking about? I just asked you a simple question,” Griffin muttered before polishing off the rest of the slice. He should have kept his mouth closed.

  “When are you going to admit you never got over her, not really?” Liam asked when Griffin joined him on the scaffolding.

  He opened his mouth and then closed it. Liam knew him too well. And his baby bro might have a point. Because really, how do you get past something like that? One minute you’re happily married and head over heels in love, and the next, you’re being served divorce papers. Sure, there’d been small signs that something had been eating at Ava, but never in a million years did he expect her to end their marriage. She’d cut him out of her life completely, turned his upside down with no real explanation. The only way he’d been able to move on was to box up his memories and his feelings for her and nail it shut. They were still there though. For better or worse, they always would be.