Storm of Desire by Cara Marsi, Laura Kelly, Sandra Edwards Read Free Book Online Page A

didn’t want to be married to a bartender. To make her happy, I took the job in Baltimore.” He shook his head. “Worst six months of my life.”
    Sam sipped her coffee and watched him over the rim of the mug. “I can’t see you stuck in an office all day.”
    “I couldn’t see it either, but I tried to please her.” And I didn’t want to end up like Uncle Sean, pining for a woman who barely knew I existed.
    “But she wanted more,” Sam said.
    “She wanted me to aim higher, to be CFO. More money, more prestige.” He rubbed a hand over his face. “It wasn’t long before I realized I’d made a huge mistake. I hated Baltimore. I hated my job. I missed the ocean, missed the bar, even missed the customers.”
    Aiden looked toward the window and finished his coffee, then set the mug back on the table and faced Sam. “When I found she was cheating on me with a guy who was as ambitious as she was, I left.”
    Sam laid her hand over his on the table. “I’m sorry.”
    “There’s nothing to be sorry for. It wasn’t all her fault. To be fair, I should have thought things through. She wasn’t what I wanted, and I wasn’t what she wanted. It was a hard lesson, but I learned who I am and what I really want.”
    “What do you want, Aiden?”
    You he wanted to say. “My life here, running the bar, being with my family. Hopefully someone to share it with.” He hesitated, then went on. “I allowed myself to be fooled by a beautiful face, seductive words, and money. If I marry, the woman would have to want to share my life, would have to want the same things I do.”
    “Do you think you will marry someday?” she asked softly.
    He looked at her directly. “Only if the right woman comes along.”

CHAPTER EIGHT
    SAM OPENED THE living room curtains and peered outside, watching Aiden as he fought his way around the house, searching for the loose shutter that was flapping against the siding. He needed to secure the shutter before it did any real damage. Please be careful . She pressed her hand against her mouth as she watched him struggle against the wind.
    She’d begged him not to go. What if something happened to him? He could be hit by flying debris. He could slip on the icy ground. She didn’t want to think about his getting hurt.
    Or about leaving him.
    Hugging herself, she turned from the window. She’d come to Fenwick for a long weekend of peace and quiet, to make a decision about her career and her life. A transfer to London would be the opportunity of a lifetime. It would also solve a problem or two on the home front.
    But somehow London and Richmond and her career seemed very far away right now. Like the storm outside, her life was a tempest.
    A faint “meow” pulled her from her thoughts. Sam looked down to see Casey staring up at her, his big green eyes questioning. She picked him up and cuddled him close. “I know, Casey. I have a problem. What should I do? What do I want?”
    Holding the purring cat, Sam paced the living room. She wasn’t sure how she felt about Aiden. All she knew for certain was that he somehow made her feel safe. And sexy. Very sexy. With him, and only him, her inhibitions fell away at a touch. Was it because she trusted him? Was it something deeper?
    She sank onto the couch and released the now-squirming Casey. The cat scooted to the other side of the sofa and began grooming himself. Sam wished she could be as calm and content. She wondered if she’d ever know true contentment.
    Grabbing a small pillow, she pressed it against her stomach. After a fatherless childhood spent with a mother who changed jobs as often as she did men, a childhood marked by long periods of little money, Sam craved stability. Thankfully her grandparents had left this house to her mother. Otherwise, she hated to think where they would have lived. Consequently, all Sam had wanted was to make partner in her law firm. Then she’d have had money, prestige, security—and the stability that came with