He kicked off his jeans. “I can’t wait.” After a long pause, he looked over at her. “I wasn’t expecting him to be so, so…”

“What?”

“Perfect. I mean the guy could be a freaking movie star.”

Clare smiled, touched by the hint of insecurity. “I need to be very careful here because your fat head is always a concern to me, but have you looked in a mirror lately, O’Malley?”

He seemed far too pleased by the compliment. “You really do love me, don’t you?”

“I’m afraid so.”

“He’s a nice guy, Clare.”

“Yes.”

“Now that I’ve met him, I’m more curious than ever about how you ended up divorced.”

She shrugged as she stepped out of her jeans. “It just didn’t work out between us.”

Aidan’s disappointment showed on his face when she once again dodged an opportunity to open up to him. Clare knew she was hurting him by holding back, but everything between them was going so well and felt so good, the last thing she wanted was to dredge up the past. Still, she couldn’t help but feel like she was living on borrowed time. He knew she was keeping things from him, and he wouldn’t wait forever to hear the truth.

Chapter 30

Since Aidan had been to Newport only one other time many years earlier, Clare and Maggie spent the next day showing him the highlights. They walked on the beach, window shopped on Thames Street, drove around Ocean Drive, and ended the day with New England clam chowder at the Black Pearl. By the time they dropped Maggie off at Jack’s house, Clare felt like she’d caught up with her youngest daughter.

Maggie didn’t know what was going on with Kate, just that all the adults were upset about it, so she understood when Clare said she needed some time alone with Kate. Clare and Jack agreed she should go forward with her plan to see Kate in Vermont. He hoped Clare could talk some sense into their daughter.

Clare tried several times to reach Kate during the day, but her voice mail picked up each time.

“I hope she calls me back soon,” Clare said as Aidan drove them home.

“After the showdown with Jack, I’d think she’d welcome a call from you today. Maybe you should try the boyfriend’s house.”

“Ugh, I can’t think of a man who’s my age as my daughter’s boyfriend.”

“Well, what would you call it?”

“Sicko and pervert come to mind.”

Aidan laughed. “He’s probably a nice guy. I mean, he was Jack’s friend at one time, right?”

“You can’t be condoning this.”