“Of course not,” Elaine said.

“Yes,” Ceallach answered at the same time.

Elaine glared at him. “You told them?”

“After my heart attack. I thought I was dying. They were with me at the hospital and I told them.”

“Without letting me know? Three years of—” Her lips formed a straight line. “That’s why they left town, isn’t it? Because you told them.”

Del wanted to say that of course his younger brothers had left because of the lie, but didn’t think that would be helpful. Aidan glanced at him and nodded, as if he, too, was thinking the same thing. That kind of a lie would be unforgivable. No wonder they’d taken off. There was nothing left for them here. Nothing they could count on.

He wished he’d known. He would have gone to see them. Not that he could have helped, but he could have let them know... What? That they were still family? Ronan and Mathias had returned for Ceallach’s sixtieth birthday and not hinted that anything was different. Everyone in this family was blind, he thought.

“Is there anything else?” he asked.

His mother turned to her other two sons. “Not that I’m aware of. Unless one of you has something you want to share.”

Nick and Aidan both shook their heads.

“Good,” Del said as he came to his feet. “Mom, I’m sorry about what you’ve gone through. I wish I’d known. I could have helped.”

“I know you would have, but it was my disease to fight. There wasn’t much for you to do.”

He could have done what Maya had done, he thought bitterly. He could have listened, could have driven her to her appointments, helped her when she was tired. Suddenly her emotional meltdown about the party made sense. She’d been dealing with more than was fair.

He crossed to her and pulled her to her feet, then held her close.

“If you need anything, you have to call me.”

“I will,” she promised.

“Why don’t I believe you?”

She gave him a smile, then stepped back. “I’ll walk you to the door.”

He followed her to the front of the house. Sophie stuck close as if sensing the person she loved most of all needed protecting.

“You’re angry,” his mother said quietly.

“Not at you.”

“It should be me. I’m the one who didn’t want you to know.” She touched his arm. “Maya didn’t like keeping my secret, but she did it because I asked her to. She was a good friend, Del. Don’t punish her for that.”

“She knew and she didn’t tell me.”

“I know. That’s on me.”

“She was the one to keep the secret.” Maya had been with him every damn day for the whole summer. There were a hundred times when she could have come clean, and she’d never hinted. Not once.

“She cares about you,” his mother told him.

“Not enough for it to matter.”

* * *

MAYA HEARD FROM Elaine the next morning, but the news wasn’t encouraging.

“He’s upset,” her friend said. “Give him time. I told him it wasn’t your fault. I’ll talk to him again later.”

Maya had a feeling that talking to Del wasn’t going to help. From his perspective, she’d lied to him. She’d kept a significant secret about someone he loved very much. She’d known the truth for weeks.

Now, alone in her office, she wondered how long it was going to take to be able to breathe without missing him. Without the sense of loss that accompanied her like a shadow. Knowing that she’d wanted to tell him what was happening with his mother wouldn’t count, she thought sadly. As for her loving him—there was no way he was going to care about that now.

She wondered if he would get in touch with Ernesto and Robert or if he wanted her to. She honestly didn’t know what she was going to say to them. While the job offer had been incredible, it wasn’t as if she could take it on her own. They’d wanted to hire a team.

She checked her email, then reviewed her schedule for the day. She had a good life here, she told herself. Family. Friends. People who cared about her. It wasn’t loving Del, but it was more than she’d had in Los Angeles. In time she would forget her plans with Del. She wouldn’t think about all the places they were going to see together.

When it came to loving him, she had a bad feeling that was going to be with her always. She’d never fallen out of love with him, and they’d been apart ten years. The difference was, before she hadn’t known. She’d been able to go on with her life without being aware her heart was forever in the possession of someone who didn’t want it.

Close to noon, Eddie and Gladys walked into her office.

“Do you have a minute?” Eddie asked as they took the plastic chairs on the other side of her desk. “We have to talk.”

“Don’t say it like that,” Gladys told her. “You’ll scare the poor girl.” Gladys gave her a bright smile. “We love our show.”

That made Maya smile. “I suspect everyone already knows that. Your enthusiasm is both obvious and contagious.”

“Except for the butt segments,” Eddie said. “We’re still getting some flak for those. Marsha needs to get a sense of humor, if you ask me.”

“Or maybe you shouldn’t show so many naked butts.”

“As if that’s going to happen.” Gladys winked. “It’s our highest rated segment. But that’s not why we’re here.”