An O'Brien Family Christmas (13 page)

“Actually I am. Believe me, I get why this whole business upset you. You like feeling in control. It’s who you are. And you may enjoy the occasional wild and reckless ride we’re on, but you’re not quite ready to trust the woman you are with me.”

She seemed surprised by his assessment. “Something like that.”

“It’s okay. I promised you no pressure on this trip.”

“Having people think we might end the trip with a wedding ceremony is a
lot
of pressure.”

“I know. I’m sorry.”

“Then you’ll tell them to back off, to rein in all the craziness?”

“I’ll tell them,” he promised.

He just didn’t expect it to do any good, because the one thing other than stubbornness that was in the O’Brien genes was meddling. He was surrounded by a bunch of die-hard romantics. Today that had proved to be a serious disadvantage. By the end of the trip…well, he was still counting on it working out in his favor.

The one thing he understood about Laila that she didn’t yet understand about herself was that she wanted desperately to have exactly that kind of unpredictable, heart-stopping romance in her life. And her best chance for it was most definitely with him.

8

M
ick put on a tie, then yanked it off. “Why am I getting dressed up as if this is some special occasion?” he asked Megan irritably. “What is Ma up to, anyway, insisting that everyone be there tonight?”

Megan gave him a soothing look. “You know perfectly well why she wants us all to be together tonight. She’s bringing a date.”

Mick saw red at the reminder. As if his mother had any business dating at her age. And, of all people, some man she hadn’t seen in sixty years or more, if the story was to be believed that she’d left him behind to marry Mick’s father. What was she thinking? It was only going to end badly.

“If she thinks I’m going to show up and give them my blessing, then she really has lost her mind,” he growled.

Megan crossed the room and stood directly in front of him, hands on hips. Despite the difference in their sizes, she was capable of being intimidating when she wanted to be.

“You will be on your very best behavior tonight, Mick O’Brien. I mean it. You will not embarrass Nell.”

“I won’t have to. She’s embarrassing herself.”

Megan’s eyes flashed. “Nonsense! And if you can’t change your attitude, then perhaps you ought to stay right here and sulk like the petulant two-year-old who seems to have taken over your body.”

Stunned by the accusation, Mick stared at her. “Petulant two-year-old?” he echoed.

“No better than your namesake, though even little Mick is getting past the tantrum stage.”

He sat down on the edge of the bed, considering her words, then sighed. “You’re right, as usual,” he conceded. “I’m just worried about her, Meggie. It’s not like Ma to act all fluttery around some man none of us even know. She’s not some young girl.”

Megan chuckled. “No, she certainly isn’t. She’s a grown woman who knows her own mind. She raised three amazing sons, then served as a surrogate mother to our children after I’d left. No one could do that without being sensible and wise.” She met his gaze. “Agreed?”

He wrestled with his conscience, then nodded. “Agreed.”

“And it’s not as if this man is someone she met just a few days ago. I gather she was once quite serious about him.”

“Years ago,” Mick reminded her. “They were little more than teenagers then. Who knows the kind of man he’s become?”

“Which is precisely why you and the others will use this evening to get to know him. Your opinions and advice will mean a lot more to Nell if they’re coming from someone who’s actually knowledgeable when it comes to Dillon O’Malley, and not leaping to conclusions based on fear.”

His gaze narrowed. “Fear? When have I ever been afraid of anything?”

“Only once before that I’ve ever seen, when Nell had pneumonia years ago and we all thought we might lose her. You have that same terrified look about you now. Don’t you know that she’ll continue to be a part of our lives no matter what happens with Dillon O’Malley?” She regarded him pointedly. “At least she will if you don’t force her to choose.”

He pulled his wife onto his lap. “How’d you get to be so smart?” he asked, his tension easing as he held her.

She grinned. “I’ve always been smart. You just pay a little more attention to me now.”

“Could be,” he agreed. “I won’t make the mistake of ignoring you again.” He ran his fingers through the short cap of frosted curls that made her look like a girl. “You ground me, Meggie. I hope you know how much I love you, have always loved you.”

Her hand rested against his cheek, her touch gentle. “I never questioned your feelings, Mick. Not once. It was only your priorities that tore us apart for a while.”

“But we’re good now?”

“Better than good,” she said with a smile, then tweaked his nose. “Unless you do something to make me change my mind tonight.”

He laughed and set her on her feet. “Best behavior, I promise.” No matter what it cost him.

After the day she’d had, Laila wasn’t especially eager to spend the evening in a roomful of O’Briens, but her curiosity about how the family would react to Nell and Dillon’s romance won out. If nothing else, she could provide the couple with some backup if the environment was hostile. She probably had a clearer view of what it was like to be caught in the family headlights than anyone else, especially after today’s revelations.

Reluctantly, she agreed to walk to the pub with Matthew.

“Just so you understand that no one is to get the impression that we’re reconciled or that the plan is moving forward,” she warned.

“Message received,” he said, though there seemed to be a twinkle in his eye when he said it.

The light drizzle that had made the day damp and dreary had ended earlier, so the walk was pleasant. Inside the pub, there was a decided atmosphere of merriment. A fire was blazing in the hearth, and a band was already warming up with a promised repertoire of Irish tunes.

Mick had booked a private room that still allowed access to the pub’s main room. It, too, had a fire going, but in there the atmosphere was decidedly strained. Laila glanced around. There was no sign yet of Nell and her date.

“Where’s your grandmother?” she asked Matthew after surveying the roomful of O’Briens and their spouses and children.

“Probably waiting to make a grand entrance,” he said. “Or perhaps she came to her senses and decided to have dinner with Dillon somewhere else.”

“Nell’s no coward,” Laila chided.

“No, she’s not,” he agreed, then nodded toward the doorway. “There’s the happy couple now.”

Laila deliberately caught Nell’s eye and gave her an encouraging smile, then winked at Dillon. Both of them seemed to relax.

“Going over to the enemy?” Matthew whispered in her ear.

“I like Dillon,” she replied. “I thought you did, too.”

“I do. I’m just not sure how wise it is to make that clear with this crowd. I sense some hostility.”

Laila gave him a disgusted look and crossed the room. “Why don’t I take your coats?” she said cheerfully, since no one else had stepped forward.

Nell gave her a grateful smile. “Thank you, Laila.”

Susie rushed over to join them. “Hi, Gram. Mr. O’Malley.”

“It’s Dillon, please,” he said, giving her a warm smile.

“Let me take you over and introduce you to my parents,” Susie said. “Gram, maybe Laila can get you something to drink.”

“Of course,” Laila said at once. “What would you like?”

Nell’s gaze followed Susie and Dillon. “Perhaps I should go with him. I know the family’s divide-and-conquer tactics all too well.”

Laila smiled. “Dillon will win them over. I’ve no doubt of that. And Jeff and Jo aren’t the problem. Susie will see that they’re on his side, so there will be plenty of backup before Mick has his say.”

Nell nodded. “I suppose you’re right,” she said, though there was still a note of concern in her voice. “I’ll just keep a close eye on things. In the meantime, I believe I’d like a Bulmers cider if they have it. I have a feeling anything more alcoholic than that would be unwise tonight.”

“I’m on it,” Laila said, relieved to see that Megan was heading Nell’s way with a reassuring look on her face.

“And so it begins,” Matthew intoned, joining her at the bar. “Maybe there won’t be bloodshed after all. Mick may be scowling, but he doesn’t look as if he has any murderous intent.”

Laila rolled her eyes at his feeble attempt at a joke, then handed him the Bulmers. “Take this to your grandmother. Show her your support. I’m going over to Dillon just in case things get tense between him and Mick.”

“Jeff, Jo and Thomas are there now,” Matthew said. “They’ll keep Mick in check.”

“All the same, I’ll feel better if I’m nearby to help Dillon make a quick getaway.”

Matthew frowned. “Is this the way it’s to be tonight, with you darting off on various missions that will keep us apart?”

“Entirely likely,” she told him unrepentantly, then followed suit by walking away.

She told herself it was better to keep a safe distance between them. Despite her knee-jerk response to the whole impromptu wedding notion, she was entirely too susceptible to Matthew lately. Far from Chesapeake Shores, her father and the bank that was such a bone of contention between them, it had become increasingly difficult to recall why being with Matthew was such a terrible idea.
His
family at least clearly embraced the idea of a union between them.

Still, when it came time for dinner, she managed to slip into a seat between Connie and Thomas on one side and Jess and Will on the other. Matthew gave her an amused look from across the room, then settled at a table with his parents, along with Susie, Mack and Luke.

Though the door between this room and the main room of the pub had been shut to lessen the noise during dinner, someone reopened it as soon as the meal was over. The sound of the band drifted in, and soon the O’Briens were singing along with gusto. Laila caught Nell with a nostalgic expression on her face. She smiled when Dillon leaned in to whisper something in her ear.

“I think we need to try our luck on the dance floor,” Thomas said to Connie. “I believe I can remember a few of the steps I was taught.”

Connie regarded him skeptically. “Are you sure? I’ve never learned to do an Irish jig.”

“Then I won’t be making too big a fool of myself in front of you, will I?” Thomas said, drawing her away from the table.

As soon as they’d left, Jess and Will wandered off, as well. Laila felt someone slip into the vacant seat next to hers and knew instinctively it was Matthew. He’d just been waiting for this opportunity to present itself.

“We’re taking bets on how long it will be before Uncle Mick’s head explodes,” he said, nodding in his uncle’s direction.

Laila laughed. “He is looking fiercely protective, isn’t he? Still, he hasn’t caused a scene tonight. He should get some recognition for that.”

“Dad believes Mick’s more worried about how our lives will change if Gram stays in Dublin than he is about the possibility that her heart might be broken.”

“I’ve heard something similar from Susie and from Jess. They’re scared Nell will decide to stay.” She met his gaze. “How about you?”

“I wouldn’t much like it, but I’m more worried that the whole thing is doomed. He has a business here. She’s coming home with us next week.”

“Love always finds a way, Matthew, at least when it’s right.”

He looked surprised by her comment. “You believe that? I thought you’d grown cynical.”

“Of course I do. I think most women believe that or want to, unless they’ve been deeply hurt by someone.”

“And yet you walked away from what we had just because it got a little complicated.”

She sighed at the characterization. Besides, weren’t they past this now? “It was more than a little complicated,” she said patiently. “I gave up my career because my father disapproved of us.”

“You quit in a huff, then resented me because of it,” he reminded her. “Somehow you’ve managed to forget that I tried to stop you, but you weren’t willing to spend some time trying to turn his opinion around.”

“Because it was hopeless,” she said stubbornly. “Besides, my father’s low opinion of me went back further than that. I was only in that job because Trace manipulated my father into giving it to me.” She met his gaze. “Do you have any idea how much that hurt, Matthew?”

“Of course I do. I know what it’s like to disappoint someone you love.”

She wasn’t sure of that. “Really? Who?”

“You,” he said. “Maybe if I’d fought harder for us, you wouldn’t have found it so easy to walk away. And if I’d been a better man, had less of a roving eye, maybe your father would have approved of me.”

She was startled that he was blaming himself for any of what had happened. As he’d just noted, her blaming him was unjustified. “Maybe both of us need to stop casting any kind of blame. You didn’t create the situation, Matthew. It was me. I showed poor judgment in having some casual fling with you. I let myself be carried away by the moment. If I’d been thinking at all—”

He cut her off. “Way to deliver a blow, Laila. Are you suggesting that no woman in her right mind would get involved with a guy like me?”

“No, of course not,” she said, rattled. “You’re a great guy, just the wrong one for someone in the position I held at the bank.”

He gave her an amused look. “Because I’m an O’Brien?”

She found the deliberately teasing question annoying. “Don’t be ridiculous. The town adores and respects all things O’Brien.”

“Then it’s because I’m an architect following in Uncle Mick’s footsteps.”

She frowned. “Of course not!”

“Then what? Is it because I dated a lot of women? That’s what men do when they’re single. Last I heard, it wasn’t a crime.”

“Oh, for heaven’s sake, you know perfectly well I wasn’t suggesting that. It’s only your dating record combined with your age that made you inappropriate for me. The way my dad saw it, we were risking a scandal.”