An O'Brien Family Christmas (7 page)

“Now, what are the odds of such a thing?” Liam asked, obviously delighted by the coincidence. “It’s bloody boring, isn’t it?”

“Bloody boring,” Laila confirmed.

“Laila, however, is anything but boring,” Matthew felt compelled to state.

“Goes without saying,” Liam said sagely. His brother, Sean, nodded agreement.

“Thank you,” Laila said.

“Will we see you again, beautiful Laila?” Sean inquired.

“Not bloody likely,” Matthew murmured under his breath, not sure why he was so annoyed by their harmless flirting. Maybe it was because Laila seemed so pleased with it. Maybe it hadn’t been wise to encourage her reckless side, if this was how she intended to behave.

“You should come by the hotel and meet Nell,” she said. “That’s Matthew’s grandmother. She’d know if your families are linked. We’ll introduce you, won’t we, Matthew?”

He bit back a groan. “I’m sure Gram would be happy to meet you both,” he said with undisguised reluctance.

They made arrangements to stop by at the end of the day, then left. When they were gone, Matthew turned to Laila. “What was that about? I leave the table for five minutes and you pick up two men?”

“I didn’t pick up anyone,” she said, frowning. “They were just being friendly. Then we discovered the coincidence of their being O’Briens.”

“For all we know they have a dozen different photo IDs to suit the name of any American tourist anxious to explore their Irish roots. They could be practiced con men.”

Laila gave him a chiding look. “You sound as cynical as Mick. You heard him go on and on at dinner the other night about Nell’s old friend, as if Dillon O’Malley were out to steal her blind.”

“Well, Uncle Mick has a point. You can’t be too careful these days,” Matthew grumbled, knowing he was starting to sound ridiculously paranoid. Better that, though, than have her see his behavior for what it was, pure jealousy.

Laila studied him intently. “You’re not worried those two charming rogues are going to take advantage of the O’Briens,” she accused. “You’re jealous.”

He winced at the direct hit. “I was hoping you wouldn’t pick up on that,” he admitted.

She grinned. “How about that? Another first in my life. I’ve actually made a man jealous.”

“You don’t have to sound so darn proud of yourself.”

Laila chuckled. “Actually, I do. I’m beginning to think if I stick with you, I could discover all sorts of fascinating new sides of myself. Perhaps I was too hasty in cutting you entirely out of my life.”

“And will you delight in driving me a little crazy in the process of all this self-discovery?”

She patted his cheek. “Just a bonus, I assure you.”

Matthew sighed. He’d actually caught a few glimpses of hope this afternoon that they were inching back onto the right track. He just hoped he survived long enough to make it to the finish line.

“Matthew was actually jealous because I was having a perfectly innocent conversation with a couple of men in a pub,” Laila exulted over tea with Connie and Jess later that afternoon. Connie and Thomas had arrived earlier in the day, and the women had immediately gone off on an outing. “Can you imagine? I’ve never made a man jealous before in my life.”

Connie chuckled, but Jess didn’t look nearly as pleased. “Do you really want to test Matthew’s patience? Isn’t your relationship complicated enough without throwing strangers into the mix?”

“Oh, for goodness sakes, he knows I’m not interested in those men. Talk about the ultimate in geographically undesirable. They live in Dublin, remember.”

“People have been known to relocate for love,” Connie pointed out. “Just look at Thomas. He’s actually commuting to Annapolis from Chesapeake Shores these days. I offered to move, but he says our real roots are in Chesapeake Shores and that my job with Jake requires me to be out too early to be driving any distance. Wasn’t that considerate of him?”

Both Jess and Laila chuckled at her thoroughly besotted expression.

“We all know he’d do whatever it takes to keep you very, very happy,” Jess teased. “He’s so grateful that a much younger woman would take him on.”

“As if he’s the lucky one!” Connie scoffed. “He gets a rebellious teenager in the bargain. Jenny’s not adapting all that well to having a stepfather. Those two dance around each other like a couple of sparring partners, and I hold my breath waiting to see who’s going to land the first blow. Poor Thomas. He had no idea what he was letting himself in for. He’s so unsure what role he should be playing that I think he’s just about bitten through his tongue to keep from saying the wrong thing.”

Laila frowned. “It’s not causing problems for you two, is it?”

“Absolutely not,” Connie said. “I won’t allow my daughter to ruin this. We’re going to work it out like the mature, rational adults at least some of us are.”

Laila regarded her intently. “How’s Sam reacted to having Thomas in the mix? Is he suddenly feeling territorial about his daughter?”

“Jenny has barely been a blip on Sam’s radar since her birth,” Connie said bitterly. “He’s probably relieved that he doesn’t even have to pretend to care anymore. I think that’s part of the problem. Thomas
does
care, but Jenny doesn’t trust it at all. She’s so used to being ignored, she figures Thomas is only attentive to her to try to score points with me.”

“Uncle Thomas will get through to her eventually,” Jess said. “He’s so good with all the nieces and nephews. I always thought it was a shame he didn’t have kids of his own.”

Laila grinned. “So, how about it, Connie? Any talk of that?”

Connie looked nonplussed by the question. “A baby? Me and Thomas? Do you two recall how old I am?”

“You’re not too old,” Laila insisted.

“You don’t think so?” Connie asked, sounding intrigued. “We haven’t really talked about it, at least not much. Thomas mentioned it, but I’m not sure he was serious. I told him the same thing, that I’m too old to even consider such a thing.”

“Maybe you should reconsider,” Jess suggested. “Laila’s absolutely right. You’re not too old now, but there’s not a lot of wiggle room here. Another couple of years and that ship will have sailed. Think about it while it’s still feasible.”

“A baby,” Connie repeated. “You really think it’s not too late?” Suddenly she sounded a little awed by the possibility.

Laila and Jess exchanged a look. The seed was duly planted, Laila thought, congratulating herself.

Jess glanced around the table. “Isn’t it pathetic that we had to come all the way to Ireland to find enough time to have the kind of gabfest we used to have all the time back home?”

“I’ve missed these,” Laila said. “Now that you two are settled, it’s much harder to find girl time.”

“Well, we’re going to do it,” Jess declared. “A few minutes at Sunday dinners in the middle of that mob scene just aren’t enough.”

“Agreed,” Connie declared. “Laila?”

“Count me in. Something tells me I’m going to need a lot of advice in the coming months, especially if Matthew is spending most of his time in Florida.”

Jess and Connie both looked taken aback.

“Florida? Why would he be in Florida?” Jess asked.

“Your father’s assigned him to a new community development project down there,” Laila said. “You didn’t know?”

“Dad hasn’t said a word,” Jess said.

“And Thomas is the last to get filled in on family gossip,” Connie added. She studied Laila worriedly. “How do you feel about this? When did you find out?”

“Just today,” Laila told them. “And I’m not sure how I feel. Maybe it’s for the best. We certainly won’t be doing anything rash, will we? Having some space probably makes sense.”

“But you hate it,” Jess concluded. “You don’t want space. Why don’t you tell Matthew that?”

“How can I? This is an incredible opportunity.”

“It is,” Connie agreed. “But that doesn’t mean you have to like it. At least let him know you’ll be miserable without him.”

“Maybe I won’t be,” Laila suggested hopefully.

“In what universe?” Jess scoffed. “You’ve been miserable when he’s only been blocks away. I say it’s time to stop hesitating and grab what you want. Why are you even in separate rooms on this trip? It’s not as if anyone would be shocked or appalled if you shared a room.”

“Nell might be,” Laila said.

Jess laughed. “Are you kidding? I think she’d be so relieved to have the two of you finally showing some sense, she’d do a little dance outside your door.”

Laila frowned. “She’s a little more old-fashioned than that, I’m sure.”

“Well, she might bring a priest and a special marriage license along with her,” Jess conceded. “But that wouldn’t be such a bad thing, either.”

Laila held up her hands. “Hold on! It is way too soon to be talking about marriage. Just a few days ago I wasn’t sure we should even be dating.”

“Well, I’m not sure about that, either,” Jess retorted. “I think you should just go for it and stop analyzing everything to death. You know you’re perfect together.”

“We’re perfect together in bed,” Laila corrected. “The rest hasn’t been tested all that thoroughly.”

“Unless you’re talking pharmaceuticals and maybe airplanes, testing might be overrated,” Connie suggested. “I’m with Jess. Go for it.”

“You two are just blinded by your rose-colored glasses,” Laila said. “I’m trying to take a mature, clear-eyed view of things.”

“Boring!” Jess declared.

If she’d accused Laila of anything else, it might not have had an effect, but these days Laila was very sensitive to any suggestion that she was boring.

“I’ll give it some thought,” she told them as she scooped an extra helping of Devon cream onto her scone. She’d discovered it was almost as satisfying as rocky road ice cream.

“Overthinking, testing, it’s all part of the same cycle of deliberation,” Connie noted. “I’m with Jess. Sometimes you just have to go for broke. Follow your bliss, isn’t that what they say?” She grinned. “And being with Matthew is pretty blissful, isn’t that right?”

Laila ignored the deliberate taunt. “Could I point out that neither of you exactly rushed headlong into a relationship, much less marriage?” she said testily.

Jess grinned. “And look at all the time we wasted. You should learn from our mistakes and jump straight into marriage. Do not second-guess yourself, Laila.”

Sadly, Laila realized she was far more tempted by the idea than any sane woman ought to be. And for the past hour, she’d only been drinking strong black tea, so she couldn’t even blame overindulgence in Guinness for making her a little crazy.

Matthew nearly lost it when he spotted Laila in the hotel bar with Sean, Liam and Gram. The men were clearly making a fuss over both women, charming them with who knew what kind of smooth talk. He saw red just thinking about it.

He crossed the lobby in long strides, walked into the bar and managed to make room for himself on a sofa between Sean and Laila, who regarded him with unmistakable amusement. For that matter, Gram seemed to be highly entertained by the obviousness of his behavior, as well.

“So, are these long-lost relations of ours?” he asked, his skepticism plain.

“It could be that we have a distant uncle in common,” Gram said. “I never knew all of your grandfather’s relatives, so the O’Briens are a bit of a mystery to me. Liam has promised to bring their family Bible by tomorrow, so we can look through it together.”

“Isn’t that great?” Laila said.

“Yeah, great,” Matthew said without enthusiasm. “Gram, don’t you want to rest before dinner?”

“I had a nap earlier,” she said. “And Mick’s promised an early night. We’re just going up the street for a bite to eat, which I’ve translated to mean that once again I’m not to invite Dillon O’Malley to join us.” She rolled her eyes. “As if I’d pay a bit of attention to Mick if I wanted Dillon there.”

“How is Mr. O’Malley?” Laila asked in a teasing tone.

“Every bit as charming as I remembered,” Nell said, a flush on her cheeks.

“Then why don’t you include him tonight, if you want to? I’ve heard there’s dancing on the agenda,” Laila said.

Nell shook her head. “I believe only you young people are going out for music and dancing after dinner. I need my rest tonight. Dillon and I are taking the train to Howth tomorrow, so I can walk by the sea. I have many fond memories of that little town.”

“Oh, that sounds wonderful,” Laila said, her expression wistful.

“Then you must come along,” Gram said at once. “Matthew, what about you?”

He wasn’t about to miss a chance to spend the day with Laila, especially a day that didn’t include distant possible relatives. “Sure, I’ll come.”

“It’ll be cold by the water,” Liam warned. “Be sure you dress warmly.”

Nell laughed. “Oh, I’m not so old that I’ve forgotten how chilly it can get. I imagine we’ll find a lovely place to stop for lunch, as well. Dillon seems to know exactly the sort of cozy, inviting places I like.”

The two young men stood. “Well, we’ll leave you to your evening, then,” Sean said. “It’s been a joy to meet you. I surely hope we do find some family connection.” He winked at Laila. “Though I can’t help thinking it’s a blessing you’re not an O’Brien. You’re fair game for a bit of flirting.”

Matthew seethed, especially when Laila didn’t say a word to discourage them. Instead, she actually walked with them as they left the hotel.

After they’d gone, his grandmother regarded him with a tolerant expression. “Your green is showing,” she chided. “And I’m not referring to your Irish heritage. Don’t you know that those two young men mean no harm? And since you’ve no claim on Laila, she’s done nothing wrong, either.”

He sighed. “I know that.”

“Let me ask you something. Do you want that young woman in your life permanently?”

Matthew started to utter the knee-jerk denial that he might have a few months ago, but he realized it was no longer true. It might never have been true, in fact. He’d been certain about what he wanted from Laila practically from the beginning of their relationship. She was the one filled with doubts. From time to time, her certainty had spilled over to shake his resolve.