As Bad As Can Be (19 page)

She could only look at him, caught in turmoil.

Shay stared at her. “Look, you might not be ready to hear this right now. I probably didn't have the right to say those words to you, but I needed you to hear them. I don't know if you want me now or not, but I need you. Be with me, Mallory,” he said softly.

“Shay, I…” she faltered.

Determination lit his eyes. “If you need time, you need it, but I warn you, I'm going to be very hard to get rid of. I'm going to convince you we're right for each other if it's the last thing I do.”

“You don't have to,” she whispered, swallowing hard.

“What?” He leaned in to hear her.

Her heart rabbited in her chest. Take the risk or shut it down? She could live like she had been for twenty-nine years. Or she could trust Shay and his parents, trust Becka, trust Dev that relationships could be more than the wasteland that had been branded in her consciousness as a child. “You don't have to convince me,” she said more loudly. “I'm…” She hesitated. “I'm in love with you.”

Relief, wonder and joy chased across his features. Then he crushed his mouth on hers. “Can you say that again, please?” he asked, breaking away for a breathless moment. “I didn't quite hear it.”

Mallory laughed, buoyed by a sudden lightness. “I'm in love with you.” It was easier the second time,
she discovered. “I've known it since the morning we woke up together.”

“The morning you bolted,” he clarified.

She flushed. “It's not easy when you first realize it,” she said.

He tightened his arms around her and brushed her lips with his. “I hear that. I had to get it knocked through my head by your brother.”

She raised her eyebrows. “Dev knows?”

“Are you kidding? He was the one who told me what was going on.”

She laughed, suddenly giddy, and leaned in for a long, lingering kiss. “I think we should go back to someplace with a bed and celebrate properly,” she said.

“You'll get no arguments from me.” He grinned. He released her and they began to walk back toward the nearest exit. The sun was fully up over the water now, brightening into day.

“Shay,” Mallory said, tangling her fingers with his. “We need to talk about the dancing…”

“The dancing isn't an issue, okay? It's your bar and it's your choice. I'm always going to want to take care of you because that's who I am. But you've got to be who you are, too.”

“When I was driving around last night, I thought a lot about the fight and about what you said. You're right, the dancing is getting to be too much. As of today, it's over.”

“Are you sure?”

She nodded. “Yes, I'm sure.” She sighed and stared at the trail ahead. “I just wish I knew how we'd guarantee a full house.” Their feet crunched on the dead leaves that had blown onto the trail.

“You managed to pack in a pretty full house the other night, with the additional draw of Colin's band,” Shay said thoughtfully.

“We got a great turnout, at least until the fight cleared things out.”

He nodded. “I think I told you this town needs a good live-music club. Something more edgy than the folk we get in at O'Connor's and the jazz bars. Wouldn't Bad Reputation be the perfect spot for it?”

“Now there's an idea. I don't know anything about booking, though.”

“I could act as your booking agent,” he offered.

She tipped her head, considering. “Are you talking about a partnership?”

“Well, I don't know,” he said, narrowing his eyes. “Partnerships can be challenging.”

“Not if you have a legal agreement,” she argued.

He thought about it. “Nah, I don't like it. Being in business with family is one thing. Being in business with a lover is a lot more chancy. I mean, what if we broke up, then we'd have to deal with untangling the business arrangement.”

“I supposed it could be a problem,” she said, a little flutter of nerves in her stomach. “Maybe we should just forget about it.” Maybe he wasn't so sure about her after all, she thought with a twist of anxiety.

“Wait a minute.” Shay stopped and pulled her around to face him, his hands on her hips. “Don't get me wrong, as far as I'm concerned, I'm crazy in love with you and always will be. I'm just saying that I'm not used to working outside of the family.”

“Like I said, let's just keep business and pleasure separate.” Her voice tightened.

“I suppose we could.” He mulled it over. “But then maybe there's another solution.”

“What's that?”

Humor slipped into his eyes. “I could just make you into family.”

“Me? In the O'Connor clan?” She fought a smile.

“Purely for business reasons, of course,” he hastened to add.

“Of course,” she agreed.

“The fact that we'd get to have wild sex on demand would merely be an added benefit.”

“Sure.”

“And the fact that I adore you unreasonably would just simplify the arrangement.”

“Naturally.”

“So will you marry me?”

She eyed him. “Wild sex on demand?”

“Guaranteed.”

She leaned in so that her mouth hovered a fraction of an inch above his. “It's a deal, partner. I think the O'Connor clan could use another go-go dancer.”

“What do you mean?” he asked, startled.

Her laugh was rich and light. “I'll tell you in bed.”