House Calls: Callaghan Brothers, Book 3

by Zanders, Abbie

  “We’ve met,” Jake said, his eyes twinkling. Now that she wasn’t completely stricken, she could assess him more accurately. He looked remarkably like Michael – and Ian – with blue-black hair and clear blue eyes, but he was a bit stockier and probably had a good twenty pounds of lean, hard muscle on both of them. This, Maggie knew instinctively, was not a man to trifle with. Yet as he greeted her, he had a boyish grin that she couldn’t help but like.

  Michael looked a little uncertain about leaving Maggie, but she mustered what she hoped was a reassuring smile. “I’ll be fine. Go.”

  Very deliberately, Michael leaned down and kissed her. Then he looked pointedly at Taryn. “Behave yourself.”

  Taryn’s eyes opened wide and in the span of a heartbeat her face became the picture of innocence. As soon as he had taken two steps, Taryn plopped down next to Lexi and winked at Maggie. “But seriously, if you ever have to get a shot in the ass, Michael’s your man.”

  “Amen to that sister,” Lexi said, giving her a high-five.

  “Taryn!” Michael growled in warning, but she shooed him away with a light-hearted wave as Lexi succumbed to a slight fit of the giggles. Maggie was sure she caught the hint of a smile on his face as he turned away once again. She had the distinct impression that this was a recurring joke among them.

  “Did you hear what your wife just said?” Ian asked Jake in feigned disbelief.

  “Yeah, and your wife agreed with her.”

  “I think we should kick his ass.”

  “Agreed.”

  “Be nice, boys,” Taryn warned as the two men followed Michael toward the exit. “I think Maggie likes him.”

  Boys? That was the last word she would have used to describe the Callaghan brothers, Maggie thought. Even “men” seemed a little too mild a word for them. The phrase “lethal alpha males” was more accurate, though that didn’t quite capture the dark, natural beauty that seemed to surround them. Or their innate intensity and power. Or their base, raw sexuality.

  Maggie forced herself to take a slow, deep breath. Clearly the brandy Michael had ordered for her was more powerful than she’d thought.

  Since Michael had just finished telling her, she knew about Lexi’s condition. Looking at her now, though, she never would have guessed it. The woman was strikingly beautiful. True, every woman looked stunning on her wedding day, but Maggie sensed that Lexi would look just as breathtaking in jeans and a T-shirt.

  “Thanks,” Lexi said to Maggie. Maggie was caught off-guard. “For what?”

  “For surrendering Michael for a few minutes. Honestly, I don’t know what I’d do without him. Has he told you about my challenges?”

  “A little. I hope you don’t mind.”

  “Not at all,” Lexi told her. “It is what it is. If you’re going to be a part of this family you should know.”

  Maggie blinked, stunned. Taryn chuckled. “Uh-oh, Lex. She’s got that ‘deer caught in the headlights’ look. I don’t think she knows.”

  Before Maggie could respond, two more women made their way over to the table. One was a gorgeous blonde with multi-hued hair in streaks of gold, platinum, and bronze; the other was equally attractive, with dark hair and cherry red streaks. The dark-haired one walked with a cane.

  “Is this the girls’ table?” the petite blonde asked, sinking down before waiting for an answer.

  “Oh, thank God,” the brunette said, joining them. “I think I’m OD’ing on male hormones here.”

  Taryn laughed. “Yeah, tell me about it. I think it should be illegal to have this much testosterone in an enclosed space.”

  Maggie couldn’t help it. She smiled, having had similar thoughts only a few minutes ago. It seemed so perfectly accurate. The room was filled with more stunning alpha-male types than she’d ever seen in one place before. Well, excluding the time Sherri talked her into seeing the Chippendales show when their tour took them to Philadelphia. But even those men couldn’t compete with these guys. The Chippendales put on a show. The Callaghans were the real deal. Though the thought of Michael giving her a private lap dance sent a delicious shiver up and down her spine.

  Taryn’s grin grew wider. Lexi took care of the introductions.

  “Maggie, this is Lina.” The pretty blonde gave a warm smile. “And this is Stacey.” The brunette gave a little wave.

  “Maggie’s here with Michael,” Taryn said, exchanging a glance with the others.

  “Ooooo, he’s a good one,” Lina said, slipping out her shoes and rubbing her feet. “Honestly. How do women wear heels all day long? Barefoot and pregnant is a walk in the park compared to this.” She turned to Maggie. “So. How did you guys meet?”

  Maggie felt her cheeks flame again and shot a quick glance toward Lexi, who laughed and patted her hand. “It’s okay, Maggie. Michael said you might feel a little weird, but honestly, I think it’s awesome. After all, you did all the work, and we got all the benefits.” She winked.

  At Lina and Stacey’s puzzled looks, Lexi asked, “Can I tell them?”

  Maggie nodded, though she was not convinced it was the best of ideas.

  Lexi leaned forward and dropped her voice. “Maggie is the one who danced at Ian’s bachelor party,” she revealed.

  Maggie braced herself for the condescending looks or catty comments, so she was unprepared for their reactions. “Oh. My. God.” Lina said, her eyes growing impossibly large. “That was you?” When Maggie indicated that it was, Lina leaned forward excitedly. “Can you teach me?”

  “Me, too,” Stacey chimed in. “Whatever you did, woman, it had our husbands in thrall.”

  Maggie was stunned. There had to be some mistake. “I think you might be thinking about my friend, Sherri. She dances all the time. I’m sure she’d be very flattered - ”

  But Taryn was shaking her head, smiling. “No, Maggie. It was you. Jake told me everything.”

  “And anything that got Michael to spend three days holed up in your house during a blizzard? Honey, you’ve got yourself pure magic right there.”

  “Oh, I don’t think he meant for that to happen,” Maggie said quickly. “It’s not like it was planned or anything.”

  Lexi was shaking her head, her expression more serious than it had been. “Maggie, I’m not sure how much you know about these guys, but you need to trust us on this. Everything they do is intentional, down to the smallest detail. Nothing is left to chance. Michael knew when that storm would hit down to the minute, I’d bet. If he was at your house, it was because he wanted to be. And believe me, if he didn’t want to stay there, he would have found some way to leave.”

  “It must have been so romantic,” Lina said with a little sigh. “Just the two of you in the middle of a blizzard, cut off from everything...”

  “That sounds like an awesome story line,” Stacey said, her eyes glittering. “What was it like?”

  Under normal circumstances, Maggie wouldn’t even consider talking about the time she and Michael had spent together with women she’d just met. But there was something about them that pulled her in, made her feel like she was one of them. It was not something she was accustomed to, and it actually felt kind of nice. Maybe it was the brandy, maybe it was the romance of the wedding, but Maggie found herself sharing. Not the intimate details, of course, but she couldn’t help but gush a little. It had been pretty romantic.

  “Well, we lost power pretty early on. Thankfully it’s an old house with a huge fireplace, and I had lots of candles on hand.”

  “That sounds awesome,” said another voice from just behind her. “What are we talking about?”

  “Ah, Keely, Maggie was just telling us about being trapped in a blizzard for three days with Michael. Her Michael, not your Michael, of course.”

  Keely pulled up a chair in between Maggie and Stacey. “Ooooo,” she said, pouring herself a drink from the bottle she’d brought with her and passing it around. “Michael is yummy, and a total sweetheart. Do tell.”

  Maggie didn’t go into all of the ex
plicit details, but they did seem really interested, asking her all kinds of questions. By the time her glass had been refilled several times – as had theirs – they were all sighing.

  “I always knew he was a hopeless romantic,” Lexi said.

  “I am so pulling a couple of fuses when we get back tonight,” Keely murmured.

  “Michael is going to make an awesome husband, Maggie. Good catch, girlfriend.”

  “Yeah, and you’re cool, too,” said Lina. “We were afraid Michael would end up with someone a little more...” she scrunched up her nose, searching for the right word.

  “... stuck-up,” Taryn finished. The rest of them nodded in agreement.

  Maggie’s eyes opened wide. “Oh, we’re not -, I mean he hasn’t - ” she stuttered, unable to stammer her way into clarification. “We’ve barely known each other a week.”

  They all smiled as if they knew a secret she didn’t. It was Lexi who spoke first. “Trust us on this, Maggie. Michael plans on marrying you.”

  “How could you possibly know something like that?”

  “Because we’ve all been in your shoes, Maggie. It’s fast, it’s furious, and you can’t believe it’s happening, but it is. And you know in your heart it’s right, even if your mind can’t quite wrap itself around the idea just yet.”

  It was like they knew. Maggie had refused to let herself think too much about it. About the feelings she had when she was with Michael. About the way he’d wrapped himself around her heart, commanded her soul. Things like this just didn’t happen, except maybe in books.

  “There’s one way to know for sure,” Taryn said quietly as if reading her mind. The other women looked at her, knowledge on their faces.

  “How?” Maggie asked, wondering how her voice could tremble so much on a single word. Keely tipped the brandy into Maggie’s glass and nodded slightly, encouraging her to sip. Maggie gratefully raised it to her lips.

  Taryn leaned forward and dropped her voice so only those at the table could hear. “Our men, they aren’t choir boys, not even Michael.” Maggie had suspected as much, but had been afraid to ask. “And among other things, they’ve had their fair share of women. But they are careful men, Maggie, and like we said before, they leave nothing to chance.”

  She paused, searching for the right words. “Jake told me once that they all are of the belief that there is but one woman fated for them. They even have a name for her – they call her their croie.”

  Maggie’s mind translated the word. “Heart?”

  “Heart, soul mate. And when they find her, their hearts and bodies will recognize her even before their mind does. When they find her, Maggie, they will not use protection. It goes against every instinct they have, and these men live and breathe by their instincts. That’s how you know if you’re the one.”

  Taryn took a deep breath and sat back. Several emotions hit Maggie hard simultaneously: hope, denial, shock, fear. Maggie tipped the glass and downed the rest of her drink in one swallow.

  Lexi placed her hand over Maggie’s. Keely did the same on the other side. “It’s okay, Maggie,” Lexi said. “These are good men. Michael’s a good man. You’ll never find another man who will care for you the way he will.”

  “She’s right, you know,” Taryn said. “We’ve all tried fighting it, but in the end, it’s pointless. You need him as much as he needs you.”

  “So true,” Stacey said. “If you read Salienne Dulcette, you’ll see the truth of that soon enough.”

  “But those are just stories,” Maggie murmured, feeling a bit numb and dizzy. “They’re not real.”

  “More real than you’d think,” Lina said.

  “And your story – that is pure Salienne right there. Do you mind?” Maggie looked at Stacey as if she didn’t have a clue what she was talking about.

  “Stacey’s an author,” Lina explained. “She’s always looking for ideas. I think we’ve all contributed in one way or another.”

  Stacey grinned. “With a family like this - ” she spread her hands out, encompassing the entire room, “- I’ll have enough material to last me a lifetime.”

  “What kind of stories do you write?”

  “Romantic, erotic fiction.”

  “Like Salienne Dulcette?”

  The women exchanged knowing glances, while Stacey tried to bite back a smile. “You know Salienne’s work then?”

  “I love it,” Maggie confessed somewhat shyly. Why did she have the feeling she was missing something? Her mind was still reeling from Taryn’s little revelation and buzzing comfortably from the brandy she’d been sipping, not to mention a few of the pain pills she’d taken as a precautionary measure earlier. When she spoke, it was as if someone else was speaking for her.

  “As a matter of fact, I posted a thank-you note on her website yesterday,” she added. “Her books can be very, um, educational.”

  Maggie was slightly shocked by the words that seemed to come out on their own, but the other women were nodding in ready agreement.

  “Which book did you find especially, er, helpful?” Stacey asked.

  “The one set along the beach, where the woman kind of, uh, takes charge of things and surprises the man by sneaking into his room and waking him in the middle of the night...”

  “Oh, I love that one!” Taryn exclaimed. “Jake was especially appreciative, too.”

  “One of my personal favorites,” Stacey said. “Though I must admit - that one required extensive research. There’s so much mystery there, you know?”

  “I’ll bet Johnny didn’t mind helping you solve that particular mystery.”

  “No,” she grinned. “He didn’t at that.”

  “Wait a minute,” Maggie said, finally catching on. “Are you telling me that you are...”

  “Salienne Dulcette, in the flesh,” Lexi finished.

  “So what do you think, Maggie? Would you mind if I used the blizzard theme in my next novel? I’ll send you the very first copy.”

  “Uh, no, not at all,” Maggie said, her head swimming.

  Chapter Seventeen

  “Now that looks like trouble,” Jake said when they re-entered the room and spotted all of the women at one table.

  “Ready, Lex?” Michael asked, thinking the same thing. What had he been thinking, leaving Maggie alone with them like that? It had taken a little longer than he’d thought to get back; his brothers had several things to discuss.

  “Just do it here,” Lexi said, pulling one side of her gown up to her thigh. “I’m too tired to make it up to the office right now.” Taryn scooched over, allowing Michael access. Because of the way the table was positioned, no one besides those already there would be privy to what was occurring.

  It only took a few seconds to give her the shot, and the guests were none the wiser. Lexi closed her eyes and patted his arm. “Thanks, Michael,” she said warmly.

  It was only then that Michael took a good look at Maggie. Her eyes were unfocused, her expression somewhat shell-shocked. He narrowed his eyes when he saw Maggie reach for her glass and miss by several inches.

  “What did you do to her?” Michael asked. Maggie didn’t even seem to notice. Five pairs of female eyes locked on him.

  “The question is, Michael, what did you do to her?”

  “Ah, fuck,” Jake muttered. “Should have known better. Sorry, Mick.”

  Jake signaled toward the bar, where the other husbands were wisely keeping their distance.

  “Maggie?” Michael asked. “Dance with me, sweetheart.”

  She lifted her eyes slowly. The look she gave him – it shook him to his core. What exactly had they been telling her?

  The band was playing a slow ballad. Dancing with Maggie was like dancing with a dream. She moved effortlessly with him, leaning on him just slightly. She kept her head against his shoulder, so he was unable to see her expression. “You okay?” he asked quietly.

  “I’m not sure,” she answered. “I think I’m going to visit the ladies room,” she murmured.
Her voice sounded eerily distant. “It’s quite warm in here.”

  “Of course.”

  Michael led her from the reception out toward the center of the complex. The ballrooms were arranged in a semi-circle around a huge lobby. Rest rooms appeared on the other side.

  “I’ll wait here,” Michael said.

  “I’ll be fine, Michael,” she said with a little smile that told him absolutely nothing. He had no idea what was going through her mind, what she was thinking. Her emotions, usually so evident in her eyes and her expression, were unreadable. He had the distinct impression that she had closed herself off from him, and he didn’t like it, not at all.

  “Please. Go back to the reception. Give me a few minutes to regroup. A little air and a splash of cold water and I’ll be right as rain.”

  He opened his mouth to argue, but she pressed a finger to his lips. “Please, Michael. Do this for me.”

  He searched her eyes, but found nothing that gave him a clue. “What’s going on, Maggie?” he asked.

  “Nothing,” she said evenly. “I think I had a little too much brandy, that’s all. I’m just asking you to give me a few minutes to catch my breath and pull myself together before I end up embarrassing both of us.”

  He didn’t believe her, not for a moment, but he was hesitant to say so. People were streaming around them, coming and going. It was neither the time nor place to push the issue. Finally he nodded. “Alright, Maggie. If that’s what you want.”

  Her shoulders sagged in relief. “Thank you, Michael.”

  He released her reluctantly, watched as she carefully made her way into the ladies room. The fact that her hands were discreetly held away from her body a bit as if to balance herself did not escape him.

  Michael returned to the Grand Ballroom as she had asked, but stayed at the arched entryway so he could watch for her. Minutes passed, feeling much longer than they should have. Michael paced back and forth, worry growing with each tick of his watch.

  “Mick,” Jake said, appearing behind him. “Is she okay?”