Catch Your Breath

by Shannyn Schroeder

  Jimmy turned to see Stan Decker walking toward him. He wasn’t sure if he should be relieved that someone sought him out or irked that the man would try again to sell him a property he wouldn’t be able to afford in five lifetimes.

  He forced a smile and extended his free hand. “Stan, good to see you again.”

  “I didn’t know you were going to be here tonight.”

  “It was a last-minute decision. Bill told me about it and I figured why not? I’m still trying to get settled and meet people. Hard to do that from behind a computer screen, you know?”

  The fucking phony stream coming from his mouth made him want to puke.

  “Yeah, I understand. Come this way. I have some people you should meet.”

  They turned and skirted around a dog doing his business and the shelter worker cleaning up after. Jimmy kept his eyes on the ground in case everyone wasn’t as diligent in his job as that girl.

  Stan pulled up to a high top table, which seemed totally out of place in the middle of the park. Jimmy looked around and saw a handful of similar tables. Then he realized each table held some paddles for the auction. Stan put a hand on Jimmy’s shoulder as if they were old friends instead of two guys who had just met.

  “James Buchanan, meet Nick Starlow, Len Bitger, and Marcus Higherly.”

  Each man nodded at him and then silence fell. Jimmy should’ve taken a class on making small talk. This night was going to be more painful than the last, and he’d been stuck in a tuxedo then. Luckily, Stan liked to talk.

  “James just moved to our city. He’s friends with Bill.”

  Len’s eyebrows shot up. “You are?”

  Jimmy nodded and studied the three men. All three, four counting Stan, were contemporaries of the mayor, older than Jimmy by a good ten to fifteen years. They were also men that the mayor felt had been targeted for theft. He needed to get in with this group to ferret out information. “We met in Boston. His sister is a client of mine.”

  He kept his story vague enough that no one would question it. If they were Bill’s friends, they would know he had a sister in Boston, but wouldn’t push it.

  Stan let out a whistle. “Love to see that one coming and going.”

  Jimmy followed Stan’s line of sight to see Moira walking by. She wore a bright yellow dress. It was sleeveless, but covered her chest to her neck. He was wrong—not seeing the cleavage didn’t make her less sexy. This dress clung to all her curves.

  Her mouth tilted up at the corners.

  Stan leaned over. “I think she’s eyeing you, James. She came asking for you the other night. It’d be great if you could put a good word in for me.”

  Jimmy stiffened and wanted to smack Stan Decker, but Moira’s eyes shifted to tell him not to. Had she heard what this asshole said?

  “Mr. Buchanan, it’s so nice to see you again. I’ve been trying to track you down for an interview.” She paused, her smile widening. “Moira O’Leary. Please tell me you haven’t forgotten me.”

  “How would that be possible?” He took her hand and leaned over to kiss her cheek. It was every bit as soft and smooth as he imagined.

  Stan looked astonished. “You two know each other?”

  Moira looked him in the face, which was quite a feat because the man continued to stare at her chest. “We met a few months back when he was visiting Mayor Park. At the time he was considering moving here and we spent some time talking about the city. I’d like to think I had a hand in his decision to move here.”

  “Really?” Stan elbowed him like they were frat bothers.

  “Yes. His wife was so lovely. She couldn’t wait to get involved with some of the charities here.”

  Wife? What the hell was Moira doing? He didn’t have a goddamn wife. She just threw him under the bus and destroyed their entire operation.

  “Your wife, huh?” Stan snickered.

  “When will she be joining you?” Moira continued. “I was hoping to be able to interview the two of you together.”

  Jimmy unclenched his jaw. “Soon, I hope. She had to tie up some loose ends in Boston.”

  Moira waved a hand in the air. “Can’t you hire someone to wrap things up? At the rate she’s going, she’ll miss all the best events. There’s nothing like summer in the city.”

  She glanced over her shoulder. “Oh, I have to go. I’ll be in touch about that interview.” She leaned up as if to kiss his cheek, but whispered, “Play along with them. Laugh at their crude humor. You’ll fit right in.”

  And then she swooshed away.

  “Please, James, tell me you got a piece of that.”

  His anger returned twofold and his blood ran hot. Stan Decker was an asshole. “What?”

  “Come on, wife’s out of town, and that little number is hunting you down.”

  Remembering Moira’s advice, Jimmy eased into his best playboy smile. “Not yet. But I have high hopes for this interview to work out to be one on one.”

  “We definitely want the details,” Len said.

  Nick waved at someone across the lawn. “Looks like the wives want our attention, gentlemen.”

  Marcus extended his hand. “Good to meet you, James. Enjoy your freedom. Once our wives meet yours, you’ll be stuck in the pack.”

  Jimmy gnawed on the idea for a while. He left his glass of champagne on the table and decided to walk through the park. He spied Gabby serving hors d’oeuvres. She made a beeline for him with her tray.

  “Anything interesting?” she asked.

  “I’m going to kill Moira and then I might follow up on you.”

  “What happened?” A crease formed in between Gabby’s eyebrows.

  “She told these guys I had a wife. How the hell am I supposed to produce a wife?”

  Gabby handed him a napkin. “Did you think maybe she had a reason?”

  No, he hadn’t given it any thought, other than Moira wanted to fuck with him. He snatched a crab cake from the tray and moved on. He stopped and listened to a woman talk about the terrier that yanked on a leash doing everything possible to get away from Jimmy. He knew the feeling.

  He finally caught sight of Moira again and followed. If she was working, she had an odd way of doing her job. She stopped to pet every dog that walked in her path. By the time he caught up with her, she was crouched on the ground nose to nose with a beast of an animal. The dog looked big enough that it could easily maul her, but she cooed and giggled when the thing licked her face.

  Jimmy tucked his hands in his pockets and watched for a minute. Moira interacted with the dog like she’d found a long lost best friend. She laughed and played and looked completely out of place with all of the other women. She sighed and stood, taking a moment to brush dog hair off her dress.

  When the dog walker moved on, he sidled up next to Moira and tried to hold on to his anger. If he let the gooey look on her face affect him, he’d be useless. “We need to talk.”

  She looked up at him, using one hand to shield her eyes from the setting sun. “I thought we already did. Do you want to set up that interview now?” Her eyes held an evil glimmer, as if she knew what he’d said to Stan about the interview.

  He grabbed her elbow and guided her away from the crowd, around the back of the tent that held the auction items. Fighting to keep his voice low, he said, “Why the hell would you tell everyone I have a wife?”

  She eased her arm from his grasp and narrowed her eyes. He’d expected the sweet fuck-you smile she liked to throw out when she caused trouble. “You have no idea who you’re hanging out with, but I do. Those four are all married. They bring their wives to every function and event. Or I should say their wives bring them. They stand around and ogle every female in sight.”

  “Yeah, I got that.”

  “The thing is, if you want in, the wives are going to have to approve. The wives like Mayor Park since he’s such a good wholesome guy, so they’ll be inclined to accept you, but in their world, having a wife makes you safer.”

  “Safer?”

&
nbsp; “Less likely to bring a bunch of single women around, making it easier for their husbands to cheat.”

  “They’re surrounded by women at these events.”

  “I didn’t say it made sense. Their friendship extends beyond attending fund-raisers. The wives are here to keep an eye on them, but they don’t follow them everywhere. At least I don’t think they do.” She shifted so his shadow blocked the sun and looked up at his face. “I’m not trying to screw things up for you. Trust me. I understand these people.”

  He believed her, but it didn’t make the truth any easier. “Where the hell am I supposed to get a wife?”

  She huffed out a breath. “Am I supposed to do everything for you?”

  Her irritation wouldn’t last. She had a hot temper, but once it blew, she went back to being sunny Moira. And she wasn’t even pissed right now, so when she turned to walk away, he followed.

  He walked beside her, as if they were there together, which he knew he shouldn’t, but since she’d talked about interviewing him, he figured he could get away with it. She waved to various people and stopped to chat with others.

  With Moira, though, it wasn’t bullshit small talk. She asked real questions. She knew details about people’s lives, and they respected her for it. They opened up around her, which would be a huge asset for her job. An asset that he’d have to avoid.

  When they were walking a stretch alone, he asked, “Why doesn’t it bother you?”

  “What?”

  “The way Stan Decker talks about you.” Remembering the comments made him angry again. “I know you heard him, but you acted like it was nothing.”

  She shrugged. “Because it was nothing.”

  He stopped and touched her arm to halt her. “That’s not true. No one should talk to you like that.”

  “He wasn’t talking to me. It’s not his fault I have excellent hearing.”

  Jimmy thought back. In truth, Stan had been respectful, at least in his words while talking to Moira. “He stares at your chest.”

  She laughed so hard her shoulders shook. “Really?” She spread her hands in front of her chest. “He’s far from the only man to do that. It happens so often, it doesn’t faze me anymore.”

  Jimmy made a point of looking into her bright blue eyes. No sign of anger or hurt. It didn’t faze her? It would make him nuts if he saw men staring at his woman’s chest instead of her face.

  But Moira’s not yours.

  “Doesn’t make it right.”

  She shrugged again and he saw a hint of something that she covered quickly.

  “You should totally get a dog.”

  “What?” The abrupt change of subject rattled him.

  “All of these dogs need homes. You live in a house. Your dad is home all day, right? Think about it. Having a dog would give him someone to hang out with when you and your brothers aren’t home.”

  He immediately shook his head. “I don’t have time for a dog.”

  “What time? I’m not talking about a puppy that needs training.” She looked over the lawn. “I know just the one. I saw him before.”

  “Moira, no.”

  “You can at least look at him. He’s a big dog. Part shepherd, part mastiff.”

  “I don’t want a dog.” But she’d already grabbed his hand and tugged. As much as he wanted to dig in his heels, he enjoyed the feel of her hand in his too much. When he started to walk, she released her grip. It was best that they not seem too friendly and he knew that, but he liked her touch. He followed her across the lawn. It couldn’t hurt to look.

  CHAPTER 3

  Moira wrapped the last bowl of salad and shoved it into her mom’s refrigerator. This was the only part of the annual summer block party that she absolutely despised. As soon as she’d grown tall enough to see over the kitchen counter, she’d been expected to help with the preparations. The annual tradition had been going on longer than she’d been alive, and it was her favorite part about summer.

  The block party was the celebration of the season. While their soiree wouldn’t compete with the champagne shindigs she attended for work, it was more fun than all of the other events she went to combined.

  And she was pretty sure that Jimmy would be there this year.

  He’d missed half a dozen block parties while he was in the army, and since his return, he only showed up if he had the day off. He probably never requested the day off like everyone else in the neighborhood. He would rely on the luck of the draw.

  This was her chance to work on him in a relaxed atmosphere to get information about the case. Although the entire block would be filled with families, the O’Learys and the O’Malleys always hung together. Liam and Jimmy had been friends since kindergarten, and much to her dismay, she and Kevin had been in the same class through elementary school. Plus, they were the two big families of the neighborhood. Most others only had two or three kids. The O’Malleys had five and the O’Learys six, so they created the foundation for the football game.

  The block party brought everyone back to the neighborhood where they grew up. They returned with spouses and significant others, kids, and pets. From early morning until past midnight, it was the ultimate reunion.

  Satisfied that the bowls of food were balanced and the fridge door would close, Moira washed her hands and pulled her hair into a ponytail. The guys were all outside setting up tables and grills and party games for the kids. The older kids—not that there were many—were tasked with filling water balloons. When her jobs were done, there was nothing about this day she wouldn’t enjoy.

  She stepped outside and took a deep breath. The air was warm but not terribly humid, the sky clear blue, and the sound of kids laughing rang in the streets.

  The day would be perfect.

  Liam came thumping up the steps with bags of groceries and mumbled a hello as he went into the house. Moira’s mouth watered at the thought of one of Liam’s burgers. Colin and Ryan were flipping over the folding table they’d assembled. Quinn stood by with a rag and spray bottle to clean it. Griffin and Indy spread a huge blanket on the grass. The scene reminded her just how much things could change in one year.

  Last year, Colin had returned home, Ryan and Quinn were only friends, and Griffin and Indy barely knew each other. Now, they were all paired off and both Ryan and Griffin had kids. Which made her an aunt twice over. She began to wonder where her life might be in a year.

  “Hey,” she called. “Where are Michael, Brianna, and Elizabeth?”

  “Michael’s on his way,” Ryan answered.

  Colin looked over at her. “Elizabeth’s at the bar. She’ll be here later.”

  “Man, I was counting on having her for the football game.”

  Colin laughed. “Trust me, you don’t want her playing football.”

  “Stop being mean, or I’ll tell her you said that.”

  He shrugged. “Go ahead. It’s not like she can deny being dangerous.”

  “How about you, Quinn? Are you playing?”

  Quinn’s eyes widened. “Football? I don’t think so. I’ll watch the kids.”

  “I’m in,” Indy called from the blanket where she set up a tiny tent to house the babies. She started braiding her hair, and as soon as she had it pulled aside, Griffin kissed her neck. Being surrounded by all these couples caused a surge of jealousy. She wanted this for herself. Why couldn’t she find the right guy?

  Without thought, her gaze went to the O’Malley house across the street. She saw no movement, but it didn’t surprise her. They weren’t planners or preparers. They usually set a cooler on their front porch whenever they got moving and then pulled their grill from the yard right about when it was time to cook.

  A revving motorcycle engine drew her attention. Sean pulled up in front of his house. Moira walked over to remind him not to leave the motorcycle on the street. Knowing him, he forgot about the party and didn’t even notice the construction horse that he had to drive around to get down the block.

  Sean climbed off the bike
and looked around.

  “Hey,” she called.

  He waved. “Block party today, right?”

  “Yep. I figured you forgot. You might want to move your bike so kids don’t knock it over when they’re playing.”

  “It’ll be fine.”

  “You guys are going to play football today, aren’t you?”

  He shrugged. “Guess so. I better call Kevin and remind him it’s today.”

  “You don’t have to do that.” It might be nice if she didn’t have to suffer through Kevin’s relentless teasing for one block party.

  Sean laughed and pulled out his phone.

  “You need help getting ready?”

  With the phone to his ear, he answered, “Nah. Jimmy will have food in the fridge. I’m sure he’s got it covered.”

  That answered one question she had. Jimmy was going to be at the block party. She turned away to head back to her family’s house. “Game starts in two hours.”

  Even as she crossed the short distance, more people started filling the street. Kids ran with water guns, and the new family at the end of the block was filling a bounce house with air. Moira snickered. They would regret it once the drunk adult males decided to hop in.

  Jimmy filled the cooler with ice and beer. He didn’t know why he bothered. His brothers always hoarded their beer and headed down the street where the O’Learys would have a keg set up. Same with the food. Liam would be on grill duty and Jimmy’s burgers could never compare, especially since his were packaged and frozen.

  He shoved the frozen patties back in the freezer, grabbed a couple of bags of chips, and checked his wallet. He’d give Liam some money to cover what his family would eat. If necessary, he’d run to the store for more supplies. One of these years, he’d plan better. Maybe by the time he had his own kids running the street.

  He sighed and dragged the cooler out the front door with the chips balanced on top. Once the cooler was in place, he glanced down the street. Sure enough, the O’Learys were already sitting in lawn chairs and laughing. Moira stood in front of her siblings acting something out that had them all in stitches. Liam stood back at the grill, arranging charcoal.