by Nora Roberts
“I can’t talk about sex with Aidan with his sister in the car.”
“Well, then, let’s dump her out so you can tell me.”
“Why can’t you talk of it?” Darcy demanded, with barely a pause for a glare at Brenna. “I know he has sex. The bastard. But if it troubles you, don’t think of me as his sister for the moment, but as your friend.”
Exasperated, Jude blew out a breath. “All right, I’ll just say it’s the best I’ve ever had. Although with William it was like . . . a precise military march,” she decided, shocking herself again. “And before him there was only Charles.”
“Charles, was it? Brenna, our Jude has a past.”
“And who was Charles?” Brenna prompted.
“He was in finance.”
“So he was rich.” Darcy pounced eagerly on the magic word.
“His family was. We met during my last year of college. I suppose the physical relationship with him was . . . Well, let’s say that when it was done all the figures added up, but it was a rather tedious process. Aidan’s romantic.”
Her companions made oohing noises that had her giggling helplessly. “Oh, stop. I’m not saying another word about it.”
“What a bitch to tease us that way.” Brenna tugged on Jude’s hair. “Sure you can give us just one little example of his romantic side as relates to good sex.”
“One?”
“Just one and we’ll be satisfied, won’t we, Darcy?”
“Why, of course. We wouldn’t pry into her personal life, would we?”
“All right. The first time, he picked me up right off the floor at the cottage and carried me upstairs. All the way upstairs to the bedroom.”
“Like Rhett carried Scarlett?” Darcy asked. “Or over the shoulder like you were a sack of potatoes?”
“Like Rhett and Scarlett.”
“That’s a good one.” Brenna pillowed her cheek on her arms. “He gets high marks for that.”
“He treats me like I’m special.”
“Why shouldn’t he?” Darcy demanded.
“No one ever has. And, well, since we’re on the subject, and it’s not exactly a secret what’s going on, I don’t have anything . . . well, pretty, sexy. Lingerie and that kind of thing. I thought maybe you could help me pick some out.”
“I know just the place for it.” Darcy all but rubbed her hands together.
“I spent two thousand pounds on underwear.”
Dazed, Jude walked down bustling Grafton Street. There were people everywhere, swarming. Shoppers, tourists, packs of teenagers, and every few feet, it seemed, musicians playing for coins. It was dazzling, the noise and colors and shapes. But nothing was more dazzling than what she’d just done.
“Two thousand. On underwear.”
“And worth every penny,” Darcy said briskly. “He’ll be a slave to you.”
They were loaded with shopping bags, and though Jude had gone into the foray determined to buy recklessly, her idea of reckless was Darcy’s notion of conservative. Somehow, within two hours she accumulated what seemed like an entire wardrobe, with accessories, all at Darcy’s ruthless instigation.
“I can’t carry anything else.”
“Here.” Stopping, Darcy snatched some of the bags from Jude and shoved them at Brenna.
“I didn’t buy anything.”
“So you have free hands, then, don’t you? Oh! Look at those shoes.” Darcy barreled through the crowd gathered around a trio of fiddlers, homing in on target. “They’re darling.”
“I want my tea,” Brenna muttered, then scowled at the strappy black shoes with four-inch heels that Darcy was drooling over. “You’d have blisters and calf cramps before you’d walked a kilometer in those things.”
“They’re not for walking, you idiot. I’m having them.” Darcy breezed through the door of the shop.
“I’ll never get my tea,” Brenna complained. “I’ll die of starvation and dehydration and the pair of you won’t even notice as I’ll be buried under a mountain of shopping sacks, in which, I’ll add, is not a single thing of my own.”
“We’ll have tea as soon as I try on the shoes. Here, Jude, these are for you.”
“I don’t need any more shoes.” But she was weak and collapsed in a chair and found herself studying the pretty bronze-toned pumps. “They’re lovely, but then I’d need a bag to go with them.”
“A bag. Jesus.” Brenna rolled her eyes back in her head and slid out of the chair in a heap.
She bought the shoes and a bag, then a wonderful jacket from the shop just down the street. Then there was a silly straw hat that she simply had to have for gardening. Because they were so overloaded, they took a vote and with Brenna the only nay hauled their purchases back to the car to lock them in the trunk before hunting up a place for a meal.
“Thank Mary and all the saints.” Brenna sprawled in a booth in a tiny Italian restaurant that smelled gloriously of garlic. “I’m faint with hunger. I’ll have a pint of Harp,” she ordered the second the waiter shuffled over, “and a pizza with everything on it but your kitchen sink.”
“No, you won’t.” Darcy flipped out her napkin and shot the waiter a smile that had him tumbling directly into love. “We’ll get a pizza and we each pick two of the toppings. I’ll have a Harps as well, but just a glass.”
“Well, then, I want mushrooms and sausage for my picks.”
“Fine.” Darcy nodded across the booth at Brenna. “And I’ll have black olives and green peppers. Jude?”
“Ah, mineral water and . . .” She caught Brenna’s eye, kept her face sober as her friend desperately mouthed pepperoni and capers. “Pepperoni and capers,” she ordered dutifully.
She sighed, sat back and took inventory. Her feet hurt miserably, she couldn’t remember half of what she’d just bought, she had a vague headache from lack of food and presence of constant conversation, and she was joyously happy about all of it.
“It’s the first day I’ve spent in Dublin,” Jude began. “I haven’t been to one museum or gallery, or taken a single picture. I didn’t walk St. Stephen’s Green or go to Trinity College to see the library or the Book of Kells. It’s shameful.”
“Why? Dublin’s not going anywhere.” Darcy pulled herself away from her flirtation with the waiter. “You can come back and do all that whenever you like.”
“I suppose I can. It’s just that normally, that’s what I would have done. And I’d have planned it all out, pored over the guidebooks and made up an itinerary and a schedule, and while I would have figured in some shopping time for mementoes, that would have been at the bottom of the list.”
“So you just turned the list around, didn’t you?” Darcy offered the waiter another beaming smile when he served their drinks.
“Everything’s turned around. Wait.” She gripped Brenna’s wrist before she could lift her pint.
“Jude, my throat’s dry as an eighty-year-old virgin. Have pity.”
“I just want to say that I’ve never had friends like you.”
“Sure and there aren’t any the likes of us.” Brenna winked, then rolled her eyes as Jude held her wrist down.
“No, I mean . . . I’ve never had any really close women friends that I could have ridiculous conversations about sex with, or share pizza with, or who help me pick out black lace underwear.”
“Oh, God, don’t go misty now, there’s a good girl, Jude.” A little desperate, Brenna turned her hand over to pat Jude’s. “I have sympathetic tear ducts, and no control over them.”
“Sorry.” But it was too late. Her eyes were already filled and shimmering. “I’m just so happy.”
“There now.” Sniffling herself, Darcy passed out paper napkins. “We’re happy, too. To friendship, then.”
“Yes, to friendship.” Jude let out an unsteady sigh as glasses clinked. “Slainte.”
She saw some of Dublin after all as they walked off the pizza. Jude finally dug out her camera and delighted herself with shots of the graceful arch of b
ridges over the grand River Liffey, and the charm of the shady greens, the lush baskets of flowers decking the pubs.
She watched a street artist paint a sunrise over the sea, then on impulse bought it for Aidan.
She had Brenna and Darcy pose a dozen times and bribed them with eclairs from a sweet shop to explore just a bit longer.
Even when they trudged back to the car park, her energy level was high. She thought she could go on endlessly. When they drove away from Dublin the western sky was splashed with the colors of sunset that seemed to last forever in the long spring evening.
And the moon rose as they approached Ardmore, to sprinkle the fields with light and to spread white swords over the sea.
Even after she’d dropped her friends at home and helped Darcy cart in her packages, she wasn’t tired. She almost danced into her cottage and, hauling her own bags upstairs, called out cheerfully.
“I’m back, and I had a wonderful time.”
She wasn’t planning on having it end. Her toughest decision, she thought, would be to choose just what to wear under her new silk blouse.
She was going to extend the evening with a visit to Gallagher’s before closing. To flirt openly and outrageously with Aidan.
FOURTEEN
HE WAS SWAMPED. There’d been a step-dance exhibition at the school that evening, and it seemed half the village had decided to drop into Gallagher’s afterward to hoist a pint. Several of the young girls had changed back into their dancing shoes to reprise the show for his customers.
It made for a happy sound, and a full pub.
He was pulling pints with both hands, holding three conversations at once and manning the till. He wanted to shoot himself for giving Darcy the day off.
Shawn slipped in and out of the kitchen as time allowed and lent a hand at the bar and with the serving. But he’d get caught up in the dancing and forget to come back as often as not.
“It’s not a bleeding party,” Aidan reminded him, again, when Shawn strolled back behind the bar.
“Sure it sounds like one to me. Everyone’s happy enough.” Shawn nodded to the crowd that circled three dancers. “The Duffy girl’s the best of the lot, to my thinking. She’s got a way with her.”
“Leave off watching them, would you, and get down to the other end of the bar.”
The abrupt tone only made Shawn smile. “Missing your lady, are you? Can’t blame you for it. She’s a sweetheart.”
Aidan sighed and passed brimming glasses into eager hands. “I haven’t time to miss anything when I’m up to my ass in beer.”
“Well, then, that’s a pity, as she just walked in and looking fresh and pretty as a dewdrop despite the hour,” Shawn added when Aidan’s head whipped around.
He’d tried not to think of her. In fact, he’d made a concerted effort on it, mostly to see if he could manage it. He’d done fairly well, only finding himself distracted by thoughts of her a couple dozen times that day.
Now here she was, with her hair bound back and her smile all for him. By the time she’d squeezed her way to the bar, her smile was a laugh, and he’d forgotten about the Guinness he was building.
“What’s going on?” She had to lift her voice to a near shout and lean in close, so close that he caught her scent, the mystery of it that lingered on her skin.
“A bit of a party, it seems. I’ll get you some wine when I’ve got a free hand.” He’d rather have used that free hand, both hands, to snatch her up, haul her over the bar, and gather her in.
You’re well and truly hooked, Gallagher, he thought, and decided he rather enjoyed the sensation.
“Did you have a fine time in Dublin, then?”
“Yes, a wonderful time. I bought everything that wasn’t nailed down. And if I started to resist, Darcy talked me into it.”
“She’s good at spending money,” Aidan began, then caught himself. “Darcy? She’s back. Oh, thank the Lord. Another pair of hands might get us through the rest of the night without a riot.”
“You can have mine.”
“Hmm?”
“I can take orders.” The idea took root in her head and bloomed. “And serve.”
“Darling, I can’t ask you to do that.” He shifted as someone elbowed to the bar to order pints and glasses and fizzy water.
“You’re not asking. And I’d like it. If I bungle it, everyone will just think the Yank’s a bit slow, then you can call Darcy.”
“Have you ever waitressed before?” He gave her an indulgent smile that instantly put her back up.
“How hard can it be?” she snapped back and to prove her point, turned and muscled her way toward one of the little tables to get started.
“Didn’t take a pad or a tray.” Aidan looked at his customer for sympathy as he filled the order. “And if I was to call Darcy now, that one would have my head for breakfast.”
“Women,” he was told, “are dangerous creatures at the best of times.”
“True enough, true enough, but that one is normally of a calm nature. That’s five pounds eight. And,” he continued as he took the money and made change, “it’s the ones with the calm natures who can cut your throat the quickest when riled.”
“You’re a wise man, Aidan.”
“Aye.” Aidan took a breath in a moment’s lull. “Wise enough not to call Darcy and have two females bashing at me.”
Still, he figured it wouldn’t take Jude more than a quarter hour to realize she was over her head. She was a practical woman, after all. And later he could smooth her feathers by saying it was a rare night in the pub in any case, and how thoughtful it had been of her to offer to help, and so on and so forth until he got her naked and in bed.
Pleased with the image, Aidan served the next cheerfully. And he had a smile waiting for Jude as she wove her way back to the bar. “I’ll get you that wine now,” he began.
“I don’t drink on the job,” she said smartly. “I need two pints of Harp and a glass of Smithwick’s, two whiskeys, um, Paddy’s, two Cokes, and a Baileys.” She offered a smug smile. “And I could use one of those little aprons if you have one handy.”
He started the order, cleared his throat. “Ah, you don’t know the prices.”
“You have a list of them, don’t you? Put them in the apron. I can add, and quite well, too. If you have a tray, while you’re filling that order, I can clear off some of the empties before they end up broken on the floor.”
A quarter hour, he thought again, and dug out a menu, an apron, laid them both on a tray and passed it over. “It’s kind it is of you to pitch in, Jude Frances.”
She lifted her brows. “You don’t think I can do it.” With this, she flounced away.
“Does it hurt?” Shawn asked from behind him.
“What?”
“Shoehorning your foot in your mouth that way. I bet it cracks the jaw something fierce.” He only snickered when Aidan jabbed him sharply, elbow into ribs. “She has a way with her, too,” he added, watching as Jude cleared off one of the low tables and chatted with the family who sat there. “I’d be happy to take her off your hands if . . .”
He trailed off, a little daunted by the vicious look Aidan shot at him. “Just joking,” he muttered and slipped back to the other end of the bar.
Jude came back, began unloading the empties, loading the first order. “A pint and a glass of Guinness, two Or-angeens, and a cup of tea with whiskey.”
Before Aidan could speak, she’d hefted the tray, just un-steadily enough to make him hold his breath, and moved off to serve.
She was having the time of her life. She was in the middle of it all, part of it all. Music and movement and shouted conversation and laughter. People called her by name and asked how it was all going. No one seemed the least surprised that she was taking orders and emptying ashtrays.
She knew she didn’t have Darcy’s graceful efficiency and style, but she was handling it. And if she’d almost poured a pint of beer on Mr. Duffy, the operative word was “almost.” He’d c
aught it himself with a wink and grin and said he’d sooner have it in him than on him.
She managed the money, too, and didn’t think she made any important mistakes. In fact, one of her apron pockets was bulging with tips that had her glowing with pride.
When Shawn breezed by and swung her into a quick dance, she was too surprised to be embarrassed. “I don’t know how.”
“Sure you do. Will you come by and play my music again, Jude Frances?”
“I’d like that. But you have to let go. I’m running out of breath and stepping all over your feet.”
“If you were to give me a kiss, you’d have Aidan boiling with jealousy.”
“I would not. Really?” His grin was irresistible. “I’ll just kiss you because you’re so pretty.”
When he gaped in shock at that, she kissed his cheek. “Now, I’m supposed to be working. The boss will dock my pay if I keep dancing with you.”
“Those Gallagher lads are shameless,” Kathy Duffy told her as Jude cleared more glasses. “Bless them for it. A pair of good women would settle them down, but not so much they wouldn’t be interesting.”
“Aidan’s married to the pub,” Kevin Duffy said as he lit a cigarette. “And Shawn to his music. It’ll be years yet before either of them’s taking on a wife.”
“Nothing to stop a clever lass from trying, is there?” And Kathy winked at Jude.
Jude managed a smile as she moved to another table. She managed to keep it in place as she took the orders. But her mind was whirling.
Is that what people thought? she wondered. That she was trying to wrangle Aidan into marriage? Why it had never crossed her mind. Not seriously. Hardly at all.
Did he think that was what she was aiming for?
She stole a glance at him, watched him nimbly pulling pints as he talked to two of the Riley sisters. No, of course he didn’t. They were both just enjoying themselves. Enjoying each other. If the thought of marriage had crossed her mind, it was natural enough. But she hadn’t dwelled on it.