by Marie Force
She reached up to kiss him and adjust the collar of his shirt. “You look nice.”
“Thanks. Where’s Dad?”
“At a meeting at the Hibernian Hall.” She led him into the kitchen. “I have all the stuff you asked for.”
Michael inspected the bag to make sure everything was there. “This is great. Thanks.”
“She’s lovely, Michael. Really, really lovely.”
“I know.”
“I’m so happy to see you with someone like her. She’s exactly perfect for you.”
“I think so, too. I’m glad you like her.”
“We all do. Your sisters are crazy about her.”
“I figured they would be. It’s just, well—”
“What?”
“It’s kind of complicated,” he said, giving her a brief rundown of Juliana’s situation.
Maureen looked like she could cry. “Oh, Michael! And you love her so much! I can just feel that when I’m with the two of you.”
“Yes,” he said. “It happened fast, but I felt something different for her the first time I ever saw her. Isn’t that strange?”
“No, it’s not strange, not when it’s the real thing. She’ll make the right choice, honey. In the end, she will.”
“I hope you’re right. Well, I’d better get going. Thanks for the help.”
“Have a nice time tonight.” She stopped short at the front door. “Michael, why are there cops outside my house?”
“Oh, just something to do with the trial. Tom Houlihan ordered it. Nothing to worry about,” he said, kissing her forehead.
“Are you sure?”
“Positive. We’ll see you tomorrow before we head home.”
“Okay,” she said with another nervous glance at the police car.
Michael arrived back at Maggie’s house to find Juliana reading to his niece, Emma, in the living room. With Emma on her lap, he couldn’t get a full visual on what Juliana was wearing, but he saw enough bare shoulder and smooth leg to make his mouth water.
“Uncle Michael,” four-year-old Emma said, “Juliana’s reading Good Night Moon.”
He kissed his niece and sat down next to them. “I see that. And I see you talked her into another braid,” he said, tugging on the end of the long blonde braid.
Maggie came into the room. “Come on, Emma, it’s bath time.”
“Do I hafta? Juliana’s reading to me.”
“Yes, you hafta. Juliana’s going out.”
Emma made a big production of hugging and kissing Michael and Juliana before she took her mother’s outstretched hand.
“You guys have a nice time tonight,” Maggie said with a wink for Michael.
“We will.”
“What was that all about?” Juliana asked when they were alone.
“I don’t know,” he said with a shrug. “You look amazing. Stand up and let me see.”
She did as he asked.
He made a twirling motion with his index finger.
Juliana spun around so he could get a full view of the sexy peasant-style black dress she wore with open-toed black heels.
“Mmm, mmm, mmm,” Michael said, fanning himself. “Hot.”
She giggled, and his heart ached with love for her.
“Does that mean you approve?”
Getting up, he wrapped her shawl around her shoulders. “Oh, yeah,” he said, kissing her. “I definitely approve.” He led her out the front door.
When they passed his car, she asked, “Where are we going?”
“For a short walk,” he said, putting his arm around her. “Are you warm enough?”
She nodded.
Crispy fallen leaves littered the sidewalk, and the smell of wood smoke wafted through the chilly autumn air.
Over his shoulder, Michael noticed two police officers following them at a respectful distance.
They walked along Lower Thames until Michael stopped in front of a three-story Victorian with paper covering the large street-level windows on either side of the front door.
“Where are we?”
He used a key to unlock the door. “My place.”
“Yours? I don’t get it.”
“Come on in, and I’ll tell you.”
Inside the door, he flipped on lights in a small hallway at the bottom of a stairwell. He led her into the rooms on the left side of the stairs. “When I was fifteen, my grandfather and I bought this place together.”
Stunned, Juliana stared at him. “You did not!”
“We did,” he said with a grin. “He and I used to take long walks through the neighborhood, and he’d tell me stories about the people who owned all the houses when he was a kid. His father grew up on the third floor of this house, so when it came on the market, he and I hatched a plan to buy it. I’d had a paper route and a lawn mowing business for years, and he knew I’d hung on to every dime I’d ever made.”
“I can’t believe you bought a house when you were fifteen!”
He chuckled. “My grandfather used to say, ‘Michael, my boy, you can’t go wrong with real estate.’ So we each put down ten thousand dollars and bought the place for seventy-five thousand. When he died about seven years ago, I found out that he’d paid off the mortgage and left his half to me. Turns out he steered me right. It’s worth about three-quarters of a million now.”
“That’s such an amazing story. What are you going to do with it?”
“Whenever I’m home, I chip away at all the work it needs. I spent a whole weekend last spring refinishing the molding around one of the windows upstairs. On the days when I get sick of dealing with Baltimore’s criminal element, I dream about opening a general law practice down here and living upstairs.”
“I can see that. I can see you as the neighborhood attorney taking care of everyone’s problems.”
“Can you? Really?”
“Definitely. You should do it. You’d be great at it.”
“Thanks.” He shrugged. “Maybe someday. Let’s go upstairs.”
Back in the vestibule, Juliana asked what was on the other side of the stairwell.
“Another good-sized retail space that I’d lease out in my hypothetical scenario.”
The second floor had high ceilings, large windows, an outdated kitchen, two bathrooms, and two big bedrooms. “There’s another apartment upstairs.”
“Something smells good. Where’s it coming from?”
“Go on up and find out.” He pointed to the third-floor stairs and gestured for her to lead the way.
Juliana gasped when she walked into a candlelit room with a table set for two in the middle. There were roses on the table and soft music playing in the background. “Oh, is this what you were doing?”
“I can’t take all the credit. My mother and my sisters helped a little.”
“A little?” she asked, raising a skeptical eyebrow.
He smiled. “Okay, a lot. My mother provided all the candles, and Maggie and Shannon did most of the setup.”
Juliana put her arms around him. “But it was your idea.”
“I wanted to show you this place, and since I wasn’t in the mood for a crowded restaurant tonight, I thought this might work.”
“It works,” she said, kissing him. “Thank you.”
“Are you hungry? We’ve got shrimp scampi from Sardella’s in the oven.”
“I’m starving.”
He held her chair, opened a bottle of wine, and poured them each a glass before he went to get their dinner.
“This place has great service,” Juliana said when he delivered her dinner. “Very sexy waiters.”
“No hitting on the help, please.”
“I’ll try to restrain myself.”
“Don’t try too hard.”
She laughed. “This is so good,” she said after the first bite of spicy shrimp.
“I’m glad you like it. Mary Frances said I couldn’t go wrong with Sardella’s scampi.”
“Your sister is very wise. When did you even hav
e a chance to do all this? You’ve been with me the whole time we’ve been here.”
“Last night while you were playing hair salon with the little girls, I was plotting and scheming with the big girls.”
“I’ll have to keep a closer eye on you in the future.”
“Nothing would please me more.”
After dinner, he asked her to dance.
Juliana put her hand in his and followed him to the middle of the big room where the light from the candles flickered on the bare walls.
They danced for a long while as Michael held her close to him and breathed in the unique scent that had invaded his senses the day he met her and held him captive ever since.
“Who is this?” she asked of the music.
“Allison Krauss,” he said, whispering the words to the song. “It’s called ‘When You Say Nothing at All.’”
“I like it.”
“I like you.” He ran his lips along her bare shoulder and up to her neck. When he glanced over her ear with his tongue, she moaned. “In fact, I love you.”
Her arms tightened around him. “I love you, too.” She tipped her face up to his for a kiss so hot and so sensual that Michael almost forgot to breathe.
Lightheaded, he pulled back from her. “Come sit with me over here,” he said, leading her to a window seat that overlooked Thames Street and the harbor beyond. He sat down and drew her onto his lap. “There was another reason why I wanted to bring you here tonight.”
“Oh, really?”
“I have something I want to say to you and something I want to ask you, but you have to let me get through the whole thing before you say anything, okay?”
Her eyes widened, and she nodded.
He took her hand and brought it to his lips. “The other night I said I don’t have the words to tell you how I feel about you. I still don’t. I doubt I ever will. We haven’t known each other long, but it took me all of five minutes to know I could have everything I’ve ever dreamed of with you. I might not be the last guy who asks, but I wanted to be the first. Will you marry me, Juliana?”
“Michael,” she gasped.
“Wait. I’m not finished. I know you’re not able to answer me right now, but over the next few weeks when you’re going to have to make some big decisions, I wanted you to have no doubt about what I want from you and with you.”
He fished a ring out of his pocket. The antique setting seemed perfect for her, and the diamond, while large, was more tasteful than the one he had given Paige. He knew the size of the stone would mean nothing to Juliana. Sliding the ring onto her finger, he kissed her hand. “I just want to see how it looks.”
“It’s beautiful,” she said, wiping tears off her face.
He kissed her hand. “A perfect fit, just like us.”
“I don’t know what to say.”
With great reluctance, Michael slid the ring off her finger and reached for the gold chain that held his St. Christopher medal. He unhooked the chain, slid the ring on with the medal, clasped the chain shut, and dropped it under his shirt. “I’ll hold on to it for now. It’ll be right here with me until you’re ready for it.”
“I’m overwhelmed, Michael, and I don’t deserve you. You should be with someone who could say yes—without reservation—to such a lovely proposal.”
“I don’t want anyone but you, and I’ll take you any way I can get you.”
“I have some things I need to resolve, and it’s going to have to happen soon. I know I’m asking so much of you, but I need you to be patient with me. Can you do that?”
“I can do anything for you.”
“This was a wonderful evening. I’ll never forget it.”
“Just don’t forget who asked first.”
She kissed him. “I won’t forget that, either.”
Chapter 20
They were up early the next morning to take a walk on Easton’s Beach followed by breakfast at Michael’s favorite greasy-spoon diner. The police detail was never far from them.
“Oh my God!” Juliana clutched her stomach on the way back to the car. “Why did you let me eat so much?”
He chuckled. “You were like a regular truck driver in there.”
“I probably gained ten pounds this weekend. When we get home, we’re going on a diet.”
“Why do I have to?”
“If I have to, so do you.”
“Oh, I see,” he said, laughing. “Is this what life with you is going to be like?”
Juliana’s smile faded.
He took her hand. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be.” She reached up to caress his face and gazed into his eyes, which were even bluer than usual under the bright light of the sun. “There are times when I wish…”
He leaned her against the car and put his arms around her. “What, baby? Tell me. What do you wish for?”
“That there was nothing—or no one—standing in our way. I can just see how it would be for us. I think we’d have a happy life together.”
“I know we would.” Reaching up to his chest, he touched the ring through his shirt. “We can have it, Juliana. You only have to say the word, and we can have it all.”
She touched her lips to his. “I know.”
“Come on.” He opened the car door for her. “Let’s go say good-bye to my parents and get on the road.”
At the Maguire’s house, Juliana stayed inside with Maureen while Michael went outside with his father, who insisted on checking the oil in the car.
“I’m so glad you came this weekend, Juliana,” Maureen said. “I hope we’ll see you again.”
Something about the way Michael’s mother looked at her told Juliana she knew what was going on. “I hope so, too. Thank you for all your hospitality.”
Maureen hugged her. “Come again. Any time.”
Michael walked in. “Ready?”
Juliana nodded, and Michael hugged his mother.
“Be careful during that trial,” Maureen said. “I mean it, Michael.”
“I will. Don’t worry.”
“Yeah, right.”
Outside, Sean hugged them both.
As Michael backed the car out of the driveway, his parents waved from the front yard.
Juliana wondered if she would ever see them again.
The closer they got to Baltimore, the quieter Michael became.
“What’s wrong?” Juliana asked.
He glanced over at her and then at the road.
“What?”
“You know I want you with me all the time, right?”
She smiled. “You’ve made that pretty clear.”
“I’m so afraid of you staying with me after everything that’s happened. I really want you to go to Mrs. R’s until the trial’s over. Will you do that for me?”
“No.”
“Juliana…”
“No.”
“They know where I live, baby. They know I live with a woman. What better way to get to me than to get to you? If something ever happened to you, I’d go crazy.”
She put a comforting hand on his leg. “Nothing’s going to happen to me, Michael.”
“Just until the trial’s over?”
“I’m not leaving you until I have to.”
He glanced over at her. “So you see yourself leaving one day?”
“I’m going to have to deal with Jeremy at some point. You know that.”
His jaw tightened with tension. “We’re talking about the trial. I want you to be safe, and I can’t guarantee you will be if you stay with me.”
“I’m not going anywhere. Not now.”
“How do I go to work tomorrow morning and leave you sleeping there alone? How do I think about anything else but whether you’re safe?”
“The house has an alarm system, right?”
He nodded.
“Then we’ll use it.”
“That won’t keep another rock from coming through the window.”
“They won’t do that again,” Juliana s
aid confidently.
“So now you’re an expert on criminal behavior?” he asked, amused. “You won’t even think about going to Mrs. R’s for a few weeks?”
“No.”
When they got home, Michael showed her how to use the alarm system. He also let the police know they were back in town. With two officers trailing close behind them, they walked to a neighborhood restaurant for dinner.
“I’m getting used to being followed everywhere,” Juliana said as they strolled hand-in-hand back to the house after dinner. The whole time, she kept an anxious eye out for Jeremy in case he hadn’t gone back to Florida as scheduled.
“Good, because after what happened the other night, you have your own detail now.”
Juliana made a face at that news. “Oh, goodie.”
“Tomorrow I want you to come by the office to look at some photos we have of the Red Devils to see if you recognize the guy you saw in Newport, okay?”
She nodded.
“I’ll call you at some point to set it up. I have a meeting with the judge at nine. After that, I’m not sure if he’ll stay in recess or want to get back to the trial.”
“I’m off, so I can come whenever you need me to.”
Back at the house, they called to check on Rachelle. Michael talked to her first and told her that depending on what the judge had to say in the morning, he hoped to call her to testify by Thursday—Friday at the latest. “This is it,” he said before he turned the phone over to Juliana.
They chatted for a few minutes before Juliana sensed there was something the girl wanted to say to her.
“Honey? What is it?”
“It’s none of my business, and I remember you said that you and Michael are just friends because you have a boyfriend and all that, but…”
“What?”
“I think you belong with Michael.”
“What makes you say that?” Juliana asked, trying to keep her voice steady.
“I don’t know. It’s just a feeling I have.”
“Well, your opinion means a lot to me, so thank you for telling me. You ought to get some sleep. You’ve got a big week ahead of you. I’ll be thinking of you.”