Baily's Irish Dream: Baily's Irish Dream / Czech Mate. Stephanie Doyle

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СКАЧАТЬ not there? Where is she? …Out shopping for a gown…. I see…When will she return? …You don’t know. She’s your fiancée yet you have no idea when she’s coming home? …What the hell was that crack supposed to mean? …I am not too possessive…Listen you…”

      Baily watched as he became increasingly agitated. If he didn’t control his temper, there was no way Pierce would consider postponing the wedding. She jumped up to stop him before he said something stupid. Grabbing the phone out of his hand, she spoke to who she assumed was Pierce Larson.

      “Hi, Mr. Larson. You don’t know me, but I’m a friend of Daniel’s.”

      “I didn’t know he had friends,” came the response from the other end of the phone. Baily had already made up her mind not to like him but she couldn’t help smiling at the insult.

      “Yes, well, he does. He’s been having a little car trouble, and wallet trouble, and bump-on-the-head trouble. What I mean to say is that he’s running behind schedule. So we thought since it’s so very important that he be at his own sister’s wedding that you could postpone the wedding for a few days.”

      “I don’t know. We’ve got everything planned already,” Pierce said smoothly.

      “You’re getting married by a judge, aren’t you?”

      “Yes.”

      “Then you should have no problem simply making another appointment. Daniel is her brother. He’s got to be there.”

      “I’ll tell you what I’ll do. I will run it by Sarah. If she agrees, then we’ll postpone everything until Daniel arrives.”

      Baily smiled triumphantly at Daniel who was still trying to contain his temper. “That’s perfect. I’m sure Sarah will agree. Goodbye.”

      “IT WAS ELEVEN O’CLOCK at night,” Daniel said to the waiter. It was an odd response considering the waiter had asked him if he would like anything to drink.

      “Excuse me, sir?”

      Daniel paused for a moment while he attempted to gain his focus.

      Baily jumped in with an apologetic excuse. “You’ll have to forgive my friend. He was hit really hard on the head today. And his car was trashed, and his wallet was stolen, and…”

      With a warning glance, Daniel attempted to shut her up. Fat chance.

      “We really don’t even know if he has suffered any permanent damage,” Baily continued, unaware of Daniel’s disapproval. “Head wounds can be tricky.”

      The waiter nodded sympathetically, but it was easy to see that all he wanted to know was what the man would like to drink.

      “Stuff it, Red,” Daniel told her. “I’ll have a beer, a cheeseburger, fries if you have them, and a large salad with blue cheese dressing.”

      Baily nodded approvingly. “Sounds good. I’ll have the same. Except no fries. And I’ll have a chicken sandwich instead of a hamburger. No cheese on the chicken of course. And instead of blue cheese dressing I would like something low fat if you have it. If not, then I’ll take honey dijon.”

      Daniel shook his head. “That wasn’t the same thing at all.”

      Baily handed the waiter the menus while looking at Daniel in an attempt to decipher what he meant. She didn’t notice that the waiter practically sprinted from their table. “What are you talking about? I ordered a beer, too.”

      “Never mind,” he muttered, knowing it wasn’t worth what little energy he had left in this day.

      “Speaking of not knowing what you are talking about, what did you mean by eleven o’clock?”

      “Larson said Sarah was out buying a dress.” Daniel had calculated the time difference and realized that it was after eleven at night Philadelphia time when he had called. “What kind of stores are open at eleven at night? He lied. He didn’t want me to talk to Sarah. I can’t stand that he lives with her in that house. He’s got too much control over her that way.”

      “What kind of control?”

      “He can screen her calls, for one thing.”

      “He has to. He’s afraid you’ll talk her out of getting married. It’s actually a risky gamble on Pierce’s part. If Sarah finds out that her calls are being screened, she might call off the wedding herself.”

      “He’s right to be afraid. I’m sure if I could talk to Sarah, I could tell her what lunacy this sudden marriage is.” At least that was what Daniel hoped. He didn’t want to think about the possibility that his sister was truly in love with this con man.

      “Do you think he’ll do what you asked? I mean, if he’s a true con man he’s better off if you don’t make it to the wedding.”

      Good point. He didn’t know. “I don’t think Sarah would let Pierce rush her down the aisle without me there. And hopefully it won’t matter. I still plan—I mean, we still plan to be in Philadelphia on time, right? There’s nothing he can do from his end to stop me.”

      Daniel’s eyes were lit with a ferocity that sparked something deep in Baily. She imagined what it would be like to have a man love her with same intensity that Daniel loved his sister. She knew that a man like Daniel would be protective as well as possessive. But he would also be giving and indulgent, much as he was with his sister. Much as her own brothers were with her. If only Harry could be more like Daniel. But Harry was Harry. He was sweet, and lovable, and an absolute pushover.

      Their meals came and for the next hour they satisfied their hunger and attempted not to further confuse the waiter. It was while they sipped their coffee after dinner that Daniel decided it was time to talk about what had happened back in the motel room.

      “Listen, Red, we need to work a few things out.”

      Baily’s eyes met his over the rim of her coffee cup, and instantly she knew what he referred to. His hazel eyes took on a deeper color and he lowered his voice. He hunched forward in his seat, creating a more intimate atmosphere. And if it were possible, although Baily didn’t see how it was, he made himself look sexier.

      “Did I tell you about the history of this restaurant? It was named after a famous mountain man.” Baily simply couldn’t tell this man with a straight face that she wasn’t interested in him, which of course she had to say because she was going to become engaged to another man in a few short days.

      “You’re avoiding the subject,” Daniel informed her. Ironic, since he was usually the one to avoid personal conversations. It was why he had never dated a woman for any longer than a couple months. There was only so much sex you could have and so many superficial conversations you could carry on. Once a woman started to talk about a future and family, Daniel bolted. He had no interest in becoming part of another family again. Not when he knew from experience that the pain suffered from the loss of a family could cripple a man. He’d protect Sarah, but that was where all of his family obligations ended. He couldn’t say that he ever broke any hearts. Most women never got to know him enough to like him very much, let alone love him.

      Red was different. He wanted to talk about the intimate stuff with her. He wanted to talk about what they were going to do with this attraction they СКАЧАТЬ