Chapter Five
Kevin led Kathy to the table. They piled food on their plates and sat at the curb, leaving the folding chairs for older people and pregnant women, of which there seemed to be a growing number. Looked like the O’Learys were breeding the next generation of football players.
“Eat up. Relay races are starting soon. This time, I don’t care what Moira says, you’re on my team. I deserve to win at least once today.”
“The adults run relay races?”
“Some. I’ll beat a bunch of kids. I don’t care.”
Kathy laughed because she knew he was joking. “That’s just wrong.”
He bumped her shoulder with his and tilted his chin across the street. “See that kid? I bet I could take him.”
He was looking at the toddler who was obviously still mastering the ability to walk.
She smiled and shook her head. “Setting the bar kind of low.” She glanced down the block. “How about them?”
They turned to see a group of gangly teens squirting one another with giant water guns.
“I’ll wait until they exhaust each other, then I’ll be able to win.”
“You always have a scheme, huh?”
“Scheme sounds evil.”
“You’re the one who relished being called an evil genius.”
“I plan the best way to have fun while winning. That part is just genius. Nothing evil about it.” He quieted again for a few seconds as he ate. “What do you do for fun?”
She shrugged. It was one of those questions she always hated on a date because she knew she sounded like a little old lady.
“Come on. Tell me.”
“I like to run. I go at least three or four times a week. The shop takes a lot of my time. Being a business owner is no simple task. I love it, but I’m not in a place where I have a lot of breathing room, you know? By the time I get home at night, I flop on the couch and watch TV.” As they talked through easy conversation, her appetite had returned and she continued to eat.
“I can relate. I’m trying to get in on a new project at work, so there are a lot of long hours. I’m lucky if I manage to get my tie off before I collapse.”
“I never have that problem. The first thing I do when I walk in the door is strip.”
Kevin coughed and choked on his beer.
“You okay?”
“You could warn a guy if you’re gonna fill his head with images like that.” He took another drink of beer.
It took a second for her brain to catch up. “Jeez, you have a dirty mind. I don’t walk around naked. I change into comfy clothes.”
“Too late. I already have a picture of you sprawled all over your couch totally nude. Wild hair fanning out, eyes half-closed, the beginning of a smile on your lips. Can’t undo that.”
How he managed to spin a totally innocent conversation into a sexual one, she didn’t know, but she pushed past it. “Did you say tie? You actually wear a suit every day?”
“Yep. Kind of a requirement.”
“I can’t picture it.” In her head, he was always relaxed Kevin, like he was today. Casual.
“I’ll send you a selfie on Monday.” He set his plate on the ground. “Unless suits are a turnoff. Then we can pretend they don’t exist.”
She smiled again. “Even women who don’t like suits can appreciate a man who looks good in one.”
“Better watch out. That sounded almost like a compliment.”
“I didn’t say you’d look good in a suit, just that I like a man who does.”
“I don’t remember you being so quick with the barbs.”
He was right. That kind of joking was something reserved for people who were close to her, like Moira. People who she knew wouldn’t be offended, where no fight would be stirred or feelings hurt.
“Can I get something out in the open?” Kathy asked him with her plate carefully balanced on her knees.
“Shoot,” he answered before putting his plate on his lap and digging into his burger.
“I have an ulterior motive for being here.”
He said nothing, so she set her plate on the curb and twisted to fully face him. “I planned on playing this close to the vest, but I’m no good at being duplicitous.”
“That’s one of the many things I like about you.”
As much as she wanted to bask in his words, she focused on her goal. “I’m here to keep you away from Moira.”
Confusion filled his face. “Why?”
Kathy inhaled deeply and Kevin’s gaze dropped to the rise and fall of her chest.
“She’s worried about you. No—not about you. About what you might do. She’s afraid you’ll do something to ruin the wedding.”
“I would never do that.”
She smiled as she looked into his blue eyes. “I’m starting to see that. I’ve watched you all day and I don’t see what she does.”
“What do you see?”
“A man trying to make amends.”
His face brightened with her admission.
“What was your duplicitous plan?”
“To distract you and keep you with me and away from her. To spend enough time with you between now and the wedding that I could make sure you had no nefarious schemes.”
“Hmmm. I like that plan. Let’s go with it.”
“What?” she asked, leaning back.
He cocked an eyebrow. “You never know. Maybe I have an evil genius plot already in motion. You, Kathy Hendricks, might be her only hope.”
She relaxed and picked up her food again. “That’s part of the problem. You don’t take anything seriously. That’s what scares Moira.”
He put his plate down and shifted closer to her. “If we’re being completely honest, I have an ulterior motive for being nice to Moira.”
Kathy’s breath hitched and she frowned.
“You were my ulterior motive. My plan was to prove to Moira that I’m not the same man I was five years ago. If I could sway her, I might have another chance with you.”
He waited a moment, then leaned closer still and her pulse quickened. She was afraid he was going to try to kiss her. Instead, he whispered, “That is something I take very seriously. If this plan doesn’t work, I’ll come up with another. And another still, until I convince you.”
Kathy’s heart throbbed in her chest and neck and spread all over until she was one giant heartbeat. She nervously held her plate of food and focused on it. She didn’t have any words to respond to Kevin. In the time they’d dated and in their few meetings since, she’d never seen him so serious. It was unnerving.
She liked the playful side of him. That kept her off balance in a good way. But his declaration that he would work to get another chance with her scared the crap out of her. Rather than trying to figure out a plan, she gave her attention to the awesome food and watched the kids running around with water guns.
“I’m not sure how to interpret your silence,” Kevin said.
She didn’t want him to interpret it. She wasn’t even sure what it meant. Gripping her plate on her lap, she turned to him again. “I don’t know what to say. I’m only here today as a favor to Moira. She’s genuinely worried about you and your antics. I never had any intention of... God, I don’t know . . . starting anything with you again.”
His expression turned stony. “Moira has nothing to worry about.” He reached over and laid a hand on her arm. “I’ll make sure she understands it too.”
Kathy bit her lip. “Thank you.”
He moved his hand and shifted closer. “Now, about us.”
“There is no us.”
“There could be.”
“Not likely.” Her pulse kicked up another notch.
“If we’re being honest, and I think we should be, I’m still very much attracted to you, and I think you are to me.”
“So what? You’re attracted to many people. That’s what ended us, remember?” She spoke in a low whisper so she didn’t draw attention.
“I know how to be monogamous, Kathy. I fucked up. I didn’t really get it until last year, but I do now. I’ll make this right.”
“You can’t make this right. You can’t erase the past.” The food on her plate lost all of its appeal. She couldn’t keep doing this. He’d turn her into an emotional wreck if the conversation continued.
“I understand that too.” His gentle hand came up to her jaw, nudging her to look at him again. “I’m asking—no, begging—for a second chance. You don’t need to decide right now. Take some time and think about it. I’m going to prove to you that we can be good again.” His thumb stroked her cheekbone and then he pulled away. “But that’s enough seriousness for one day. This is a party. Finish up. We have more games to play.”
She had never been so grateful for a break in conversation. She couldn’t decide if he really wanted her to have time to think or if she looked like she was about to have a panic attack. Swallowing hard, she looked across the street and down the block. Moira’s siblings had some blankets spread on the grass and toddlers played with toys and food while their mothers chatted and laughed.
Jimmy stood near the corner where Liam was cooking, but his attention was on the people in the street. Always watching out for those around him. Kathy figured it was part of being a cop. He looked at Kathy and raised his eyebrows in question. She nodded at him to let him know she was okay. It was kind of amazing how quickly Moira’s family, both old and new, had brought her into the fold.
* * *
Kathy understood why Moira always asked her to come to the block party. She couldn’t imagine anyone not having a great time. There was a little bit of everything for everyone. As things wound down and the sun set, the adults gathered around a small bonfire in the middle of the street. Couples paired off, leaving the singles to meander through the group to settle into a spot.
She was a single and so was Kevin, but he continued to act as though they were a couple. She wanted to be near the fire so her shirt would dry—the shirt that was currently soaked because she got caught in the crossfire when both Moira and Kevin had gotten their hands on the super-shooting water guns. They had apologized in that lame, giggling way kids would, and she had to laugh along. After all, it was only water.
Being shot incessantly with a squirt gun was just another of those things she hadn’t experienced as a kid. Now she was getting ready to make s’mores. The group around the fire passed a bottle of whiskey but she stuck with her beer. Even that wouldn’t go well with chocolate and marshmallow.
Kevin sat at her side.
Moira jumped up from Jimmy’s lap and said, “Time for a game. Truth or dare.”
Jimmy groaned and stood.
Moira eyed him. “Sit. You’re playing. You survived last year.”
He moved back to his lawn chair.
“What’s that about?” Kathy asked Kevin.
“Moira always tried to trap him with this game. In case you didn’t know, Jimmy doesn’t like to be challenged.”
Kathy laughed. “And yet, he’s marrying Moira.”
“Go figure.”
“Who’s going to start?” Moira asked.
She looked around the group, the firelight making shadows dance across their faces. Kathy thought about her move. She had no idea what kind of dares they asked of each other, but she could use truth to her advantage. If she asked Kevin the right questions, she might be able to set Moira’s mind at ease.
It had nothing to do with him proving anything to her about the possibilities for them. Nope. Not at all.
Maggie stood. “I’ll go.”
Moira returned to Jimmy’s side and held his hand. Maggie lurked around the fire studying everyone. She turned to a man Kathy hadn’t been introduced to.
“Ronan.” She stopped and crossed her arms.
“Who’s that?” Kathy whispered.
“One of the Doyle boys. Ronan and I got into our share of trouble too.”
“Is there anyone in this neighborhood you haven’t gotten into trouble with?”
“Not many.”
“Truth or dare?” Maggie asked Ronan.
“Not fair,” someone called out. “Everyone knows the Doyles will do anything. A dare won’t scare him.”
“Especially a dare created by Maggie,” he said with a smirk. “But I’ll take truth.”
A few people moaned, obviously hoping for a good dare.
“Hmmm . . .” Maggie stroked her chin as if deep in thought. “What’s the worst thing you’ve ever done to anyone in this neighborhood?”
Several people laughed, including Ronan. His voice was deep and dark, fitting for a man like Kevin had described.
“Hey, Jimmy, what’s the statute of limitations on grand theft auto?” Ronan asked.
“That’s my cue to bow out. I’ll be back. Anyone need a refill?” he asked, holding up his cup.
“Where’s he going?” Kathy asked.
Kevin watched his brother leave. “If Ronan admits to breaking the law, Jimmy would arrest him. Just the way he is.”
“So he’s leaving so he won’t have to. He’s a loyal man, isn’t he?”
“Yep. The best.”
Ronan leaned his elbows on his knees and stared at Maggie and Moira. “When I was fourteen, I stole your father’s car. Crashed it into the liquor store so I could get some more beer. Needless to say, I was already drunk.”
Moira stared open-mouthed at Ronan.
“Your dad was cool about it. Pissed, but cool. Didn’t call the cops or tell my old man. He just made me work off the cost of the repairs.” He raised his cup of beer. “To Patrick O’Leary.”
After everyone took a drink for the toast, Moira asked, “Why did you steal his car?”
“The only other car that I had a chance of stealing was Seamus O’Malley’s. Even drunk, I knew it was stupid to steal a cop’s car.”
Kevin laughed. “He would’ve hauled you in for sure.”
“I don’t doubt it.”
“I can’t believe you stole my dad’s car,” Maggie said.
“I do,” Moira responded. “Your turn, Ronan.”
Leaning forward once again, he looked around at the crowd. “Chloe.”
Kathy turned to look at the cute woman she’d met down the block.
“Oh, this’ll be good,” Kevin said.
They definitely had Kathy’s rapt attention.
“Dare,” Chloe said with a steely look in her eye.
“Oooo,” rumbled through the group.
“Didn’t expect that,” Kevin said.
Based on the look on Ronan’s face, he hadn’t expected it either. He rubbed a hand over his scruffy jaw. “I dare you to let me do a body shot off you.”
“Who’s got the tequila?”
Michael O’Leary passed a bottle. Someone Kathy didn’t know ran to the curb and returned with a bowl of limes and a salt shaker. With a cocky expression, Chloe lay on the street in front of the fire. She lifted her shirt and placed a lime between her teeth. Ronan sprinkled salt on her abdomen and slowly licked it off. Then he downed the shot and sucked the lime from her mouth. Even as an outsider, Kathy knew heat when she saw it.
Before she had a chance to ask Kevin about it, Chloe turned and studied the crowd. “Kevin.”
“Truth.”
Kathy couldn’t believe it. He was a dare kind of guy.
“Why didn’t you ever ask me out when we were younger?” As Chloe asked the question, her gaze bounced from Kevin to Kathy.
“You were a good girl.”
“So?”
Ronan burst out laughing, and Kevin shot him a look. “When we were younger, I was only after one thing, and you weren’t about to give it up.”
She pursed her lips.
Kevin immediately turned to Kathy. “Kathy.”
Her heart sped. She didn’t know if she could handle a dare that Kevin dished out, but truth might be worse. She licked her lips.
“Truth or dare?” he asked quietly, like they were the only two people there.
Panic was setting in. She hated being in the spotlight and right now all eyes were on her.
* * *
Kevin saw the panic in Kathy’s eyes, but he couldn’t figure out what he’d done wrong. It was only a silly game. To try to put her at ease, he winked. He wouldn’t do anything to embarrass her.
“Truth,” she croaked out.
“Hmmm . . . What was your favorite part of this day?”
She released a breath and her shoulders relaxed. “Easy—outrunning you for the first touchdown of the game.”
A round of laughter made its way through the neighbors. “Go ahead and laugh it up. I’d like to see any of you catch her. She’s a track star.”
“Was,” Kathy corrected.
“Based on how you ran today, I’d say you still are.” His hand brushed hers. “Your turn.”
“Can I ask you, or is that against the rules?”
He shrugged. “Moira, she wants to know if she can toss it back at me.”
Moira looked at her friend and back at him. “Shoot, if she wants to waste a turn on you, let her.”
“Truth or dare?”
Although he wasn’t afraid of any dare she might come up with, he knew what she was looking for. “Truth.”
She looked back at Moira and then asked, “Why have you always harassed Moira?”
He laughed. “Because she makes it fun.”
Everyone else joined in his laughter. When Moira and Kathy shot him dirty looks, he continued. “When we were young, I pulled your ponytail because I liked you. It’s one of the stupid things little boys do. As we got older, you were such a fireball when you got mad, it became a game. You’re hot when you’re pissed.”
“Watch it,” Jimmy warned.
“I’m not saying anything new. Every guy in the neighborhood thought it.” Directly to Moira, he said, “You never gave me the time of day, so pissing you off was the best I could get.”
The look on Moira’s face softened.
“So you tease her because you like her?” Kathy asked. “That makes no sense.”
“Well, now that she’s marrying my brother, I get to tease her because she’s family. It’s how we show love.” The whole game was getting too personal at this point. In the past, it never bothered him because someone else was being grilled. He didn’t much like it when he was on the hot seat. “I’m getting a refill. Moira, you can have my turn.”
“Cool.”
He asked Kathy if she wanted more beer.
“I’ll come with you.” She followed him toward the O’Leary house. “I’m sorry about that. I just wanted Moira to hear your side of things.”
“It’s fine. I needed a break. Things were getting too serious. I don’t care that you asked me questions. I’ll tell you anything you want to know.”
He pumped the keg and poured her beer, then refilled his own. Instead of going back to the fire, he sat on the curb again. She sat beside him, her bare thigh dangerously close to his. “I’m really glad you came today,” he said.
“So am I.” She drank from her cup. “What would you have made me do if I said dare?”
“I don’t know. If I were smart, I’d have taken a page out of Moira’s book and dared you to kiss me. That had been her plan with Jimmy a couple of years ago, except, being Jimmy, he went for truth.”
Kathy gulped more beer and he watched her throat work as she tilted her head back. Springy curls had escaped her rubber band a long time ago and he wanted to play with them.
“I wouldn’t have done it though,” he added as she pulled her cup back. “You looked scared when I called your name. I wouldn’t force you to do anything. When I kiss you again, it won’t be because I dared you to, but because you want it as much as I do.”
“I wasn’t scared. A little nervous maybe. I don’t like to be the center of attention and that game forced it. I definitely wouldn’t want Ronan doing a body shot off me.” She chuckled nervously.
Kevin laid a hand on her thigh. “I wouldn’t let him touch you.”
She twisted, causing his hand to shift to the inside of her leg too close for him not to think about where he wanted to go. “What would you have done to stop him?”
“I wouldn’t have had to do anything. Just tell him to back off.” How could he explain the unwritten code they all lived by? You don’t fuck with another man’s woman. It just wasn’t done.
With a sigh, she lay down on the grass and stretched out her legs, so he lost contact with her thigh. He lay next to her. “Are you drunk?”
“Nope,” she said. “Buzzed pretty good though. Weird, since I don’t like beer much. Beautiful night.” She pointed up at the starry sky.
As she looked at the stars, he stared at her. She was so beautiful and relaxed, he wanted to kiss her, but he’d keep true to his word. It couldn’t happen until she was ready. The crappy part was that he had no clue what effect those words were having on her.
“About what you said earlier,” she began. She turned her head to face him. “I don’t know what to think or say.”
He waited. As much as he wanted to fill the silence with a joke, he waited.
“I really liked you. Part of me must still, but you hurt me. Whether you meant to or not doesn’t matter all that much. I felt betrayed by someone I cared about.” She blinked slowly. “Someone I was falling for and thought I had a future with.”
Kevin rolled to his side to fully see her face. “I was a dumb fuck for not seeing what I had.”
He stroked the inside of her arm. Her eyes fluttered closed and she whispered, “I’m scared.”
“It’s okay to be scared. I’m sorry I caused that. Like I said before. Take your time and think about it, but know that I’m not going to give up.” He rolled onto his back and took her hand. She didn’t pull from his grasp, but interlocked her fingers with his.
“Do you want to go back to the game?” she asked.
“Nope. I’m good.”
Maybe Jimmy did know a thing or two about how to get a woman.