Michael's Discovery - By Sherryl Woods Page 0,18
your word, then, that you won’t take advantage of her.”
“Thank you.” He slanted a look at Bryan. “So, does she have any idea you’re over here warning me off?”
“Probably,” Bryan said.
Michael regarded him with amusement. “And you got out of the house in one piece? Amazing. You must be quicker than I remembered.”
“Very funny.”
“Look, I admire the fact that you care about what happens to your sister, but I swear to you that I’m not a threat. I’ll say it one more time—this whole pub visit is strictly professional. She thinks it will help the therapy if I can put my trust in her.”
Bryan rolled his eyes. “And you bought that hogwash?”
Something in his reaction sent a little chill of apprehension down Michael’s back. He regarded Bryan with a narrowed gaze. “You think she has another agenda?”
“She might not even be aware of it herself, but, yes, I think she has another agenda.” He leveled a warning look at Michael. “And so help me, if you take her up on it and break her heart, I’ll make you regret it.”
“Whoa!” Michael protested, reeling from the possibility that Bryan viewed his own sister as the one who couldn’t be entirely trusted to exercise good judgment. “It’s a long way from spending one evening in a pub with family to breaking your sister’s heart. Trust me, that is not a road I intend to go down.”
“As long as you’re clear on the consequences,” Bryan said flatly.
“Very clear. Are you clear on the fact that I’m not the least bit interested in getting involved with anyone these days? Fixing my own life is pretty much an all-consuming task.”
“Okay, then,” Bryan said, clearly relieved. “Now turn the sound up on the game, while I get us another beer.”
Michael stared after him as he left the room. Bryan’s little wake-up call hadn’t exactly scared him. He could handle an irate Bryan. But the memory of the way he’d felt when Kelly had her hands all over him gave him pause. He was suddenly far less confident about whether he could handle Kelly, if she really did have something other than therapy on her mind.
Michael was still feeling a little leery about Kelly’s intentions when they got to Ryan’s Place on Friday night. Fortunately, with nearly a dozen members of his own family and the O’Briens around, it was easy enough to put some distance between himself and Kelly.
When the boisterous crowd got to be too much for him, he made his way to the bar where Ryan was trying to keep up with the orders. Michael couldn’t hide his grin at how natural his big brother looked pouring ales and Irish whisky and joking with the customers.
“This place suits you,” he told Ryan, when his brother finally turned his attention to him.
“You like it, then?” Ryan asked.
“There’s a warm, comfortable feel to it I haven’t run across since a vacation in Ireland a few years back.”
“Then I’ve done it right,” Ryan said, obviously pleased. “And having you and Sean in here couldn’t make me happier. For a long time, I thought I could be content just to have this place with its crowd of regulars. Then Maggie came along and made me see what I was missing.” He nodded toward the crowd across the room. “The O’Briens are special. I didn’t trust all that love they shower on everyone at first, but it’s the real thing.”
Michael nodded. “I can see that. Not five seconds after we met, Nell O’Brien fussed over me as if I were one of her own brood.”
“You are now,” Ryan said simply. His expression turned thoughtful. “You know, if you wanted to invite your foster family here sometime, it would be fine with me. I’d like to get to know them. I never stayed with any of mine long enough to get attached. Sean had better luck, but he doesn’t see them much anymore. Of all of us, I think you’re the one who came closest to finding a real home.”
Michael tried to imagine the Havilceks here and, surprisingly, found that he could. “Maybe I will,” he said. “One of these days. I haven’t told them I’m back in Boston.”
Ryan regarded him with shock. “Why not?”
Michael tried out the same explanation he’d used on Kelly to see if it sounded any better now. “I wanted to sort things out for myself. My foster mom is great, but she’d take over and try to fix things.” He grinned. “The girls are no