Michael's Discovery - By Sherryl Woods Page 0,35

gleam in his eye. She realized suddenly that he meant exactly what he was saying. He would kiss her into silence and enjoy every outrageous minute of it.

So would she, but that was another issue entirely, and she was not about to share that little tidbit of information with him.

For once, kissing Kelly had served a purpose other than completely and fruitlessly turning him on. He was feeling downright cheerful and relaxed when they finally went into his brother’s pub. Unfortunately, his sister-in-law was the first to spot them. Maggie was on the two of them like a hummingbird after nectar.

“My, my, my,” she said, subjecting both of them to a thorough survey. “Rosy cheeks, avoiding looking at each other. Hmm, what could it mean?”

“Nothing,” Kelly insisted, her cheeks burning an even deeper shade of pink.

Maggie’s gaze settled on Michael. “You going to lie to me, too?”

He grinned. “Not a chance. I know better.”

Maggie patted his back. “Good man,” she said approvingly. She winked at Kelly. “Fibbing is a waste of time, anyway. I saw you two through the front window. It was quite a show, at least until that kiss pretty much fogged up the window. Then I had to rely on my imagination to guess what was going on.”

“Oh, God,” Kelly whispered, obviously embarrassed. “Did everyone see?”

Maggie wrapped a consoling arm around her shoulders. “Only me and Ryan,” she said, then added, “and the people at the table by the door.”

Kelly whirled in that direction, then groaned when she saw it was Michael’s folks. His mother seemed especially pleased by what she’d observed. His father was merely studying the two of them with a speculative look.

Maggie laughed. “Definitely a fascinated audience, am I right?”

Michael shook his head at Maggie’s obvious pleasure in their discomfort. Ryan definitely had his hands full with her. Michael couldn’t decide if he pitied him or envied him. Add in Caitlyn, and the balance definitely tilted toward envy.

“I gather you’ve met the Havilceks,” he said to Maggie.

“Yes,” she responded cheerfully. “Why don’t you two go on and join them? Ryan’s going to move some more tables together in a minute. Sean and Deanna will be here soon.”

“And your folks?” Michael asked.

“They decided to wait until another time. They didn’t want to intrude.”

“Which I shouldn’t be doing, either,” Kelly said, suddenly backing away as if she were about to make a break for the door. “Michael, I’m sure someone here will give you a lift home. I’ll see you tomorrow for your therapy session.”

She moved quickly, but even confined to his damnable chair, Michael was faster. He blocked her way and waited until her nervous gaze finally met his.

“I thought we’d settled this earlier in the week,” he chided. “I want you here.”

“But what must they think of me?” she whispered. “Kissing you right out there in public. What was I thinking?”

“Frankly, I don’t think either one of us were doing much thinking,” he retorted. “And for the record, this time I kissed you, not the other way around.”

“In the grand scheme of things, I think that qualifies as a pretty puny technicality,” she retorted.

Suddenly his mother’s voice cut through their debate. “When are you two going to stop bickering and get over here?” she asked.

“My master calls,” Michael said. “Are you going to dare to defy her?”

For an instant, he thought Kelly might do just that, but then she sighed and visibly squared her shoulders. “Let’s go,” she said. “But just so you know, you are going to pay for this. I have an exercise that will bring you to your knees.”

Michael grinned at her. “An intriguing concept. I can hardly wait,” he said, his tone deliberately wicked.

He noticed Kelly was still sputtering in indignation as she swept past him and went to join his parents. All things considered, the evening was off to a much better start than he’d anticipated.

Chapter Eight

It took less than an hour for Kelly to forget about how thoroughly flustered she’d been by Michael’s kiss and Maggie’s teasing. The heat she’d expected to keep her cheeks a permanent shade of embarrassed pink finally cooled, and she began to relax. After all, this evening wasn’t really about her at all. It was about the Havilceks and the Devaneys getting to know each other.

Although Michael had clearly dreaded the entire occasion and she’d been expecting it to be awkward, they’d both evidently forgotten about the warmth exuded by his foster mother and his sister-in-law. Doris Havilcek and Maggie Devaney were like