Michael's Discovery - By Sherryl Woods Page 0,43
after her.
But he didn’t. He murmured a polite farewell, hit the remote and started another movie. For a long time after she’d gone, he was oblivious to what was playing on the TV screen. Then he noticed that it was a romantic comedy and muttered an oath that could probably be heard down the block.
He shut off the VCR and flipped through the channels until he found a basketball game. Just what he needed, he thought happily, reaching for what was left of his beer. He understood basketball. He understood sweat and competition. He apparently didn’t know a thing about women or he would have seen this whole thing with Kelly coming a mile away and he could have gotten out of the damned way.
Kelly sat across the table from her best friend and flinched under Moira’s knowing stare. There was no question that this unusual Sunday breakfast was a command performance. The message on her answering machine the night before had made that clear. Now that they were here, she wished Moira would just get it over with. Kelly pushed her eggs around on her plate and waited for the lecture to start. When the minutes dragged on and Moira said nothing, Kelly’s nerves finally snapped.
“Just say it,” she commanded.
Moira regarded her innocently. “Say what?”
“Whatever you’re thinking.”
“You don’t want to know what I’m thinking.”
“Probably not,” Kelly murmured morosely, staring at her plate because she couldn’t bear to see the censure in the other woman’s eyes. “Say it anyway.”
“I’m not sure whether to start by asking if you’ve lost your mind or if you’re happy.”
“Both,” Kelly said.
“Then you are involved with your client,” she said, making sure that Kelly understood exactly what was at stake. “I was afraid of that.”
“We’re not involved,” Kelly said. “Not yet, anyway. And I quit last night.”
“And that’s supposed to make it all right?”
“Look, I know I’m skating on thin ice, professionally speaking, but Michael matters to me. I thought I could keep my personal feelings out of it, but I can’t.” She shrugged. “So I quit.”
“Is he planning to hire another therapist?”
“I don’t think so.”
“And you intend to go on with his therapy in the meantime?”
Kelly nodded.
Moira met her gaze. “He’s that important to you?”
“Yes, he is.”
Moira sighed. “How does he feel about you?”
“He wants me,” she said. “He doesn’t want to, but he does. I figure that’s got to be a good start.”
“Or a disaster waiting to happen,” Moira predicted.
“Come on,” Kelly coaxed. “Stop being so gloomy. This could be the best thing that ever happened to me. I’ve been half in love with Michael Devaney for most of my life. I’m finally getting a chance to see if that’s real.” She gave Moira a penetrating look. “Are you telling me that if you had the same chance to test things with my brother, you wouldn’t grab the opportunity with both hands?”
Moira’s pale, lightly freckled complexion flushed a bright red. “Let’s leave my feelings for your brother out of this.”
It had been an unspoken topic between them for years now. Kelly decided it was past time to put an end to the silence. “Why?” she demanded. “You’ve been carrying a torch for him forever. Why should both of us continue to deny it?”
“Because it’s pointless. Bryan has never given me a second glance. Besides, you’re just trying to change the subject to take the heat off of you.”
“Yes, I am,” Kelly admitted cheerfully. “As for Bryan not giving you a second look, maybe that’s because you try to fade into the woodwork whenever he’s around. I’ll bet he’d take notice if you gave him half a chance. You’re a wonderful woman, and you’d be terrific for Bryan. He’s a dreamer with his head in the clouds most of the time. You’re real. You’re grounded. You’d balance each other perfectly.”
“In your opinion,” Moira pointed out. “If Bryan thought that, he would have asked me out before now. He’s had plenty of opportunities.”
“If that isn’t the pot calling the kettle black,” Kelly chided. “You think it, and you haven’t done anything about it. It’s pitiful actually. You’re shy and he’s dense. I could fix that.”
Hope stirred in Moira’s eyes. “Fix it how?” she asked warily.
Kelly wondered why she hadn’t thought to push the two of them together before. Maybe she’d wanted to believe fate would take care of it, but she was discovering lately that fate sometimes needed a helping hand.
“Leave it to me,” she told Moira. “What are you doing Friday night? Are you