Michael's Discovery - By Sherryl Woods Page 0,46

aimed him toward her brother and Moira. “Now, talk,” she muttered.

The look Michael shot at her would have wilted the resolve of a lesser woman, but Kelly was feeling desperate. She wanted this evening to work out, not to guarantee Moira’s silence—truthfully, that was a given anyway—but to try to ensure her happiness. If her friend was foolish enough to be interested in Bryan, then he was the man Kelly wanted for her. Not that she would ever have promoted such a scheme if she hadn’t also believed that Moira was exactly right for her brother, she added piously.

“Great music,” Michael ventured to Moira. “Are you enjoying it?”

Kelly had to fight a smile at his charming awkwardness. Clearly social graces had never been high on his list of achievements. She actually found that reassuring. She’d always assumed he’d been a rogue who flirted with anything in skirts, especially once he’d joined the navy. Handsome as he was, though, she doubted he’d needed much in the way of charm to have women circling around him.

When Moira remained absolutely silent, Kelly firmly poked an elbow in her ribs. “Michael asked you about the music.”

Moira gave them both a weak smile. “Sorry. I guess I was thinking about something else. The music’s very nice,” she agreed politely.

“Are you very familiar with Irish music?” Michael asked, still doing his best to get the conversation rolling.

Kelly nearly groaned when her friend merely nodded. She knew for a fact that Moira loved Irish music and had been to a dozen or more pubs on a trip to Ireland. She would have sworn this was the perfect topic to get her friend to be a little more animated and to catch Bryan’s attention. He considered himself something of an expert on Irish folk tunes.

“You have been to Ireland, though,” Kelly prodded. “How does this compare?”

Finally, Moira seemed to forget Bryan’s apparently intimidating presence. Her expression brightened. “The lead singer’s the best I’ve heard this side of Dublin,” she said with her more familiar enthusiasm.

Bryan’s attention was finally snagged. He regarded Moira intently. “You’ve been to Ireland?”

Moira blinked at him, clearly startled that he’d finally taken notice of her. “Well, of course,” she said. “With a name like Brady, how could I not have gone at least once? Have you been?”

“Twice. Once on a tour by horseback. Another time hiking.”

Moira’s eyes lit up. “You actually went hiking? Where? Which tour company did you use?” The questions poured out of her. “I’ve been thinking of doing that next summer, but I can’t decide which tour to take. Just when I think I’ve decided, I see another brochure that looks even better.”

Kelly secretly congratulated herself on a job well done as the two of them put their heads together, shutting Michael completely out of the conversation. He turned back to Kelly slowly, his expression vaguely bewildered.

“What just happened there?”

“You asked the right question. I provided an extra push. And they took over from there.” She patted his hand. “Nice work. You obviously have a knack for this sort of thing after all.”

He frowned at that. “Don’t go getting any ideas. This was a one-time thing, just to get you out of a bind.” His gaze locked on hers. “Though I have the strangest feeling that your friend Moira was never any threat to your career in the first place. She doesn’t seem the type to resort to blackmail to get a guy.”

Kelly feigned surprise. “Really?” She shrugged. “Well, you never know. Better safe than sorry.”

His gaze darkened as he subjected her to a thorough survey that had her skin heating.

“So, what do you think? Can we get out of here now?” he asked, his voice low and husky.

Something in his tone, in his eyes made her suddenly nervous. “And miss seeing the fruits of our labor? Why would we want to do that?”

He snagged her jacket off the back of her chair and tossed it to her. “Because we have better things to do,” he said, already heading for the door.

Heat spiraled through her along with a little thrill of anticipation. “We do?” she asked, automatically trailing after him just as he’d obviously assumed she would.

“Remember all those inventive ideas of yours?” he said cheerfully. “It’s time to pay up.”

Her step faltered. “Now? Tonight?”

“Can you think of any reason to wait? A deal is a deal, right?”

“Well, sure, but tonight?” She glanced back to see that her brother and Moira still had their heads together. “What if they need us?”

“Their