Michael's Discovery - By Sherryl Woods Page 0,53
is more than we had before Ryan started looking. And it could go well. If that happens, well, a man can never have too many decent brothers watching his back, can he?” He regarded Sean intently. “But that’s the way I see it. It doesn’t mean you have to reach the same conclusion.”
“Yeah, right,” Sean said. “But if I don’t, the two of you will see me as holding out just out of pure stubbornness.”
“I won’t,” Michael reassured him. “It’s your call, Sean. Seems to me like this is one of those times when the majority shouldn’t necessarily rule. I don’t know how Ryan will feel, but I say we need a unanimous vote to move on.”
Sean didn’t look entirely convinced, but he finally sighed. “I’ll go along with it,” he said, not even trying to hide his reluctance. “I know Deanna thinks I should. And you and Ryan have given it a lot of thought. So what happens next?”
“If you’re absolutely sure, then we’ll tell Ryan tonight that the trip is on.”
“When do you want to go?”
Michael regarded his brother with an innocent expression. “Just as soon as I’m out of this chair and can go on my own two feet.”
Sean reacted with surprise. “After everything you just said, you want to wait?”
Michael chuckled. “I said I wanted answers. I didn’t say I was in a hurry to get them.”
Friday nights at Ryan’s Place had turned into a regular thing, not only for the Devaneys, the O’Briens and the Havilceks, but for Kelly, Bryan and Moira. It had been two weeks since Kelly and Michael had set up her brother with her best friend, and the two had been pretty much inseparable since that awkward beginning.
Kelly glanced toward the tiny dance floor where Moira was attempting to teach Bryan an Irish jig. It wasn’t going well. Kelly’s brother had two left feet, which he kept tripping over. Moira was trying to hide her laughter, even as she patiently demonstrated the steps yet again.
Watching them instilled a feeling of melancholy in Kelly. Bryan and Moira hardly knew each other, but you could tell just looking at them that there was something special happening. She thought of her own situation with Michael and wondered if they would ever share that kind of closeness. They were totally in sync in so many ways and the chemistry was certainly powerful, but when it came to the important stuff, they kept bumping into roadblocks.
Even as the thought began to nag at her, she realized how contradictory it was, given the steamy kisses they’d shared. Yet something was missing in their relationship, something she could no longer deny. Sizzling attraction wasn’t commitment, and that was what she wanted from Michael. She wanted forever, maybe not right now when he was still doing so much soul-searching about his own future, but at least the promise of forever once those questions were resolved.
“Hey, why the frown?” Michael asked, regarding her worriedly.
“Just thinking,” she said evasively. This wasn’t the time or the place to get into a discussion about their relationship. Maybe there was no appropriate time to get into it. Maybe she needed to accept that there would never be a relationship—at least not the kind she’d been hoping for—and move on with her life just the way she’d been encouraging Michael to do when it came to his career.
“It must be some pretty heavy thinking,” he said, tracing his finger lightly over the furrow in her brow. “Anything I can help with?”
“No. It’s under control.” She forced a smile. “You said earlier that Sean came by. How was that?”
“Pretty great, actually. We really connected.”
“I’m glad,” she said with total sincerity. “It’s wonderful that this whole reunion thing is working out so well for you.”
He frowned. “Okay, that’s it.”
“What?” she said, startled by his reaction.
“You’re suddenly being too blasted polite and—I don’t know—distant, I guess. What’s going on?”
“Nothing.”
His scowl deepened. “So much for honesty and trust.”
The jab hit home. Kelly sighed. “Okay, the truth is I was thinking about us, about how there really isn’t an us, might never be an us, and I was trying to decide what to do about that.”
“I see,” he said slowly.
Since he looked more troubled than angered, she decided to press on. She regarded him earnestly. “I love being here with you, with your family,” she told him honestly, “but it’s an unhealthy situation for me.”
He stared at her as if she’d suddenly started spouting Greek. “What the hell does that