Ryan's Place - By Sherryl Woods Page 0,57
took to put the past to rest, but she was done with nudging him. It hadn’t gotten her anywhere so far.
She rolled over and stared at him, admiring his long, lean body and well-defined muscles.
“Is there something here you like?” he inquired, his voice threaded with amusement.
“I’m debating,” she said.
“Very funny.”
She met his gaze then, her expression serious. “Did I mention to you that last night was the best night of my life?”
“Once or twice,” he teased.
“Well, it was, and I see no point in denying it.”
He grinned. “I’d be the last one to want you to. So, Miss Maggie, what plans do you have for the day? The new year is fast approaching. Have you given any thought to what you’ll be doing come January?”
“Trying to get rid of me?” she asked, attempting to inject a light note into her voice. But even she could hear the hint of edginess.
“Never that,” he said, his expression unguarded for once. “I want you here, Maggie. More than I should.”
She relaxed then, relieved that he’d asked, after a fashion, anyway. “Then this is where I’ll be.”
He studied her. “For how long?”
“Now who’s pushing for more than one day at a time?” she teased. “Is it a commitment you’re asking for, Ryan Devaney?”
He seemed to struggle with himself before finally sighing. “What if I were?”
“Then you’d have it,” she said without any hesitation at all.
He seemed taken aback by her ready response. “Just like that?”
“Just like that.” She regarded him with a steady look. “But you’re not asking yet, are you?”
He reached over and brushed a wayward curl from her cheek. “Not yet, Maggie,” he said with obvious regret. “But I’m beginning to believe that one of these days I will.”
She rose on one elbow to kiss him. “Then I’ll be waiting for that day. And in the meantime, I’ll be poking into your business at the pub as much as you’ll let me.”
He chuckled. “Which won’t be much,” he warned.
“We’ll see.”
“Aren’t the books at St. Mary’s enough to keep you occupied?”
“Hardly. I had those straightened up the first week. The only thing giving me any trouble is getting Father Francis to follow the rules about collecting receipts for what he buys for the shelter and taking note of the donations so a proper acknowledgment can be sent.”
“I can see where that might be a challenge,” he said. “Since he’s not a stupid man, has it occurred to you that he’s being impossible just to make sure you keep coming around?”
Truthfully that had never crossed Maggie’s mind. “You think so?”
“If it were me, I would.”
She grinned at him. “In other words, you won’t let me touch your business records because you’re holding them in reserve as an incentive to keep me here?”
“You never know,” he teased.
“What if I were to promise to stick around, anyway—would you let me work on them then?”
He seemed to consider the question thoughtfully, then shook his head. “Afraid not.”
“Why not?”
He shrugged. “Too much experience with broken promises.”
Maggie sighed. They were back to his family again. “Ryan—”
He held up a hand. “No. Don’t go there. For once, let’s just forget all about my family.”
“Okay,” she said with a nod of agreement. “I can do that.” She leveled a look directly into his eyes. “Can you?”
Maggie’s challenge lingered in Ryan’s head for days. He knew he was in way over his head with Maggie if he was even considering for a second looking for his parents. And he was thinking about it, not because he wanted to find them, but because it mattered so damned much to her. He’d give her just about anything on earth she wanted. From the moment he’d made love to her, he’d known he was lost.
With her open, generous heart, Maggie offered everything he’d been denied all his life—love, a sense of belonging, joy. And with Nell and Garrett O’Brien and the others, she was also offering him the chance to be connected to a real family. That should have been more than enough for a man who’d had so little in the way of love.
But as happy as he was with their growing relationship, he was forced to admit that there was still something missing from his life, something that Maggie could never replace. Perhaps, if he was brave enough, they could marry and have children, but no matter how many people she brought into his life, it would never entirely make up for those he’d lost. From the moment she’d uttered that challenge,