Sean watched Brynn as she gradually relaxed around his family, and he wavered between wanting to drag her off so they could spend time alone, and feeling an unreasonable burst of pride that she liked his family maybe as much as they clearly liked her.
Some of them maybe liked her too much.
He glared at Blake, who’d leaned a little too close to Brynn, laughing at something she’d said, but Blake just grinned at him and shook his head. Liam and Yeats were at the pub, so he’d only had to contend with two of his brothers, thankfully. They’d managed to work out plans for chores and house repair over steaks and salad, and now that they’d polished off the pies, Sean was ready to escape and get Brynn away from their evil clutches. Oscar was too damn charming for his own good, and Blake had been making Brynn laugh too damn much. It all left Sean feeling like he was ready to thump their heads together like he hadn’t done since they were kids.
His mom turned toward Sean and smiled, and his heart cracked open a little. She was too frail—too thin—too sick. He’d deliberately taken a job where he could save people; why the hell couldn’t he save her?
She touched his arm. “She’s truly delightful, Sean. I’m so glad you brought her to meet me.”
“I know. She’s amazing, Mom. Tough, like you.” His gaze returned to Brynn. Barty lay sleeping curled up in her lap and, for the first time in his life, he was jealous of a cat. “I think we’re going to head out. Spend some time alone before she has to report to the fountain.”
His mother nodded. “I understand. Bring her back soon, okay?”
Sean smiled and kissed his mom on the cheek. “I’ll try.”
He stood up and held out a hand to Brynn, and felt a surge of fierce, possessive triumph when she took it.
“We’re out of here, boys,” he told his brothers. “Cleanup is on you tonight.”
They didn’t offer more than token protests, which made Sean suspicious, until he realized that they were on their best behavior for Brynn. Funny the effect she had on the O’Malley men.
Brynn leaned down and gave his mom a quick hug before they left, and Sean had to swallow over the lump in his throat. He didn’t speak again until they were in the car, buckling up.
“Thank you for that. We needed to sort out the house chores, and my mom was thrilled to meet you,” he said, looking down at the steering wheel, out the windshield—anywhere but at Brynn.
“She’s amazing,” Brynn said softly. “You were lucky to grow up with her and such a big family. My mom died when I was young, and I never knew my dad.”
“No siblings?”
“No. Just me.” Her face was tense in the pale glow of the streetlights. “My family tends to stop procreating after the one daughter.”
“I’d offer you a couple of brothers, but I think they’d like it a little bit too much,” he said, hoping to make her smile. “Believe me, I tried to sell them, give them away, and even pay people to take them when I was a kid.”
Her peal of laughter was his reward. “Really?”
“Oh, yeah. Once, I put up a sign in the yard that said, For sale: 4 used brothers. Cheap. Except I spelled it wrong, C-H-E-E-P, and my stupid brothers followed me around making bird noises and pounding on me for a week.” He grinned at the memory, and Brynn stared at him in disbelief.
“Boys have an interesting idea of fun, don’t they?”
He thought back to how he’d gotten revenge for the bird noises, and how long it had taken him to find four rotten eggs, and he started laughing and put the car in gear. “Oh, yeah. Definitely interesting.”
NINE
They talked about everything and nothing, sitting on Brynn’s front porch, and when the time came for her to go to the fountain, Sean insisted on walking there with her. Brynn changed into jeans and a sweatshirt; easy on-and-off clothes.
“I don’t like this,” Sean grumbled, shoving his hands in his pockets as they walked. “It’s not safe. Anybody could bother you, or hurt you, or even eat you. What if some creature passing by happens to be hungry? You can’t protect yourself as a swan.”
She slanted a glance at him. “It’s not that I don’t appreciate your concern, but I’ve been doing this awhile, and my ancestors before me for a thousand years, or so the legend goes. Do you think we would have lasted ten days, let alone ten centuries, if the moon didn’t extend her protection?”
He blew out a breath and nodded. “Of course. Moon magic. I should have figured that out.”
“She doesn’t want anything to happen to her pet singers, after all,” Brynn said bitterly.
“How does that work?”
“I’m not sure. It’s not like laser beams shoot out of my wings or something. From the best we can figure out, the moon’s magic shields us and gives off a ‘you can look, but don’t touch’ vibe. It almost always works when I’m getting dressed and undressed, too, actually, which is why I was so surprised that you saw me. So far, nobody has ever tried to hurt me.”
They turned the corner to Fountain Square, and Brynn’s shoulders slumped. The last thing she wanted to do was spend the next several hours floating mindlessly in the fountain, singing, but the curse was already taking hold. She could feel the tingles in her arms and legs that preceded the change.