Bottom Line: Callaghan Brothers, Book 8 (17 page)

“She was married, Lex.”

Lexi blinked once, then twice, waiting for the rest of it.  When he didn’t say any more, she prompted, “So?”

“So?  She was
married
, Lex.  As in, committed to another man.  Vowed to love, honor, and cherish till death do them part,” he spat, the raw pain in his voice a sharp blade.

“Again I ask, so?”

He laughed, but there was no humor in the sound.  “So from all this
croie
bullshit you’ve been feeding me for the past five fucking years, she can’t possibly be mine now, can she?”

“Let me get this straight,” Lexi said slowly.  “You think because she was once married, she can’t be the one for you?”

“Ding ding ding.  Give the lady a prize.  Christ, Lex.  You claim that you and Ian are
croies
. Could you picture yourself married to someone else?”

“Yes, actually,” Lexi said truthfully.  “To be honest, there was a time when I thought I’d marry you.”

Aidan’s head whipped up.  “What?”

Lexi nodded.  “It’s true.  You were – are - my best friend, Aidan.  Often times my only friend.  You took care of me, stood up for me, protected me when no one else did.  You made me laugh, held me when I cried, and saved my life more times than I could count.  So, yeah, it seemed reasonable to think we might end up together.”

Aidan stared at her in disbelief.  “But Ian is your
croie
.  You have always loved him.”

“Yes, he is, and yes, I have.  But I never believed Ian and I would end up together, did I?  And even though I thought I loved him, I had no idea what it would truly be like.”  She paused, searching for a way to explain it.  “I think we could have been happy, you and I.  I do love you, you know.”

“I know,” he sighed.  “And I love you.  But not like Ian does.”

“Exactly.  And not like you love Mary.  So maybe some other guy made Mary happy for a little while.  But that was before she met you.  I bet she never even knew she could feel the way she feels about you.”

* * *

A
idan considered Lexi’s words.  In a way, it made sense.  Hadn’t he once considered proposing to Lexi himself?  If her father hadn’t died, she wouldn’t have returned to Pine Ridge and hooked up with Ian, and they probably
would
be married right now.  And he probably would be happy.  But that was because he’d never met his true mate and known the difference between contentment and nirvana.

“How much do you know about Mary’s marriage, Aidan?” Lexi asked, snapping him out of his thoughts.

“Nothing,” Aidan admitted.  “I was so angry when I found out that I left before she could tell me anything.”  He ran his hand down his face.  “I walked out, Lex, mad as hell because I thought I’d fooled myself into thinking Mary was something she wasn’t.”

“But she is, isn’t she?”

The look on Aidan’s face was tortured.  “I don’t know, Lex. I swear to God I don’t fucking know.”

But he did know that for a brief, glorious time he’d thought all of his dreams had come true.  And that ever since he’d stalked out of Mary’s house that morning, his insides felt like they had been shredded and dipped in acid.

“Want my advice?” Lexi said, standing up. 

“Not really,” he said with a rueful grin, knowing she would give it to him anyway.

“Tough.  Call her.  Take her to dinner and listen to what she has to say before it’s too late.”

“Before it’s too late?” Aidan repeated.  “Do you know something I don’t, Lex?”

She gave him a small, sad smile.  “Just talk to her Aidan.  She deserves that, at least.”

After Lexi left, Aidan tossed back what remained of his Scotch and poured another, the lingering feeling of doom hanging over him like a black cloud.  Maybe Lexi was right.  Maybe he should have talked with her about it instead of rushing out. 

Seeing those pictures, holding those rings, had felt like a betrayal.  But it wasn’t, not really.  It happened before they met, though he didn’t know just how long ago.  Mary looked much younger in the pictures he’d seen.  Younger, and, he realized, much sadder.

It was still like a stake in his heart.  That’s what it felt like, the unwelcome knowledge that some other man had been intimate with her.  It wasn’t just about the sex, although the thought of another man touching her as he had colored his vision with a red haze.  Sex wasn’t the same thing as love; he knew that better than anyone.

No, it was the idea that she had cared for another man enough to
marry
him that cut him up inside.  To give to another that which he craved so fiercely.

But in his heart, he knew that wasn’t completely true.  Mary had never submitted to another man as wholly and completely as she had with him – hadn’t she told him that much?  Which meant that maybe, just maybe, Lexi was right. 

Damn it.
  He had to see her.  He had to look in her eyes and hear her say that she wanted him, only him.  That what she had before wasn’t the same as what she had with him.  Perhaps it was selfish and unfair of him to expect to hear it, but there it was.

Aidan stood up suddenly and had to grab his desk when he felt a sudden wave of dizziness.  Just how many drinks had he had?

He sank back into his chair.  Was this what he had to look forward to without Mary in his life?  Hitting the Scotch in the middle of the day?  Not eating?  Not sleeping?  Withdrawing from his family and friends?  Feeling sorry for himself?

It was like New Year’s Eve all over again, but a hundred times worse.

Except that night, Mary had saved him.  Despite the fact that she didn’t know him from Adam.  Despite the fact that he was drunk and showed incredibly poor judgment.  Despite the fact that the car he was driving was one step away from being sold for scrap. 

Aidan dropped his head into his hands.  God, what she must have thought of him!  And she had still taken him home.  Mary, while kind and compassionate, was not the sort of woman to do something so reckless.  She must have gone against every ounce of common sense she had for him that night.

Why?  What had she seen in him?  Had she, on some subconscious level, recognized him as her
croie
even then?

She had taken him into her home without question.  Cared for him.  Fed him.  Given him two of the most glorious nights of his life by surrendering herself to him. 
Hell.
  She’d shown an unbelievable amount of faith in him; even now he had trouble wrapping his mind around that.

And what had he done?  He’d ignored all of that and dropped her like a rotten sack of potatoes the moment he discovered something from her past.  It wasn’t even something bad.  She’d been married.  Years before they’d ever met.  And he’d treated it like some horrible betrayal.

And he hadn’t exactly been honest with her, had he?  He hadn’t gotten around to telling her exactly who and what he was.  If anyone had a right to call foul based on sins of omission, it was Mary.

He glanced at the calendar.  February 16
^th
.  Two days after Valentine’s Day. 

With a snort he remembered the grand plans he’d had for the holiday.  If he hadn’t gone snooping and found that damn box, he and Mary would probably still be celebrating in a bed somewhere.  Except she wouldn’t be completely naked.  She’d be wearing his ring.

Aidan picked up his phone and dialed Mary’s cell.  She must have turned it off; it went right to voicemail.  “Mary, it’s Aidan.  I’d really like to talk to you.  Please, call me.”

Unwilling to give up just yet, Aidan dialed her house phone.  It rang twice before someone picked up.  “Hello?”

The voice on the other end wasn’t Mary’s.

Thinking that in his distraction he’d thumbed the wrong number, Aidan apologized and hung up.  When he redialed, however, the same voice answered.  A
male
voice.

“Hello?”

“I’d like to speak with Mary, please.”  It took every bit of self-control he had not to throw the phone against the wall and smash it into a thousand pieces.  Was he so easily replaced?  Had this guy fucked up like he had, and Mary felt the need to care for him, too?  Or was he the ex that Aidan hated so passionately without ever having met?

“Mary’s not here.  Can I take a message?”

Aidan paused.  “Why are you in Mary’s house if she’s not there?”

“I’m dog sitting.”

“Why does Max need a sitter?  Where’s Mary?”

The easy-going voice on the other end hardened.  “Who is this?”

“Aidan Harrison.  Where is Mary?” he repeated.

“Aidan Harrison,” the man said, his voice growing noticeably cooler.  “Yeah, she told me about you.  What do you want?”

Aidan wondered exactly what Mary had said.  Judging by the ice in the guy’s tone, it wasn’t anything overly flattering.  “I want to speak to Mary.”

“Well, she’s not here.”

“Yes, so you’ve said.” Aidan reached deep for patience.  “Who are you, anyway?”

“Not that it’s any of your business, but I’m Andrew.”

Aidan searched his memory for the familiar name.  “You own the flower shop with her.”

“So I guess she talks about me, huh?”  Aidan recognized it for the taunt that it was.  He had the sudden and violent urge to reach out and yank that smugness right out of the bastard’s throat.  Then he remembered that Mary seemed to think very highly of him and swallowed what he was going to say next.  Instead he said, “You are very important to her.”

The man didn’t seem to have expected that.  He was silent for several minutes.  Aidan could hear Max’s nails lightly tapping on the ceramic tile, followed by the soft sound of jingling tags as if Andrew was petting him.  Aidan might not know much about Mary’s past, but he did know she would never willingly leave Max with someone else unless she had no other choice.

“Andrew, where is Mary?”

“Before I answer that – and I’m not saying I’m going to – let me ask you something.  Are you really Aidan Harrison?”

“Yes.”

“CEO of the Celtic Goddess Aidan Harrison?”

“Yes.”

“Worth more money than I’ll ever see in my fucking life Aidan Harrison?”

Aidan sighed.  “Yes.”

“Well, damn,” Andrew breathed.

“Does Mary know?”

“About that stuff?  No,” Andrew admitted.  “Believe it or not, Mary could care less about that kind of stuff.  If she did, she never would have married Cam.”

Cam.
  Now he had a name.  “Tell me.”

“Look, I’m not sure I should be telling you anything, man, but for whatever reason, Mary likes you, and I haven’t known her to be wrong about anyone yet.” 

Aidan didn’t know what to say about that, so he said nothing. 

“You millionaire types like pizza and beer?” he finally asked.

“Yeah.”

“Good.  Me and Max haven’t eaten yet.  What do you say to heading over this way and bringing a large pepperoni and bacon from Mario’s and a six pack with you?”

That’s how Aidan found himself at Mary’s door less than an hour later.  From the outside, everything looked the same, but from the moment he stepped inside, it felt wrong.  This was Mary’s house.  She should be here.

The two men appraised each other.  Andrew was a couple of inches shorter than Aidan, with dark reddish brown hair, cut close.  He was casually dressed in jeans, white leather high-tops, and a long sleeved T  that showed he was in decent shape.  He looked nice enough, until Aidan saw the intensity of his eyes.  This was the type of man people tended to underestimate, Aidan sensed immediately.  He would not make that mistake.

Andrew smirked when he saw Aidan dressed similarly.  “At least you don’t dress like a wealthy, arrogant, self-serving prick.”  He relieved Aidan of the beer and walked toward the kitchen.

“At least you don’t have any preconceived notions,” Aidan shot back following along behind him.

Andrew snorted, dropping the beer on the table before opening the back door.  Max bounded in and made a beeline straight for Aidan.  Andrew watched closely as Aidan greeted him. 

“He likes you,” Andrew murmured, as if it made no sense.

“That surprises you, doesn’t it?”

“Hell, yes, it does.  Took Max six months before he’d let me pet him like that, and animals usually love me.”

“But Max doesn’t know he’s a dog, does he?” Aidan said, scratching a particularly good spot under Max’s neck that had his right hind leg thumping.

Andrew grunted, but Aidan saw a hint of reluctant approval in the other man’s eyes.

“So, are you going to tell me where Mary is and why you’re babysitting Max?”

“No.” Andrew devoured half a piece of pizza in one bite.  “Not yet.”

Aidan exhaled slowly, sizing up Mary’s business partner.  It was something he’d become particularly adept at over the years.  Being able to read a man and anticipate his reactions to various strategies went a long way in his business.  Brute force probably wouldn’t work on this guy, and offering him a wad of cash would probably just piss him off.

“Okay,” Aidan said, swallowing his pride.  He wouldn’t do this for anyone but Mary.  “What can you tell me now?”

Andrew finished off his first slice, took a long drink from his beer, and pulled a second piece out of the box.  “Mary and I are business partners, but we’re a lot more than that.  There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for her.”

Aidan met his stare head-on.  “Good to know.” 

“So.  You wanted to know about Cam, right?”

Did he?  He wasn’t so sure anymore.  Maybe he should take a page out of Mary’s book and just trust her to tell him on her own terms and in her own time.  But he found himself nodding anyway.

“Cameron O’Rourke was a good man.  Born and raised right here in Birch Falls.  We went to school together.  He was the quarterback on our high-school football team.  Hell of a shortstop, too.  He was also class valedictorian, and prom king.”

Aidan disliked him already.

“Mary transferred to Birch Falls sophomore year with her mom after her dad died.  She was on the quiet side, but smart and funny, and Cam acted like an idiot trying to get her to notice him.”

Aidan knew just how he felt.

“She didn’t want anything to do with him at first, but Cam was persistent when it came to things he wanted.  And he decided he wanted Mary pretty early on.”