Catch Your Breath (8 page)

A woman with long dark hair, Colin’s girlfriend, he believed, answered. “Well, I was
referring to your brother, so maybe it’s genetic.”

Moira screwed up her face. “Ewww.Now that’s gross.” Elizabeth laughed and Colin kissed
her .

“My turn.” Moira scanned the group. “Jimmy. Truth or dare?”

“I’m not playing.”

“You have to.”

“No, I don’t.”

“Come on, Jimmy. Lighten up,” Gabby said.

He shot her a look that told her to shut up. He knew playing this game with Moira
would be a mistake. There was no way for him to win.

“Ask someone else.”

“You’re here, so you have to play.” She leaned forward in her chair and put her elbows
on her knees.

“Then that’s my cue to leave.” He stood and picked up his beer from the ground.

“
Bawkk, bawkk
. . . who would’ve thought Jimmy O’Malley would be afraid of a kids’ game?” Moira
taunted.

He walked toward his house and heard her ask Liam a question about his social life.
Glad to have escaped the fire, he sat on his porch. The spot put him in the shadows
as night fell.

He had all of a minute of peace until Moira sauntered up. It was a fabulous thing
that she no longer lived with her mother. He’d never survive if he still had to live
across the street from her and her relentless hounding.

She leaned against the wobbly wrought iron rail of his porch. Which reminded him he
needed to fix it.

“How’s your head?”

“What’s your problem with me?”

The words were meant to sound angry, but he heard the hurt behind them. “I don’t have
a problem with you.”

Other than you make me insane.

“Then why are you mean to me?”

“I’m not mean to you.”

She crossed her arms, and he thought of her being about eleven and doing the same
thing when he convinced Liam not to bring her with them when they went to the park
or the mall. He was mean to her.

“I don’t mean to be mean to you.”

“Why’d you leave the fire?”

“You told me I had to play the game if I stayed. I didn’t want to play.” He set his
beer on the cement step behind him. He shifted over to make room for her to sit.

“You didn’t want to play, or you didn’t want to play with me?”

“Honestly?” He waited for her to nod, as he knew she would. “It was mostly you.”

“Why?”

“What would you have had me do for a dare?”

“I don’t know.”

“Liar. You had a truth and a dare ready for me before Indy even picked you.”

Even in the dark he saw the corners of her mouth quirk up. “If you picked truth, I
planned to ask why you don’t like me.”

“I like you.”

She snorted again. He’d heard that sound countless times as a teenager.

“What would’ve been the dare?”

“I was going to dare you to kiss me.”

Air locked in his lungs and his heart stopped. He had no way of responding. At least
his instincts had kept him safe by retreating from the game.

“The thought’s so awful you can’t even speak?” Her voice, usually so strong and full
of energy, became quiet and meek.

“Why would you want me to kiss you? Trying to get your brothers to beat my ass?” With
any luck, his joke would break the spell she wove between them. He needed another
escape.

“I’m looking for that kiss. The toe-curling kiss while fully dressed.”

“So you’re sampling every guy you can get your hands on?” He picked up his beer and
took a long drink to wet his overly dry throat.

“No. I have a feeling about you. I’m thinking the kiss would be like fireworks. Everything
between us tends to be that way, so why not the kiss?”

She shifted closer and he was grateful for the dark. He didn’t want to be able to
see her eyes.

“It would be a mistake, Moira. You know that.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right.” She nudged his shoulder. “Friends?”

“Of course. Is your head really okay?”

“Yeah. Foster hits like a girl.”

Laughter and relief flooded his system, and it felt good to let it out. She joined
him, and as their laughter filtered out to the street, they got a few looks from the
campfire crew.

“Let’s go back and have some s’mores. I promise not to make you play truth or dare.”
She stood and held her hand out to him.

He accepted it, not wanting her to think he was being mean again, but he enjoyed the
feel of her palm against his far too much. “I’m sorry I yelled at you before.”

“Which time?”

“Every time. I worry about you. You fly through life without thinking half the time.
It makes me crazy that you put yourself in danger, and it comes out the wrong way.”

She released his hand and nudged his shoulder again. “Aww, Jimmy, you care.”

Her face remained in shadows, but he knew her smile was flirtatious and her eyes would
be bright blue.

He needed to wrap up this case and get as much distance from Moira O’Leary as possible
before she convinced him to act on her dare.

Moira sat with Kathy at the bar for their usual girls’ night out to catch up and gossip.
Kathy sipped on a cosmopolitan and Moira had a beer.

Their drinks alone spoke volumes.

“Sorry I missed the block party. Was it fun?”

She considered the question. “Interesting would be a better word. We had the usual
football game, barbecue, and water balloon toss.”

“And the interesting?”

“Jimmy was there.”

Kathy set her drink on the bar. “Jeez, girl, not him again.”

“He lives across the street from my mom.” Moira left out how much she’d hoped he’d
be there this year. “But that was the interesting. We shared some intense moments.”

“Intense, how?”

“I spend my day with words, so I should be able to explain it to you, but I can’t.
There were these fleeting moments, where it was more than Jimmy and Moira, childhood
neighbors. I was more than Liam’s kid sister. But then, like a flash, it disappeared.”
She drank her beer and avoided Kathy’s gaze.

“You need to give up on him. He’s been back home for how long? Like five years? If
he hasn’t shown interest yet, he ain’t gonna.”

“Excuse me,” a deep voice said behind them.

They both turned. A tall man, early thirties, was smiling at Kathy. Of course.

“Can I buy you a drink?”

“I’m good, thanks. Maybe later.”

Then Moira saw the wicked grin. The one Kathy only pulled out when she was about to
start something.

“Wait a minute,” she called.

Moira lowered her voice. “Whatever you’re about to do, please don’t.”

The man turned back and took a step closer.

“Take a look at my friend here.”

He looked at Moira and smiled. She bit her lip and shook her head.

“She’s pretty, right?” Kathy didn’t bother to wait for a response. “She’s hung up
on some guy who’s her brother’s friend. She’s known him, like, her whole life. Speaking
as a man, if he had any inkling of being interested, he would’ve acted by now, right?”

The man cocked his head and studied Moira for another minute before speaking. Nothing
like being under the microscope.

“Depends.”

“That’s a cop-out.”

“No, hear me out. If it was just some guy she grew up with, I’d agree. But you said
it was her brother’s friend? That adds a layer most guys aren’t going to tangle with.
He might be interested, but not willing to act because of the brother.”

“Ha,” Moira blurted.

The man’s smile widened. “Glad I could help. I’ll be over there if you change your
mind about that drink.” He pointed over his shoulder and backed away.

“I’m going to kill you. I can’t believe you asked a total stranger about this.” Her
beer couldn’t cool her throat fast enough.

Kathy shrugged and tossed her hair over her shoulder. That toss was like a mating
call. At least three guys turned in their direction. “It was an objective opinion.
And still just an opinion. I don’t want what he said to give you some false hope.
Jimmy is never going to get off his ass.”

“I just want . . . God, I want to be in love. Real love, like the once in a lifetime
kind. I see my brothers all finding this incredible happiness, and they weren’t even
looking. It’s so freaking unfair.”

“Maybe the universe is telling you something. Stop searching so hard and let it find
you.”

“I can’t sit back and wait. It’s not my style.”

“So look, search, seek, but not Jimmy. We’re surrounded by guys. Pick one.”

They both spun on their stools to survey the options. A few guys made eye contact,
but no sparks zinged through the room. She wanted sparks.

And if she said that, Kathy might pull out a Taser.

“You have to promise to give a guy a chance without thinking about the keeper list.”

She drank from her bottle and avoided Kathy’s eyes. “Don’t know what you’re talking
about.”

“Please. We made up that crappy list as college freshmen.”

“I’ve updated it since.” Her keeper list was a list of ideals she used to recognize
whether a guy was a keeper.

“You mean you’ve moved beyond sexy arms and excels at cunnilingus ?”

Moira’s beer snorted up her nose, but she prevented its escape. With her nostrils
burning, she grabbed a cocktail napkin and wiped her face. “Warning next time.”

But the laughter felt good. She was glad she reconnected with Kathy last year. They’d
been good friends in college, but started hanging out again when she tried to get
Ryan interested in Kathy.

“As important as those things are, and don’t fool yourself into thinking you don’t
still look for them,” Moira responded, “I have added to the list. He has to like the
same movies I do and enjoy a quiet evening at home. I spend too much time socializing
for work. He absolutely has to have a steady job. That is nonnegotiable. Too many
losers.” She took another sip of beer to soothe her throat. “And he has to be supportive
of what I want in life.”

“Not bad, as far as lists go, but you can’t figure those things out on a first date.
If you’re running a checklist instead of really getting to know a guy, you’re not
giving him a fair shot.” She bumped Moira’s shoulder. “Remember when you introduced
me to Ryan? Sure, he had the sexy arms and steady job, but he was not paying attention
to anything I said. It made him appear self-absorbed. Is that how you would describe
him?”

“No. I got your point. I’ll try. But the list is there. It’s not like I can forget
it.”

Kathy tugged her sleeve. “Finish your drink and let’s go dance. We’ll find a guy for
you to kiss and make you forget Jimmy.”

Moira sucked down the rest of her beer, but didn’t believe for a minute that anything
would erase Jimmy from her mind.

She followed Kathy to the dance floor and checked out her prospects en route. Something
Jimmy said Saturday night struck her. If she wanted to find the toe-curling kiss,
maybe she did need to sample as many guys as she could. She didn’t need to sleep with
them. A kiss should tell her what she needed to know. The kiss was at the top of the
list.

And if she could find the sparks before her class reunion, that would be better. She’d
spent an inordinate amount of time staring at the invitation. High school hadn’t been
horrible, but it certainly hadn’t been the best years of her life either.

Her life wasn’t quite where she’d thought it’d be. By now, she believed she’d have
found her guy. If anyone had asked her in high school, she would’ve said that she’d
beat all of her brothers to the altar.

Ten years later, she not only hadn’t found Mr. Right, but she wasn’t a famous journalist
either. She hadn’t traveled any farther than the suburbs to hunt down a story.

She shook off depressing thoughts and danced beside her friend. Before the first song
had ended, they had guys joining them. Moira was determined to kiss at least one tonight.

Her journey of a thousand kisses—hopefully it wouldn’t really take that many—would
begin tonight.

J
immy jolted awake and listened. Something woke him, so he waited. At first he heard
nothing but his own slow breathing. Then he heard the clinking. Someone was in the
house. He grabbed his gun and headed toward the stairs. Both Sean and Tommy knew not
to come through the main house after midnight. They came and went through the back
basement entrance.

That way, he never had to be woken thinking they were burglars and he never had to
deal with their drunken mess.

He edged down the stairs quietly, straining to hear where the person might be. Another
slight jostle. The kitchen? It sounded like the refrigerator door closing. Probably
wasn’t a burglar, but one of his dumb-ass brothers.

Jimmy rounded the corner and saw a nearly naked ass staring back at him, backlit by
the refrigerator. He flicked on the light. He knew that ass. He set his gun on the
counter.

When the room brightened, Leena spun and offered him a smile. She held out a beer
to him. “Hey, Jimmy. Took you long enough.”

She crossed the room with extra sway in her hips, as if her kind of crazy could ever
tempt him again. When she reached him, she ran the neck of the beer bottle down his
bare chest.

“How did you get into my house?”

“Come on, admit it. You’re glad to see me.”

He took the bottle from her hand, set it on the table, and grabbed her elbow. Looking
around the small room, he asked, “Where are the rest of your clothes?”

The basement door opened, and Sean said, “Leena? What the hell’s going on?”

Jimmy froze. Leena slid from his grasp.

He turned to look at Sean, who stood in his boxers. “She’s with you?”

“Where else did you think she came from?”

“She—” Jimmy stopped, not liking where his thoughts were headed. Maybe Sean picked
her up at a bar and brought her back here and maybe she didn’t remember the house.
He took a step back and looked at Leena, who continued to stare at him. Fuck that.
She knew exactly what she was doing. “I thought she broke in.”

“In her underwear?”

“I guess she didn’t tell you. Leena and I used to . . .” Words escaped him. He didn’t
want to say they’d dated because they really hadn’t. They barely made it out of bed.
When he thought about women he’d dated, he considered women he believed had possibilities.
They were wife potential.

Leena would never be that. At least not for him.

“What?” Sean asked, crossing his arms and waiting for Leena to answer.

“We used to have a great time.” She licked her lips. “We still could.”

“What the fuck? You think I want my brother’s sloppy seconds? Get the hell out.”

She tilted her head and smiled. “I wasn’t looking to sleep with you. I would’ve—you’re
not bad looking or anything—but when you told me your last name, I figured I might
have another shot at Jimmy.”

Heading toward the basement stairs, she tossed another smile back at both of them.
“Have a good night, boys.”

Jimmy rolled his eyes.

Sean lowered his voice. “What the fuck, man?”

Jimmy pointed to the basement. “You might want to follow her out. Make sure she doesn’t
help herself to anything.”

When Sean disappeared downstairs, Jimmy popped the top on the beer Leena had given
him. He’d had a good time with Leena a few years ago, before Sean and Tommy moved
back home. The sex had been great, but after a couple of weeks, he’d known something
was wrong. He tried to dismiss it because they’d agreed to have a casual relationship
and enjoy each other’s company.

But then he noticed small things missing from his room: a paperback from his nightstand,
a CD, and one of his CPD T-shirts.

When he’d confronted her, he tried not to be accusatory, thinking she might’ve borrowed
his stuff. She flew off the handle and started throwing things at him. He never took
the time to figure out what her problem was; he didn’t want to deal with her baggage.

Sean came back upstairs. He grabbed a beer from the fridge. “Maybe you should make
a list of every girl you’ve ever screwed and post it on the wall. That way, me and
Tommy can try to avoid them. It would be really handy if you could put a star next
to the crazy ones.”

Part of Jimmy thought Sean would be angry about the entire scene, but he should’ve
known better. Sean took things in stride—often quick with his fists, but never against
one of his brothers.

“Don’t know what to tell you. I think most women would put that out there when you
tell them your last name. They’d at least ask, right?” He took a pull on his beer.
“I think she was the weirdest.”

“Good to know.”

The back door opened and Tommy walked in. Before Jimmy could reprimand him for using
the back door after midnight, he held up a hand. “I saw the light on and knew you
were up.” He pointed to their bottles. “Having a party without me?”

Jimmy kicked out the chair next to him. “Pull up a seat. We’re talking about crazy
women.”

Tommy turned the chair around and straddled it. “Are you giving lessons on how to
find them?”

Jimmy kicked Tommy’s thigh, but he wasn’t angry. It felt good to sit around having
a beer with his kid brothers. He was glad they were adults and could fend for themselves.
Jimmy finally had the time to build the life he wanted with a family of his own.

But this, right here, was something he wouldn’t mind replicating. For all of the fights
and arguments and petty bullshit he’d dealt with when it came to his siblings, they
always had each other. They might not be the O’Learys, but they weren’t totally fucked
up either.

Moira sat at her desk typing furiously to meet her deadline when her phone rang. She
wanted to ignore it, needed to ignore it, but she couldn’t. She always feared missing
out on something. Maybe something great.

She looked at the screen. It wasn’t a number she recognized, but since it was local,
she didn’t think it was a telemarketer. “Hello?”

“Hi, Moira, it’s Gabby Ruiz. I have a favor to ask.”

“Shoot.” She saved the article on her computer and stood and stretched.

“I have no idea what I’m doing for this Lincoln Park Zoo thing this weekend. Jimmy
acts like it’s no big deal. I just show up on his arm and it all works out.” A heavy
breath filled the air. “This case is important. We’re working for the mayor. Don’t
tell Jimmy I told you that. Bottom line, I don’t want things fucked up because I can’t
be a society woman.” Gabby’s voice held an edge of panic.

“What do you need?”

“Everything. Clothes, directions, information on people. I need to be able to fake
it.”

Moira remembered Gabby’s concern when they talked at the block party. “Does Jimmy
know you’re calling me?”

“It was his idea.”

Bingo. That was exactly what Moira had hoped. “What’s in it for me?”

“What do you mean? You already have an exclusive if this case develops.”

“That was for me helping Jimmy.” She stared at the invitation stuck to her refrigerator.
The reunion was at the end of the summer and her prospects for a date hadn’t panned
out. At least not yet.

“Name it. Although it’s a little mercenary of you to bargain when I’m desperate.”

She snickered. “I’m the second youngest of six. Being mercenary was the best way to
make it out of childhood alive. You’re gonna need to get Jimmy on the line for this
bargain.”

“This doesn’t bode well for me.” Gabby sighed again, but Moira heard her calling Jimmy.
“Okay, Moira, you’re on speaker.”

“Here’s the deal. I’ll help Gabby get ready. I’ll even lend her clothes to wear if
she needs them, or I’ll take her shopping. I’ll feed her information so she can wow
any guest she needs to.”

“And in return?” Jimmy’s deep voice came across the line.

Moira almost lost her nerve, but she thought about going to the reunion alone. It
was bad enough she wasn’t the world-class journalist that she’d thought she’d be by
now. But to face everyone and not even have a date? She would feel like an awkward
freshman all over again. Plus, Kathy said find someone hot. Jimmy more than qualified.
“I need a date to my class reunion at the end of the summer.”

“ No.”

That was all he said. No explanation. No excuse. No negotiation. Like one word would
be enough. “You only have to agree to be my backup date in case I don’t find someone
else. It’s not like you would be my first choice, O’Malley.”

He grunted.

“Being a backup isn’t asking so much, Jimmy. I’m sure Moira gets asked out a lot.
When’s the reunion?”

“Mid-August.”

“So there’s more than a month. That’s plenty of time to find a date.” Then Gabby added,
“I’ll help her find a date.”

“You can’t find yourself a date. How are you going to find one for her?”

Moira heard some shuffling, like Gabby moved or covered the phone. She heard the whisper,
“I don’t think I can do this on my own. Please.”

Another all-suffering sigh, this time from Jimmy. “Fine. I’m backup only. Don’t count
on me actually taking you.”

“I’ll meet you at my mom’s house on Saturday, Gabby. That way, when I have you all
dressed up, Jimmy can get you from there. You won’t have to worry about leaving a
car at my apartment and having to pick it up later.” As she spoke, she went back to
her computer and sent the e-mail to respond to the reunion invitation. She now officially
had a date.

“See you.”

They disconnected, and Moira wished she could be a fly on the wall to see and hear
Jimmy’s response.

Her unfinished article stared at her. She poured another cup of coffee and thought
about the zoo fund-raiser. It was one of the best events of the summer. Lots of people
came out to support the zoo. Everyone liked to help keep the zoo open and free to
everyone.

Her night at the bar had fallen flat. She’d only kissed one guy and it definitely
hadn’t gone further. But she remembered what Kathy had said about using these events
to find a date. As long as she didn’t write about the man she was dating, why couldn’t
she go out with someone from that circle?

Instead of focusing on her article, she began to think about the perfect outfit for
Saturday. Maybe she wouldn’t need Jimmy as a reunion date after all.

Moira spent Saturday afternoon hauling outfits over to her mom’s house. Gabby had
said she didn’t have anything to wear, but Moira wasn’t sure if her clothes would
work. Gabby was taller, but her chest was smaller. Moira hoped her mom might be able
to temporarily take something in so it would work for Gabby.

When the doorbell rang, Moira hadn’t expected Gabby to look so nervous. The woman
fidgeted like she was about to have a root canal with no painkillers. She led Gabby
upstairs to her childhood bedroom. The room across the hall, the one Michael and Liam
had shared, had been turned into a sewing room for her mom. Maggie still had most
of her stuff in this bedroom. She left whatever she didn’t need for traveling in Europe.

Even her baby sister managed to travel places she’d only dreamed about.

Gabby plopped on the bed. “Where do we start?”

“Let’s pick an outfit first because I think my mom will have to alter it for you.
She can work while we do the rest of our magic.” She reached into the closet and pulled
out the first two dresses. They were cocktail length, one in blue and one in black.
“You don’t even own a little black dress? Everyone owns one of those. What do you
wear to funerals?”

“Pants.”

Yay. Someone else who offered one-word answers. This was going to be a long and painful
tutorial.

Gabby nodded at the black dress. Moira laid it over the back of a chair and reached
for two more dresses. One was the green one she wore the first night she saw Jimmy
undercover. “I think this one will look good on you, so I’m putting it in the yes
pile for you to try on.”

Gabby sighed but didn’t argue.

After they had five dresses chosen, Gabby stripped down and stepped into the black
dress. It was an obvious choice. Everyone looked good in a black dress, but Moira
wanted something snazzier. Gabby needed to draw attention during her first outing
as Mrs. James Buchanan. Eyes would be on her. Moira didn’t say it out loud because
it would only worsen Gabby’s nerves.