High Stakes (28 page)

“Hey, handsome. It seems like forever since I’ve seen you.” He chuckled because Dylan had moved into her brownstone the week after they’d gotten back from Turkey. She’d suggested it, telling him she’d learned a valuable lesson over in the Middle East—not to waste time. Now, if he could just keep her from going back. He pushed aside the notion that haunted his midnights.

“I have news,” he said.

“I do, too. You first.”

“I met with the agent from Writers House we hired. He called right after you left this morning.”

Her eyes lit. “Did he sell it already? We gave him the proposal only a week ago.”

“Yeah, to Franklin House, believe it or not.”

“They agreed to our terms?”

“Uh-huh. The book will focus on our story. The secondary plot lines, including Bailey and Clay, and the rest of my family, will be played down but have to be in the book because they’re necessary to the plot.” The idea had come to them in the time they’d spent together planning their future.

She reached across the table and covered his hand with hers. “Oh, honey, I’m so glad. What’s the time frame?”

“They want the manuscript ASAP. I told him we’d need six to eight months to write it, given everything else we have going on.”

“About that.” Her smile turned mysterious. “There
will
be a lot going on, Dylan.” She grinned at him. “You’re going to be a Daddy again.”

The glass he held hit the table, loud enough to turn heads. He stared at her openmouthed. They’d never talked about kids. Never discussed having them.

“Dyl? Aren’t you glad? It was an accident, but I want…”

Sliding out of the seat, he pulled her up, hugged her and twirled her around. People stared, but he didn’t care. “Are you kidding? I’m thrilled.” He eased her back into the booth, but sat on the same side this time. Cradling her hand in his, he kissed her knuckles. “What’s this going to mean for your career?”

“Who cares? I’m so happy.”

He gave her a knowing look. “You care.”

“Okay, I do. I just told John to give the correspondent job in Syria permanently to Rubin.”

Damn it, he felt like blubbering again. “Oh, Rach.”

“I was planning to do that, anyway, Dylan, before I found out.” Her hand went to her belly. Where his child lay. “I want to keep my show and concentrate on the children over there. Expose their plights and set up a foundation for orphans.”

“Seems fitting, doesn’t it? A foundation for children, when we’re having our own?”

He didn’t say it aloud, but her pregnancy would go a long way to thawing Patrick and Aidan. He’d already discovered that his sisters-in-law had befriended her and were working on the guys. They’d even visited Rachel a few times when she was still laid up.

The two of them sat for a moment in silence, enjoying the news of a baby on the way and careers taking off. Then Dylan said, “You know what happened to the couple who got everything they wanted?”

She cocked her head, obviously wondering if this was a sarcastic comment or a warning. “What?”

“They lived happily ever after.”

She threw her arms around his neck. “I’ll do everything I can to make that happen, Dylan. I promise.”

“I will, too, love. I will, too.”

What can I say? The O’Neil men have been my favorites since I wrote their sister’s story in 2005. Subsequently, I went on to write two more stories, Aidan’s and Liam’s. But when Berkley decided not to finish the saga, I thought we’d never see Dylan’s or Patrick’s story. But readers regularly asked for them, and now, Dylan’s book is here.

To me, Dylan was always the most complicated O’Neil. There was an aura of mystery about him in each book, and I was unable to really get a handle on him. Was he just a ladies man? A braggart with his brothers? Immune to commitment to the opposite sex? Well, it turned out Dylan is much, much more than that. As I pealed back the layers, I found him to be overwhelmingly loyal to his family—maybe even a bit too protective; he is a man of integrity and honesty; he’s intelligent and insightful and a very sexy lover, though I wasn’t surprised by that.

Rachel posed another problem for me. She’s dogged the O’Neils through three books. She’s done harmful things to people the readers and I have come to love. How to redeem her? How to show her inner self and motivations? Very soon, a backstory developed but I had to work hard to understand her. I hope readers are satisfied with my portrayal of her.

It was so much fun revisiting the whole family and continuing their stories. I loved seeing how the others brothers were faring in their relationships and especially digging deeper into Patrick and Brie. So much so, that there will be a fifth and final book, ALWAYS AND FORVER, out very soon. So stay with me to find out the end of the O’Neil story.

Kathy Shay

SOMEONE TO BELIEVE IN
Follow New York Senator Clay Wainwright and anti-gang specialist, the Street Angel, Bailey O’Neil as they battle over how to control street gangs and unexpectedly fall in love.
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CLOSE TO YOU
Follow brother-in-law of the vice president Aidan O’Neil and Secret Service Agent CJ Ludzecky as they travel the fine line between professional ethics and falling in love. Appearances by characters from SOMEONE TO BELIEVE IN. Originally published by Berkley Press “Kathryn Shay writes believable characters you can't help falling in love with.” The Romance Reader Connection
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TAKING THE HEAT
If ever there was a mismatch, it’s staid, solid Liam O’Neil and risk-taking firefighter Sophie Tyler. When passion and eventually love consume them, there’s no denying their need to be together.
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ALWAYS AND FOREVER
The first of the O’Neil siblings, Patrick, has always taken his responsibilities to heart. There for his brothers and sisters to listen, console and sometimes give them a swift kick in the butt, he’s everybody’s ideal oldest brother. But his relationship with his wife Brie has been tumultuous from day one, and it hasn’t changed in nearly twenty years. Both bear scars from their past. But when Brie finds herself in the most terrifying situation of her life, it’s Pat she needs during and after it. Edgy, sexy and emotional, this conclusion to the O’Neil series will surprise the reader in its emotional intensity and unique plotline.

Copyright 2014 Kathryn Shay

Cover art by Patricia Ryan

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A USA TODAY bestseller, Kathryn Shay has been a lifelong writer and teacher. She has self-published 14 original romance titles, 36 print books with the Berkley Publishing Group and Harlequin Enterprises and 1 mainstream women’s fiction with Bold Strokes Books. She has won five RT Book Reviews awards, four Golden Quills, four Holt Medallions, the Bookseller’s Best Award, Foreword Magazine’s Book of the Year and several “Starred Reviews.” Her novels have been serialized in COSMOPOLITAN magazine and featured in USA TODAY, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL and PEOPLE magazine. There are over five million copies of her books in print, along with hundreds of thousands downloaded online. She lives in upstate New York with her husband and children.

“I, Clayton Jon Wainwright, do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”

The four O’Neil brothers lined up off to the left of their brother-in-law as he took the oath of office to become the president of the United States. Dressed in their fanciest, with their women at their sides, Pat had to smile, despite the gravity of the situation.

Ma and Pa were closest to Bailey, who looked pretty with her hair curling down her back, wearing a blue summer suit. Ma held Tyler on her lap and Pa corralled Angel. Rory and Jon were by Clay’s side, holding hands. Now, Jon would need increased Secret Service coverage at college, and Ma and Pa had to cancel their cruise until it could be determined how to keep them safe. Since Mark Langley announced he was stepping down as president and giving his full support to Clay, everything was in flux.

When the swearing-in was finished, Clay hugged Bailey, Jon and Rory. Then he turned to his vice president, Lindsay McMann, her husband and twins. She hugged the president and he shook hands with her spouse.

The August evening was hot, but Clay had wanted to have the ceremony outside in a covered patio on the White House lawn. Since the circumstances of his assumption to the presidency were unusual, he’d gotten his way, despite Congress’s disapproval. A small band began to play, and, he took Bailey to the patio and danced with her to
At Last.