Running From Fate (41 page)

“That is one beautiful woman,” Devon said as he
turned his head to watch
Mira walk away.
“
What do you think
my chances are now that you two aren’t dating?”

“
If you even think about it,” James growled, “I’ll put my fist through your face.”

“
As if you can take me
.
”
Devon
punched him good-naturedly
and glanced
down
at his watch.
“It’s
close to quitting time,” he continued.
“Why don’t we go
grab a
beer?
I’ll pay for the first round.”

“Why not?
I
could do with a drink
.
But you’re buying the first
two
rounds.
I’ll spring for something to eat as long
as you don’t mind eating
bar food.”
James
told Mary to go home and followed his friend out the door.

They went to Flannigan’s, a slightly worn out Irish pub that was known for
it
s fish and chips and
its
large selection of beers.
James sat down at the scarred bar and ordered a bottle of Guinness.
He would rather have it on tap, but that hadn’t happened since his last trip overseas.
This at least
was better than nothing.
While he was at it he ordered two baskets of fish and chips
.
Devon still packed food away like a teenager and if food
was put
in front of him he might
be convinced to
keep his mouth shut.
His friend was a good person and a great man to have at your back if you were in a fight
, but he had grown up with six sisters so he saw nothing wrong wit
h prying into his friends lives
.

“So,” Devon said
immediately
as he slid onto
a
stool and ordered a pint of Killian’s.
“What’s going on with you and the gorgeous Mira?”

“What makes you think something’s going on?”
James asked.

“Come on man.
We’ve known each other for years and I’ve never seen you act that way around a woman.”
He paused to take a healthy swallow of beer.
“First
you call me, panicked, because you think she’s in danger and then you proceed to hover over her so much when I attempt to question her that I have to kick you out of the room.
I also noticed,” he mumbled around a mouthful of peanuts, “that she didn’t seem very happy with you.”

James snorted.
“If Mira could have managed it
,
I’m sure I would have been a pile of smoking ashes at her feet.
I don’t think I’ve ever met another woman
,
besides my mum,
who had that kind of temper.”

“How can you say that,” Devon
snorted
.
“I
know you’ve met my sisters.”
He turned his head.
“Where’s the food,” he called to the bartender.
“I’m starving over here
. 
And,” h
e added.
“
While
you’re
at it, we could both do with another round
.”

“Hold
yer
horses
lad,” the burly,
gray
ing bartender
called
.
“Perfection takes time and there are
nae
better chips to be had on this side o’ the pond than
can be had
at Flannigan’s.”

“What are you doing
Neely
, growing the potatoes yourself?
” 
Devon called back.
When an overflowing plate was slammed down in front of him, he grinned at
the bartender
and turned back to James.
“Of course,
” he said, continuing their earlier conversation.
“My
sisters are always on their best behavior around you.”
He grinned.
“Fran says you’re hot.”

“For God’s sake.
She’s only 15.”

“Tell me you weren’t just as bad at that age.”

“Good point.”
James thought of his room when he was that age and the magazines that he had kept under his mattress.
He sat down his empty mug and mentally tried to reconcile his memories of the pigtailed, fresh faced girl with the person his friend seemed to be talking about
but
he couldn’t.  “S
he’s still you’re baby sister.”

“I’m just saying.”
Devon
shrugged and
finished his second beer.
“Now
how about
discussing
some
thing a little more interesting?
”
H
e
closed his eyes and
sighed
in pleasure
.
“Like a beautiful green eyed
goddess
with miles of leg.”

“
Just k
eep your eyes off her legs,” James snarled.

“See, that’s exactly what I’m talking about.
”
Devon picked up
a
vinegar soaked chip and chewed enthusiastically.
“
If I had made that comment about any of your other girlfriends
,” he mumbled,
“
you would have either brushed it off or told me that I was welcome to her.”

“No woman would want you when you continue to eat like a pig,” James joked before digging into his own food.

“I haven’t had any problems in that area so, apparently, the ladies don’t mind, but we’re not talking about me.
Tell me, how did you end up so involved with a woman that you’ve known for such a short time?
And one who seems far from impressed by your famous charm.”

“It’s a little complicated.”
James sighed and pushed away his
half-
empty plate.
He wasn’t the kind of person who shared his problems
.  Generally
, he preferred to fix things himself.
The situation with Mira, however,
was exceptionally frustrating.
It might not be such a bad idea to get another opinion.
“
Look,” he finally said.
“Normally
, I would tell you to mind your own
bloody
business,
but I could use some advice.”

“No problem.”
  Devon popped the last chip in his mouth and sat up straight, assuming a serious expression.

“Alright,” James said.
“I didn’t just meet Mira.
In fact
,
I’ve known her since she was wearing pigtails.
Actually, she was the first person to really befriend me when I
came from Ireland with my parents.
I was a little punk,” he smiled in remembrance, “with a chip the size of a boulder on my
narrow
shoulders.
It’s amazing that she put up with me
.”

“It sounds like she was a sweet kid and a good friend to you.
I didn’t spend a lot of time with her today, but she seemed like a decent person, despite the fact that she was exceedingly stubborn.”

“That hasn’t changed.
Once Mira Sweeney had made up her mind, dynamite wouldn’t
shift her
.”

“You seem quite impressed with that.”

“I am.
I haven’t known many women who didn’t immediately change their opinions if they thought it would benefit them.”

“Obviously, you aren’t meeting the right kind of people.
What’s the problem then?” Devon asked.
“Don’t try to tell me that you still
see her as a child.
I saw the way that you looked at her.”

“That’s not a
n issue
.
”  His blood heated as his mind flashed back
to the night she had cooked for him.
“
The problem,” James said.
“Is that she didn’t tell me who she was when I met her again.”

Devon sighed dramatically. 
“I can tell that this is going to be a long story.
Grab a table and I’ll get us another drink.”

Half an hour later t
he beer was starting to make his speech a little slurred and his thoughts a bit fuzzy and the food was now just a fond memory, but still James talked.
He told Devon of the tiny, bedra
ggled Mira with dirt on her hem
who tagged after him.
He mentioned the
very sweet, pudgy
girl
who wanted so desperately to transform into a beautiful swan
.
He spoke of the scared teenager in jeans and a band shirt
who
had run to him for reassurance
when her parents had told her she was going to boarding school
.
But, most of all, he talked about the smart, stubborn, sexy woman who
blazed back into his life, firing his blood and clouding
his thinking.
When he finally wound down, he was no closer to a decision and,
had he been sober
, he
would have been
embarrassed by his effusiveness
.
Still,
he felt
surprisingly
better.

“So,” he asked his friend.
“What do you think?”

“I think,” Devon replied in a vaguely slurred voice.
“That I’ve never heard you say that much at once.
In fact,” he added.
“I
don’t think that you’ve spoken that many words to me in the
whole time I’ve known you.”
He rested his head against the palm of his right hand and gazed blearily at James.
“I’ve got to say that I’m impressed.”