The O'Malley Brides (24 page)

Unfortunately
,
he didn’t believe it for one second.
Had Nick and Caitie not come through
the door
,
he would prob
ably
be buried to the hilt inside Ms. O’Malley’s sweet little body
.  
Dell was a realist, and Bridget O’Malley was a dangerous woman.  She had the body of a woman, the attitude of a teenager and apparently the morals of an alley cat.  Dell did not make a habit of indulging in illicit affairs with co-workers, fellow students, or close friends.  Ms. O’Malley didn’t quite fall into any of those categories, but just the same it would behoove him to steer clear of the little temptress. 

Most of what Dell knew about women, he
had
learned from two relatively short relationships with slightly older woman, and from the internet.  He’d never been attracted to the bubble-headed, gum snapping girls in high school
,
or at least
not
attracted enough to do anything about it.  He was a red-blooded male after all and as susceptible to female charms as the next man.

Dell
,
however
,
took quite a bit of pride in the fact that he
chose his partners carefully, based on compatibility and maturity.  Of course physical attraction was important, but not necessarily the most important criteria.  Both of his previous physical relationships
had been with attractive women.  N
ot in the category of Ms. O’Malley, but attractive none the less.  Beyond that, they had been caring, compassionate and socially acceptable.  Dell wasn’t a social snob by any means, but he absolutely could not imagine his girlfriend dancing on the bar in his parent’s recreation room, or dirty dancing at a country club soirée.  Personally, Dell didn’t
put
much stock in those
types
of gatherings,
but it pleased his parents, so he attended when asked. 

Glancing at his watch
, Dell
cleared his desk, putting everything
in its place.  Taking a deep breath
,
he left his office and immediately smothered his groan.
Bridget was struggling into her boots, her shapely behind facing him.  His eyes
were
drawn to the display
,
like a heat seeking missile.  Forcing his
body to obey his brain
, he set his briefcase down in the chair
and went to the closet to get their coats. 
After slipping on his trench coa
t
,
he returned to the reception area.  Bridget had managed to zip up her boots and as soon as Dell was in front of her
,
she squatted down to pick up her shoes.  Her face was now directly in front of Dell, her sassy mouth inches from his dick, which had stopped cooperating with his brain. 

Good God, Dell swore silently.  Does she plan these moves or are
they as innocent as they seem?
Innocent was not the first word that came to mind when describing Bridget, but he had a hard time believing she was that single-minded.  Taking a step back he held her coat, waiting to assist her in putting it on.  Clearing his throat
,
he tried to marshal his thoughts into order.

“Ms. O’Malley, I must apologize for my unforgivable behavior this afternoon.  I can only promise you it will never happen again.”

Bridget rose slowly until she was looking up into his eyes.  Checking out every inch of him on her way up
,
she couldn’t help noticing the bulge in the front of his pants.  No matter how emphatically Winston denied it, he wanted her.

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep,” Bridget told him with a laugh.  “If you lock that door, I’ll show you exactly how sorry
I
am about this afternoon,” she continued, laying her small ha
nd on his chest.  His rapid heartbeat belied the firm set of his jaw as he stared down at her.  His hands had a death grip on her jacket and she wondered what he would do with them if she should rip the jacket away.

“Absolutely not!  We must not compound our tra
nsgressions Bridget, I mean Ms.
O’Malley.  It’s imperative that we behave in a purely professional manner for the rest of the week.”

Sighing
,
Bridget turned and let him help her into her coat.  After picking up her backpack
,
she started towards the door only to turn around half way there.  Dell bumped into her and grasped her arms quickly to keep her from falling.

“Really Winston,” she stated, a twinge of annoyance coming through.  “I thought you would be a little more fun this week.  Have you always been so pompous?”

“Ms. O’Malley, I do not consider myself pompous in the least.  Most of the human race adheres to socially acceptable behavior in the workplace.  I hope for the duration of our time together you will try a little harder to
be…good?”

“I’ll have you know that I have been told that I am very, very good.  In fact
,
I can provide references just like that,” she informed him, snapping her fingers, her little nose in the air.

“I’m not surprised
,
Ms. O’Malley,” he said stiffly, turning her around and giving her bottom a push toward the door.  “Feel free to call in sick tomorrow,” he mumbled as he bent to lock the door.

“Not on your life
,
Winston,” Bridget s
hot back.  He was afraid of her she realized with a start.
  This was getting b
etter all the time.  Why he was probably shaking in his wingtips.
Feeling much better
,
Bridget slipped her arm through his as they started down the walk.

“How about giving me a ride home
,
Winston?” she asked in her very best damsel in distress voice.  “It’s easier than giving you directions for Thanksgiving and I won’t have to wait
at the cold, dark bus stop.  A girl could get hurt all alone on a night like this.  There are criminals everywhere, which you should know being almost a lawyer and all.”

“My money’s on you,” Dell snorted, rolling his eyes.  “Come on then, hurry along, I have plans for tonight.”

Bridget skipped along beside him, her hand in
his warm pocket.  “Is that why you got the ticket
this morning?  Were you speeding?  You know
,
as a representative of the law you should be more careful.”

“No, I was not speeding,” Dell replied, wishing fervently that she would drop the subject.  He should have known better.

“So what were you doing?  Did you have an accident or something?
” Bridget c
ontinued, looking him over
for injuries.

“No, Ms.
O’Malley
,
I did not have an accident,” Dell replied acidly hitting the unlock button as they were just about at the car.  “If you must know I got a ticket for driving to slow in the express lane.”

“Oh Winston,” Bridget howled with laughter.  “That’s priceless. I have never heard of anyone getting a ticket for driving too slow.  I’ll have to ask Rory about it.”  Holding her sides she leaned against the car while he waited
,
holding her door open. 

“I would
appreciate it if this went no fu
rther than us,” Winston growled.  “Now if you don’t mind…” he continued, his teeth clenched as he waved his arm indicating she should be seated.

Bridget stood and wiped the tears from her face, a hiccup escaping. 
Quickly she shot up and kissed his cheek.  “I’m crazy about you
,
Winston,” she giggled.

“Get in the damn car, Bridget.”

Chapter 14

Tess sat at the kitche
n table in Maeve’s big kitchen
.  Greeted like a
lamb
lost
from the fold, Maeve
embraced her the minute they
walk
ed in the door, shooing Rory off to find his Da.

“Is everything alright
, D
arlin’?
” Maeve asked as she put the cup in front of Tess, moving the sugar and cream closer.  “You look a little flushed
, D
ear.”

“I am fine
,
Maeve.  I am so glad you are not angry with me for running away like I did.
It was rude and I am sorry
I did not talk to you about it first.”

“Now, now Darlin’,” Maeve assured her, patting her hand.  “Don’t you fret about it another minute.  I know my son can be a little overbearin
’
at times.  He gets that from his Da, I think.  It’s glad I am to have you back where you belong.  Is everything
all right between the two of you now?  Are you
set on livin’ with hi
m, without the bonds of matrimony?  Not
that I’ll hold t
hat against you
,
De
ar.  Things are different now
days and tis
done quite frequently.  I guess in the long run it’s better than findin’ out you’re not suited after the weddin’.”

“Your
son is a human bull-dozer
,
Maeve.  This morning he informs me that I have taken the rest of the week off.  He drags me to the bank and puts my name on all of his accounts and then tells me that I am no longer working for Maggie and Nick.  He wants me to have more time for him.  I love him
,
Maeve,” Tess admitted blushing
, “
but last night he told me that these decision
s
will be made by both of us and then today he rearranges my whole life.” 

Standing
,
Tess starred out the window,
her arms wrapped around waist
.  “There is a brand new car out there in the driveway that he leased for me!  I do not know what to do.  I barely got a look at the house, yet he tells me that I am to redecorate his entire home.  I have h
alf a mind to move a feed trough
into the living room along with a couple of jack asses.  I wonder what he will think of my decorating then?” she stated, stamping her foot.  Tess’s defiance didn’t last long and she slumped back into her chair, her head in her hands.

“Oh Darlin’,”
Maeve replied soothingly as she came around the table.  Rubbing Tess’s shoulders she offered some advice.  “Have you
tried to explain to Rory how you
feel?  I know he can be a bit umm…intimidatin’ but he loves you.  Surely
,
he will listen.”

“I have
tried
,” Tess cried.  “Every time I try to tell him, he begins to kiss me and I…forget what I wanted to say.  Oh Madre, I kn
ow nothing of decorating a home,
nothing about pleasing a man
like Rory
.  He will tire of me, I know it
,
and then I will
just die without him,” she sobbed.

Maeve’s he
art swelled for a moment,
Tess
called her Mother!
Even if it was in her own language, a mother was a mother in a
ny language.  “Tess, L
amb, don’
t cry.  Do you want me to talk to Rory?”

“No, you must not.  He will think I ran to his
m
adre at the first time of trouble,” Tess pleaded.

“Well, then wipe your tears
,
Darlin’.  Give me a few days to think about it and talk to the girls.  I promise you we will figure so
methin’
out.
  You know,
D
ear
, you are part of this family
.  Y
ou
have been ever since Rory brought
you
to us.  There’s no need to worry, we women have been dealing
with
stubborn, bossy men for a very long time.  It will all work out.
”

“What will work
out?” Bridget asked flying in the back door.  “Tess
,
how are you?  Are you ill or did Rory keep you up all night?”

“B
ridget!” Maeve scolded.  “
Don’t you
be embarrassin’ Theresa.  She has enough on her mind without your teasing.”

“Sorry Tess,” Bridget replied.  “I was ju
st kidding.  Is there a problem
? A
nything I can do to help?”
she asked, pouring a cup of coffee and plopping into a chair. 

“Rory wants Tess to redecorate his house,” Maeve replied.

“So, what’s the problem?”  Bridget asked.  “Hire a decorator if yo
u don’t want to do it yourself,
he can afford it.”