Authors: Natalie Ann
Wednesday at five, Carly opened her front door to see Sean standing there with Droopy in his arms. This morning when she dropped him off at Harper’s, Sean offered to bring him over after work rather than having her go out of her way to pick him up. It was an easy enough offer, and a nice one too. It saved her the trip and allowed her more time to get dinner ready.
“Hey, buddy,” she said, reaching out and transferring Droopy to her arms. She never thought she would get so attached to him in the three short days she’d had him. Unfortunately here she was, wanting a quick cuddle before she set him down. She knew he felt the same way after he bathed her face in multiple licks before she could stop him.
“I walked him up the street quick. He should be set for a while.”
“Thanks. Come on in,” she offered, then noticed he had a bottle of wine in his hand. “I’ll just take this to the kitchen and grab a few glasses.”
“Hope white is okay? I know Brynn drinks white, so I took a guess you might too.”
Even sweeter, he put some effort into that. She had to give him credit for it; she didn’t expect that from him. Honestly, she wasn’t sure what to expect from him, or this night. That was why they called it a first date, so they could learn about each other. “White works, especially with dinner. Hope you like stuffed chicken?”
“I’m not fussy. Chicken sounds great.”
Terrific, a guy who didn’t need a big platter of beef. “Come on back to the kitchen then, and have a seat at the island while I finish up, if you don’t mind. The chicken should be done in about fifteen minutes and I’ll put out a salad first if you’d like.”
***
He sat on the stool and looked around her kitchen. There were school photos adhered by magnets all over her refrigerator and some handwritten notes addressed to Ms. Springfield. He wasn’t surprised to see them.
Right now, she was looking like he always saw her: most likely still dressed from school in a pair of black pants, a colorful shirt and another pair of ballet-type flats on her feet. She looked comfortable to him. That was probably why she wore what she did. He’d bet she did her fair share of running around during the day.
Moving his attention back to the oven she had just opened to look inside, he couldn’t help but notice how awesome it smelled. He watched as she put the rest of the vegetables in the big salad bowl and tossed them together. “What type of dressing do you like? I’ve got ranch, Italian, and honey mustard.”
“Whatever you are having works for me.” The smile she sent him made it worthwhile to be agreeable. Honestly, he wasn’t lying when he said he wasn’t fussy. Having grown up in a pub, working behind the bar, washing dishes, cooking, serving, and doing whatever else his parents needed him to, loving food was just second nature to him. “Is there anything I can help with? I feel bad just sitting here. My mother would have my hide if she knew I was letting you do all the work.” Which wasn’t really true. His mother always waved him away when he offered to help, telling him she had it covered. But he still hated that everyone always waited on him.
“I’m good, but if you want, you can grab the salad bowl and bring it to the table behind you. I’ll grab the salad dressing once I pull the chicken out for it to rest. The rest of the dinner is ready to go, but will stay warm.”
“Sounds good.” He did as he was instructed, taking the salad to the small table, and noticed it was set so prettily. Cheerful, no matching plates, but everything looking like it belonged. He could tell it was set with a purpose, rather than anything being accidentally mismatched. “This looks nice.”
“Thank you,” she said, sincerity coming into her eyes. “I like cheerful things. Brynn says I’m a Suzy Homemaker. I guess I am.”
He could see that. It seemed to fit her personality so well. “I appreciate the home-cooked meal.” She smiled shyly at him, and he noticed she was still skittish. He walked around and held her chair out for her and chuckled at her surprised expression. “I have three older sisters and grew up listening to all the things they wanted a guy to do for them. I’m not sure if they were teaching me, molding me, or lecturing me. Probably a bit of everything. Either way, it all stuck.”
When he was seated, she asked, “So are you outnumbered then?”
He reached for the salad bowl and dished some up when she was done. “I am. My father and I are the minority in the house and the women let us know. Repeatedly.”
“You don’t seem all that bothered by it.”
“I’m not, at least not now. Growing up, it was hard and I couldn’t wait to leave. It can be smothering at times.”
“I bet. So I guess this is where we learn a little about each other. Since you mentioned your family first, why don’t you start?”
“Sure. I won’t bore you too much. How about a summary? I’m the youngest of four kids, and the only boy. My parents own and operate an Irish pub on the outskirts of Boston. It’s been in the family for three generations, with the shocking name of Callahan's.” Her eyes crinkled slightly. “So I grew up working alongside both of my parents. It’s a family affair: we all worked the pub at some point, and still do when needed. When I offered to cook for you tonight, I really can cook, just so you know. It wasn’t some cheesy line to earn favors.”
“That’s nice to know. Maybe next time I’ll let you have the honors.”
Okay, that was clear enough. He seemed to be getting past the first date jitters, so he continued on. “I’m from a big Irish family. My sisters are all married with kids of their own. I’m the last one standing, you could say, and of course the favorite uncle.”
“I bet you relish being the favorite uncle.”
“It’s the best position to be in. I get to visit, spoil them all rotten and then leave them with their parents. So what about you?”
“I’m an only child. My mother and I moved to Saratoga when I was ten, along with my grandmother, and we’ve been here ever since.”
“That’s it? Nothing more exciting than that, huh?”
She paused, almost as if she was gathering her thoughts. Something was going on in her mind and he wasn’t sure what it was. “Not really. Saratoga has been a quiet life for us. My mother still lives with my grandmother. I guess you could say they keep each other company and out of trouble.”
“And you met Brynn in college and have been friends with her ever since?” He knew the answer but felt he should say something else. He wasn’t sure what had come over her, but her demeanor had changed, almost cooled down, and he wanted to bring her back to the way she was before he asked about her childhood.
“Yes. She was the sister I never had. We had absolutely nothing in common when we were assigned the same dorm room, but we just clicked.”
“I see that. It’s a nice feeling, isn’t it? To know you just click with someone?” He threw it out there to see her reaction. To see if she would get the double meaning. He felt that click with her just now. He always had and wasn’t sure if it was one-sided. He’d hoped it wasn’t and was beginning to suspect he was right.
“Yes, it’s a nice feeling,” she said, her eyes glancing downward after her shy smile.
An hour later he was helping her clear off the table. “That dinner was fantastic.” And it was. Chicken stuffed with breadcrumbs, bacon and Parmesan cheese, with roasted herbed potatoes and green beans. A homey dinner. A cozy one. The warm apple pie and ice cream for dessert was just the icing on the cake.
“Thanks. As I said, I really like to cook.”
“And you do it so well. I find it odd that no one has snatched you up yet.” He said it in jest, even though he was curious. She seemed to pause over his comment. “It’s just a joke,” he tried to assure her.
“I know. I guess you could say I’m kind of surprised myself.” He didn’t know what to make of her answer and didn’t ask her to elaborate. He thought that it might be too personal and he didn’t feel right pushing any more than he already had. “I could say the same about you.”
“What’s that?”
“I’m surprised no one has snatched you up yet either. As I’ve told you before, you’re attractive, you’ve got a good job, seem pretty grounded and family oriented. Potentially a good catch.” She stopped and her eyes widened, a faint blush filling her face. “Oh my God, I’m sorry. That came out completely wrong. I don’t want you to think I’m trying to lure you in and seeing signs of babies or anything like that.” She stopped and took a deep breath. “Forget it. I’m just making it worse for myself. Let’s forget I said any of it. It really didn’t come out the way I thought when I phrased it in my head.”
He laughed; he couldn’t help it. She looked so cute and flustered. He should have been offended by what she said, but he wasn’t. It was the truth, every bit of it. He was pleased she found him attractive, that was a given. But her description of him rang true too. He was grounded and family oriented.
It wasn’t that he didn’t want to get married and have kids. He did, but he wasn’t really looking. “No worries. I’ve heard it all before. Remember, three sisters and a mother, and every time they see me they remind me I’m single and want to know why. Why I haven’t carried on the Callahan tradition of marrying young and having babies.”
“Again, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to bring up anything negative.”
She was just too adorable. He wanted to laugh again but fought the urge. “Really, don’t worry. I’m not rebelling, if that is what you think. I just haven’t found the right person. Nothing more than that.”
She seemed to accept his answer, nodded her head and added, “Yeah, same thing here. Nothing more than that.” Except he didn’t believe her.
“Did you miss your mommy?” Brynn asked while holding Droopy up to her face and letting the puppy bathe her in kisses. Carly tried not to cringe. Even as gross as she still felt it was, it was kind of cute. Puppy breath wasn’t so bad after all, she learned.
The minute Brynn had opened Carly’s front door, Droopy took off in a run. At least Carly thought it was a run; she’d never seen Droopy move that fast. Just as quickly, Brynn snatched the puppy up and gave him a big hug. “He missed you. Trust me.”
Holding the wiggling dog in front of her, Brynn said, “What’s the matter? Aunt Carly wasn’t nice to you? She didn’t pamper you like Mommy and Daddy do?”
Carly bit back a laugh. Alec and Brynn would find out how much Carly pampered Droopy when they went to bed tonight. She’d let that be their surprise though. “You know that dog is a slob, right?”
“Just like his daddy, huh? He didn’t leave any messes on your floor, did he? He’s been house trained for months.”
“No. But his food ends up everywhere. I swear I spent ten minutes following him around the house after he ate, sucking up all the kibble that was falling out of his mouth. Half of it ends up on the floor next to his bowl as it is.”
Chuckling, Brynn said, “I learned if you just wait about thirty minutes, he finds all the pieces himself and eats them, saving me from cleaning up.”
Stunned, Carly said, “Married life must be agreeing with you. You are the last person I would expect to let any mess be left out. Your eye doesn’t start twitching when you see pieces of kibble on the floor?”
“You’re probably right. I’ve relaxed in the last several months. It was hard to ignore the food at first, but then I realized if I did pick it up, Droopy wanted to eat again since he lost half of it walking around the house.”
“I noticed that too. And that he falls asleep in his food bowl.”
“What? He fell asleep in his food bowl? Tell me you have a picture of that!”
Of course Carly did. It was too cute not to snap a shot of it. And too ridiculous to not put on her computer and share with all her students the next day. The class thought it was so funny that she turned it into a fun assignment. “Describe this picture in five words or less.” Her students all had one heck of an imagination. She even had some of their responses typed on her computer so she could put it together in a little collage of bubble words above a picture of Droopy for their classroom. Maybe she’d make a second one for Brynn. She knew Brynn would appreciate it.
“Let me grab my phone.”
“If it was on your phone, why didn’t you send it to me?” Brynn reached for the phone, looked at it, and bent over laughing as she gazed at the picture of Droopy spread eagle, legs in all directions, belly on the floor and face in the food bowl.
“I didn’t want to bother you on your honeymoon. Okay, enough about your baby; let’s get to the good stuff. How were the Florida Keys?”
“Beautiful. Wonderful. Magical and exciting. The list goes on and on.”
“I don’t really want to know about your sex life,” Carly said dryly. “I want to know how the island was. I can’t believe Alec rented an island for a week for the two of you.”
Brynn snorted. “Well, the sex was all that and more, but the island was pretty speculator too. I told him that we needed to find a time to rent it out and all go down as a family. All the siblings, maybe even all the close friends. We toured some other islands for rent that had multiple houses on them.”
“That sounds wonderful.” Carly couldn’t imagine doing anything like that. Growing up, she never really went on any vacations. There wasn’t the money for it. Even if her mother was working steadily and holding down a job for a long period of time, she wouldn’t have been able to handle the stress of going away. Not to mention most of the jobs her mother had were under the table and could end at any point. Any extra money they had was put away in case of emergencies. Carly learned to never even ask. She had just been thankful to be in a peaceful home and not looking over her shoulder as much.
“Okay, moving on. I don’t want to take up too much of your time and I know Alec misses Droopy, too. But I need to ask…how does my house look?”
Carly winced. “You found out?”
“Yeah. Phil called us on Monday after you guys painted everything. He told Alec all about what happened and said the guilt got to him, that he knew how he would feel if someone did that to his house. He could only blame the fact that Isabel is very persuasive and everyone is afraid to say no to her.”
Carly walked over and rubbed her hand up and down Brynn’s arm. She knew Brynn would have been sweating it the entire time and was surprised Phil had called to tell them. “It looks really good. I was nervous about it myself, but in the end I think you’ll love it.”
“Thanks,” Brynn said, grasping Carly’s hand. “I’ll take your word for it. Phil assured Alec it looked great. Alec believed Phil, but you know me better than even Alec and I wanted your honest take. I appreciate it, I really do, but I was nervous just the same.”
“Trust me, it looks wonderful. Phil followed all your plans exactly.”
“Good, that’s good. So tell me, which rooms did you paint?”
“No way. There is no way I’m telling you. You’ll walk around inspecting them with a magnifying glass. You’re just going to have to guess, but I bet you wouldn’t be able to tell which ones Sean and I did.”
“Sean and you, huh?”
Crap. “Yeah. Sean was recruited too, and Isabel put everyone in teams of two. I was left by myself, so when Sean walked in, Phil told him to pair up with me.”
“Why are you blushing?”
“I’m not blushing. What are you talking about?” The room did feel warm right now, but she didn’t think she was blushing.
“I’m trying to restrain myself from jumping up and down and pointing my finger at you and singing that you have a crush on Sean,” Brynn replied, giggling.
Carly eyed her and remembered the time she did exactly that to Brynn when she accused Brynn of having a crush on Alec. “So, what if I think he’s attractive? There’s nothing wrong in that, is there?”
“I knew it,” Brynn shouted and pointed her finger.
“Knew what?”
“I saw you two dancing at my wedding. Don’t think I didn’t. It looked awfully cozy to me. Alec and I even talked about it last week.”
“You talked about me on your honeymoon? Seriously, you had nothing else better to do than speculate about Sean and me on your honeymoon? That’s pathetic.”
“No, pathetic is you trying to pretend like there’s nothing there. So level with me, what’s going on?”
“Would you be upset if there was something going on with Sean and me?”
“Not at all. Why would you even think that?”
“Just checking. Anyway, he came over for dinner on Wednesday.”
“Really?” Brynn asked, her eyes going wide. “Was that your first date?”
“Yes, why?”
“Here, at your house? You cooked him dinner?”
“I did,” Carly replied, getting annoyed. “What is so shocking about that?”
“Just that you don’t normally bring any men to your house and yet you had him here on your first date.”
Brynn was right. It
was
shocking. Carly had always been careful about having men over to her house. She liked to keep that space; to have a place that was hers, that was nice and calm at all times. If things got out of hand or uncomfortable, Carly always wanted to be able to leave. She couldn’t do that if it was happening in her house, and trying to force someone to leave wasn’t always easy.
“So, what happened? How did it go?”
“It was nice. I learned a little about his family, he learned a little about mine. And no, before you ask, he doesn’t know about my mother or much of my past. He just knows that we moved here when I was ten, not much more.”
“Okay. I would have really been thrown for a loop if you told him about your mom.”
“Not exactly something you say on a first date. Even a second or third. So, no, he doesn’t know much. It was a good night. We clicked. There, does that make you feel better?” She knew if she didn’t give Brynn at least a little bit of something juicy, Brynn wouldn’t ever leave for the night.
“Yes, I do feel better. I’ll feel even better if you tell me he kissed you, and how it felt.”
“Really, Brynn, that is being immature,” Carly scolded, but laughed just the same.
“No, it’s not. Tell me, or Droopy and I stay until you do.”
Carly thought back to that night. When Sean was getting ready to leave, he’d bent down and rubbed Droopy’s head, then stood up and leaned toward her, his lips hovering over hers gently, almost like he was afraid to touch her. But she wanted him to kiss her, so she wound her arms around his neck and pulled him in closer. Then he just took over, his mouth opening hers, his tongue swooping in, tasting her, retreating, then coming back for more. When he finally pulled back, his smile was a mile long, and she had to reach out and steady herself by placing her hand on his chest. He noticed too; there was no way he couldn’t have.
He leaned forward and kissed her again, a second time, more scorching than the first. When he was done, he stood up and opened her front door, saying, “Have a good night, Carly. See you in the morning.”
“Fine. He kissed me when he left. And it felt just about right,” she told Brynn.
***
“Welcome back,” Sean said, walking into Brynn and Alec’s office Monday morning. “Ready to get to work?”
Alec looked up at him, snorted and picked up the coffee he’d purchased on his way to work. “No. Please don’t tell me you have a meeting scheduled today. I’m not up to it.”
“Do you really think I would have done that without telling you first?” Sean knew how much Alec hated meetings and came in late half the time, if he showed at all.
“I wouldn’t put it past you.”
“Aren’t you cheerful this morning? I thought for sure you’d be all relaxed after your honeymoon.”
“I was. Until we tried to go to bed last night.” Alec stopped and narrowed his eyes. “I know you know what I’m talking about, so admit it.”
Sean was at a loss and shrugged. “Nope. Sorry.”
“Carly let Droopy sleep with her last week. He cried all night long until Brynn gave in and put him on the bed with us. That is the last thing I want, a dog between my wife and me.”
Sean shook his head, amused. He knew Droopy spent the one night in bed with Carly, but not every night. That was funny. What a little softie she was. “Why would you think I would know about that?”
“Because I hear you’ve been making time with her.”
“What?” What had Carly said to Brynn? They’d had one date at her house. He kissed her. Twice. But still, that was far from making time with someone, even if he had been thinking about it.
“Relax,” Alec said, laughing at Sean’s expression. “I’ve never seen you look so stressed before.”
“What exactly do you know?”
“Nothing more than you went to dinner at her house. Why, is there more than that?” Alec asked, eying Sean more seriously.
“No. Not really.”
“No, or not really? Which is it?”
“Nothing more than dinner. Do you have a problem with it?” Sean asked, getting defensive. He never expected Alec of all people to judge him on this. Not when Alec married his employee. Carly was just a friend of theirs.
“No problem. Just tread carefully.”
“Why is that? What aren’t you telling me?”
“Nothing much. I don’t know all that much about Carly’s past really. I just know she is sweet and tender. Brynn is pretty protective of her, but I’m not sure why. So go carefully.”
“I am and I will. I know Brynn is protective of her and I expect your wife will be in here talking to me at some point.”
“I’m sure she will be.”
“But I’m sure you both know I’ve never been someone who took advantage of a woman before either.”
“Nope. You aren’t like that. Again, just be careful. I don’t know much about her personally, other than bits and pieces Brynn has said over the months. But I get the feeling there is something under the surface there. Good or bad, it’s still there.”
Sean suspected the same thing. “Don’t worry about it. You know me. I’m pretty casual about things.”
“That might be what I’m worried about.”