The O'Malley Brides (36 page)

Dell watched as she bent and helped the younger children down, her skirt so short you could see her red ruffled panties and the top of her
red thigh high stocking.  Dell grinned when th
e woman standing closest to him
elbowed her husba
nd in the stomach.  His
remark that “
Santa wasn’t just for the kids this year” as h
e ogled the pretty girls behind
hadn’t been appreciated by the tired looking woman, holding a baby in
one arm,
and a
toddler tugging on
her sweater.

Looking back at the display
,
Dell was surprised to see the girl waving again and he looked around, wondering whose attention she was trying to get.  Her blonde ponytail bounced as she jumped up and down and her velvet stocking hat slipped to one side.  Finally
,
she bent over and whispered something in Santa’s ear and handed off her candy canes to another girl. 

Bridget worked her way carefully through the throngs of children, stopping occasionally to give out a hug or answer questions.  She winked at several fathers who asked where their hugs were, but continued on her way.  It took quite a while to get close enough for Winston to recognize her, but as soon as he did, his mouth fell open and he stood.

“Winston,” she cried flinging herself into his arms and kissing him on the corner of his mouth.  “Are you coming or going?”

Dell’s arms automatically closed around her, his hand sliding down to her bottom trying to hold the full skirt over her butt.  The perfume she wore today smelled like sugar cookies and for a moment Dell didn’t even know the answer to her question.  Her soft pink lips demanded his attention and he k
issed her deeply, until a
mother scolded, “There are children present you know” in a
n angry whisper. 

Dell straightened, releasing Bridget, his ears red.  The envious stares of several men in the area added to his discomfort.

“Um, I just got here,” he told her quietly.  “I have some shopping to do.  What are you doing here
,
Bridget?”

“Just picking up some extra money for the holidays,” she answered, apparently not embarrassed at all.  “Hey, I have shopping to do too.  I get off in about twenty minutes, can you wait for me?   It’ll be much more fun if we shop together.”

Dell was still staring at her lips, but he managed to
nod
his head in the affirmative.

“Good.  Go grab a coffee or something and I’ll meet you in the food court in half an hour,” she cheerfully told him before kissing his cheek again and heading back through the crowd.

Sipping his cold coffee, Dell checked his watch wondering if he’d been stood up. He’d been sitting alone for almost an hour while waiting for Bridget, and he was no closer to an answer than before.  They had been on several dates in the weeks since Thanksgiving
, going out to dinner and a couple of movies.  Bridget had even convinced him to go ice skating once, something he been fairly good at in his youth.  He lost count of the number of times he landed on hi
s ass, while she was gracefully skating
circles around him, laughing her head off.  Dell doubted she would ever let him forget it.

Several times she begged him to go out drinking and dancing and he adamantly refused. A drunken Bridget in his arms was a recipe for disaster.  She was already the most uninhibited woman he knew, it was hard to imagine what a few drinks would do to her.  There was no way he was going to put his already raging libido through that. 

Bridget had gone out anyway, his disapproving scowl not enough to deter her. He spent a couple of exceedingly long nights torn between kicking himself in the ass for not going with her and
imagining her standing in the corner of his bedroom, her little red ass on display as he lectured her about proper behavior.  Some of those websites had very specific idea of what to do with a woman like Bridget, and at times he found them very appealing.

Finally Dell saw her making her way to his table.  The soda
he purchased for her nearly an hour ago
was watery, the
ice had melted,
but Bridget didn’t care.

Snatching it up she sucked down half of it before coming up for air.

“Thanks
,
Winston, I’m drier than a popcorn fart,” she
told him with a grin,
drinking
thirstily
.

Dell choked on his coffee and dabbed his lips with a napkin.

“Must you speak like that in public, Bridget?” he asked with a frown.

“Sorry Miss Manners,” she quipped back.  “I didn’t think anyone wou
ld hear me in this cluster-fuck
”
,
she said indicating the huge crowd milling around them, trying to finish their holiday shopping.

“
I
can hear you,” he replied sternly, fixing her with scowl.  “Now I have things to do and I’ve already waited for over an hour.  Do you think you can be good long enough for us get our errands done?”

“I can try
,
Winston,” she answered as she picked up their trash and pitched it into a nearby can.  “But you’re pretty refined to be escorting
a
foul-mouthed girl like me,” she drawled sarcastically.

“Just shut up, Bridget,” he ordered
growling, “Before I find something else for you to do with that nasty little mouth.”
  Taking her hand
he began to pull her into the crowds of shoppers making their way through the area.

“Oh, a sexual threat
,
how unlike you
,
Winston,” she said grinning.

“That’s not what I meant,” he insisted.  “I was thinking more along the lines of you using those lips, begging me for mercy as I spank your bottom.”

Bridget stopped right in the middle of the crowded throng.  It didn’t matter to her one iota if people got angry pushing their way around her as she stared at the tall man beside her. 
Something had just fallen out of his mouth that stunned her.  Something
she
never wanted to hear from any man in her life, especially the one next to her. 

Dell stared right back, noting the surprise and suspicion clearly visible on her face.  The small hand in his firm grip trembled and she pulled it away and took his arm.

“Winston, for your benefit, I’m going to assume that you’re joking,” Bridget stated as calmly as she could.  It would not do to have him think she was intimidated by his threat.  Obviously he had spent too much time with her brothers, and Nick.  She’d been so caught up in helping with Tess and Rory’s wedding that she hadn’t paid much attention to what Winston was doing at those wonderful Sunday dinners at her house. 

Winston had been a guest each week since Thanksgiving, and she
was genuinely glad her family liked him. The more time she spent with him, the more certain she was that he was the one.  Yes, he was tall and stronger than he looked, but there wasn’t a Neanderthal bone in his body.  Winston responded with words when he was angry or annoyed.  He was not the kind of man to take his hand to a woman, even her butt.  Physically
,
Winston was kind, thoughtful and gentle
.  I
t was only his wit that was sha
rp
and biting.  Relaxing, she began moving again
,
navigating the crowds like a pro.

“Assume anything you like Bridget,” he answered softly.

She never heard him.

By the time they finished their shopping, Dell was so overloaded with bags and boxes he could barely see where he was going.  Bridget steered him to the exit
carrying a few bags herself.  A
ll in all she was very pleased.  Winton had turned out to be an excellent shopper never complaining about the amount of time she spent looking at shoes or the time she spent hunting for bargains. 

Dell
managed to purchase a few things himself, although he didn’t pick up anything for Bridget as she was constantly by his side.  After filling his trunk with presents, he took her to a small Italian restaurant before dropping her off at home and helping her in with her purchases.

Bridget enjoyed herself and the forbidden subject never came up
,
reinforcing her opinion that it was just an empty threat probably brought on by the occasional over exposure to testosterone.

They
made plans to see a movie the day after Christmas as she walked him to the door.  Pulling her into his arms he kissed her goodnight, never releasing her until her Da cleared his throat on his way upstairs.  By the time he let her go he had to steady her shoulders, her knees were so weak. 

Not unaffected himself, he pulled his coat closed in the front, hidin
g his reaction to her charms as
best he could.
  Smiling
,
she closed the big front door and leaned against it until she recalled his offhand remark at the mall.  Although she still thought it wasn’t something she would ever have to worry about with Winston, she made up her mind that she would have a long conversation with him, carefully explaining that she could never love a man who would resort to imposing his will on a woman in that fashion. 

Don’t you already love him
, a tiny little voice inside her heart whispered?

Yes, I guess I do, Bridget though, but he has never laid a hand on me
. 

And if he does, what then
? 

He won’t, she insisted convinced she was right.  Winston was nothing like her brothers.

C
hapter 20

December 23
rd
promised to be an extremely busy day for the whole O’Malley clan.  Between preparations for the wedding and the holiday
,
everyone was a little stressed and a touch short-tempered.  The weather didn’t help as it was snowing and blowing
,
well on its way to being a white Christmas. 

Patrick wiped down the bar for the umpteenth time, watching the clock for closing time.  Molly went home early at his insistence.  First the roads were slippery
,
and second there was so much to get done before tomorrow night.  Usually
,
they spent Christmas Eve wrapping gifts and snuggled up together on the couch when they finished, but this year everything had to be done before the wedding.  He knew Molly would wa
nt to go to the Midnight Mass at C
hurch and that would give them precious little time to finish any last minute preparations. 

He had to laugh thinking about his wife.  Molly could tell you basically anything about anybody, but she could never remember where she had hidden all the gifts she bought.  It was nothing for Pa
trick to find gifts in July which
Molly hid
and forgot about
.

The pub was busy, mostly regulars who would come out as long as they
were still
breathing
, and on any other night he would have sat and talked with a few of them, but tonight he just wanted to make it to closing time.  He was tired, having worked extra shifts this week to give his staff time off for shopping, parties a
nd other related events.  At eleven
o’clock he poured a cup of cof
fee, thankful he only had three
more hours to go. 

Patrick heard them before he saw them.  A band of snow covered tipsy people singing Christmas songs and laughing as they staggered through the doorway.  Stomping snow off their feet and brushing each other off
,
the
y
turned to the bar.  Several elves, three reindeer, Santa and either a helper or Mrs. Claus, he couldn’t be sure
,
spread out along the bar.  Patrick trie
d to assess if anyone was sober.  H
e didn’t serve drunks. 

“Welcome to T
he Rose and Thistle,” the littlest one shouted.  “This is my brother
,
Patrick.”

“Bridget, what the devil are you doing
here
?
” Patrick asked, taking in her outfit in shock. 

“I’m celebrating the season,” she answered giggling.  “These fine people are my co-workers at the North Pole and I would buy them all a drink, if you would loan me the money,” she hiccupped.  “I went a little overboard on gifts this year, but you’re gonna love what I bought you.”

Patrick was furious and stumped.  If he refused to serve them
,
Bridget might very well leave with them.  Legally he couldn’t stop her and it could turn into a nas
ty brawl
if
any of them
put up a fight
.  It wasn’t that he couldn’t take them,
but it would be very bad for business. 
Plastering a smile on his face
,
he made a suggestion.
 
“How about a nice cup of Irish coffee to finish off your night and then I’ll call a couple of cabs, on me of course, to get you all home safe and sound?”