An O’Brien Family Christmas by Sherryl Woods

Author:Sherryl Woods [Woods, Sherryl]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: MIRA
Published: 2011-09-27T07:00:00+00:00

“Go after her, you idiot,” Luke said when Matthew walked to the bar and ordered another pint of ale.

“That’s the last thing she wants tonight,” Matthew told his brother. He knew perfectly well that Laila had deliberately picked a fight with him to slow things down because she was scared not only of her feelings, but all the pressure from everyone else who was determined to see them married.

“All women want to be pursued,” Luke said with surprising conviction for a man barely out of college.

Despite his age, though, Luke had made a practice of emulating Matthew and their brother-in-law Mack, both of whom had well-known reputations for casual flirtations. Luke, however, seemed to have added an element of wisdom that had eluded Matthew, at least.

Still it was difficult for Matthew to take his little brother’s opinions all that seriously. “Says the man who’s in Dublin alone.”

“Only out of respect for our sister,” Luke said. “I spoke to Kristen just tonight, and she’ll be flying over to meet me as soon as the rest of you take off for home. We’ll start the New Year together.”

Matthew frowned. The news was not only unexpected, it was distressing. He didn’t trust the woman. He knew she’d deliberately tried to work her way back into Mack’s affections, even knowing that he was married and Susie had cancer.

“It’s that serious?” he asked Luke worriedly.

Luke shrugged. “Not a word I’d choose,” he insisted. “I can’t be a hundred percent sure yet, but it has potential. Maybe watching all the rest of you fall in love has influenced me, but I like the way Kristen challenges me. She’s not even close to what I expected.”

“And have you taken our sister’s feelings into consideration?”

“Of course,” Luke said. “Didn’t I just say that Kristen’s not here because of Susie?”

“Suze won’t be one bit happier if she finds out later that the two of you are together.”

“Hey, I’ll worry about that if things do start getting serious. Right now we’re just together off and on, sort of like you and Laila.”

Matthew bristled. “It’s not like that for Laila and me,” he said heatedly.

Luke didn’t back down. “We both know it was,” he said.

“Well, things change.”

“She walked out of here alone, didn’t she? And you let her go. If you ask me, somebody’s still playing games.”

“Well, it’s not me,” Matthew insisted.

“Laila, then?”

“No. Geez, you’re a pain,” he said in exasperation.

Luke grinned. “Only because you know I speak the truth. If you want her, you’re going to have to fight to prove it. Sitting here with me and licking your wounds isn’t going to cut it.”

Reluctantly, Matthew had to admit he had a point. “Thanks for the advice and for the pint,” he told his brother, then walked off whistling.

“Hey, who said I was buying?” Luke called after him. “You owe me for straightening you out.”

“Only if this works out,” Matthew said.

His upbeat attitude was all for show, though. Realistically he thought there was a very good chance that Laila would slam her hotel room door in his face.

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