Chapter 2
Chapter Two
~CAMERON~
I ’d like to spank her ass.
Just throw her over my knee and paddle her. I didn’t sleep at all last night and had to stop myself from marching down to her house and having it out with her several times. When she’s all fired up, and in a temper, it doesn’t do any good to try to reason with her.
I love her fiery personality, but it frustrates the hell out of me.
If I weren’t completely and utterly in love with her, I’d walk away. Be content with being her eldest brother’s best friend, and that’s it.
But I’ve had a thing for Maggie since I came back to town when she was about twenty, and I discovered that she’d grown up into a gorgeous, interesting woman.
Unfortunately, she was already married to the asshole who would eventually try to destroy her.
We all knew Joey was an idiot, and no one liked how he spoke to Maggie when we were around. I can only imagine what it was like for her when we weren’t around. Until he died, she didn’t say much about it. After he had the heart attack, we learned that he’d been cheating for years.
What a complete moron.
I should have made her stay put last night. Made her listen. But it’s not easy to make Maggie do anything she doesn’t want to do.
It’s one of the things I love about her.
I’ll go find her later this morning and smooth things over. She might have an Irish temper, but she doesn’t stay angry for long.
I rinse my coffee mug and set it in the sink. Grabbing my keys, I open the front door and then stop short.
“That’s twice in less than twenty-four hours I’ve found you outside my house.”
Maggie’s on the steps, her back to me. She sits up tall when she hears my voice. I walk over and lower myself next to her. She’s in a puffy orange jacket with a gray hat over her red hair. She’s holding a pink box and has two cups sitting on the step next to her sneaker-clad feet.
“I brought you coffee and donuts,” she whispers. “Because I’m a jerk, and I need to apologize.”
“You’re not a jerk, Mags.”
“Yeah, I am.” She shrugs a shoulder and finally turns her sweet face to me. She has tears in her gorgeous green eyes. “I’m sorry I’m a moron.”
“If you don’t stop calling yourself names, I’m gonna get really mad.” I lean over and kiss her cheek. “What kind of donuts did you bring?”
“French crullers.”
“Those are my favorite.”
“I know.” She passes the box over to me and then grabs one of the cups, offering me that, as well. “And coffee. Black.”
“You should yell at me more often. I get good food out of it.”
“It’s not funny.” She sounds miserable, and I want to pull her to me and hold her close. Reassure her.
But I don’t know if that would be welcome.
I stand with the treats in my hands and motion for her to follow me. “Come on inside. I can’t eat these all by myself.”
“Weren’t you headed out somewhere?”
“Yeah, to find you. Come inside, Maggie.”
She stands, and with her coffee clutched in her hands, walks inside behind me.
“It’s damn cold out there,” she says with a shiver.
“How long were you sitting on my stoop?”
“Only about a half hour or so. I didn’t want to wake you up or anything.”
I turn and stare at her. “A half hour? For Christ’s sake, Maggie, you’ll catch a cold.”
“That’s an old wives’ tale,” she says and then promptly sneezes. Her eyes widen, and she points at me. “That was a coincidence.”
I laugh, open the pink box, and eat one of the crullers in two bites, then reach for another. “They’re still warm.”
“You’re so classy,” she says with an eye roll as I shove another into my mouth. Suddenly, I know that last night’s storm has passed. “Why were you coming to see me?”
I wash the donut down with a sip of coffee and lean on the counter as Maggie sits on a stool at the kitchen island and nibbles on a donut. I like seeing her in my place. I just like having her nearby, period.
“I was coming to talk about last night.”
She sighs. “I was afraid of that. Can we forget it ever happened? Because I know I was acting foolish and rash. And you’re allowed to date anyone you like—it’s not really any of my business.”
I narrow my eyes and cross my arms over my chest so I don’t just yank her against me and kiss the hell out of her.
“Did you not hear me last night when I told you that the woman was a freaking client ?”
“I heard you.”
“But you didn’t believe me.”
She shrugs a shoulder again. “I have no reason not to believe you.”
“Jesus, you’re the most frustrating woman on the damn planet.”
“Well, I apologized, so I’ll just leave now if I’m that bleeding frustrating.”
“You’ll sit your ass on that stool, Mary Margaret.”
Her eyes widen at my tone, and I swear under my breath. “You’d test the patience of a saint.”
“And you’re no saint,” she says. “I guess I forget that sometimes. Because you’re always so calm and collected. You never get worked up.”
“I do, too. Especially when it comes to you.”
“I’m not sure if that’s a compliment.”
“Me, either.”
Her lips twitch into the first signs of a smile. “I really am sorry that I overreacted yesterday. It was silly.”
“Your feelings were hurt.” I sip my coffee and watch as a frown creases her brow as if she doesn’t want to admit that her feelings were, in fact, bruised last night. “And I need to apologize for that. I didn’t mean to hurt you, Mags.”
She opens and closes her mouth and then settles on that frown again. “It was silly to get worked up.”
“I wanted to break that asshole’s arm.”
Her head whips up in surprise. “Whose?”
“The jerk that you were out with. He looked smarmy, and I only saw him from behind.”
She laughs and nods in agreement, biting her donut. “Yeah, he was a piece of work. He thinks I should have a better career plan than just working at the pub for the rest of my life. And he was sorely disappointed that I don’t own the place.”
“Maybe I’ll hunt him down anyway. Punch out some teeth.”
She giggles, and my gut clenches. God, I love her laugh.
“I basically told him to go fuck himself.”
“Good girl.”
She swallows hard and frowns down at her coffee cup.
“You said something last night that’s stuck with me,” she says. “That you’ve tried to have more with me, but I’ve made it clear that we’re only friends.”
I just lift a brow and wait for her to continue.
“It’s not because I don’t like you or find you attractive. I mean, that should be pretty obvious.”
“Nothing is obvious with you, Mary Margaret.”
“I threw myself at you, Cameron.”
“Yeah, almost two years ago. And you’ve barely tolerated me since.”
“I—” She stops and folds her lips in, frowning. “It messed me up when you left.”
“I didn’t have a choice,” I begin and then stop when her green eyes flash. “Okay. I’m sorry.”
“You’re a sexy, intelligent, and fun guy, Cameron, but you don’t stay. You’re in and out constantly, and I was married to that before. It fucked me up, and that’s just not what I want in a relationship.”
“I bought this house,” I say quietly and glance around the white kitchen. “I quit my job.”
Her mouth drops open in surprise.
“Your brothers didn’t tell you?”
“I knew you bought the house, but I didn’t know about your job.”
“I work from here now. I might have to travel occasionally, but it shouldn’t be more than a couple of times a year. This is my home base. My office. I have a pretty sweet setup upstairs.”
“I want to see it.”
I mentally scan the room to make sure there isn’t anything confidential out in the open that she can’t see, and then crook my finger and lead her up the stairs.
“What do you do for a living?” she asks. “Whenever I ask anyone, they just tell me that we aren’t allowed to know.”
“And you’re still not allowed to know most of it,” I confirm when I open the door to my office and gesture for her to walk in. “What I do is highly classified.”
“With the government?”
“Sometimes.”
She blows out a breath and stares at the bookshelves and the blank computer screens on my desk.
“I can’t do secrets,” she says at last. “It’s a hard limit for me, Cam.”
“A hard limit ?” I grin. “I’d like to know what your other hard limits are.”
“I’m being serious.”
“So am I. Look, I can not tell you about the inner workings of my job. I could go to jail for talking about it. I mostly work with computers and databases.”
Her eyes narrow. “You’re a computer geek?”
“Why does that surprise you?”
“Because you’re way too hot to be a geek.”
“So, you think I’m hot?”
She rolls her eyes again, but I see the flush on her cheeks. The attraction isn’t one-sided here at all.
And I’m enjoying the hell out of her. It’s the first time since that damn night two years ago that I can see some hope here.
“I can tell you that I won’t ever lie to you,” I continue, and when she turns back to me, I cup the side of her face in my hand, brushing my thumb over the apple of her cheek. “If I can’t talk about something because of my job, I’ll say so. I’m not a liar.”
“This is probably a mistake,” she whispers, her eyes on my lips.
“Does it feel like a mistake?”
She bites her lip, shaking her head. “No, and that’s the most frustrating part of all. I was so mad at you. So damn mad. But I just can’t seem to stop thinking about you.”
I kiss her forehead and breathe her in. “Let’s just start slow. Since you’re hell-bent on dating, why don’t we go on a date?”
She leans back and snorts. “Right. You want to take me on a date?”
“Why is that so hard to believe?”
“I don’t know. You’re… you. You’re practically family. And you want to date ?”
“If you have a hard time wrapping your pretty head around the idea of dating me, how can you even consider getting naked with me?”
“Because—” She stops, then blinks. “I don’t know. I guess I hadn’t thought about it.”
“Look, as sexy as you are, and as much as I want you, I’m not interested in just sex with you, Mags.”
“What are you interested in?”
I lean in, kissing her cheek. “More.”
“What does that mean?”
“You have a lot of questions, don’t you?”
“I always do. Drives everyone bonkers.”
I chuckle and brush my hand down her soft hair. “Let’s just see where this takes us for now. Go out, hang out, and let it evolve organically.”
“Huh.” She nods slowly. “Okay, I guess. I probably have my defenses up, and I don’t mean to. That means I’ll probably screw it all up.”
I kiss her just to get her to stop talking. Soft, chaste, but enough to make her brain quiet, even if it’s just for a minute.
“Don’t overthink it,” I suggest when I pull back. “Everything’s going to be okay.”
“Right. Unless I do screw it up, and then it’s just weird between us at family gatherings and stuff.”
“You just can’t help it, can you?”
“Nope.”
“Well, we’ve survived the weirdness between us so far.”
She wrinkles her nose. “That’s not encouraging.”
“Don’t sweat it.” I drape my arm around her shoulders. “It’s going to be great. When’s your next night off?”
“Thursday.”
“I’ll pick you up at five. We’ll be going into Seattle.”
“For dinner?”
“To start.”
“Do I need to dress fancy?”
“Nope.”
She nods, and I keep her hand in mine as we walk down the steps.
“Can I take a donut with me?”
“I guess.”
“Dude, I brought you a dozen. ”
“Exactly, so it’s a sacrifice to give up one of them. But I’ll do it. For you. And don’t tell your brother that I have them because he’ll come and steal them.”
“Kane’s never stolen donuts in his life.”
“Oh, he has.”
She laughs and shakes her head. “Fine, your secret is safe with me. I have to go get some stuff done before I head into the pub to help with inventory in a couple of hours.”
“Have a good day.” I tug her in so I can hug her close. God, I’ll never get used to feeling her against me.
She’s fucking amazing.
“You have a good day, too. Doing whatever it is you do up there. Espionage or something, right?”
I laugh and open the door for her. “Or something.”
I’m going to do this right.
I called a meeting with Maggie’s siblings and asked them to meet me at Kane’s place. It’s where we always go when we need to get something off our chests.
I love these people. I couldn’t love them more if they were mine by blood. They’re the only family I have.
And I’m not going to fuck this up.
“I’m here,” Maeve announces as she hurries back to Kane’s sunroom, where the rest of us just gathered. “Sorry, I just left a showing.”
“We just sat down,” Kane assures her, then turns to me. “What’s up, man?”
I take a deep breath and wipe the palms of my hands on my jeans. “I want to date your sister.”
Everyone’s quiet for a moment, and then they glance at each other.
“That’s it?” Shawn asks.
“Yeah. That’s what I came here to talk about.”
“Given that she’s not here, I assume you haven’t talked with her about it,” Keegan says.
“I spoke with her this morning. I’m taking her out on Thursday. But, damn it, you’re my family. I don’t want to do something you hate.”
“If we told you that we didn’t want you to do this, would you call it off?” Kane asks.
“Yes. I wouldn’t like it, but I would.”
Maeve grins and rubs her little, round belly. “It’s about damn time, Cam.”
“I thought you’d be sixty and still pining away for her,” Keegan agrees.
“Wait, you’re okay with this?”
“You’re both adults,” Kane says. “And you’re the best mate I’ve ever had. If it’s my sister that you want, who are we to say no? As long as you treat her the way she should be treated, we’ve no problem with it, Cam.”
“There’s been something brewing between you two for a long while,” Shawn adds. “We’ve all seen it, watched it. She snaps at you more than she smiles at you, and that’s telling.”
“How romantic,” I mutter and pull my hand down my face. “Damn you all. I was nervous.”
“You should be,” Keegan replies. “Because if you fuck this up, we’ll kill you and make it look like an accident.”
They all smile at me.
“She was hurt once before,” I reply slowly, measuring my words. “Because she was with a man who didn’t love her. Who didn’t appreciate her and didn’t give a shit about anything but himself. That’s not who I am.”
“It isn’t, no,” Kane says.
“I don’t know where it will go, to be honest with you. But, damn it, I want to try. I want to spend time with her, indulge her, spoil her a bit. I know that she has all of you, but she deserves to know what it feels like to be with someone who’s crazy about her.”
“You’re right,” Maeve says and stands to wrap her arms around me, kissing my cheek. “She does. And I’m glad that you finally realized that you’re the man to do it.”
“I’ve known for a while, but it wasn’t the right time. It is now. Damn it, I don’t want to stay away from her anymore.”
“Then don’t,” Kane says simply and claps his hand on my shoulder. “She’s not fragile. She’s a good woman, and it’s a lucky man you are if she’s decided to give you her attention.”
“She brought me donuts this morning.”
My friend’s brows shoot up in surprise. “And you didn’t save me any, did you, you selfish bastard?”
“Hell, no. Your girl bakes, get your own donuts.”
“I see how this is going to be,” Kane says, but there’s laughter in his eyes. “It’s happy I am that you’re after my sister. She’s a good lass, and you both deserve happiness.”
“I’m not marrying her.”
They all raise their eyebrows, and I can’t help but laugh.
“Not yet, at least. She’s not ready for that.”
“Are you?” Shawn asks.
“I’d marry her tomorrow. But she’s still wary. We’re going to take it slow.”
“That’s the right way to go,” Maeve says and then looks around when everyone laughs. “What?”
“You didn’t take your time with Hunter,” Kane says.
“None of you took it slow,” I remind them, but then look at Shawn. “Well, you might have been a little slow on the uptake, now that I think about it.”
“I got there in the end,” he says with a shrug. “It’ll go at the pace that works for the both of you.”
“If it’s our blessing you were looking for, I’d say you have it,” Keegan says.
“Yeah, I guess that’s what I wanted. Thanks.”
“Where are you taking her on Thursday?” Maeve wants to know.
“Seattle. We’re getting off this island for a few hours to be anonymous and have a good time.”
“Good for you,” Kane says. “You know, you didn’t have to come to us about this. We wouldn’t have said no.”
“Yeah, I did. Like I said, you’re my family, and Maggie’s been through it. I needed to make sure that you’re okay with me seeing her. Because I won’t get started with her and then give her up. I know I can’t do that.”
“We’ve watched you change your life around this past year,” Shawn says. “And we all suspected it was for Maggie. Love is written all over your face when you look at her.”
“It’s really sappy,” Keegan adds, giving me a hard time. “So go after the girl already.”