Too Good to Be True(97)

I paused. “Well. Thank you.”

He put his skinny arms around me and gave me a stiff hug. After a second, I patted his shoulder. Then, quite out of the blue, Andrew turned his head and kissed me.

It wasn’t a romantic kiss…not quite. Too puckery. But neither was it a brother-in-law peck on the cheek. In typical Andrew fashion, he hadn’t been able to decide. Idiot.

I jerked back. “Andrew, are you out of your mind?”

“What?” he said, his quirky eyebrows raised.

“Well, call me crazy, but I don’t think you should ever do that again, okay? Ever.”

“Shit. Sorry,” he said, grimacing. “I just—I’m sorry. Force of habit. I don’t know. I just…forget it. I’m really sorry.”

I just wanted him gone. “Bye, Andrew.”

“Good night, Grace.” Then he turned and walked down the steps to his car. He opened the door, got in, started the car and waved, then backed down the driveway.

“Good riddance,” I muttered. I turned to go into the house, then started in fright.

Callahan O’ Shea was standing at the border of our yards, looking at me with an expression that made me surprised I hadn’t burst into flames.

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

“CALLAHAN!” I STAMMERED. “Hey! You surprised me.”

“What the hell was that?” he growled.

I waved my hand dismissively. “That was nothing.” He just doesn’t think you’re good enough for me, that’s all.

“Want to come in?”

“Grace,” he bit out. “It didn’t look like nothing. It looked like your sister’s fiancé just kissed you. The guy you were going to marry!”

“So I’ve got a lot of ’splainin’ to do?” I said. He narrowed his eyes. Aw! He was jealous! Funny how pleasing that can be, isn’t it? Unfortunately, Callahan didn’t seem to share my amusement. “Well, don’t just stand there brooding, Mr. O’ Shea. Come in. You can grill me all you want.”

With a muttered curse, he came up the steps and into the house, not even glancing down as Angus launched himself through the air to attack. Instead, he took in the wineglasses on the coffee table. The scowl deepened.

“It’s not what you think,” I said.

“And what do I think?” Callahan asked tightly.

“You think…” I squashed a smile. “You think Andrew’s hitting on me.”

“That seemed obvious.”

“Wrong. Sit down, Cal. Want some wine?”

“No. Thank you.” He sat in the spot recently vacated by Andrew. “So? Why was he here? And does he always kiss you on the mouth?”

I nestled into my chair and took a sip of my wine, considering my honey. Yep. Definitely jealous. Perhaps now wasn’t the time to say I found it incredibly sexy. “Andrew hasn’t kissed me for a long, long time. Why he did tonight, who knows? He said it was force of habit.”

“That’s the stupidest thing I ever heard.”

Angus growled, his teeth firmly sunk into Cal’s work boot.

“You’re jealous, aren’t you?” I couldn’t help asking.

“Yes! I am, actually! You loved that scrawny little idiot, and he came over tonight and kissed you. How am I supposed to feel?”

“Well, for one, you should feel happy, because as you said, Andrew’s a scrawny little idiot. And you’re the opposite.”

Callahan started to say something, then stopped. “Thanks.” The corner of his mouth pulled up.

“You’re welcome,” I smiled.

“Do you still have feelings for him, Grace?” he asked carefully. “Tell me right now if you do.”

“I don’t. As you said, scrawny little idiot.”

Callahan considered me for a moment, then reached down to dislodge Angus’s teeth from his shoes. “Go see your mommy,” he said. Angus obeyed, leaping onto my lap and curling in a tight circle. Callahan sat back and looked at me, his face considerably more at ease than when he first came in. “Does it worry you? Andrew kissing someone who’s not Natalie?”

I thought on that. “No. The first time those two saw each other, they fell in love, just like that. Kablammy, like they were hit by lightning.”

“Or a field hockey stick,” Cal added.

Oh. Oh. My heart swelled. “Anyway,” I said, blushing. “Andrew came over because he was…” I paused.

“Concerned.”

“Because you’re dating someone with a record?”

“Correct.” I stroked Angus’s sweet, bony head, earning a little groan in response.

“So the man who left you for your sister has a problem with my morals.”

“Bingo.” I smiled across at my sweetie. “And I told him I thought you were pretty wonderful and quite honorable, and I may have mentioned how great you look without your clothes on.” Callahan smiled. “Plus, I told him one of the things I liked best was the fact that you hadn’t fallen for Natalie or Margaret, so I thought you might be a keeper.”

“Grace,” Cal said seriously, leaning forward, “I can’t imagine falling for Natalie or Margaret. Not after meeting you.”

My throat tightened abruptly. No one…no one…had ever compared me with my sisters and found me superior.