by Holly Jacobs
Colm burst into the living room. “Pajamas are on Colm, that’s who.”
“I think there’s a chance he’s missed the point,” Liam whispered, even though he was laughing as hard as Colm was.
“The point is having fun, so I think he’s got it right,” Anna whispered back.
“Hey, Anna, wanna play a game of Go Fish?” Colm asked.
“Maybe another time, Colm. Your brother’s probably tired. I bet he wants some peace and quiet.”
“Nah, Liam’ll play, right, Liam?” Very seriously, he turned to Anna. “He’s like a superhero and can do anythin’.”
What could he say to that look of utter confidence that Colm shot him. “Sure, Colm. That is, if Anna hasn’t had enough of us yet.”
She gave him a look he couldn’t quite read. She slowly answered, “No. I’m not tired of the two of you yet.”
“Not never,” Colm said. “Anna, she likes me. ’Course, I don’t know if she likes you,” he teased.
“I like both Franklin brothers,” she said diplomatically.
“Nah, she likes me more, ’cause you’re a grump,” Colm teased. “Anna likes me the best.”
Liam knew Colm wanted him to argue about who Anna liked most as another kind of game, but he didn’t because that urge to kiss her hadn’t completely disappeared, despite his attempts at quashing it.
They all sat down to play Go Fish, and as he watched Colm, he realized that his brother had never been this happy. Sure, he’d been content. Cared for. Cosseted. But since Anna had come into their lives, Colm had really been growing by experiencing new things. He’d been happy in a way he’d never been before.
“Go fish,” Colm screamed.
“Inside voice, Colm,” Anna said softly.
“Sure, Anna. I forgot. But you know it’s okay to forget,” he instructed Liam. “Anna says, that’s why we got friends to remind us. And after a while we won’t forget no more. Inside voice inside. Yep, one day soon I’ll remember that on my own.”
“Anna’s very smart,” Liam assured his brother.
“Oh, yeah she is,” Colm agreed enthusiastically. “But I bet ya don’t know this one, Anna. Knock, knock.”
She grinned before Colm could arrive at his punch line.
“Who’s there?”
“Inside voice.”
“Inside voice, who?”
“Inside voice ’cause screamin’ gives Anna a headache.”
They both burst into laughter. And despite the fact he knew Colm’s knock-knocks didn’t quite fit the true essence of the game, Liam laughed as well because, like Colm, he’d been content before, going through the motions at work, at home. But right now, he was more than content. He, too, was happy. Bone-deep happy.
When they finally finished their game, Liam looked at the clock. “Bedtime, bud.”
Colm threw himself at Anna and hugged her. “’Night, Anna.”
Colm was a hugger. He always had been. His mother used to scold him for hugging strangers. She told him that they didn’t like it. Over the years, Colm had eased off on hugging everyone. But Anna never seemed annoyed by Colm’s frequent displays of affection. She simply hugged him back. “’Night, Colm.”
Colm turned to Liam and hugged him as well. “I liked my sleepover with Anna, but I’m glad you’re home.”
“Me, too,” Liam reassured him.
Colm got to the doorway and turned. “See ya tomorrow, Anna?”
“Sure thing.”
“What’re we doing tomorrow?”
“It’s a surprise.”
“I like surprises.” He started up the stairs again, then returned and ran full-steam to Liam and hugged him, then sprinted to Anna and hugged her again, too. “’Night.” This time they heard him run up the stairs. Then his bedroom door slammed.
Anna gathered up her things. “And now I really need to be going. I’m glad your trip and meeting were a success, Liam. Congrats on the new account.”
He followed her into the foyer. “Thank you for staying with Colm. I didn’t worry at all. It made concentrating on the business at hand so much easier.”
“That’s good.”
She opened the door, and before she could step onto the porch, Liam asked, “Would you have dinner with me?”
The question came out of the blue just as his previous urge to kiss her had. He felt as surprised as Anna looked as she shut the door again and paused before slowly answering, “Dinner with you…and Colm?”
“No, that’s not what I’m asking. Not with Colm. Just you and me. Somewhere other than here, eating something Colm didn’t cook.”
“To talk about Colm’s progress.” It was a statement, not a question. Anna sounded as if she’d figured it all out.
And maybe Liam should agree. A meal to talk about Colm. But instead, he said, “No. A date. No talk of Colm allowed.”
For the first time since they’d met, Anna Chapel seemed a little less than sure of herself. “A date?”
“Yes, Anna. Unless you’re married or have a boyfriend I don’t know about. A date. I assume you’ve been on dates? I’ll come pick you up and take you somewhere nice. We’ll sit and talk. Get to know each other outside our relationship through Colm.”
She was silent for a minute, as if mulling his suggestion over. “Oh.”
He should let her off the hook and say, never mind, but he pressed on. “Is that a yes, or a no?”
“You’re sure you want to have dinner with me? I sort of thought I aggravated you.”
“You…Well, you push Colm and push me out of this comfortable little rhythm we’ve made. Sometimes that’s hard for me. I’m responsible for him, and I take that seriously. Making sure Colm’s okay, that’s always been my job. So, when you push, I worry and I sometimes balk a bit, but even then I don’t find you aggravating. Pushy maybe,” he teased. “And I’m not asking for a long-term commitment, Anna. It’s only one dinner. You and me.”
Again she was silent, and finally she nodded. “Sure. Dinner it is.”
“Let me check with Aunt Betty and see if she can stay late next Friday. If that works for you?”
She glanced at her wrist, as if to check a watch that wasn’t there. “Next Friday. I think I’m free.”
“Okay then.”
She reached for the doorknob, then stopped and faced him. “Why?”
“Why what?”
“Why would you want to date me? You think I’m pushy and I still suspect that I aggravate you.”
“Yes. But you also intrigue me. Mainly, I’d like a date because it’s been all I can do not to kiss you tonight.”
“Oh.”
She turned around, then spun back toward him, stood on tiptoe and kissed him firmly on the lips. Quick, perfunctory. Almost chaste.
It was that almost that got him.
Her lips had parted ever so slightly and softened enough to keep the kiss from total chasteness.
Rather than satisfying his need to kiss her, it made Liam want her more.
So, as she sank back onto the flats of her feet, he leaned down and kissed her with the hunger he’d been feeling all night. It was nowhere near chaste. It was carnal.
It was the kind of kiss that normally came much later in a relationship. One that rarely happened before a first date.
Yet, rather than push him away, Anna held on to him, deepening the kiss.
When they parted, she turned one last time and not only opened the door, but hurried out onto the porch. “A date. Yes. I guess that makes sense,” she murmured, all but sprinting to her car.
THERE WAS ONLY one word to describe Anna’s mood the following Wednesday. Gleeful.
She’d felt that way when Liam had asked her out.
She’d felt that way when she’d kissed him.
She’d felt that way when he’d kissed her back.
And she’d pretty much felt that way every day since.
She’d made sure that Colm’s appointment was the last one each day, which meant when Liam asked her t
o stay she didn’t have any conflicting appointments. And he had asked her to stay on the days she worked with Colm. Every time.
Which is why she was with both of the Franklin brothers at the park, sitting next to Liam on a bench, watching Colm on the swing.
“…and then I…” The rest of Liam’s sentence was computer gobbledygook. Anna recognized some words like router and modem, but she wasn’t sure exactly what a ping was, other than half of a ping-pong table. It didn’t matter. She just liked listening to Liam’s enthusiastic description of his day.
He laughed. “I did it again, didn’t I?”
Anna nodded. “It’s okay. I like listening to you.”
“Liam, Anna, watch!” Colm cried as he pumped the swing a little higher.
“We’re watching,” Liam called back. He kept his eyes on his brother as he picked their conversation back up. “I guess I’m not used to having someone to share my day with. I’m going to have to make my conversations less geek-like.”
“Or you can teach me the terminology. For instance, what’s a ping?”
He looked at her. “Do you mean it?”
“What?”
“You want to learn about computers?”
Anna chuckled. “Well, no. I’ve never had any driving need to know anything more about computers than how to turn one on, but I do want to know more about you, and you work with them, so I need to know enough to follow a conversation.”
“Most of the women I’ve dated haven’t even wanted to know that much,” he admitted.
The way he worded it made it sound as if there were tons of women in his past. “Most women?”
“Anna, I have dated. I’ll confess, since my parents—since I moved back into the house to take care of Colm, I haven’t dated as much, and no one seriously in a long time.”
Anna had to admit, this was more interesting than computers. “Sorry. Of course you date. It’s just you haven’t been on one since I started working with Colm.”
“Wrong. I do have a date. Day after tomorrow, as a matter of fact.” He smiled, and Anna was struck by how very blue his eyes were. A dark blue that almost matched the evening sky.
She laughed. “Yes, you do have a date on Friday. As it happens, so do I.”
“Now, isn’t that a coincidence?”
“Yes, it’s amazing how life sometimes works out like that.”
“So, tell me about this guy you’re dating?”
“Oh, he’s smart. Knows computers. You two would definitely be able to talk. And…”
“Wow, you’re hesitating. I don’t know if smart is enough of a recommendation.”
Anna knew he was still teasing, but she found herself getting more serious. “No, there’s so much more to him. He’s caring. You should see how he interacts with his brother. He’s all heart.” It was true. She could list a lot of qualities about Liam that appealed to her, but the way he cared for Colm was the biggest factor. Wanting to lighten things up, she added in a conspiratorial whisper. “And he’s kind of cute.”
“Just kind of?” Liam joked.
“Well, maybe more than kind of, but I’m sure I won’t mention it to him. I wouldn’t want to give him a swollen ego.”
She thought he’d keep up their silly banter, but instead, he grew more serious. “And how about you? You haven’t mentioned dating anyone.”
“I date occasionally, but I’ve never found anyone that I wanted to go out with more than a few times.”
“So…” Liam said.
Anna wasn’t sure what to say now. She felt tongue-tied. Thankfully, Colm interrupted what could be a very long pause.
“Hey, you guys! Look at me. I can almost touch the sky with my shoes.”
They both directed their attention to Colm trying to touch the sky, and Liam put his arm over her shoulder.
It felt very right there.
“BREATHE, ANNA,” Ceelie commanded the following Friday afternoon. They’d attended a seminar and had closed the office for the day. They got to Anna’s in time for Ceelie to play fashion consultant before picking up her kids at school. Anna was pulling a variety of outfits from her closet. “Seriously, it’s simply a dinner.”
“I know,” Anna replied. But knowing it, and being calm and zen about it were two very different things. “Being this nervous about a date is ridiculous.”
Ceelie shook her head as Anna held up an earth-colored sheath. “It looks like mud. And yes, it is ridiculous. It’s not as if you’ve never gone on a first date before.”
“You and I both know I’ve gone on far too many first dates,” she grumbled. “And not nearly as many second ones.”
“You’re discriminating. If a man doesn’t interest you, you admit it and move on,” Ceelie said.
“My mother says that I’m too picky. Of course, my mother firmly believes if he’s breathing and male, he has potential.” She immediately felt embarrassed. “Sorry. That wasn’t kind.”
Ceelie shot her a sympathetic look. “Being truthful isn’t necessarily unkind, Anna.”
“No. But certain truths will never change, so why rail against them? My mom is what she is. And she’s right in this case. I am picky. I’d rather be alone than spending time dating for the sake of dating. I want someone who will challenge me, who will support me. I want someone who’s…” She hesitated. “Never mind my catalog of dating necessities.”
“Do you think Liam could be that someone?” Ceelie asked.
“No idea. That’s what a first date is all about.” She didn’t want to admit that she wasn’t sure Liam could ever meet those ideals. But one aspect of a date she hadn’t put on her list was she wanted someone she had chemistry with. And though she hadn’t noticed it at first, their kiss was combustible, which spoke to more than a smattering of something between them.
They hadn’t kissed the whole week, but sitting on a park bench watching Colm on a swing, Liam’s arm around her…. Well, it might not have been combustible, but it was definitely sweet.
It was such a little thing, but it made for a moment she’d always remember. Park bench, and all.
She held out her standard first-date dress.
“Ugh. Don’t wear that black number. I’ve always thought you looked like you should be off to a funeral home when you’ve got that on. Go with some color. The red?”
Anna had no idea why she’d bought that particular dress. It was form-fitting and always left her feeling half-naked. “No. I’d be uncomfortable. Too flashy.”
Ceelie rifled through the closet a moment while Anna watched.
“How about this?” Ceelie had pulled out an ice-blue dress.
“You don’t think it’s a little much?” It wasn’t as risqué as the red number, but it wasn’t what she thought of as a first-date dress. It had spaghetti straps and a tight bodice that dropped at the waist into a very flowy sort of dress. It was flirty and frivolous. “Really?”
She held it up to herself and checked her reflection in the mirror.
“I think it’s just right. Perfect, even.” Ceelie glanced at her watch. “I’d better run or else I’ll be late. I was late once picking the kids up and I’ve never heard the end of it. They had to wait five whole minutes.” Ceelie mimicked her daughter Natalie’s dramatic flair perfectly.
“Hurry, then,” Anna agreed. “I don’t want to be the cause of another trauma like that.”
“Have fun tonight, Anna. This doesn’t have to be serious. And frankly, it sounds like Liam could use a night off as much as you could.”
Anna smiled at Ceelie. “Tick-tock.”
“I’m gone.” Ceelie rushed from the room.
Anna fingered the material of the soft blue dress. Was it a little much?
Maybe. But this once, she wanted something a little much. She glanced at her watch. Three hours until the date. She had plenty of time to decide.
As if on cue, the phone rang. Anna picked it up.
“Dear, this is your mother,” her mother announced, as if Anna might not recognize
her mom’s voice. Although it had been a few weeks since her mother had called, Anna knew her mother’s modus operandi and guessed another boyfriend had dumped her.
Her mother was generally the dumpee, not the dumper. Even in the most hopeless of relationships, Donna Chapel held out hope that it would last. Right up until the minute she was dumped.
Anna fingered the ice-blue dress, before hanging it up in the closet. “Hi, Mom.”
“Are you going to ask me how things are?”
Anna obliged. “How are things, Mom?”
“Horrible. I’ll be at your door in a minute and I’ll tell you all about it.”
“Mom, I—” But Anna was talking to a dial tone.
Great. Just great. Moments like this, her mother needed a lot of time and attention. After which, she’d brush Anna off and be searching for the next potential love of her life.
Donna Chapel had optimism down to a science.
The doorbell rang.
Anna opened the door. “I was in my car out front when I called,” her mother said by way of a greeting as she brushed by her.
People said they looked alike. Maybe they did. They were of the same height, and Anna didn’t need a mirror to recognize the similarities in their features. The most striking difference was her mother’s flame-red hair. But Anna knew without the dye her mom’s hair would be the same brown shade as her own.
Still there was a major difference. Her mother had this…Well, aura. It drew men like flies. Anna had never had that. Truth be told, she’d never tried to cultivate it. She loved her mom, but she never wanted to live a life like hers. Her mom rode an emotional rollercoaster. Up one day, down the next. Everything depended on the status of her current relationship. Anna preferred a quieter, steadier life.
“I don’t have long, Mom,” she said gently. “I’ve got a date tonight.”
Her mother smiled through her tears. “I’m glad, darling. I don’t think I’m ever going to date again. Men are fickle creatures. One minute they love you and adore you, the next, they’re gone.”
Anna led her mother into the living room and they both sat down on the couch. “Now, what happened to Herbert, Mom?”
“No, not Herbert, Moose.”
“Moose?” Anna wasn’t sure she’d heard about Moose.
