Through Your Eyes

Chapter 2-1

Chapter Two

Tommy walked into McGinty’s with the rest of the team. Inside, they spread out, the guys who had women waiting for them taking to the tables while the single guys bellied up to the bar. He stood next to Kai at the bar and looked around to see if he wanted to find company for the night.

Then he did a double-take as his sister came from the back room. “What are you doing here?”

Before answering, Norah threw her arms around Kai and kissed him.

Kai arched an eyebrow.

Norah turned in his arms to face Tommy. “I’m here with Maggie and Moira and their cousin. Jimmy dropped us off and I told him you’d give us a ride home.”

“Do I look like a chauffeur?” he asked before all of her words sank in. Wait. Did she say Maggie’s cousin?

“Well, it doesn’t matter. Kai can drive us.”

“That doesn’t make any sense. I’ll take you home. Why would he drive to our house when I’m going to the same place?”

Norah watched him suspiciously.

He masked his face because the last thing he needed was his little sister giving him grief over liking a woman who had a boyfriend.

Kai kissed her neck. “You could come home with me.”

She sighed in his arms and tilted her head to give Kai better access. “I can’t. I have early class tomorrow.”

Then she slipped out of his embrace. “Plus, I’m here for girls’ night.” She planted another kiss on his lips. “See you later.”

Tommy ordered a beer and then followed his sister.

“Where are you going?” Kai asked.

With a smile, Tommy said, “To crash girls’ night, of course.”

Kai stayed on his stool, surprising Tommy. He figured Kai would be stuck to Norah, keeping other men away.

Tommy strode up to the table while the women were laughing loudly. Except Cupcake. Hers was a quiet chuckle, almost like she wasn’t really in on the joke, but her eyes were bright with amusement.

“Hi,” he said as he set his beer on the table. “Can I join you, or do I need a v****a to sit here?”

Moira snorted and eyed Deirdre. “What do you think? Do we need a ‘no p*****s allowed’ sign?”

Deirdre’s entire face grew pink.

Tommy felt like he’d totally stomped in s**t. He hadn’t considered that one of the O’Learys might be offended by his joke.

“Hoo! If you could see your face, Tommy,” Moira howled. “This is too much fun.”

Norah smiled. “I think it’s time to start discussing orgasms.”

Tommy’s mouth dropped open. If any other woman had made the comment, he would’ve been leaning in to hear every detail. But not from his sister.

He stepped closer to Cupcake. “Wanna dance?”

Her eyes widened and she nodded.

He let her lead the way to the space in front of the jukebox. Behind them, the girls burst into another peal of laughter.

It wasn’t much of a dance floor, but people routinely used the space to move to the music. A slower song played and Tommy hesitated to touch her.

She stepped closer, inviting him to put his hand on her waist, and he held his other one up to take hers. A little more formal than he was used to for dancing, especially at a bar, but holy crap. Cupcake was in his arms.

“Thank you for that,” she said quietly.

“For what?”

“Giving me an escape.”

He realized that the girls’ conversation had made her as uncomfortable as it had him. “As much as I’d like to take the credit for being your hero, asking you to dance was a selfish move.”

She looked up at him with her head tilted like she expected him to explain.

“I love my sister, but I never want to hear about her s*x life, much less about the orgasms she experiences with my boss.”

Cupcake choked out a giggle and bit her lip.

“It’s okay. You can laugh.”

She did her quiet chuckle thing and shook her head a little, her hair slipping over her cheek.

“So why did you need a rescue?”

Her chest rose and fell with a sigh. Tommy tried to be a gentleman and not notice or step closer to feel her brush against him. He really did.

“I’m not that forward. Maybe it’s because I don’t have any sisters. I don’t tend to get that personal with anyone.”

“Nothing wrong with being reserved.” He tugged her close so their bodies pressed together slightly. He whispered, “As long as you know when to let go of your reservations.”

“I don’t know that I do.”

She said it so quietly, he wasn’t sure if he was meant to hear, but he did. He’d love to watch her let loose. Then again, watching any woman leave her inhibitions behind was a hell of a turn-on.

He said nothing. They finished their dance and he walked her back to the table. “Can I get you another drink?”

“Pint of Guinness would be lovely.”

Tommy turned to the rest of the women. “Another round?”

“I’ll help you carry the drinks,” Norah said.

He walked to the bar with his sister. “You like Deirdre,” she said, drawing the words out teasingly like a second-grader.

He looked at Norah.

“Admit it. Moira already spilled the beans that you were crushing on her last fall. Now’s your chance to make a move.”

“She has a boyfriend.”

“Maybe. But he’s in Ireland. And based on the conversation we had tonight, he might be on his way out.”

Tommy’s spirits lifted at the news. “What makes you say that?”

“Deirdre said they’ve hit a rough patch.”

“A rough patch doesn’t mean she’s getting rid of him.”

“But it’s a possibility. She danced with you.” Norah placed their order with the bartender. “Do you think I would dance with someone else unless Kai was on his way out?”

Tommy crossed his arms. “I recall you dancing with a guy right in this bar.”

“That was before we started dating and I did it to make Kai jealous.” She made a point of looking around. “I don’t see this Rory guy anywhere, so I don’t think she’s trying to make him jealous.”

“She danced with me because you guys were embarrassing her.”

“A little girl talk and she was embarrassed? We need to get her out more.”

The bartender set their drinks down, and Tommy and Norah grabbed them all. On the way back to the table, she nudged Tommy’s elbow. “Be nice to her. I think she needs some friends.”

“I am being nice.”

Norah pinned him with a look. “Yeah, you’re being nice. I mean be really nice—not nice-to-get-in-her-pants nice. She’s sweet.”

“Yeah, she is.”

For the next couple of hours, he stayed at the table with the four beautiful women. They laughed and joked, and Deirdre even danced with him a couple more times. He didn’t want to admit how much he enjoyed having her in his arms, even though she kept a respectable distance every time.

Before he knew it, it was time to head home. He’d stopped drinking after his second beer since he had been roped into being the designated driver. Normally, he’d b***h at Norah over that, but since it ended with Deirdre in his car at the end of the night, he’d let his sister’s assumptions go.

Once in his car, Moira gave him directions to her house, where Maggie would spend the night. It was in his neighborhood, which was convenient. Too bad Norah hadn’t decided to go home with Kai. That would’ve left him alone with Deirdre.

She sat directly behind him, so he couldn’t see her other than occasional small glimpses in the rearview mirror. She seemed relaxed, but nowhere near as lubricated as the rest of the women in the car. The girls continued with whatever silly conversation caused another round of giggling, and Tommy focused on getting them all home safely. He dropped off Moira and Maggie, which left Norah and Deirdre in the backseat.

“Have a good night?” he asked no one in particular.

Norah elbowed Deirdre.

“It was fun,” she responded, not very enthusiastically.

He doubted she knew what fun was.

“Next time, maybe we’ll head to a club. That’s where the real dancing is.”

Deirdre nodded, but it wasn’t really agreement. Tommy couldn’t picture her hanging out in the thumping dance clubs his sister liked to go to.

As soon as he pulled up to the house, his car barely in park, Norah jumped out of the backseat.

“You should walk Deirdre home,” she yelled over her shoulder as she ran up the stairs. At the front door, she waved. “See ya, Deirdre.”

Then she disappeared inside the house. Deirdre closed the car door behind her and said, “I can manage to cross the street. Thank you for the lift home.”

Tommy darted a glance over his shoulder, saw that Norah was gone, and shoved his hands in his pockets. “It’s fine. It’ll only take a minute.”

He followed Deirdre up the stairs to the O’Learys’ front door. As she stuck her key in the lock, he asked, “Would you like to go to the St. Paddy’s Day parade with me?”

She spun around quickly, eyes wide. “No, thank you. I don’t much like crowds. Besides, I have to work at O’Leary’s Pub that night.”

Tommy barked out a laugh. “You don’t like crowds, but you’re going to work at O’Leary’s—Irish Pub—on St. Patrick’s Day.”

Her lips quirked. “I think it’s expected that all members of the family chip in. Thank you for tonight.”

She turned back to the door and twisted the knob. “You could stop by on St. Patrick’s Day if you like.”

Then she scurried through the door without waiting for him to respond. Hell yeah, he’d like to stop by.

Deirdre spent the better part of the week stressing about asking Tommy O’Malley to stop by the pub while she worked. She didn’t know what had gotten into her. He was being so kind, and she liked that about him. But now, as she dressed for work at the pub, her stomach knotted.

She and Rory had Skyped earlier in the week and she’d tried to get him to talk—truly talk—about whatever was bothering him, but he kept telling jokes and asking about Chicago. He made her laugh enough that she almost forgot the unease she’d felt before her night out with her cousins.

And the thought of seeing Tommy had her all twisted up again, this time with guilt. Rory wanted her to enjoy her time in the States, but it wasn’t to be a free-for-all dating marathon.

She laughed at herself in the mirror. Dating marathon. That was a joke. She’d been with Rory so long she didn’t even remember what a date felt like.

“Get a move on, Deirdre,” Maggie called from the bottom of the stairs.

It was almost like being at home. That was, if her brother Donal had a feminine voice.

She tucked in the O’Leary’s Pub T-shirt Maggie had dropped off for her and slipped into her trainers. She practiced her smile in the mirror one last time and then bounded down the steps. “Ready.”

Maggie drove to the pub, explaining how they worked. It sounded like mayhem, but Maggie spoke with a broad smile on her face.

“And there’s a whole crew of bouncers on staff to make the customers behave. Jimmy and Shane—both Chicago policemen—will keep an eye on everything.”

“You mean they’ll be keeping watch over you and Moira.”

“Well, that too, but they’re the kind of guys who’ll watch all of us.” She turned into a parking lot. “Don’t let the guys get pushy or rude. Smile and they’ll tip well. Speak to them and they’ll fall at your feet.”

“You’re exaggerating.”

They stepped from the car. “Watch and see. The damn accent will rake in the tips tonight.”

Deirdre smiled. A healthy tip jar would go a long way toward purchasing some new bakeware. She’d forgotten how much she disliked Aunt Eileen’s pans.

Inside the bar, Maggie gave her a quick tour and instructed her to yell for one of her cousins if she got stuck on the computer for orders. Deirdre felt confident that she could handle it. The job couldn’t be all that different from the one she did every day at home.

What was different was the crowd she encountered when she entered the main part of the bar. Wall-to-wall people. Even on their busiest night, she’d never seen a crowd such as this.