said, watching her expectantly.
“You’re absolutely sure you want to do that?” she asked. “There’s still time to take it back.”
He nodded. “My bet’s on the table.”
“Okay, then.” She fanned her cards out on the table. She had a full house, jacks high.
“Very nice,” Ryan complimented her.
She smiled and reached for the pot. “I thought so.”
He placed his hand on top of hers. “Just not nice enough.” His own full house had kings high.
Maggie frowned as he scooped up the money.
Ryan leaned in close and whispered in her ear, “Don’t pout. I told you luck was going to be with me.”
Matt winced. “Oh, brother. You’ve really done it now, Ryan. You’ve won and, worse, you’ve gloated about it. She’s going to be out for blood.”
Maggie gave them all a serene smile. “I am, indeed.”
Ryan thought they were joking, but to his amazement Maggie took the next four hands in a row. He regarded her with amusement. “Feeling better now?”
“Much,” she said, a satisfied gleam in her eyes.
“Why do I have the feeling this game has gotten personal?” Katie inquired. “I think I’ll just slip off to bed while I still have two cents to my name.”
“And I have to be getting home before my wife disowns me,” Matt chimed in.
John exchanged a look with his wife. “I guess we’re out of here, too.”
Within ten minutes, the entire room had been cleared. In the silence that followed, Ryan stared at Maggie.
“That was fun,” he said.
She seemed surprised. “Even though you lost?”
“Only because I lost to you. You take the game so seriously. Next time, though, I’ll know what to watch for. You won’t be so lucky.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means when you’re bluffing, you get this little nervous tic by the corner of your eye. Right about here,” he said, touching a finger lightly to her cheek. “And this corner of your mouth starts to tilt up into a smile, but you fight it.” He skimmed a caress along her bottom lip to emphasize the point.
Maggie swallowed hard. “Ryan, what are you doing?”
“Just explaining how you give yourself away. I’m surprised the others haven’t noticed. Then again, I doubt any of them are as fascinated with your face as I am.”
The pulse at the base of her neck jumped. “Ryan...” Her voice trailed off.
He leaned forward and covered her mouth with his. He’d been wanting to do that from the moment they’d started to play, had been so obsessed with the idea, in fact, that he’d lost his concentration in the third hand. That was why she’d won so many rounds. His mind hadn’t been on the cards at all.
“You taste so good,” he whispered against her lips. “And you smell like flowers.”
“Roses,” she said, sounding breathless. “My favorite perfume.”
Shaken by the emotions racing through him, he sat back, sucked in a ragged breath and raked his hand through his hair. “I need to get out of here.”
“Mom invited you to stay.”
“She wouldn’t have, if she’d known what was on my mind,” he said.
Maggie’s eyes sparkled with curiosity. “Exactly what is on your mind?”
“You,” he said, opting for total honesty. Maybe that would scare her into being wary around him. “Getting you out of those clothes so I can touch you. Making love to you for the rest of the night.”
“Oh, my,” she whispered.
He stood up. “Which is why I need to get out of here now.”
“No, don’t. Stay,” she pleaded.
“That’s a really bad idea,” he said, reaching for his coat.
He leaned down and kissed her one last time. “Good night, Maggie.”
“Good night,” she said with obvious reluctance. She stood up and walked with him to the door. “Will you call me when you get home?”
“And wake the household? I don’t think so.”
“I’ll worry if you don’t.”
He stopped and stared. She’d sounded totally sincere. “You can’t be serious,” he said, struggling with the unfamiliar sensation her words stirred in him.
“Well, of course I will. It’s late. Who knows what could happen on the road at this hour? I’ll keep the phone right beside me in the bed. I’ll pick up on the first ring. No one else will be disturbed.”
It was the first time in decades that anyone had expressed the slightest concern over his whereabouts or his safety. Ryan expected to rebel against it, but instead her plea made him feel warm deep inside. “Okay then, I’ll call,” he said eventually.
She reached up and touched his cheek. “You’re not used to anyone worrying about you, are you?”
“No.”
“Well, that’s about to change. I’m an O’Brien and we worry about everything,” she said lightly.
“Then it’s nothing personal?” he said, hiding his disappointment.
“Oh, in your case, it’s very personal. I just don’t want you freaking out about it.”
“I don’t freak out.”
“Of course you do,” she teased. “But that’s okay. I understand. You’ll get used to me and the others in time.”
In time? Ryan wondered about that on the drive back into Boston. Would he ever get used to having someone care what happened to him? Or had his past destroyed any chance of that?
* * *
“Who called in the wee hours of the night, or was it morning?” Katie inquired sleepily as the family sat around the breakfast table before church.
“My money’s on Ryan,” Nell said. Her gaze came to rest on Maggie. “Am I right?”
“I asked him to let me know he made it home safely,” she said.
“You couldn’t persuade him to stay here?” her mother asked.
“He didn’t think it was a good idea,” Maggie said.
