Kissing Maggie Silver (3 page)

“He did?” her brother was definitely squirming now.

“Yes! So I told him if that was really what he thought of me then he’d better find someone more mature to domesticate.”

“You didn’t exactly finish on good terms then?”

Maggie sighed. “Not really. You know me and my temper, but I’m sorry because I did like him
and
he was your friend.”

“Hey don’t worry about that.
I guess I just didn’t realize how serious you are about travelling. Maybe you should ask Ruairi to help you plan a trip. There can’t be many places in the world he hasn’t visited.”

“Ask me what?” Ruairi broke away from the conversation he was having with her other two brothers and came to join them.

“I was just saying you’re probably the best person to help Maggie to organize a travel plan, seeing as how you’ve been everywhere and seen everything.”

Ruairi pulled a face.
“I wish! It doesn’t matter which country I visit I still spend most of my time staring down a camera lens in the middle of nowhere.”

“That’s a no then?” Maggie teased as she turned away.
She was going to ignore the memory of her ridiculous childhood crush and pretend that the last thing in the world she wanted to do was grab his arm again, just to feel him close to her.

“I didn’t say that,” he protested.
“We can talk about it later.”

“Whatever,” she gave a casual wave as she looked around for his mother.
She found her talking to an elderly couple who had once been her neighbors, but as soon as she saw Maggie approaching she made her excuses and opened her arms wide.

Maggie rushed straight into them knowing that Marie O’Connor was the one person in the world who wouldn’t criticize her for refusing to settle down. The older woman hugged her tightly for a long moment and then held her at arm’s length and smiled at her.

“I always said you’d turn into a real beauty and you have. Look at you! Although how you manage to have that wonderful Celtic coloring when the rest of your family has brown hair is a mystery to me.”

“You always said it was because the fairies put a spell of enchantment on me when I was a baby,” laughed Maggie. She still cherished the memories of the times
Ruairi’s mother had invited her into her cozy kitchen and fed her rock cakes, warm from the oven, or Irish soda bread dripping with honey

“So I did,” Marie O’Connor’s warm Irish
lilt had become more pronounced since she’d moved back to the country of her birth. “And maybe I was right because someone certainly bestowed the gift of beauty on you child.”

Maggie flushed with pleasure and then hugged her again.
“How are you? It seems ages since I last saw you, and I’m so sorry I didn’t make it to Mr. O’Connor’s funeral but I was in the middle of my final exams so I couldn’t get away.”

“Bless you my dear, I didn’t expect you to come all the way to Ireland.
The lovely condolence card you sent me was enough.”

She paused and thought for a moment and then she smiled.
“And I’m fine. I didn’t think I was but I am, thanks to Ruairi. He bullied me into coming over for the party and it’s made me realize I’ve got to stop feeling sorry for myself and start to think about the future. In fact I might even move back here. Rural Ireland was a dream for Tom and me, but now I’m alone and so far from all my old friends, maybe it’s not such a good idea.”

“I know Mum would love it if you lived nearby again,” Maggie said. “In fact we all would.
It’s not the same now you don’t live next door.”

“Well perhaps I’ll talk to Ruairi about it while we’re here. He’s insisted we stay on for a bit of a holiday although I’m not sure he can really spare the time.
But you know Ruairi, always determined to have his own way. He was never any different even when he was a baby.”

“Every time I catch up with you Maggie Silver, the person you are with is talking about me!”

Too engrossed in their conversation, neither of them had noticed Ruairi approaching. Now he stood in front of them, a wry smile on his face.

“Would you look at him,” his mother’s smile was full of pride. “Such a waste to keep that face hidden behind a camera when he’s better looking than most film stars.”

Maggie grinned at Ruairi’s obvious embarrassment but before she could answer, Mrs. O’Connor continued. “You too my dear. You don’t want to hide your looks away either. I must say you’d make a lovely couple. Together you’d turn heads wherever you went.”

“Now there’s a thought,” Ruairi murmured.
“Perhaps we can talk about it when we discuss your travel plans later on this evening.”

He had fully recovered from his own discomfiture and was enjoying the fact that Maggie’s face had turned scarlet.

Cursing her blushes Maggie shook her head as she gave a brisk response. “Sorry, no can do. I’m taking June home and helping her put the children to bed so that you men can get together for a drink. Mark doesn’t want to leave her alone after such a busy day.”

A frown creased his forehead.
“I’m sorry about that Maggie. When Mark suggested we all meet up for a drink I thought you were coming too. It won’t be the same without you. Is there no one else who can stay with your sister-in-law?”

“’Fraid not!
Her family lives in Australia, and anyway Saturday is not the best time to find a last minute babysitter. Besides you really don’t need to worry about tail end Maggie tagging along anymore Ruairi, because now she’s all grown up and can look after herself. ”

“If you say so.” Although he was smiling, the jut of his jaw made his irritation obvious.
For a moment Maggie wondered if she had been a bit too flippant about his invitation, but as he turned to speak to his mother she dismissed the idea as ridiculous because he had never been someone to take offence over a triviality. Maybe he wasn’t just being polite. Maybe he really did want her to join him for a drink.

As she watched him Ruairi slipped his arm around his mother’s shoulders.
“Cathy and Ian have invited you back to their house for the evening Mum. I’ve ordered a taxi to collect you at eleven but if you want to stay later just ask Ian to telephone the taxi firm. He has the number.”

“Thank you dear.” Mrs. O’Connor turned and beamed at Maggie.
“You see! I told you he bosses me about but I’ll do as he says because I’m having such a lovely time. You will come and have lunch with me before I go back to Ireland though won’t you? There are still so many questions I want to ask you. I want to know how you like teaching because the last time I saw you, when Tom and I came over for a visit, you were still at college.”

“Of course I will,” Maggie gave her another hug.
“I’ll call you tomorrow but right now I must go and rescue my sister-in-law. Her baby is due in a few days so the party has been a bit much for her. She looks absolutely worn out.”

“I’ll come with you to say goodbye,” Ruairi fell into step beside her and soon he was helping her
to transport sleepy children, bags and balloons into a waiting taxi while June searched out Mark and his parents to tell them they were leaving.

Once the children were safely strapped in he turned and looked down at Maggie.
“I really am sorry you won’t be there this evening you know.”

She shrugged. “I don’t expect it crossed Mark’s mind that you were inviting me as well.
You know I was only ever included under sufferance.”

“Maybe. But that was then.
I’m much more interested in the here and now and whether you will have dinner with me on Monday evening?”

She shook her head, ignoring the sudden rapid beating of her heart as he took a step closer. “You don’t have to do that Ruairi. You don’t have to be kind to me or look after me anymore.”

“I rarely do anything I don’t want to do,” the irritation was back in his voice. “For goodness sake Maggie, I’m not asking you because your brothers forgot to invite you tonight; I’m asking you because I want to have dinner with you.”

June and Mark’s appearance interrupted whatever answer Maggie was about to make and it wasn’t until both women were settled into the taxi that Ruairi got a chance to speak to her again.
He ducked his head through the passenger window just as the driver started the engine. In the fading light his eyes looked bottle green. His voice was low, aimed solely at Maggie.

“I’ll call you tomorrow…about dinner,” he said.

* * *

For the next hour Maggie was too busy to think about Ruairi.
She bathed the children and read them a bedtime story. Then, the bathroom tidied, she collected their discarded clothes and took the pile downstairs to the washing machine. Once it was loaded she went into the sitting room to check that June was still sitting comfortably in front of the television with her feet up. She smiled when she saw that her sister-in-law had fallen asleep and quietly retreated to the kitchen to prepare a light supper for them both.

Despite her best efforts, slicing tomatoes and grating cheese didn’t take her full attention, and she soon found her thoughts drifting back to Ruairi.
Did he really want to take her out to dinner or, despite his protests, was he just being kind because Mark hadn’t included her this evening? She wished she knew.

She wished she knew, too, e
xactly how she felt about him. Her initial embarrassment about her childish crush had quickly evaporated as he teased her about the past, and she had soon found herself responding to him as she had always done, merely replacing childhood chatter with a more sophisticated repartee. She couldn’t believe how quickly she had told him about her non-engagement and her travel plans either. It was as if she had been saving up words until he reappeared so she could share them with him. That had been what had made him so special when she was a child, she remembered. He had always been ready to listen, had always been able to make sense of things for her and to find ways to boost her confidence when her brothers put her down.

And that’s what he’s doing now, she told herself.
He knows I’m everybody’s least favorite person at the moment, so when he saw how Mark didn’t even think of including me this evening, he decided to take me out to dinner instead to make me feel better about myself. Well I won’t go! He’s not going to be around for more than a couple of weeks anyway, so why give myself unnecessary heartache? If I see him when I have lunch with Mrs. O’Connor then all well and good, but I’m not going to let him treat me like a child who needs looking after.

She broke the eggs for the omelet with unnecessary force and then crashed saucepans and cutlery in a fury of angry frustration. When she returned to the sitting room with June’s supper on a tray, her sister-in-law was wide-awake.
She grinned at her.

“Did you win the battle?”

Maggie gave a shame faced smile. “Sorry! I woke you up didn’t I, with all that clashing about?”

“Yes, but it doesn’t matter. I only needed twenty minutes to recharge my batteries.
What’s more important is whether you’ve decided to have dinner with Ruairi O’Connor or not.”

Maggie gave her a startled look.
“Is it that obvious?”

“Only to me. Everyone else was too busy enjoying the party to notice anything
, but because my unwieldy bump more or less kept me in one place I spent a lot of time people watching, and I saw you and Ruairi. I was also in the car when he said he’d call you, in case you didn’t notice!”

“I didn’t think you heard,” Maggie said.

“I’m not deaf Maggie, just pregnant. Come on! Tell me what it’s all about. It’s obvious you like one another, so why all the angst?”

“Oh…it’s all so complicated.” Maggie pushed aside her half eaten omelet and flopped back in her chair.
“When we were children I thought Ruairi was wonderful, more than wonderful in fact. I had a full-blown crush on him that lasted for years. I guess everybody knew and probably found it funny, but at the time I thought it was my secret. And he was always so kind to me. He never seemed to get fed up with me hanging around, and when Mark and the others teased me he often stuck up for me and insisted they let me tag along too.”

“So he’s a nice guy…so where’s the problem?”

“That’s just it,” Maggie groaned. “He’s still a nice guy and he’s still expecting them to let me tag along, so when he realized I wasn’t going to be with them this evening he invited me out to dinner instead.”

“Are you sure he said instead?” June asked her.
“Because from where I was sitting he seemed to be really enjoying your company.”

“Well no, he didn’t actually say instead, but it’s obvious isn’t it?”

“Not to me it isn’t. How long is it since you last saw him?”

“Almost ten years. And for the first few months after he left I really did think he’d broken my heart.
You know what teenagers are like, all developing bodies and rioting hormones. I think I quite fancied myself as the abandoned lover actually.”

June laughed. “You mean I’ve got that to look forward to with my two girls?” Then she shook her head.
“Have you actually looked at yourself in the mirror lately Maggie? I mean, come on! When Ruairi left you were nothing but a kid, so of course he treated you like one. But from the way he was looking at you this afternoon I think he’s got the message that little Maggie is all grown up and quite the woman these days.”