The Bridal Bet

‘We’d have to be able to look at each other without sniggering every two minutes. And as for the kissing thing—’ She stopped pacing long enough to waggle a finger at him. ‘You do realise if we were actually dating we’d be expected to kiss and—well, other stuff like that….’

There was a deadly silence as they stared at each other in shock. Ryan swallowed hard. ‘I know that—’

She recommenced the pacing. ‘It’s the most ridiculous suggestion you’ve ever made, Callaghan, and you should know that, for crying out loud!’

‘O’Brien—’

She stopped again and looked up into his eyes. ‘I mean, honestly, what makes you think for one second we could fool anyone?’

Ryan frowned at her. ‘Methinks the girl protests too much.’

‘And just what does that mean?’

‘Maybe you’re too frightened to kiss me.’

Her eyes widened, fire glinting in their depths. ‘Me? Frightened, of you? What in hell is there for me to be frightened of?’

He stepped closer, his body almost touching hers. Towering over her smaller frame until any dim light was almost obscured, he leaned down towards her. ‘Maybe you might just like kissing me.’

‘You wanna bet?’

‘Well, actually, yes, I do.’ His gaze was steady. ‘I thought we’d established that fact.’

Her mouth gaped. ‘I don’t believe this. As if I’d like kissing you, of all people! Like as in enjoy? Like as in, participate—’

He did the only reasonable thing he could think of to shut her up. He hauled her body to his and kissed her.

At first Molly couldn’t believe what he was doing. This was Ryan Callaghan. The Ryan she had known for half her life. The Ryan who, along with her soulmate Kieran, had managed to alternately torture, humour and protect her most of the way through her late teens. They’d been the three musketeers back then—almost invincible. She had thought she knew Ryan better than anyone else on the planet. It should have felt like kissing a brother. Somehow it didn’t.

It felt—well, it felt nowhere near as awful as it could have been. In fact, it wasn’t altogether unpleasant. In fact…

This just couldn’t be right.

Ryan couldn’t believe he was doing what he was doing. He was actually kissing Molly! Hello—earth calling Ryan. What was he doing? Then he forgot for a moment as he felt her mouth soften against his. Good Lord, he was kissing Molly. And, hell, but it felt good. Too good. He moved his mouth over hers, felt her small sigh against his lips. She was so warm, and sweet-tasting, and soft, and—

‘Oops, sorry Mr Callaghan.’ There was a childish giggle. ‘We didn’t see you there.’

They pulled away from each other, both staring at the two Collins children who had materialised by their side. Ryan found his voice first. Well, he assumed it was his voice. The sound certainly seemed to come out of his mouth, so it pretty much had to be his. ‘That’s okay, kids. Don’t worry about it.’

The children looked backwards and forwards at the two adults, giggling again. The fair-haired girl waved at Molly before turning back into the darkness with her brother.

‘See.’ Her voice was the loudest of stage whispers. ‘Mammy said they were goin’ together. Let’s go tell her she’s right.’

Her brother’s voice got louder as they moved further away. ‘I’m telling her first!’

The echo of running footsteps bounced across the still water of the lough. ‘No, you’re not! I am!’

Ryan stared into the darkness as if he could still see them while Molly stared at his broad back. ‘Callaghan—’

‘Well, I guess that takes care of the kissing bit. They seemed fairly convinced.’ He turned to look at her. ‘Don’t you think?’

‘Oh, you—you’ll just do anything to prove a point, won’t you?’ The burst of laughter sounded false, even to her own ears. For the first time in a very long time she felt awkward in his company. Unable to look him in the eye. ‘But surely you can see this is a really dumb-ass idea?’

With only a moment’s hesitation he reached down to frame her face with his large hands, forcing her to look at him. ‘Protest noted. But, hey, come on, O’Brien.’ He smiled a lop-sided smile at her, the one women always seemed to find endearing. ‘It’ll be hilarious. And we’ve already started the jungle telegraph talking. Since when have you ever chickened out of one of our bets?’ He raised a dark eyebrow. ‘Unless you’re prepared to admit I’m right about Scallon.’

They stared at each other for a few seconds. Then, suddenly afraid that he might try to convince her some more, Molly moved back, out of his hold. She had never turned down one of Ryan’s bets. Never allowed him the upper hand in their long relationship. And she wasn’t about to start now.

She liked Nick Scallon, for crying out loud. He was the most attractive man she’d met in a good while. And she could think of nothing more rewarding than proving Ryan wrong about him. So if that meant she’d have to play charades for a few weeks then she could manage that. Really, she could. Piece of cake. And Ryan’s forfeit would be hell…

Raising her chin to look at him, she smiled calmly. ‘Okay, Callaghan, you’re on. Let’s just hope—’ she moved close to him to brush an imaginary speck of dirt from his shirt ‘—you can take the heat.’

Ryan stared at her, his throat suddenly dry. What had he started? From past history he just knew that his payback would be a nightmare. Molly would make sure of that.

He grinned. Bring it on.

CHAPTER TWO

End of summer—fifteen years ago

‘FRIENDS don’t kiss.’

‘Ever?’

Molly thought for a moment, her long legs tucked beneath her on the large sofa. It was the last night of the summer holidays and in the morning their two families would part again for another year. To celebrate the last evening they had had a huge barbecue by the lough before returning to Ryan’s family’s summerhouse. While the adults had drunk wine, chatting on the porch, the two kids had sat themselves in front of a video in the family room.

‘Never.’

Ryan studied her profile carefully. ‘What about when they say goodbye or wish each other a happy birthday?’

‘That’s different. Those are friendly kisses.’

‘And the difference would be…?’ She had piqued his interest and he wondered just what the extent of her knowledge could be at her age.

Molly avoided looking directly at him. Instead she kept her gaze focused on the television screen as she watched the source of their debate. They had been watching When Harry met Sally.

Out of the corner of his eye he had seen Molly blush a crimson-red during the café scene when Meg Ryan had demonstrated her talent for faking it. He had impressed himself by not laughing at her reaction. After all, it wasn’t that he was that much more experienced than she was. A few fumblings in the darkness of a cinema or the back seat of a friend’s car on a Saturday evening hardly made for a sex-life to brag about.

‘You know.’ She blushed again.

‘Yes, I do know.’ He smiled teasingly. ‘I’m just curious to see if you do.’

Molly knew she should never have allowed this particular debate to begin. They didn’t talk about stuff like this, and she was so embarrassed she wanted to have the sofa open up and swallow her.

‘Well, let’s just say I know the difference.’

‘So, go on, then.’

‘Fine.’ By the time she spun to face him he’d already realised that he’d sparked her temper. It was her best defence in times of difficulty. And, boy, did she have a temper. ‘You want to ruin our last night by being dumb and teasing me, then that’s just fine. I don’t really know, and you know I don’t really know. I’ve never been kissed by a boy before. Not that way. Satisfied now? But I know there should be a difference.’

Ryan reached out and touched her arm. ‘I wasn’t trying to be mean. I was just wondering what you’d say.’

‘Well, now you know.’ She pulled her arm away from him and leaned back, her mouth pouting slightly. ‘And how am I ever supposed to find out when I look like this? Boys don’t kiss girls who look like me. They kiss pretty girls.’

‘I thought you said boys were stupid?’

A frown creased her forehead. ‘They are. But I guess it would be nice to have one even slightly interested in kissing me.’

Ryan smiled his lop-sided smile as she glanced at him from the corner of her eye. ‘O’Brien, I’ll make you a deal.’

Turning her head towards him, she raised an eyebrow. ‘What kind of deal?’

‘Well…’ He leaned towards her, his voice low. ‘If you haven’t found out what it’s like to be kissed by the time you’re eighteen, I’ll kiss you.’

Her eyes widened. ‘You?’

‘Yes, me.’

Molly stared. ‘Kiss me?’

‘Yes.’ He nodded. ‘Kiss you. On your eighteenth birthday.’

She continued staring at him, as if suddenly seeing a side of him she’d never noticed before. Then she laughed and laughed, until tears fell from her eyes.

‘Not in this lifetime.’

‘I heard a rumour today in the newsagent’s.’

Molly didn’t lift her head as her friend and neighbour-to-be perched herself against the counter in front of her. Molly had opened the new gift shop in the forest park with Kate not long after coming home. She used one side of the store to display and sell mounted copies of her work, her one true love. Photography.

They had spent the morning selling various mugs, sticks of rock, key chains and guidebooks to two coachloads of tourists, as well as two of Molly’s more expensive photographs of wildlife on the lough. So it was the first opportunity they’d had to talk since the weekend’s barbecue.

Molly knew only too well what rumour Kate was referring to.

‘Did you, now?’

‘Uh-huh.’

‘Well, they do say the newsagent’s is the place to get news.’ Still she didn’t look up from the counter.

Kate waved her hand underneath Molly’s nose until she looked at her. ‘You know rightly what rumour I’m talking about, and don’t you dare tell me you don’t.’

‘Come on, Kate, we both know how active kids’ imaginations can be.’ She tried her best to look sincere as she smiled at Kate, one of her closest friends. As she looked at Kate’s trusting eyes she also remembered the crush she had had on Ryan when they were teenagers. But Kate was a married woman now, and happily heavy with child.

Her friend smiled smugly. ‘I don’t think I mentioned any kids.’

Molly blushed a fiery red, which she was sure wasn’t matching her hair colour well. ‘Kate, I’d really rather not talk about this.’

‘Oh, no, you don’t. I wouldn’t miss this for the world.’ She made herself comfortable leaning on the counter. ‘Tell Auntie Kate all about it, and don’t you dare skip any details.’

As she looked at her friend Molly knew she couldn’t tell her the truth. Kate had never understood the challenges that she and Ryan had aimed at each other over the years. Kate was a happily—no, blissfully married woman, who adored her husband and wanted the rest of the world to be as in love as they were. How could Molly tell her why they were doing this? It would be easier to tell her the version of the truth that she wanted to hear, and then she and Ryan could just ‘split up’, as they’d planned, in three months’ time. Kate would be none the wiser. Simple.

‘What do you want to know?’

Kate hit her on the shoulder. ‘Aw, come on, Molly. Did Ryan kiss you at the barbecue or not?’

That at least wasn’t a lie. ‘Yes, he did.’ She blushed again.

‘And?’

‘And what?’

Kate sighed dramatically. ‘It’s like getting blood out of a stone. What was it like? Why did he kiss you now, after all this time? What’s going on? ’Cos you know I’ve always wondered what it was with you two.’

Molly’s eyes widened. She stared incredulously at her friend. ‘You have? How come you’ve never said so? I mean, you of all people have always known how I felt about Ryan, so what on earth made you think—?’

‘Molly, it’s Ryan Callaghan we’re talking about, here. I could never understand why you can’t see what’s absolutely plain as day to everyone else with a pulse. The man is gorgeous.’

‘Ryan is? Are you nuts? I’ve called him many things in my time, but gorgeous was never one of them.’ She laughed. ‘He’s just Ryan.’

Kate’s eyebrows raised until they disappeared under her fringe. ‘When was the last time you looked at him?’ She grinned widely. ‘Last Saturday night not included, of course.’

‘That’s not fair. I look at him.’

She felt Kate’s eyes follow her as she moved away from the counter to rearrange the prints on the opposite wall, filling in the recent gaps that had appeared.

‘Really? So you’ll know what colour his eyes are, then.’

‘That’s stupid. I know that—they’re dark.’

‘Dark what?’

Molly’s hands stilled as she thought, and then she smiled into thin air as she gained a mental image. ‘Brown—you know—like that melted chocolate in the ad.’

‘My goodness, Miss O’Brien, I had no idea you cared.’

Molly froze as Ryan’s voice sounded close to her ear. She hadn’t heard him enter the shop. She turned to look at him, finding his eyes glittering in a ‘gotcha’ kind of a way.

She stared as he turned to wink at Kate. ‘Hi, Kate, how are ya?’ Then, looking back into Molly’s eyes, he added, ‘Do go on. I could stand a few more compliments.’

‘You rat. How long have you been in here?’ She set her hands on his chest to push him out of her way. Instead he stood his ground, and placed his hands over hers to hold them against him. She could feel the beat of his heart against his shirt, was far too aware of his warmth, and was desperately tempted to kick him in the shins. ‘Get out of my way!’

‘Not ’til you agree to come swimming this evening. It’s grand and warm outside. I thought we could eat over by the shore at Doon.’

She glared straight into his melted chocolate eyes, following their gaze as they swept back to Kate’s grinning face. ‘Don’t you think she should come swimming, Kate, on a lovely night like this will be?’

Kate positively glowed back at him. ‘Oh, definitely, Ryan.’

‘See?’ He looked back at her and immediately found himself looking at her mouth. A memory hit his mind uninvited and he frowned slightly. ‘Kate agrees.’

Molly studied his frown, noticed where he was looking, and without thinking moistened her lips with the tip of her tongue. Dear Lord, but this little game was nearly too easy. ‘Okay, you win. I’ll go.’

Momentarily distracted by what she’d done with her tongue, Ryan had to take a second to focus on what she’d just said. ‘Okay. Uh, I’ll see you later, then.’

Molly smiled at his expression. ‘Okay.’

‘Right.’

Ryan looked at Molly, and Molly looked right back. Kate coughed and the world rocked back into place.

‘Right, then.’ Ryan grinned, released her hands and swung on his heel to leave the shop. ‘Bye, ladies.’

Kate watched him leave and then turned to Molly, fanning her face with one hand. ‘Is it just me, or did it just get real warm in here?’

Having spent the entire morning dodging questions from the ever curious Kate, Molly decided to escape the shop at lunchtime. She got sandwiches and a carton of juice from the cafeteria and then headed out into the warm June sunshine to sit by the main harbour.

Sunglasses on, she took a moment to soak in the atmosphere before tearing open the sandwiches and looking around. With hourly boat tours from the lough’s main harbour, tourists were milling around in an assortment of holiday clothing. It didn’t take long for her to pick Ryan out of the crowd, with him easily one of the tallest men there.

Gorgeous was never a word she would have associated with Ryan. Brad Pitt, yes. But Ryan Callaghan? Nope. Not that she thought he was troll-like. She frowned behind her sunglasses. So, what was he?

In her capacity as an experienced crowd-watcher she glanced around to see if she could find any good-looking men to compare him with. Purely for scientific purposes, of course. She found a fair-haired American who had flirted with her in the shop earlier and then looked at them both.

The American was quite tall—probably six feet—but slim, as was usually typical of taller men. Ryan, on the other hand, was broad across his shoulders and chest. Not fat. Quite definitely not fat. But broad.

The American’s hair was fair, while Ryan’s hair was a rich dark brown—so dark that when the light hit it it shone. Biting into her sandwich, Molly supposed that was fairly attractive.

The American had an open smiling face, with pale eyes that had teased when he’d flirted with Molly. Ryan’s face could be lots of different things, depending on his mood at the time. But most of all, regardless of his straight, even features and strong chin, he had an honest face. Molly had always liked the fact that she could read just about every emotion from Ryan’s face.

A soft smile touched her mouth as she watched him run across the harbour to give a small girl the stuffed bear she had just dropped. The little girl smiled, then giggled as he spoke to her, and Molly didn’t have to see his face to know what it would be like. He’d always had that gentle look in his eyes when he’d teased her the first year they met. Without trying he had a way of drawing a smile out of a person, no matter how old they were.

That was the one thing she would never deny about Ryan. He was a genuinely nice guy. Molly smiled all the more when she thought about how much he would hate being told so, but he was.

Green eyes followed him until he walked out of her sight, his body moving in long strides that spoke of a silent confidence in his own strength. Then, her gaze falling onto the water, Molly finished her lunch.

Kate was right. She had never really thought about it, but Kate was right. Ryan was a gorgeous man. More than that, he was a nice, caring, gorgeous man. Shame, really. He just wasn’t Molly’s usual type. She’d never even been attracted to someone like him in her entire life. Just as well, she surmised, otherwise she might have got hurt in this latest game of theirs.

Molly’s eighteenth birthday

It wasn’t Ryan who kissed Molly on her eighteenth birthday. By then their worlds had changed and so, in many ways, had they. By her eighteenth birthday the two friends had become three, and then two of the three had become a pair. ‘I can’t believe you kept him secret from me for so long,’ Molly challenged him with one elegantly raised eyebrow. ‘Did you do it to torture me, or were you waiting ’til I had straight teeth?’

‘As if I’d want to inflict you on any of my other friends.’

She surprised him then, by leaning forward and planting a warm kiss on his cheek. ‘I love you, you know.’

Ryan wiggled his eyebrows ridiculously. ‘Yeah, yeah—you and half the female population. I know.’

One elegant fingernail tapped on the end of his nose. ‘Well, I was first, and don’t you forget it.’

He reached out to steady her arms as she swayed towards him, smiling indulgently. ‘And you, my red-haired friend, are a little the worse for birthday juice, aren’t you?’

‘Me? Why, Callaghan, I’m shocked you could even think such a thing.’ She wrapped her arms around his waist, smiling up at him from his shoulder. ‘But I am having a really great birthday. How ’bout you?’

Dark eyes shone down into green. ‘It’s not my birthday.’

‘I know that. But are you having a great time?’

‘With you? Always.’ Molly frowned at him with an all too familiar pout on her full lips. ‘You’re teasing me.’

‘Would I?’

‘Yes. But you know what?’

‘Go on, O’Brien, amaze me.’ He smiled again. ‘What?’

‘I forgive you.’

Placing one strong arm around her slender waist, he half carried her towards an empty table. ‘Well, I’m relieved about that. Now, why don’t you just have a wee rest at this little table for a while and I’ll find you some nice birthday coffee?’

Slumping down into the offered chair, Molly looked up at him. She frowned for a moment, looked around, and then patted the chair beside her. ‘Sit down. I want to talk to you.’

‘I’ll just get some of that nice birthday coffee first.’

‘No!’ She grabbed hold of his shirtsleeve. ‘No, now.’

Ryan watched as the wheels slowly turned in her head. Then she smiled at him. Looking at him from beneath long darkened eyelashes, she was positively flirtatious, and for some reason he couldn’t stop himself from noticing it. Damn but she’d grown up. And it wasn’t just the removal of her braces that had got her noticed by Kieran, his university roommate. She just seemed to have blossomed overnight.

Almost in slow motion, he sat down beside her. ‘What’s up?’

‘Do you think I’m pretty?’

The question caught him off guard. Especially considering he’d already begun to notice how she looked. For a split second he looked like a rabbit caught in the headlights of a car.

Molly giggled musically. ‘Why, Callaghan, I do believe for the first time ever I’ve managed to make you speechless. Happy Birthday me.’

He tried to stand up. ‘I’ll just get that coffee. I’d really like a cup, wouldn’t you?’

She placed her hand on his thigh and pushed him back into the chair. Another dangerous smile. ‘Don’t avoid the subject at hand.’

Ryan was too busy trying to ignore ‘the subject at hand’. The burning sensation on his thigh where her hand rested. Hadn’t anyone told her what happened to twenty-one-year old males whenever good-looking females touched them that close to…?

He carefully removed the hand, placing it into the safety of her own lap. ‘Why would I avoid it? Of course you’re pretty, Moll. That brace thing being off really helps.’

‘Is it just the brace?’ She leaned in close to him, her voice low. ‘Is it just the brace, or have I changed at all—you know, anywhere else?’

If that rabbit didn’t move soon it was going to get squooshed. A blink, then another, and then Ryan’s brain started to work. ‘Uh, what exactly are you fishing for?’

‘Have you noticed anything different about me?’ Her face was dangerously close to his. ‘I mean, since you last saw me?’

Ryan swallowed hard to moisten his dry throat. Wow, but she smelled good—all soapy and slightly perfumey. Like flowers. Hello, Ryan! Get a grip here. Hormone alert.

‘In what way, exactly?’

‘You tell me.’

Molly stood up in front of him and turned full circle before holding her arms out at her sides. ‘How do I look to you?’

Ryan did as he was bid and looked at her. He took a real good, long look at her. She was sensational. Really. He’d never thought of himself as a sexist kind of guy who ogled women’s legs, but—wow. In a split second he decided he was a legs man. Not that he hadn’t known that Molly had legs. Hell, he’d seen them in shorts or swimsuits every summer for the past four years. But not like this. Not encased in the sheerest of black stockings with her feet in the silliest strappy high heels he had ever seen. Not displayed to the world from beneath the teeniest of miniskirts. Had she actually paid money for that scrap of material?

‘Well?’

‘Huh?’

‘Well? What do you see?’

He waved away her protests with one arm. ‘I’m still looking.’

She had the smallest waist he thought he’d ever seen. Was she too skinny? Was that it? Did she have some kind of dumb obsession with her weight? No. His eyes travelled upwards. No, her weight was just fine. She had breasts now—small, full breasts that peeked out at him from the deep vee of her tight top. Maybe he was a breasts man after all. Then he looked back down at her legs. Nope. Still a legs man.

Then he looked up at her face. The freckles had faded down over the years. From somewhere she had got this creamy complexion. Full moist lips that drew into a wide smile over perfectly straight white teeth. Thank you, Mr Orthodontist. Wide green eyes above an elegantly upturned nose…

A hand waved in front of his face. ‘Well—can you see it?’

His voice was sharp. ‘Damn it, O’Brien, see what?’ He’d seen plenty, and it irritated him that he’d noticed as much as he had. ‘You look just fine to me.’