Man Of Her Dreams

“Dr. Cardiology isn’t into ‘cute.’ He likes the statuesque blonde who’s pretending not to notice him.”

“No way!” Beth laughed. “The blonde’s a foot taller!”

“But Dr. Cardiology likes the way she looks, and I’m pretty sure that she’s looking for a doctor to like.”

“A match made in heaven,” Beth said, giggling like the girl she used to be. Meg loved the happy sound. She nudged Beth’s shoulder, and Beth nudged her back, just like old times.

“You just watch,” Meg insisted. “They’ll get together before the night’s over.”

“Well, then, who gets the cute little nurse?”

“Sadly, I don’t have the pool to work with that I have on Dream Date. I’m afraid she’s unmatchable tonight.”

“Like me.” Beth shrugged with defeat.

“Actually, I have someone for you,” Meg said, happy that she had.

“Who?” Beth scanned the crowd.

“You’re missing him. Check out the Marine.”

“Captain Cutie-Pie?” Beth’s lip curled.

“But he’s perfect for you, Beth. Tall, a genuine hunk, a great sense of humor and he speaks in complete sentences. What more could you want?”

“How about a guy less impressed with himself? You know we don’t go for guys who think they’re all that.”

Meg frowned. “I didn’t catch that.”

“Why would a guy wear a uniform to a party like this if he didn’t want to show off that chestful of ribbons?”

“Wrong diagnosis, Dr. Brennan. If you’ll talk to the guy, you’ll discover that he didn’t want to wear the uniform. His mom, your dad’s nurse, asked him to wear it because she’s so proud of him.”

“Aww, that’s sweet.” Beth’s face softened.

“You know we go for guys who are good to their moms.”

“That’s true. But how come I get him and you don’t?”

“Because his eyes have followed you for the past hour.”

“Really?” Beth perked up, her brown eyes sparkling.

“But I ought to warn you. While he’s been watching you, the cute little nurse has been watching him. I think she’s about to make her move.”

“Then I’d better stake my claim!” Beth squared her shoulders and moved into action.

Meg laughed, glad that at least one of them would have someone younger than their parents to kiss at midnight.

“Wait!” Beth said, pivoting. “Who’s here for you?”

That was just like Beth. Generous, always thinking of others instead of herself.

“Nobody, but that’s okay,” Meg said, faking a smile. “I’m devoting myself to your uncle Charlie tonight.”

Beth’s eyes narrowed. “Okay, what’s wrong, Meg?”

“Nothing’s wrong,” she protested, laughing, hoping she would make it through Beth’s radar.

But Beth took her firmly by the arm and marched her through the French doors to the torch-lit deck where they were alone. “When are you going to learn you can’t keep things from me?”

“It’s cold out here,” Meg complained, wrapping her hands around her body to ward off the chill.

“It’s sixty degrees. We’ll survive. What’s going on?”

Confess or freeze—those were her options? “Maybe I’m just a little depressed,” she admitted reluctantly.

When they were kids, Beth would have joked with her until they were both laughing, but tonight, Dr. Beth gave Meg an assessing look. “How can I help? I can listen, or I can prescribe something. What do you need?”

She tucked her arm through Meg’s, maybe for warmth, but definitely because they were closer than sisters. The love behind the offer put a lump in Meg’s throat. She’d really missed Beth, but they would both miss the party if she spilled her guts now.

“Let me tell you later. We have all night to talk.”

“That’s true, but sum it up now,” Beth demanded.

“Sum it up?” If her pushy friend wanted a short answer, Meg could provide it, though Beth wouldn’t like it. “Fine. A year ago tonight, I made a deal with God.”

Beth rolled her eyes.

“I know you don’t believe in that, Beth, but I do. I promised God that I would stop obsessing about finding Mr. Right and trust Him to do the finding. I thought God would drop the guy right on my doorstep, but I must have prayed wrong or something. The year’s over, and there’s no Mr. Right.”

Beth held her watch up to the light and said, “Thirty minutes to midnight. It could happen yet.”

Lovely. Meg wished she’d kept her mouth shut. “Beth, I do believe God has the right guy for me.”

“Good for you, hon,” Beth said with an annoying edge of pity. “I know your faith is important to you.”

Behind them came a familiar voice. “Hey, you two are missing the party.”

They turned to see Beth’s brother Ry strolling toward them with a killer smile and such easygoing confidence that Meg caught her breath. Dressed in a black leather jacket, black pants and a sweater the color of his dark blond hair, Ry was better looking than ever, and that was saying a lot.

Surprising tingles zipped through Meg’s body, tingles that weren’t exactly the welcome-home variety for a guy she loved like a brother. Ry Brennan was a fun-loving womanizer who’d broken hearts for as long as Meg could remember. Flirting came as naturally to him as breathing. Pure rebel, he was a terrible choice to get all tingly about.

Unfortunately, sheer reflex made her gasp.

Beth looked at her sharply, then at Ry and back again. A slow grin spread across her face. “Well, there you go,” she said so softly that only Meg could hear. “Talk about an answer to prayer. My brother and my best friend. Now that’s got to be a match made in heaven.”

“You’ve got to be kidding,” Meg whispered. When she fell in love, it would be with a guy she could count on, not a risk-taker who lived for the moment and left when he liked.

Beth laughed softly and whispered back, “It’s almost enough to make me a believer. And you thought Mr. Right wasn’t going to show up this year.”

Chapter Two

It felt exactly as Meg had imagined love at first sight would feel. Thrilling beyond words, it was lightning-bolt dramatic and heart-pounding real and heady. She could hardly believe it was happening to her. For an instant her soul sang.

It was a very short song.

All these years, she had been so sure that she would look into the eyes of Mr. Right, feel the welcoming sting of Cupid’s arrow and know her search was over. Never had it crossed her mind that the object of her attraction could be Mr. Totally Wrong.

Ry Brennan was lovable, good-looking, smart and fun to be with, but she wouldn’t wish Ry on her worst enemy. Beth and she had pitied the girls who’d fallen for him. Once they’d even formed a support group for the ones he’d left behind—girls who didn’t understand his idea of a long-term relationship was getting to know the girl’s last name.

She watched him take Beth in his arms for a sweet, brotherly hug and knew her turn would come next. He was just Ry, she told herself, no one to get all tingly about.

He turned to her, swept her up in his arms and murmured, “Hey, Li’l Sis,” close to her ear.

Li’l Sis. It had been so long since she’d heard him say that. Like ice cream under hot fudge, she melted and hugged his neck, just like a little sister would do.

“I’ve missed you,” he said, his mouth so close she could feel his breath. Goose bumps rose on her arms.

He lifted her up and spun her around. It was only a bear hug, just a brotherly bear hug like the one he’d given Beth, though Beth surely didn’t have to deal with tingles like this.

“Welcome back,” she said, barely able to say anything at all, busy as she was with the butterfly troop in her stomach, flitting as if this were their one chance to dance.

“It’s good to be back.”

He sounded so happy that she hugged him tighter, thrilled deep inside that he was home.

Releasing her, appreciation dawned on his face. “Look who’s become a babe! Li’l Sis, you’re all grown up.”

Well, of course. All three of them had grown up. For such a stupid statement, how could she take it as a compliment and let her heart race as if it were?

“Stay away another ten years,” Beth said dryly, “and you’ll notice that she’s middle-aged.”

Ignoring his sister, Ry kissed Meg’s forehead and said, “You never call. You never write. It’s been too long.”

Shoving out of his arms, she wagged a scolding finger at him. “You sneak out of here in the middle of the night, go to college on the other side of the country, come home just once when I happened to be away and have the nerve to say that I never get in touch?”

He flashed that killer smile. “You missed me, right?”

She’d missed that smile. “Well…I am glad to see you.” Her heart was pounding so hard, Ry and Beth, both medically trained, might notice.

She glanced at Beth and wished she hadn’t. Beth flicked her eyes from Ry to Meg like a fan watching a tennis match. Catching Meg’s eyes, Beth had the nerve to fold her hands prayerfully and look heavenward.

Okay, a joke was a joke, but if Beth kept this up, there would be no Happy New Year for her.

“Beth, did you know that Ry was coming home?” Meg asked, prodding Beth to snap out of it.

“No, and why didn’t I?” Beth demanded of her brother. “I could have met your plane.”

“I didn’t even know,” he said, his voice deeper now than Meg remembered. His buttery baritone was totally appealing. “I only decided this afternoon.”

“And you just hopped on a plane?” Meg asked. Wasn’t that just like him? Ry always did exactly what he wanted, when he wanted.

“I had forty-eight hours off. I thought I’d see if there was a party hat for me.”

“I think there’s another one like mine,” Beth said.

“We can be twins,” he said, grinning.

“Since your hair is finally as short as mine, I guess we could,” Beth said, touching his bare neck and her own. “This is quite a change from your long-haired pool boy days. You were always prettier than me.”

“I was never prettier than you,” Ry said, hugging his sister again. Meg loved seeing them together like that.

“Have you seen Mom and Dad?” Beth asked.

Ry shifted uncomfortably.

“You haven’t.” Beth answered her own question. “Ry, you haven’t come all this way not to see them.”

“No, I’m going to see them, but when I turned my rental car over to the valet parking guy, I caught a glimpse of Trey at the door…”

“And you decided to slip in from back here,” Beth finished, knowingly. “Good idea. Trey’s still the same. He lives to prove he’s the only worthy Brennan off-spring.”

Ry’s mouth lifted in a wicked half smile. “So that would make Trey the only one of us who hasn’t grown up?”

Meg smiled. Good for Ry, taking Trey’s arrogance in stride.

Beth raised her hands toward each of them, initiating their old three-way high five.

Allies, that’s what they were. Buddies. Partners. Nothing to get all tingly about.

“Nice feathers, Meggy,” Ry said, eyeing her headgear.

“Meg,” she said, correcting him automatically. “I’m not ‘Meggy’ anymore.”

“Oh, I don’t know,” he said, his eyes dancing with laughter as he looked her over approvingly. “I think you’ll always be Meggy to me.”

She swallowed hard, her heart racing though it shouldn’t have. Ry could save that charm for someone who knew how little it meant.

“Those feathers are a perfect match to your blue eyes, Meggy.”

“Meg,” she corrected again, though she might as well save her breath. Ry hadn’t changed. He always had to win, though he had this amazing talent for making a person not really care that he had.

He had remembered that her eyes were blue. The deck lights were bright enough for him to tell the color of her tall plumes, but not the color of her eyes. That had to have come from his memory. She shivered, unbelievably pleased at such a small thing.

Beth must have noticed the shiver, for she said, “Meg’s freezing. Let’s go inside. We’ll get you a party hat, Ry.”

Ry slid out of his jacket. “Why don’t I give Meggy—”

“Meg,” she corrected firmly, giving him a look that said he’d better conform or forget about a peaceful evening.

Fitting his jacket around her shoulders, he repeated, “Why don’t I give Meg my jacket, and you get the hat, Beth?”

Meg’s happy smile rewarded his effort.

“Not ready to face the music yet?” Beth asked, teasing, yet understanding, too.

“Not just yet.” Ry hated to admit it, but being here was harder than he thought it would be. On the plane, he’d been prepared. He’d even had his opening speech memorized.

One look at Trey at the front door, like a lion at the gates, had changed that. The old anger flooded his mind, and he’d thought about getting back in the rental car and going back to New York for good. If he had avoided dealing with the family this long, he could do it forever.

But seeing the girls had settled him down. He still wasn’t sure he could manage to be the good son he’d flown out here to be, but he would give it his best shot. It was still minutes to midnight. There was no hurry.

“Stay put,” his sister said, patting his arm. “I’ll get you a hat, and you’ll be just like the rest of us.”

Was that what he wanted to be?

“Oh, and before I forget,” she said, “you’re staying at my place while you’re here.”

Beth made it more of an order than a request, but that was fine with him. He wanted time with his parents, but not the whole time. “How comfortable is your sofa?” He didn’t really care. He could sleep on the floor.

“I thought I got the sofa tonight,” Meg complained.

The three of them would be together tonight? Ry smiled at the fun they would have.

“Toss a coin or duke it out,” Beth said, heading for the house. “It won’t matter. We’ll stay up all night.”

“Say hello to the marine,” Meg called after his sister.

Beth tossed a snappy military salute. “Aye, aye, sir.”

Meg saluted back. “Be all you can be.”

Ry laughed softly, watching his sister march inside. The girls had their military branches mixed up, but who cared? They still knew how to have fun. No matter what else happened, he’d be glad he made the trip.

“You two haven’t changed,” he said, bringing the lapels of his jacket closer together, the better to keep Meg warm. His Li’l Sis had become one good-looking woman. She looked fantastic in that shimmery dress.

“It feels like Beth and I have changed.”

Her beautiful dark hair was still long. It was amazing how happy he was about that. Li’l Sis was adorable. She still stood all of five feet three, but she had definitely grown up.

“This is the first time Beth and I have spent together in ages,” she said a bit unevenly, as if she were nervous.

He felt a little nervous himself. But it had been a long time since they’d been alone. Even old friends had to get back in their groove.

“I’ll be glad when she’s through with her residency.”

He drew Meg under his arm. In that little dress, she could probably use the extra warmth from his body. “I only hope Beth has done this for herself. You have to want it, being a doctor and putting up with the life.”

“Did you ever want to be a doctor, Ry? Just for yourself, not for the family?”

Had anyone ever asked him that? Everyone seemed to assume he’d chosen to become a paramedic instead of a doctor just to spite the family. He hadn’t minded, and it was true that he didn’t want to be like them.

“I like helping people,” he replied, not really answering the question.

“Which you do as a paramedic.”

Darling Meggy, still backing him. “Sometimes I wish I could do more.” He could be honest with her. “Much more.”

“As a paramedic, you must see some terrible things.”

He was here because of one of those terrible things, so terrible that it finally got through to him. Pretty soon, he’d have to go inside and do what he’d come to do.

“This isn’t exactly party talk, is it?” he said, not wanting to burden her with his troubles.

“I always loved our serious talks,” she said softly, looking up at him so sweetly his heart skipped a beat. If she were just another pretty woman, he’d be thinking about stealing a kiss.

“If I recall, those serious talks mainly focused on your love life,” he teased, getting back into their groove.

“It was never all about me!” she protested.

“Li’l Sis, life was always all about you,” he said, laughing. It wasn’t, but he loved to tease.

“How can you say that?” She stepped away, a move that set the feathery plumes of her crown waving madly.

“I take it back,” he said, pulling her back.

She let him, but she shook a finger at him. “Ry Brennan, I spent half of my life listening to you talk about your girls. It was endless.”

He feigned innocence. “You didn’t want to listen?”

“Well, sure I did. I was a kid who knew nothing about dating. You taught me everything I know about boys.”

“It was an awesome responsibility,” he said gravely, laughing inside.

“You didn’t do that great a job. What I learned was that boys can be real jerks. You’d say one girl was cute, but too sensitive. Another had great eyes, but was too flighty. Another one, you liked her big…chest, but she wasn’t—”

“Enough!” He stopped her with a finger to her pretty lips. “Thanks for the trip down memory lane.”

That would be Jani, Joanie and Sue, in that order. He never forgot a pretty face, but it would be best not to mention that at the moment. It was sufficiently embarrassing that he’d ever talked about girls that way.

“Okay, then, let’s talk about the present,” she said, as if she were throwing down the gauntlet. “Are you alone on this trip or do you have a babe stashed away in your car? I heard that you brought a girl to your grandmother’s funeral—a girl you barely knew.”

Ouch. Meg still knew how to target a weak spot. “I just brought her along for Trey’s benefit.”

A wicked smile of approval slid across her pretty face. “Good idea. Tattletale Trey, judge and jury for all indiscretions. He must have loved that.”

He grinned back. “No more than Mom.”

Meg’s laugh surrounded his heart. Their old camaraderie and special connection was still there.

“I’m ba-ck,” Beth sang out, carrying a red satin beret like her own, complete with the springy toy on top.

“Did you check on the marine?” Meg asked, stepping away, leaving his arm empty. That was okay. He needed both hands to position his beret so the toy on top wouldn’t fall off.

Beth waved a hand, dismissing the marine. “He was talking to the cute little nurse. I can wait to find true love. I’d rather be with you two.”

“Beth! He was perfect for you,” Meg insisted.

His sister shrugged and said directly to him, “She’s usually right. Meg has a real gift for matchmaking. The marine and I could have been a match made in heaven.”

“Will you get off of that?” Meg gave Beth a warning glare.

Ry chuckled to himself. He had no idea what they were talking about, but with those two, it was always something.

“Meg’s in denial,” his sister said, ignoring Meg’s glare. “She’s mad because I know her guy is perfect for her even if she won’t admit it.”

Meg had a boyfriend? Well, good for her. And sympathy for the guy. That dude’s hope of peace and tranquillity were behind him. “Who’s the lucky guy?” he said, vaguely aware that he didn’t really want to know.

Meg jutted one hip to the side and planted a defiant fist on it. “There is no ‘guy’! And your sister would be wise to stick to pediatrics, which we hope she knows something about.”

“No guy? Or nobody inside?” He nodded toward the house, setting the toy on his hat bobbing, which made Beth smile even if Meg still had fire in her eyes. Her very pretty eyes. Gorgeous, really.

“I mean nobody anywhere,” she said emphatically, her feathers bouncing.

He didn’t know what she was so upset about, but egging her on was his idea of fun. “No date for New Year’s Eve? Aw, that’s too bad,” he drawled, playing the pity card as a payback for the trip she’d taken him on down memory lane. He cocked his head sympathetically, feeling the springy toy slide.

Beth mimicked the move, setting her hat in action.

Meg caught their act and laughed. “So, where’s your date, Big Talker?” she sassed.

“Who needs a date?” he said, enjoying himself more than he would have imagined. “I’m out here talking to my two favorite girls and playing with my hat.”

“Ry, don’t let her change the subject,” Beth said, laughing. “Make her tell you about her guy.”

Meg glared at Beth, her lips sealed.

“Meg, are you holding out on me?” he challenged. “We’ve never had secrets. Tell me about your fella.”

“There is no ‘guy’!” She threw up her hands. “What part of that do you not understand?”

“Oh, no,” he said in mock worry. “Please tell me you’re not in some secret relationship?” He knew better. Meg couldn’t keep a secret if her life depended on it. “He’s probably married. Never agree to a secret relationship with a man, Meggy.”

“Meg! And it’s nothing like that!”

He didn’t believe it was. “Let me meet the guy. I’ll get the truth.”

She headed for the house, her feathers bouncing. “I’m leaving. Happy New Year to you both.”

Beth caught up with her, took her arm and said, “That was a fast half hour, wasn’t it? At thirty minutes to midnight, we thought we’d spend the rest of the year alone.”

Meggy made a little choking sound.

“Are you okay?” he asked, catching up to them. It was second nature for him to check out anything that didn’t sound healthy.

“I’m fine,” she said, practically spitting her answer as she rushed to the house, leaving them behind.

“Ready to face the music?” his sister asked, suddenly serious.

“Ready as I’ll ever be.”

“Don’t expect too much from Mom, Ry.”

“Don’t worry, sis. She can throw me out, but I’ll still be glad I came.”

“I’ll be close by,” she promised.

It was good, having her here to shore up his courage.

Inside the house, the sight of his uptight family decked out in their headgear made him laugh out loud. Most of the guests were his parents’ colleagues, people who held lives in their hands every day. No one would know it to see them choosing noisemakers and trying their blow-out horns. He’d come inside at just the right moment. Amid this pandemonium, he went unnoticed.

He spotted his brother, Trey, with his arm around a woman who was probably his new wife. The two of them looked as if they could barely tolerate the bedlam. If Ry knew Trey, his brother would rather be in surgery—or having it.

There was a drumroll going, and the trumpet guy tooted a fancy fanfare. Everyone started yelling the countdown to midnight. “Five-four-three-two-one,” and the band struck up “Auld Lang Syne.”

And then, as if a neon sign blinked “Hug now,” everyone was embracing. Why his undemonstrative family needed the license of this one moment a year to express feelings, Ry would never understand. It was enough to enjoy it.

He headed first for his mother. The way they’d left it, her greeting would gauge whether he was welcome here.

“Happy New Year, Mom,” he said, taking her in his arms. She felt too thin, but that wasn’t new. What was new was the startled look of love in her eyes. Whatever he’d done to merit that, he’d like to know so he could do it again.

“Ry,” she said, patting his face delightedly. “You’ve come home! I’m so happy.”

All the love he’d felt as a little boy for his mother filled his heart. “I’m happy to see you, too, Mom,” he said, wishing this moment could last.

She pulled his head down for a kiss on his forehead, and his knees almost buckled. When had she ever done that?

“Thank you, Mom,” he managed to say. And then she was opening her arms to a guest he didn’t know.

He went through the motions, hugging people he knew and people he didn’t, more aware of the intense emotion he still felt than anything else. He hugged Aunt Jackie who didn’t seem to recognize him, but gave him a juicy kiss on the cheek. Uncle Al shouted, “Happy New Year!” in his ear as if he were deaf, and a flamboyant blonde kissed him as if they were lovers.