This all seemed part of some grand cosmic plan. The way Brian talked, they'd been destined to be together from the moment they'd met. Though it was a wonderful fantasy, that was all it was. As soon as they put some distance between them, this overwhelming attraction would fade. It was all about lust and not about love. Lily was honest enough to admit that to herself.
She walked out of the office to find Marie hovering near her desk. 'Miss Gallagher, is everything all right?'
'Probably not. But you don't need to worry. It's not your fault.'
Lily moved toward the elevator and waited. But the moment she stepped inside, she realized that she should have taken the stairs. Her mind flashed back to the night she and Brian had been caught inside. What had ever possessed her to make love to him in an elevator? She'd lost all sense of professional and personal decorum since she'd arrived in Boston.
But as the doors opened up, Lily couldn't bring herself to step out. She remembered the words he'd said to her and how hard it had been to believe him. Did he really love her or was it just the passion of the moment that had brought the sudden declaration? The doors began to close and she quickly stepped out, putting that night behind her for good.
Mrs. Wilburn was coldly efficient as she showed Lily into Patterson's office, not bothering to offer her coffee. This time, she wasn't greeted with a smile. Patterson's dour expression clearly telegraphed the subject of their meeting. She'd never been fired before, but now that she'd accepted her fate, she felt almost calm.
'Miss Gallagher, please sit down.'
Lily shook her head. 'I can stand. Just say what you have to say.'
Patterson nodded his head. 'All right. We're no longer in need of your services. After that photo in the paper, I don't think anyone in the media is going to take you seriously. And I get the feeling that your relationship with Brian Quinn isn't working to my benefit. I've called your boss and told him that he can keep half the retainer. He asked me to tell you he expects you in the office first thing tomorrow morning.'
'Mr. Patterson, I know I haven't been very effective, but DeLay Scoville can help you with your public relations work. We have an outstanding staff and highly qualified and effective personnel. If you just give us a chance, I can recommend another consultant who could be here in the morning, ready to jump right in.'
'There's no need. I've already contacted a firm in New York.'
At that, Lily knew it wouldn't pay to argue any longer. Patterson had already made up his mind. And now that it was over, all she could think about was getting out. 'Fine. I'll just clear out my things. But I would like to tell Marie that she still has a job here.'
'She does,' Patterson said.
'Thank you.' Lily turned and walked out, then took the stairs down to her office. She paused on the landing between the two floors and drew a deep breath. 'That wasn't so bad,' she murmured. 'I suppose everyone has to be fired at least once in their lives.' But now that she was out of one job, she couldn't help but wonder if she'd be out of a second one soon. And if she found herself out of a second, then that opened up a whole new world of possibilities.
Her mind wandered to Brian Quinn, but Lily shook her head, banishing the image of him from her mind. Yes, he'd asked her to marry him, but Lily couldn't believe he was serious. The Quinn family curse was a ridiculous reason for marriage and one she had no intention of considering.
9
'She's gone.'
Brian sat down on the arm of the sofa in Sean and Liam's apartment. Though he could say the words, he still couldn't believe them. It had all happened so quickly that he hadn't had time to react. After the free-for-all at the ground-breaking ceremony, he'd been hesitant to call Lily. He'd wanted to give her time to recover-and time to forget What he'd said. And now she'd disappeared.
Hell, he hadn't meant to bring up marriage. He'd just been so frustrated that it had come out. Yes, it had sounded a little crazy, but he'd lived with this damned curse hanging over his head for such a long time, it seemed like the logical next step.
'Did you leave her a message?' Liam asked.
His little brother was stretched out on the sofa, a bag of potato chips resting on his stomach, a beer in his hand. Sean, sprawled in a tattered easy chair, rested his stockinged feet on the coffee table. Though Liam was usually never far from Ellie, tonight she was in Hartford, attending a seminar, leaving all three brothers single again.
'She's not out,' Brian explained, 'she's gone. Left. Disappeared.'
'I'd probably take off, too,' Liam said. He pointed to the copy of the
'Shut up,' Brian said. 'She has a really nice ass.'
'I'm just saying that the depth of field is bad. The guy was probably using an auto-focus camera and with that kind of lighting, the shadows are going to enhance the curvature and you won't get-'
'Liam, shut yer gob,' Sean shouted, throwing a pillow at his brother's head. 'Can't you see our boy is upset?' He turned to Brian. 'What are you going to do?'
'I thought I had this all figured out,' Brian murmured. 'I decided to drop the story. Not exactly drop it. I gave my files to this rookie reporter at the station. I wanted to tell Lily, so I called her at work and the receptionist told me that she no longer worked for Patterson. Then I called her hotel and she'd already checked out.'
'So consider yourself lucky,' Sean said. 'It looks like you avoided the Quinn family curse.'
'I don't think I did,' Brian muttered. 'I'm in love with her.' He groaned softly, then pinched his eyes shut. 'You know, I thought this curse was just a load of crap, but it isn't. When it hits you, it hits hard, like a truck. I haven't known her for a month, but I know one thing-I want her in my life.'
'Then go get her,' Liam said.
'I don't know where she is. I know she lives in Chicago, but I couldn't get her phone number from information and I don't remember the name of the place where she works. And Patterson sure as hell isn't going to give it to me.' He glanced over at Sean. 'Maybe you could help?'
Sean shook his head. 'Are you crazy? Break it off now, clean and simple.'
'You're refusing to help me?' Brian asked. He strung together a long list of curse words. 'All right, I'll pay you.'
'If you marry her, I'm the only one left,' Sean said. 'I don't want to be the only one left.'
'So find yourself a woman,' Liam suggested.
'No way,' Sean muttered. 'Are you even sure that it's the curse? You never saved her life, did you?'
Brian frowned. 'No. Not in a big way. But in lots of small ways that probably added up. I saved her from that dolt at the fund-raiser and she nearly walked right into the street in front of a car and she almost fell down the stairs. And there was a bike in the park and the flying fish. It all adds up.'
'Are you trying to convince us or convince yourself?' Sean asked.
'He's right,' Liam said. 'Compared to what I did for Ellie, that doesn't seem like much.'
Brian pushed to his feet and began to pace back and forth between the door and the sofa. 'I didn't set out to fall in love with her, but I'm sure that's how I feel. I told her that, but I don't think she believes me. How the hell am I supposed to convince her when I'm not even sure how to explain it myself?'
'You just feel it in your gut,' Liam said. 'That's how it was with Ellie.'
'Lily thinks it's all about the sex.'
'Good sex?' Liam asked.
'Great,' Brian murmured. 'Better than great. All I have to do is touch her and boom, we're ripping each other's clothes off. I have no self-control around her. I think about her all day long and can't sleep because I can't put her out of my head. But it's not just about the sex. There's more to it than that.'
Sean groaned and threw his arm over his eyes. 'Stop, please.' Suddenly, he cursed and then jumped to his feet. 'Come on, Li. If I have to listen to any more of this whining I'm going to punch him.'
