night. Keely, you threw a drink in his face.'
'I do know him,' Keely admitted.
Sean reluctantly released Rafe's arms and gave him a slight shove. 'You said you came here to talk to Keely. Say what you came to say, then get out.'
'I don't think you want to hear what I have to say,' Rafe muttered, rubbing his jaw and testing the soundness of his teeth.
Keely screamed in frustration. 'Just stop it. If the testosterone gets any thicker in here, we're going to have to open a bloody window. You're not going to fight each other and that's it. Conor, you're a cop. If you let them fight, then you're not doing your duty.' She turned to Rafe. 'Say what you came to say,' she murmured.
'Keely, I really think it would be better if we talked in private.'
'I've got nothing to hide from my brothers.'
'All right. If that's the way you want it.' Rafe cleared his throat. 'Keely Quinn, I love you. I've known it for a while but I guess I couldn't admit it until that night at the cabin after you seduced me. After you left, I thought I could put it all aside. But I can't.' He reached out and took her hand, then drew it to his lips. 'Marry me.'
Keely gasped, her eyes wide. 'Marry you?'
'You spent the night with this bastard?' Brian asked.
'Yes,' Keely admitted. 'But I didn't-'
Sean jumped in next. 'And you seduced him?'
Keely sighed impatiently. 'Well, it wasn't the first time. He seduced me the night before. And then the night before that it was kind of a mutual thing.' She glanced around at her brothers. 'Don't look at me like that. I never said I was a virgin. And you six shouldn't talk. How many women have you seduced?'
Dylan's fiancee stepped into the fray, strolling over from her spot near the dartboard. 'Yeah,' she said, sending Keely an encouraging smile. 'I'd like to hear the answer to that.'
'So would I,' Conor's wife added.
Another woman joined the group, slipping her arm around Brendan's. 'Actually, I'd rather not hear anything about that,' she said.
'How did this get turned around on us?' Dylan asked. 'I still think we should beat the crap out of Kendrick.'
'Enough!' Seamus stepped up, baseball bat clutched in his hand. He slapped it against his palm. 'There'll be no fightin' in my pub.' He nodded to Rafe. 'Your father was a good man and he would have been welcome in my pub anytime. But I'd rather you don't show your face around here again.' He turned to Keely. 'And you're goin' to have to make a choice, lass. It's him or us. I won't be havin' a daughter of mine keepin' company with the likes of him.'
'But I-'
'You listen to your da,' Seamus warned.
Rafe gave her hand a squeeze. 'I don't care how your family feels, Keely,' he said. 'I love you and if I have to fight each one of them, I will.' He glanced around, from her glaring brothers back to Keely's stunned expression. Maybe Seamus was right. There was nothing more to be said. Keely knew how he felt and she knew how her family felt. The choice was up to her.
He slowly stepped away from her, then let go of her hand. Keely's gaze remained fixed on his as he moved to the door. It took every ounce of strength to walk away from her. But he had to believe that what he'd said made a difference. If she really loved him, then she'd make a choice and she'd choose him.
But when he reached the street, alone, Rafe drew a deep breath and raked his hands through his hair. 'So much for love,' he murmured. 'I guess it doesn't conquer all.' He started toward his car, but then the door of the pub flew open and Keely came running out.
With a soft cry, she threw herself into his arms. 'I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I should have left with you, but I just didn't know what to do.'
He furrowed his fingers through her silken hair, then brought his mouth down on hers. He'd forgotten how wonderful she tasted, how much he loved kissing her. 'I missed you, Keely. I didn't realize how much until now.'
His hands skimmed over her body, finding the curves beneath her clothes. She shivered and he realized that she'd come outside without a jacket. He grabbed the lapels of his coat and wrapped them around her, trapping her against his warm body. 'I have something for you,' he murmured, his lips against hers.
'What is it?'
He hugged her more tightly, then reached into his pocket and pulled out the small velvet box.
'What's this?' she asked as he held it in front of her.
'If you don't like it, we can pick out something else.'
She slowly stepped out of his embrace and opened the box. Her eyes went wide and she gasped again. 'Is this an engagement ring?'
'What else would it be?' He smiled warmly. 'I asked you to marry me. A ring usually goes with the proposal.'
'I-I just thought you were saying that to make my brothers angry.'
Rafe laughed and shook his head. 'Jeez, Keely. I'm not the kind of guy who tosses marriage proposals around lightly. I meant what I said. I love you and I want to marry you.'
Keely stared down at the ring. 'But we barely know each other. Even though we met in October, we've only really been together a month.'
'Do you love me?'
'I do,' Keely murmured.
'And do you want to marry me?'
'I do,' she said. 'But there are so many things-'
'Then you keep this,' Rafe said. 'You don't have to put it on now. When you're ready-when your family is ready-then I'll slip that on your finger and we'll make it official.' Rafe leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead. 'I want you to go back inside now. They're going to wonder where you went.'
'But I want to stay here with you.'
'Sweetheart, we're going to spend the rest of our lives together. For now, I think it's best if you smooth things out with your family. You dropped a pretty big bombshell in there. Next time, I don't think you need to provide the details of our love life.'
Keely stared up at him and smiled. 'I don't know why I said that. Sometimes even I can't believe what comes out of my mouth. It probably wasn't the smartest thing to say with my brothers standing there ready to kill you.'
'Can I believe that you're going to marry me?'
She pushed up on her toes and kissed him. 'Yes, Rafe Kendrick. I will marry you.'
Rafe captured her mouth once more and kissed her long and deep, a kiss that he knew would have to hold them until they saw each other again. But now that he had the answers he wanted, he didn't care if it took a day or a week or even a month. Keely Quinn was his and nothing could stand between them.
'Call me tonight,' he murmured. 'I want to hear your voice before I go to sleep. Better yet, come over and you can spend the night in my bed.'
'I can't,' Keely said. 'I've been staying with Conor and Olivia when I'm in Boston. They'll know something is up if I don't come home.'
'You already admitted to them that you weren't a virgin. Do you think they'll be surprised?'
'I just don't want to stir up trouble,' Keely said. 'Give them all a chance to cool down and then I'll tell them how I feel. Everything is still so new between me and my family.'
'And between us, too.'
'But I know you love me, Rafe. That's something I can count on. I can count on that, can't I?'
Rafe pulled her into his embrace and pressed his lips into her fragrant hair. 'Forever,' he murmured.
RAFE GLANCED DOWN at the address he'd scrawled on a scrap of paper. 'This is it-210 East Beltran.' Pulling the car to the curb, he parked a few doors down the street from McClain's Bakery in Brooklyn. After switching off the ignition, Rafe stepped out of the car and drew his overcoat more tightly around him against the January cold.
