Sudden Pleasures

'Yeah,' Ashley admitted. 'He's hot, but that isn't a reason to fall in love with him. However, I like him, and maybe that's a start. And it was nice of him to call me yesterday and tell me he was going away. He had called the shop, and Nina told him I was home, and why. He asked how I was feeling, and he really sounded as if it mattered. Of course, he was probably worried I might die before the wedding, and then he'd really be in a whole lot of trouble.'

'No, not Ryan. He's not like that,' Frankie defended her brother. 'If he sounded concerned, then he was concerned. He really is one of the good guys, which is why Ma and I are so pissed off at the others. My five older sisters are like a damned pack of vultures, and Ryan doesn't deserve that. Dad was always tight with money. It was his upbringing. It was Ryan who was always getting Dad to help them out, and he's the one who made Dad give us each such a generous bequest in his will. So for them to have gone out and found a buyer for R &R stinks. Especially since the guy is Ryan's least favorite person in the whole world.'

'I don't understand your sisters,' Ashley admitted. 'Ben and I would have done anything for each other.'

Frankie shrugged. 'What can I say? I don't understand it either, except it seems that the more my sisters have, the more they want.' She drank the last bit of cappuccino from her cup. 'Well, we had better get going. I've got a crew all lined up to do the painting and papering. They'll be here tomorrow.'

'Where are you housing them?' Ashley asked, concerned.

'The motel just off the parkway,' Frankie answered. 'The new bed will be delivered Friday, and the rest of the stuff will be coming via FedEx this week. By the time Ma arrives on Saturday the rooms will be done. Hey, look, the sun is coming out. It's going to be a nice day after all. Can we go swimming? Ryan says your pool is wonderful.'

'Of course,' Ashley told her. 'But let's get our work done first.'

'Gee,' Frankie noted with a grin, 'you really are a perfect match for my brother. I hope you do fall in love and make this a real marriage.'

Ashley smiled. Maybe I do too, she thought silently.

Chapter 5

Angelina Mulcahy stepped out of the Lincoln Town Car and looked about her. It was a beautiful hot August day, and a silvery haze hung over the bay below, which was dotted with several small sailboats. She turned to face the portico, and smiled as Frankie and Ashley came from the house to greet her. She kissed both women on their cheeks. 'It's lovely,' she said to Ashley. 'What a beautiful house, cara .'

'Wait till you see the inside, Ma,' Frankie said. 'It's right up Ryan's alley, and the antiques are real. Been in the family for centuries, Ashley says.'

'Francesca! Do not be so common,' her mother chided her.

Ashley laughed. 'Don't scold her, Lina. Like Ryan, she appreciates what my family has collected over the years. Come in.'

The three women entered the house, and as it was only ten o'clock Ashley led them out on the porch for coffee, small cups of freshly made raspberry yogurt, and miniature Danish pastries that Mrs. B. had baked earlier. Seeing the gracious display Angelina raised an approving eyebrow, and Frankie winked conspiratorially at Ashley. After they had eaten, Ashley suggested a tour of the house.

'You'll want to see where Ryan will be making his home, of course,' she said as she led her guests from the porch. 'Frankie has been all over the place this week, but as you will soon be my family, I wanted you to see the house before our wedding.'

Although she was impressed by everything she saw, Angelina Mulcahy's handsome face remained a smooth, emotionless mirror barely reflecting her thoughts. The house was exquisite. The living room was large and gracious, with an elegant mantel above the fireplace. The formal dining room was something splendid, with its great Duncan Phyfe dining table and chairs with their beige-and-dark-green-striped satin seats. In the center of the table was a huge porcelain bowl filled with an arrangement of multicolored dahlias. The sideboard was balanced at either end with silver chargers, and a silver punch bowl and ladle was set in the center. There was a fireplace in the dining room as well.

Angelina admired the paneled library with its fireplace. 'How many fireplaces do you have in this house?' she asked her hostess.

Ashley thought a moment. 'Twelve, I believe. The bedrooms all have one, and the kitchen downstairs has one.'

Living room, dining room, library, kitchen, Angelina thought silently. That means there must be eight bedrooms. It's a house for a family. A nice big family. She followed her hostess upstairs, where she was shown the new master suite, with its parlor, bedroom, two bathrooms, and two large walk-in closets. She was astounded by the size of it all, thinking of the small bedroom she and Finbar had slept in for much of their marriage.

'Well, whaddaya think, Ma?' Frankie said. 'Have I done a good job?'

'It's amazing,' Angelina replied, unable to keep the approval out of her voice.

They entered from the upstairs corridor into the parlor, which was painted pale green above its chair rail, and a dark cypress green below. The walls held several very good paintings-landscapes, and two obviously original ancestor portraits in muted gold frames. The carpeting was a pale cream color. A maple secretary stood in one corner, the wavy glass in its door attesting to its vast age. There was a couch upholstered in dark green duck cloth with several decorative pillows, and two comfortable club chairs that were upholstered in a large floral rose pattern, muted green on a cream background. There were small antique side tables, and several lovely lamps.

'Wait until you see the bedroom,' Frankie enthused. 'I got the bed from Ryan's place. It's a repro of a sixteenth-century English piece with an eight-foot linen fold-paneling headboard. Solid oak. Ashley's granddad lived in this room until he died several years ago. Strangely his bed was the only nonantique in here, and we sent it off to Habitat's store in the next town.' She led the way into the bedroom. 'Well?' she said, grinning.

'The bed is a bit overwhelming at first,' Ashley said, 'but the room can take it.'

Angelina looked at the bed with its turned pillars at the foot and its dark green velvet bed hangings. The room was papered in a cream silk paper with delicate green ferns. There was a wonderful sixteenth-century chest-on- chest, and a seventeenth-century bureau with an exquisite mirror over it, among the other furnishings. 'Just think,' Angelina said softly, 'you will create your children in that bed. Dynasties come from such beds.'

'Look at the bathrooms, Ma,' Frankie said, pulling her mother in another direction. 'I've papered Ryan's in ducks on a taupe background. Real guy paper. And Ash's is pale pink lilies with green leaves on cream. Aren't they pretty?'

Angelina looked, and then moved on to see the other bedrooms, smiling when Ashley said, 'You may pick whichever one you like best for your room when you visit, Lina. I hope you'll come often. They all have their own bathrooms. Byrnes will always be glad to pick you up and take you home again.'

They returned downstairs and sat again on the porch as they waited for luncheon to be announced. A gentle breeze eased the heat of midday.

'Such a beautiful home,' Angelina said. 'And all those bedrooms for the children that you and Ryan, God willing, will have. Tell me, cara , why aren't you being married in church? You are of different faiths, I know, but certainly Ryan has explained that you must be married in the church, and the priest will have explained to you that the children must be baptized Catholic.'

'Roman Catholic,' Ashley corrected her. 'Angelina, this is really something that Ryan should have told you, but like most men he is obviously not about to broach an unpleasant subject with his mother. This is not an arranged