“You’ve spent the last few years doing nothing but going to parties throughout the city.”
She glared at him.
“You know what I mean. I wasn’t implying you don’t work. I figured if anyone knew how to make things better than the old system, it’d be you.” He smiled. “And I was right.”
She rolled her eyes, but then shifted, dropping her feet to the floor and leaning her arms on the table. “What’s going on with you and Kathy?”
He knew this conversation had to happen sooner or later, but he had no intention of rushing it. “What do you know?”
“Kathy mentioned that you’re seeing each other again.”
“We are. In case she asks, you can tell her I made it clear that she’s my girlfriend.”
“Huh?”
“Just . . .” He remembered Kathy pointing out how over the top his declarations were. Saying it to Moira was beyond over the top. “Nothing.”
“Why are you doing this? You can find someone else.”
“I don’t want anyone else.” He knew the response wouldn’t satisfy her. Moira was a talker, and she needed thorough answers. “When I saw her at your engagement party, it wasn’t pretty. We both viewed how things had ended between us differently. There’d been some major miscommunication back then. Mostly on my part, but some on hers. And yeah, I get that I hurt her. I never meant to. And in the time since we spoke at your party, I haven’t been able to get her out of my head.”
“So?”
“We were good together back then, but I wasn’t ready for anything serious. I wasn’t ready for her.” His mouth went dry. Why did he feel the need to defend himself to Moira of all people? It wasn’t like she was Kathy’s mom.
“And you are now?”
“Yes.”
She snorted.
“What?”
“You’re not the settling down type.”
“Five years ago, I wasn’t. Now I am.”
“Like anyone believes that.” She stood and left the room toward the kitchen.
Kevin clenched his teeth. While he didn’t need Moira’s approval, he also knew that as Kathy’s best friend, she had influence. When Moira returned, she handed him a bottle of cold water and opened one for herself.
“I get you think I’m a fuckup. But I’ve proven to Kathy that I deserve a second chance. I’m not going to hurt her.”
“We’ll see.” She gulped water. “Keep in mind that Jimmy’s on my side now. I’ll have him kick your ass if you do.”
“Sweetheart, I’m pretty sure you could handle that on your own.” He chugged his own water and stood. “But we won’t have to test that theory. Thanks for the help. I have to figure out who I need to talk to.”
She rose to walk him to the door. “She’s guarded, you know, but soft. It won’t take much to damage her once she lets you in.”
Kevin turned to look into Moira’s bright blue eyes. “I’m not going to hurt her. I want this. I can’t remember ever feeling about a woman the way I do about her. I missed it the first time because I was young and dumb.”
“That’s definitely an O’Malley family trait.”
He smiled. “Tell me about it. Thanks again for the help. Tell Jimmy to give me a call later.”
As he walked back to his car, he considered what Moira had said about Kathy. The guardedness he’d witnessed, but getting to the rest, he’d only caught glimpses. He’d prove to Kathy that he could take care of her.
And then he’d rub it in Moira’s pretty little face.
* * *
Three more days passed without seeing Kathy. And he felt like shit because of it. Not just the lack of contact, kissing and touching her, but because he’d acted like getting to five dates would be simple. He woke every morning and sent her a text because he knew she was already at the shop. By the time he took a break to eat in the afternoon, he couldn’t not think of her, so he called. She always answered, which made him feel even guiltier because it felt like she was waiting on him. If she was busier, she wouldn’t have time to answer and he wouldn’t feel like such an ass.
He lay in bed staring at the time on his phone. Ten o’clock. He knew she was in bed, but he wanted to hear her voice, so he called.
“Hey, you’re calling late. Did you just get in?” She didn’t sound like she’d been sleeping.
“Did I wake you?”
“No. I was working up some new designs for a wedding next week. What are you doing?”
“I just crawled into bed and wanted to catch you before you fell asleep. Now I feel like a slacker because you’re probably still fully clothed sitting at your desk working even though you got up hours before me this morning.”
She laughed and the light sound lifted his spirit.
“I’m actually sitting in bed surrounded by scraps of crumpled paper.” A heavy sigh followed before she said, “I’ve been thinking a lot. Maybe this isn’t a good time for us to be starting something.”
“What?”
“You’re really busy with the mayor. I get it. I’m not mad, and I’m not disappearing. I just think maybe we should step back.”
“No.” He sat up in bed. Rubbing a hand over his head, he tried to think of the right words. “I know things have been crazy, but I promise they’ll calm down. My work life has never been this packed. It won’t stay like this for long.”
“You need to focus on your job. I don’t want to be a distraction that costs you the position you want.”
“You’re not.”
“As much as I like talking to you, I need more in a boyfriend. I need to be able to see you and touch you. I don’t need fancy dates, but I do need to be with you. Right now I feel like that’s an unfair demand to make.”
“It’s not,” he whispered.
“It is. When I opened my shop, I didn’t date for pretty much a whole year. I didn’t have a social life at all, come to think of
