“You seem distracted, sis. First you run into Will inside Sally’s, and now you practically mow me down. Is something wrong?”
“Not a thing,” she assured him, as he fell into step beside her.
“It wouldn’t have anything to do with your encounter with Will back there, would it?”
She stopped in her tracks and scowled at him. “Does this family have spies everywhere? Do I need to tie bells around your necks, so I’ll know when an O’Brien is in the vicinity?”
He had the audacity to laugh. “I was sitting at the counter, minding my own business, when you came in. It is not my fault if you and Will started dancing around each other like a couple of boxers waiting for the first punch to be thrown.”
“A lovely analogy,” she commented. “And it wasn’t like that.”
“Then what was it like? You left there muttering about Will. You weren’t even looking where you were going, which explains our close encounter on the sidewalk out front. What did he say to get under your skin this time?”
“Not a thing,” she insisted, then couldn’t stop herself from adding, “He dismissed me. Do you believe that? He actually dismissed me, like some teacher graciously letting class go even though the bell’s already rung anyway.”
Connor looked confused. “Meaning?”
“What right does he have to send me on my way with a pat on the head?”
“I never saw him pat you on the head.”
“Figuratively,” she said impatiently. “He was condescending. And all because I told him last night wasn’t a date.”
Connor stared at her. “Last night? You were with Will last night? You didn’t leave Mom and Dad’s with him.”
“No, he came by the inn to help me clean the attic. Without an invitation, in case you were wondering.”
Connor, who was used to dealing with reluctant witnesses in a courtroom, nodded as if what she was saying made perfect sense, even though he was clearly confused. “Okay, so the two of you cleaning the attic together wasn’t a date. Did he think it was?”
“No, he thought dinner was,” she said. “Well, actually he didn’t say he did, but I told him it wasn’t, just so there’d be no misunderstanding about it, and he got all huffy and left.”
Connor laughed. He didn’t even have the courtesy to try to hide it. “You know, I always thought Mack and Susie lived in some crazy state of denial, but you and Will may have taken up residence right next to them.”
“Will said almost the same thing, and then he said he wouldn’t stand for it,” Jess told him.
“Can you blame him? We’ve all gotten a little tired of those ridiculous protests Susie and Mack keep uttering.”
Jess sighed. “No, I get what Will was saying. I was just trying to be straightforward and honest.”
“Really?” Connor said doubtfully. “Because I don’t even think you’re being honest with yourself about your feelings for Will. Oh, it’s possible that you didn’t have any at one time, but now you do. Why not admit it and see what happens?”
“Because I can’t,” she said in frustration.
“Why?”
“When I’m with him, I feel like he knows more about me than I know about myself. It’s annoying.”
“Do you have any idea how many women would give anything to find a man who actually understands them?”
“This is different,” Jess insisted.
“How so?”
She couldn’t really explain it, so she retorted, “It just is.”
“Now, there’s the rational side of you I know and love,” Connor said lightly.
“Oh, go suck an egg,” she snapped. “I never said it was rational. It’s just the way I feel.”
Connor draped an arm across her shoulders and hugged her. “You’ll work it out,” he said confidently.
“You seem to have a whole lot more faith in me than I do,” she replied despondently.
“Just about everyone in the family does,” Connor said. “Maybe you should think about why that is, Jess. Until you figure out that you’re a terrific person who deserves to be happy, you’re going to keep getting in your own way.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Love you. I’ve got to get to the office.”
She watched her brother leave, then sighed. Something told her that Connor, who—bless his heart—was not known as the most insightful person in the universe, had hit the nail on the head this time. If he could see what was going on with her, then maybe it was time she took a harder look at herself.
Will went to the bar at Brady’s after work. It was something he rarely did on his own, especially on a Monday night, but he was still stewing over his encounter with Jess earlier in the day and the whole fiasco on Sunday night.
To his surprise, he found Mack and Jake already there.
“What are the two of you doing here tonight?” he asked.
“We agreed that you weren’t yourself at lunch today and something told us you’d be turning up here tonight,” Jake said. “Besides, I needed an entire hour to relax without the baby screaming. For a very little girl, she can make quite a racket.”
“And yet you expect Bree to deal with her all day,” Will commented, ignoring the references to his mood.
“Bree has help, believe me. Her grandmother stops by and takes over for an hour or so. She drops the baby off with Megan every afternoon. And whenever she takes her over to the theater, the girls in her upcoming production take turns fussing over her. This child has more unofficial nannies than any kid on earth.”
Will grinned. “In other words, the only time you get to spend with her is in the evening when she’s exhausted and crying,” he guessed.
Jake nodded. “And I don’t have the one thing she wants, food. Only Bree can provide that.”
“Are you actually jealous that your wife can breast-feed your baby and you can’t?” Mack asked incredulously.
Jake looked startled by the assessment. “That would be crazy,” he said, then shrugged. “But maybe.” He flushed. “Don’t you dare repeat this, but before she was
