“Back again, I see,” he said to Thomas, his tone unfriendly.
“Jake!” Connie warned.
“I’m just wondering why he’s suddenly around here so much,” Jake said, his combative gaze never leaving Thomas’s face.
“You know we’re working together on foundation business,” she said, determined to keep up the appearance that their meetings were perfectly innocent.
“And I’ve been dating your sister,” Thomas said, ignoring her hint.
“Thomas!” she protested.
Jake sat down, looking stunned by the unexpected admission of the truth. He turned on her. “Is he serious? The two of you have been dating?”
“We’ve been out a couple of times,” she acknowledged.
“But he’s Mick’s brother,” he said as if there were a crime in that.
Thomas chuckled. “I can see why you might find that worrisome.”
“Oh, can you now?” Jake said sarcastically. “That makes you way too old for my sister.”
Connie frowned at him. “And exactly how old is too old?” she demanded. “Two years? Ten? Twenty? Do you even know how old Thomas is? Do you even care that after Sam, who had the maturity of a gnat, I might want a man in my life who knows who he is and what he wants?”
Jake looked deflated. “I’m just worried about you, sis. I know you’ve been lonely for a long time, and even more so now that Jenny’s gone to college. I don’t want anyone taking advantage of your vulnerability.”
She scooted closer on the bench and hugged him. “No one on earth could have had a better brother all these years, but it’s time for me to start living my life, Jake. I can make my own decisions about who’s right for me.”
“And you think Thomas is?” he asked skeptically.
“I don’t know yet.” She looked across the table and into Thomas’s clear blue eyes. “But I do want to find out.”
“And I assure you, Jake, I’m not playing games here,” Thomas said. “I don’t know where this is going, but your sister is the first woman in a long time who’s made me want something more in my life. Believe me, I thought long and hard before I asked her out. Nobody understands the family complications better than I do. We’ll have a few people on our side and a lot more who are as skeptical as you are, but I think we deserve to figure this out for ourselves, don’t you?”
Jake continued to look doubtful.
“I assure you that my intentions toward your sister are entirely honorable,” Thomas added persuasively. “I will do my very best never to do anything knowingly that will hurt her.”
Jake looked torn, but then he gazed directly into Connie’s eyes. “You want this?”
She nodded. “I want this.”
“Okay, then,” Jake said, looking reconciled, if not happy. “I’ll reserve judgment.” He scowled again at Thomas. “But if you hurt her…”
Thomas nodded. “Understood. I’ll need to watch my back.”
“Not your back,” Jake corrected. “You’ll see me coming.”
Connie noted the look of complete understanding that passed between the two most important men in her life. In some ways it made her want to shake her head in exasperation. In others, it made her feel cherished.
All in all, though, this potentially disastrous confrontation had gone a whole lot better than she’d anticipated. If they could get past the O’Brien gauntlet half as easily, they might actually have a shot at making this thing—whatever it was—last long enough to see if it could work out.
Will arrived at the inn around two o’clock to find Jess pacing around looking annoyed.
“Bad time?” he inquired.
“You’re late,” she accused.
“How could I be late? We didn’t set a time,” he reminded her. “I told you I’d stop by sometime this afternoon and we’d go for coffee or ice cream.” A probably inappropriate smile tugged at his lips. “Did you miss me?”
“No, I thought you’d stood me up after all,” she admitted. “I figured Jake and Mack had gotten through to you and convinced you I’m a bad bet.”
“No one could convince me of that,” he assured her.
“But they tried, didn’t they?”
“Do you really want me to say something that will encourage hard feelings among the three of you?” he asked.
She uttered a sigh of resignation. “I knew it. They wanted you to back off.”
“Wasn’t that the message Abby and your family were sending, as well?” he inquired reasonably.
“It’s different when it’s coming from Jake and Mack,” she said. “I don’t know how, but it is.”
Will resisted the desire to chuckle. “Is anyone else’s opinion really important? I’m here. Unless you’ve changed your mind, we’re going out.” He studied her intently. “Or did your family convince you that it’s a bad idea to date me? Is this really about you having second thoughts?”
She gave him an obviously exasperated look. “Oh, they’re not worried about me. It’s you they’re worried about. How’s that for ironic? I think everyone’s united on that front. It’s a little annoying, to be perfectly honest.”
“I can totally understand why you’d be annoyed. Let’s prove ’em all wrong.”
“Until we’ve run off and gotten married and celebrated our fiftieth anniversary, I think that’s going to be all but impossible,” she said wryly.
“Then that’s what we’ll do,” he said, holding her gaze.
She grinned. “How do you have so much faith in this when I’m scared to death?”
“I’ve had longer to get used to the idea,” he reminded her. “I was fourteen when I fell for you. You’ll catch up. Now, I vote we go for ice cream, but the decision is yours. Coffee or drinks are on the table, too, if you’d prefer.”
She looked intrigued. “My vote counts more?”
“On this date, it does.” He grinned, then warned, “It won’t always. We’re going to be very good at give-and-take.”
“Frankly, I’ve never enjoyed compromise,” she told him.
“You’ll learn,” he said, taking her hand in his. “It’s the basis of any successful relationship.”
“I’m an O’Brien. We like to win.”
“But there can be great rewards that come with compromise,” he assured her.
“Such as?”
“The first time you
