Mick’s scowl only deepened. “I didn’t come here to talk about Ma’s dating plans. I have something to say about yours.”
Now it was Thomas’s turn to scowl. “Tread carefully, big brother,” he warned. “You’re heading onto dangerous turf. My social life is none of your concern.”
“It is when I hear you’re about to make a fool of yourself with some girl who’s young enough to be your daughter, a girl who’s like part of the family.”
Thomas sighed. “So you’ve heard about Connie and me.”
“I have,” Mick confirmed. “What do you have to say for yourself?”
“I’m not going to defend myself to you, if that’s what you’re hoping for. Connie is hardly young enough to be my daughter. Not even I was that precocious. She’s certainly old enough to know her own mind. We’ve both gone into this with our eyes wide open.”
“‘This’?” Mick said. “Exactly what is ‘this’?”
“A relationship,” Thomas said readily.
“Then it’s true. You’re having an affair?” he said, his expression incredulous. “What the hell are you thinking?”
“That she makes me happy,” Thomas said, refusing to let Mick’s attitude rattle him. “And, thanks be to God, I seem to make her happy, too.”
“And what about Jake? How’s he supposed to feel about you taking advantage of his older sister?”
Thomas frowned at him. “Nobody’s taking advantage of anybody. I can assure you of that. As for Jake, he and I have looked each other in the eye and reached an understanding, so I’m guessing the problem is you, not Jake.”
“Okay, what if it is? It’s wrong. How can you not see that?”
“What I can see is that this is none of your business,” Thomas said. “Connie and I aren’t flaunting this in anyone’s face. We’ve been discreet.”
“And why is that?” Mick demanded. “I’ll tell you why. Because even you know you ought to be ashamed of yourself. You’re scared Ma will get wind of this and have a stroke.”
Thomas stood up, slamming a fist on his desk as he rose. “That’s enough, Mick. You may be my older brother, but I won’t have you or anyone else trying to turn this into some sleazy, back-alley affair. Nobody respects and admires that woman more than I do. I won’t let you insult Connie or me by suggesting what we’ve found is something tawdry. And leave Ma out of it, too. The only thing she’s ever wanted for any of us is that we find happiness.”
Mick didn’t look appeased. “If you’re so all-fired sure that there’s nothing wrong with what you’re doing, then why haven’t you brought it out in the open? You haven’t escorted Connie to Sunday dinner, have you?”
“Because this is exactly the kind of reaction I was hoping to avoid,” Thomas declared. “I won’t have Connie embarrassed, Mick, and apparently that’s the only kind of behavior I can expect from you.”
For just a moment, Mick looked taken aback by his vehemence. His gaze narrowed. “You really care about her? Seriously?”
“It’s getting to be damned serious,” Thomas said, even surprising himself.
Mick nodded slowly, as if absorbing the information. “I see.”
“Do you?” Thomas challenged. “I hope so, because I thought you and I were finally starting to make some progress in mending our relationship. I’d hate to see it go off track again, if only for Ma’s sake. How’d you find out about this, anyway? It seems clear to me that Jake didn’t tell you.”
“I overheard Connor and Kevin talking,” Mick admitted. “I couldn’t believe what I was hearing, so I decided to come straight to the horse’s mouth.”
“Well, I suppose I should be grateful you came directly to me, instead of talking about it to everyone else in the family,” Thomas said grudgingly. “Once all the O’Briens start dissecting the news, it could put so much pressure on Connie it’ll scare her off.”
“I don’t imagine she’d be scared off if you put a ring on her finger,” Mick said slyly.
Thomas froze. “An engagement ring?” The out-of-the-blue thought didn’t make him half as nervous as it should have.
“Or you could skip straight to a wedding ring,” Mick said. “You’re not getting any younger. The two of you could probably still have a kid together, if you got busy in a hurry.”
Thomas gave him a wry look. “Thanks for the suggestion.”
“I’m just saying—”
“I know what you’re saying,” Thomas said impatiently. “But I think Connie and I will have to decide the pace of this relationship ourselves.”
“Up to you,” Mick said agreeably. “You’ll bring her to dinner this Sunday.” He said it as if it were a foregone conclusion. “Get this out in the open. Connie deserves that kind of openness, especially when it comes to your family.”
Thomas couldn’t disagree. He was just afraid she’d listen to the invitation, then turn around and run the other way. He could hardly blame her. He wasn’t much looking forward to the occasion himself.
“Maybe,” he began, hoping to put it off.
“This Sunday,” his older brother said. “Or I’ll speak to Ma. I imagine she’ll give you an earful about showing some respect for a woman we all care about.”
That was the last thing Thomas wanted. “We’ll be there,” he promised.
Or they’d both head to Tahiti for a few months, where there wouldn’t be an O’Brien in sight.
“You have to be kidding me,” Connie said when Thomas called to tell her there was a command performance scheduled for Sunday.
“I was going to break it to you when I came over on Friday, but I had a feeling you might need a little time to adjust to the idea. Or maybe to flee the country.”
“You just didn’t want to tell me when there was a cast iron skillet within reach,” she retorted.
He laughed. “That, too.”
“Thomas, is this what you really want? Are we ready to go public? We’re still finding our way.”
“I don’t think we really have a choice. Half the family already knows. And now
