“Love?” Aidan echoed, panic setting in. “Who said anything about love? Liz is a beautiful woman. She’s sassy and charming and generous, but recognizing all that does not mean I’m falling for her.”
“Okay, maybe it’s just lust. Call it whatever you want to, but Dad seems to get it. Maybe it’s because he and Mom got a divorce and he had to win her back. Anyway, my point is he tends to nail these things. He sure did his best to get Heather and me together. And he saw what was going on with Kevin and Shanna before either of them were ready to admit it. Heck, he has a whole long track record I could cite.”
He gave Aidan a commiserating look. “I almost feel sorry for you.”
Aidan blinked at that. “Why?”
“Because when Mick O’Brien sees two people he thinks are right for each other, he stops at nothing to make sure they fall into line,” Connor told him, an amused gleam in his eyes.
“Sweet heaven,” Aidan murmured. “And your wives? Were they in on this bet, too?”
“They didn’t bet, but they thought you’d cave even faster. In fact, they’ve been counting on it. They’re all anxious to see Liz happily settled.”
Alarm once again made Aidan’s pulse race. “Happily settled? As in married? To me?” This just kept getting worse and worse. Liz was still balking at the thought of a date, and he was only a step or two ahead of her. Marriage? That was so far down the road, he couldn’t see it with binoculars.
He sighed. “This isn’t good,” he said as he grabbed his cup of take-out coffee and started outside. He paused and gave Connor a curious look. “Why did they focus on me?”
“Well, to be honest, you weren’t in the picture when they got up a full head of matchmaking steam, but the minute you turned up in town and they spotted a couple of sparks flying, the handwriting was on the wall as far as they were concerned.”
“Can’t you tell them to butt out?” Aidan asked plaintively. “Heather, at least?”
“My wife is in a hormonal state these days,” Connor lamented. “I try not to argue with her about anything. It’s a no-win proposition. Same with Kevin and Shanna. Sorry, pal. You’ll have to take a stance all by yourself, at least if that’s what you really want to do.”
Aidan heaved yet another sigh. At this rate they were going to have to treat him for hyperventilating in another couple of minutes. “Living here is going to be a challenge, isn’t it?” he muttered.
“Only if you fight the inevitable,” Connor said, not even trying to hide his amusement. “By the way, I know you’re the football coach, but I’m guessing you can hold your own in a game of hoops. Want to join us tonight? I’m thinking you might need to work off some of that frustration. You’ve met most of the guys already. After we play, we hang out, drink a couple of beers and tell tall tales about how athletic we used to be.”
Aidan finally let himself relax again. Any sport was familiar turf, and a much better topic than women in general or Liz in particular. “Used to be?”
“I played college baseball,” Connor reported. “I wasn’t half-bad, but there was no chance I’d make it professionally. Mack, of course, played professional football till he was sidelined by an injury. The whole family plays touch football every Thanksgiving. It used to be men-only, but then my cousin Susie got into the game one year to make a point to Mack, and things haven’t been the same since. We had to stop playing dirty.”
“How annoying!” Aidan said dryly.
“You have no idea,” Connor said with real regret. “But Mack is crazy in love with his wife and he’s not about to tell her that she can’t play. She had a tough battle with cancer a few years back. She’s been in remission for a while now, but nobody wants to deny Susie anything. We’ve all had our share of successes in one way or another, but Susie’s the real hero in our family. She’s as tough as they come.”
Aidan heard the note of genuine admiration in Connor’s voice and tried to imagine how incredible the woman must be to have earned that. From what he knew, Connor had been a pretty hard-nosed divorce lawyer in Baltimore, who was trying to mellow out with a general practice in Chesapeake Shores.
“I’m a little rusty when it comes to basketball, but I imagine I can hold my own,” he told Connor as they walked along Main Street in the direction of Connor’s office. “I’d love to play. What time and where?”
“There are outdoor courts in the park on the far side of Dogwood Hill. You can see them just past the dog park. You should be able to find them with no problem, or I can stop by and pick you up.”
As Connor perfectly well knew, given their conversation just now, Aidan was well acquainted with the location of that blasted dog park. “I’ll find them.”
And just like that he suddenly had the potential for a group of real pals. As much as he’d enjoyed his first weeks in town, he missed the camaraderie with his teammates. He missed getting together with Frankie, even though he heard from him almost on a daily basis, checking to see if Aidan was ready yet to come back to New York where he belonged.
Still, as much as he was looking forward to getting together with Connor and his relatives for a game of hoops, guilt nagged at him. He couldn’t help wondering just how friendly they’d be when they discovered he was family and he’d kept that from them. The longer he kept the secret, the less likely they’d forgive him for
