First and Only (Callaghan Brothers #2)

Lexi felt awful for hurting him, but it was the truth. She couldn’t blame him for being upset. He’d always looked out for her, been her protector. This was like a betrayal in his eyes. She could only hope he would come to understand and forgive her someday.

Lexi smoothed away imaginary wrinkles from her top to hide her shaking hands. With willpower and courage she didn’t know she had, she began walking toward the door, her head held high. With a glance toward Ian, she said, “You promised me a ride.”

Then she walked through the doors and waited on the sidewalk, keeping her eyes directed away from the inside of the Pub, hoping desperately that Ian would simply follow her out and no one would get hurt.

*

“If you hurt her I’ll kill you,” Kieran seethed. “I don’t care how good you think you are, I’ll slit your fucking throat in your own fucking bed.” Then he turned and stalked away, leaving the others in stunned silence.

“Well, that went well,” Jake breathed. “He took it better than I expected.”

Ian shot him a look before following Lexi outside.

He was almost as furious as Kieran. How could Lexi have said what she did? Was it possible that she actually believed that’s all she was to him? Didn’t she understand that she had become everything to him? Didn’t she feel the same way?

He stormed outside with every intention of setting her straight, but pulled up short a few feet behind her. Her back was to him, but he could tell she was crying by the slight rise and fall of her shoulders. All of his rage was swept away instantly. The hurt he would deal with later.

Pulling her into his arms, he cradled her against him, drawing them back into a hidden alcove along the side of the building. “Ssshhh, Lex, it’s alright,” he soothed, rubbing her back.

“I hurt him.”

“He’s alright, baby. He’s a big boy. He’ll come around, you’ll see. He’s just trying to protect you.”

Lexi wasn’t a sobber or a wailer. Her tears were subtler than that, quiet little hitches that drew little or no attention. He held her until she calmed down.

“What you said, Lex. It just isn’t true.” He lifted her chin and forced her to look at him. She had to know she was so much more than that to him. Christ, in the span of a few days she had become everything.

She attempted a smile, wiping impatiently at her eyes, neither confirming nor disputing him. “So. Do I get that ride or not?”

The sadness in her eyes faded into the background, replaced by that implacable mask he’d seen the day of her father’s funeral. She was pulling away, distancing herself, and he hated it. But he also sensed that it was not the time to push it.

“Yeah,” he said, shelving the topic for later. “A deal’s a deal.”

An hour later, all bad thoughts had faded into the background as he opened up the throttle. Lexi was snuggled securely against his back, her arms holding tightly around his waist. He’d taken it slow through town, letting her become acclimated to the feel of the bike, learning how to move with him. It required a fair measure of trust on her part, following his movements and instructions exactly until he was assured she wouldn’t panic.

He shouldn’t have worried. She was a natural, moving with him as if she were a part of him. Before long he felt confident enough to head out onto the twisting, winding mountain roads.

Having Lexi with him felt so right. Before long he felt all of the tension leave her body, replaced by childlike excitement. He could feel it in the way she held him, and in the little exclamations she let out every now and then. Ian pulled off the road near the top of the mountain. Her hair was windblown, her face flushed with joy, and her eyes glowing almost as brightly as they had in her hotel room.

“That’s the most wonderful thing I’ve ever felt!” she exclaimed as Ian lifted her off the bike. He raised his eyebrow doubtfully. “Well,” she amended, blushing a furious pink, “the second best, anyway.”

Ian laughed out loud and kissed her. “Come on,” he coaxed. “Bet you’ve never seen this before...”

He led her along a barely visible path to a little rocky shelf that overlooked the entire valley. “Oh, Ian,” she said in breathless awe. “It’s so beautiful.”

“Yes,” he said softly, sliding his arms beneath hers and pulling her back to his chest. “You are.”

I am desperately, hopelessly in love with you, Lexi. Marry me and be mine forever. The words were right there in his head and on the tip of his tongue, all too ready to be spoken. He even took a breath in preparation to say them.

“You don’t have to do that,” she said quietly.

“Do what?”

“Say things like that. I already said I’d stay through the end of the week.”