First and Only (Callaghan Brothers #2)

“No.” Of course he would think that she was rejecting him because of another man, Lexi thought. No one had probably ever turned him down before. The idea that she simply might not want to have dinner with him wouldn’t have crossed his mind.

Coming to the realization that he was not going to relinquish his hold on her bag any time soon, she began to walk away. A moment later he followed, his long legs easily keeping pace with her, her suitcase held effortlessly in his strong grip.

“Need a ride, then?” Damn, he was persistent. But then she always knew he was. All of the Callaghan men were like that. They got what they wanted. Maybe a little rejection would be good for him.

“No.”

The hotel she’d booked was only a few blocks from the bus station, and it was a beautiful evening. Despite the angst and awkwardness that came with being within touching distance of Ian Callaghan, she was enjoying the walk, especially after being cooped up on the bus for so long. The air was fresh and clean with a hint of honeysuckle and pine. She had forgotten how good it smelled. The fake fresheners and bottled scents never seemed to capture the natural sweetness of the real stuff. Lexi had travelled all over the world, but had yet to find some other place that affected her quite so deeply as her hometown.

Ian stayed agonizingly close, but was silent for the first block or so. She wasn’t sure if he’d accepted her disinterest, or if he was just too thrown by her attitude to make sense of it all. He wasn’t stupid, she knew that for certain. Most likely he was simply planning his next move.

They walked past a small Italian restaurant. The outdoor dining area was about half full, and the mouth-watering smells assaulted her full-force. Lexi’s stomach growled loudly, enough for Ian to hear. He smirked. “So.... you’re not hungry?”

“I didn’t say that,” she countered without breaking stride. “I said I didn’t want to have dinner with you.”

The smile fell away from his lips. “May I ask why?”

Because I am hopelessly, desperately in love with you, and you will break my heart. “Look, -“

“Ian,” he provided helpfully. “Ian Callaghan.” Yeah, as if she didn’t know that.

“Ian. “ She stopped, looking him up and down, stalling for time while she sought a suitable response, wishing her body would stop angling toward his like a divining rod. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be rude.”

His eyebrow quirked up as she rubbed her forehead with her index and middle fingers, trying to stem off the headache that was starting. “I’m really tired, and I smell like a bus, and I just really, really want to call it day, alright?”

*

Smelled like a bus? Hell, he thought she smelled like sunshine on a summer’s day. If she smelled like this after two days on a Greyhound, he could only imagine what she would smell like fresh out of the shower. Like she would in about an hour or so, if she was serious about the top items on her to-do list.

It gave him ideas.

“Hey, no problem,” he shrugged, turning slightly so she wouldn’t see the wicked gleam in his eye.

She seemed a bit surprised – and, dare he hope, disappointed? - that he had given up so easily, but recovered quickly.

“Thanks for understanding, Ian.”

“No problem,” he repeated. “I get it.”

Ian left her bags with her in the lobby of the Carlisle, the closest thing Pine Ridge had to a luxury hotel. He insisted on waiting near the door until he was sure she had a place to stay. Judging by the way she pursed those pretty pink lips together, she didn’t really think that was necessary, but she must have read the determination in his eyes because she didn’t waste any effort on trying to dissuade him.

He offered to carry her bags to her room, but she declined, as he knew she would. It was so strange. He’d only just met her – didn’t even know her name (her luggage tag read A. Kattapoulos), yet there was something very warm and familiar about her. No matter. If his plan panned out the way he hoped it would, he would soon know her much better.

“Thanks again for helping me out back there,” he said, giving her one of his crooked smiles. More than one woman had admitted that they found his roguish grin incredibly sexy. He didn’t see it, but hey, if it worked.

“My pleasure.”

He waited until she took two steps away from him before he said, “What, no kiss?”

Her head whipped around to find him grinning from ear to ear, arms lifted in open invitation. She laughed, which is exactly what he’d intended.

Shaking her head, she turned and stepped onto the elevator. Ian slung his duffel over his shoulder and walked away, whistling.

Her laugh was like music, Ian thought as he walked the few remaining blocks to Jake’s Irish Pub, owned and operated by his father and brothers. His step was light, his mind swimming with possibilities. She might have said no, but she didn’t really mean it. Ian was an expert at reading a woman’s body language, and he was confident that she had wanted to say yes.