She supposed the problem was that she wasn’t used to disapproval. All her life she’d done her best to please people—her father, Jenny, her teachers, lately her colleagues at work—done her best to give them what they wanted from her. Now she felt the first twinge of resentment.
“I know what I see,” Rory said. “And you could say I have experience with women like you.” He looked back at the group, and she had a hunch he might be referring to his wife. She did seem a little uptight, and hardly what she’d expect Rory McCabe’s type to be. Abby wasn’t like that, though she was aware she might give that impression. She’d grown up always trying to be the perfect daughter and it was hard to shake off childhood programming. But it was none of his business, and she’d always gone out of her way to make sure that Jenny didn’t grow up feeling the same.
“You have no idea what sort of woman I am.” Time to change the subject because she had a hunch that Rory possessed the ability to rile her up, and she didn’t want to be riled. She’d met men like him before; they poked and poked, trying to get a reaction just to see what their opponent was made of. But she wasn’t playing.
She took a huge gulp of her drink and glanced up to find Rory watching, amusement clear on his face. She looked away, and her gaze clashed with Logan’s. He stood with a hand on Jenny’s shoulder, but his attention was on her, and his eyes were hot. She forced her gaze from him and back to Rory.
“I never thought a son of mine would get involved with a cop.”
She took another drink. Already the alcohol was a buzz in her mind. “Hardly involved. I take it you don’t care for the police either, Mr. McCabe.”
“Call me Rory. And no. You might say I was inconvenienced a few too many times.”
“Yet you were never convicted.”
“I knew how to avoid it.”
“Pity you never taught your son the same thing.”
His eyes narrowed, but then he grinned. “At least you’re willing to stand up for yourself, and you’re not afraid of me.”
She rolled her eyes. “Please. What’s to be afraid of?” She allowed her gaze to drift from his feet to his face. “I’ve spent too many Friday nights manning the cells to be intimidated by an ex-petty criminal with an attitude problem.”
Had she really said that? Rory was having an extremely bad effect on her personality.
She waited for his comeback, but he surprised her by laughing out loud. “Believe me, I was never petty. And as for teaching Logan, unfortunately he was caught up in the middle of a time of change, when my dealings with you lot were undergoing some significant alterations.”
By “you lot” she presumed he meant the police, and that in his earlier days he’d paid the police off to keep himself out of trouble. She wasn’t totally shocked or surprised. The force was a cleaner place now, but there had always been officers willing to look the other way in exchange for a supplement to their salary.
At that moment there was a commotion at the front door. Grunt raced past her and hurled himself at the man who’d entered the room. Tall, with short black hair which looked due for a cut, stubble on his cheeks, gray eyes—this must be Declan, Logan’s younger brother.
“The McCabe genes must be strong stuff,” she murmured.
“Yeah.” Rory grinned. “I can’t see anything of you in your daughter.”
“Thankfully, she has my super-nice personality,” she replied, and he laughed again.
A woman entered beside Declan. She was the most beautiful woman Abby had ever seen—tall, slender, with platinum blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail to show a perfect oval face and dark blue eyes. And just like that, Abby felt short and dumpy and plain. The woman’s perfection was marred by a scar which ran down from her eye to the corner of her mouth. The scar only emphasized her beauty.
“That’s Jess,” Rory said. “She was my son Declan’s bodyguard, and now she’s his other half.” Both were dressed casually in well-worn jeans and T-shirts under leather jackets. “They’ve been traveling, biking across Europe. They flew back from Greece to meet you and Jenny.”
“I’m honored,” she said.
“I suspect you might get on well with Jess.”
“Why’s that?”
“She doesn’t like me, either. Come on, I’ll introduce you.”
Rory and Declan hugged, then he leaned down and kissed Jess on the cheek.
“Hey, it’s granddad,” she said with a grin.
Rory turned to Abby. “Did I also mention she’s a total bitch? Jess, Declan, this is Abby.”
Declan shook her hand, but she could see that same wary expression in his face as in the other McCabes. “Nice to meet you.”