An O'Brien Family Christmas by Sherryl Woods Read Free Book Online Page B

probably take Dillon O’Malley in a fight, though the man looked pretty fit for his age.”
    “Taking Mack along is probably a good idea,” Mick said, looking relieved.
    Susie rolled her eyes. “I was joking.”
    “Well, I’m not. What if Ma gets some crazy idea about inviting this man to join us tonight? Are you going to put a stop to that?”
    “Absolutely not,” Megan said firmly. “And if she does, you’ll welcome him and be on your best behavior.”
    Mick shook his head. He should have known he’d get no help from the rest of the family. They all lived in a dream world. It was up to him to keep an eye on things. That was his role in this family, and he took it seriously.
    He watched Susie leave, then said casually, “I think I’ll take a walk.”
    “No!” Megan and Jeff said in chorus.
    Defeated, Mick sighed.
    Megan patted his hand. “Let’s go up to the room. Maybe I’ll be able to think of some way to distract you.”
    Mick regarded her skeptically. “How?”
    Jeff clapped his hands over his ears. “Megan, please do not answer that till I’m gone,” he pleaded.
    After he’d left, Mick turned to Megan, intrigued despite himself. “You were about to say?”
    “I think I’ll let my actions speak for themselves,” she taunted, standing up and beckoning to him. “You interested?”
    He grinned at his wife, happy to see the lively spark of passion in her eyes. “You don’t have to ask me twice.”
    She laughed. “Good. For a minute there, you had me worried.”
    “Ah, Meggie, you never have to worry about a thing like that. You’ll fascinate me till the day I die.”
    She linked her arm through his and led the way to the elevator. The promise in her eyes made all his cares fade away. There’d be time enough later to worry about what his mother was getting herself into with this O’Malley fellow. And whatever it was, he’d fix it.

4
     
    M atthew was very glad he’d paid attention to everything he’d been told by his family on prior trips to Ireland. His running commentary as he took Laila on a walking tour of the bustling streets around the hotel seemed to be relaxing her. She didn’t even object when he tucked her arm through his and kept her close by his side. For a couple of days she’d managed to elude him by going shopping with his cousins, but today he’d found her alone and managed to lure her away from the hotel.
    “Look at these window boxes,” she exclaimed time and again, pausing to take pictures of the colorful flowers mixed with holiday greenery. “People need to do this in Chesapeake Shores. See how cheerful it makes everything look?”
    “Winters are milder here,” Matthew reminded her. “Not by a lot, but enough to make a difference. And I think everyone’s a little obsessed with flowers to counteract the dreary weather. We actually have plenty of sunshine in Chesapeake Shores.”
    She looked momentarily deflated, but then her expression brightened. “Do you think you could make window boxes for my apartment?”
    “Me?”
    “You’re an architect. Design something.”
    He chuckled. “Window boxes weren’t exactly part of the curriculum in architecture school.”
    “Mick probably never thought he’d be creating a flower shop work space for Bree, but he pulled it off,” she challenged. “The way I hear it, you’re as good an architect as your uncle is.”
    He regarded her with amusement. “Is that a challenge?”
    She laughed. “Pretty much. Maybe we could even have a design competition, get everybody in town involved. I’ll have to warn Jake and Bree, since it could be big business for his nursery and her flower shop. We could turn Chesapeake Shores into the flower showplace of the Eastern Seaboard.”
    “You never think small, do you?”
    “No,” she said readily. “How about you?” Her expression turned serious. “Are you happy designing houses like the one you did for Susie and Mack? Or do you want to take on a whole community someday, the