Read Online Love and Mistletoe by Zara Keane - Free Book Online Page A

spidery eyelashes. “You’re not?”
    “Of course not. I wouldn’t slip in something that important as a conversational aside.”
    Uncertainty clouded her eyes until she blinked it away and reverted to her customary bravado. “Then what did you mean?”
    “The station is moving. The superintendent called us this afternoon to say the force is finally making good on the promise they made five years ago. This building will be razed and a new one constructed in its place. We’ll be in prefabs for a while. Hardly ideal, but better than needing an umbrella in my office.”
    “Oh. Right.” Her tinny laugh rang false.
    How had they gone from joking and flirting one second to emotion-laden awkwardness the next? And how come loud and brassy Sharon MacCarthy was ten times less confident than his own bashful self?
    He dropped a kiss on the tiny spider she’d painted on her nose. “Was it a mistake to bring you here? I did it on impulse. Thought it might give us both a laugh, considering all the times I’ve brought you to the station under different circumstances.”
    She emitted a small snort. “No, I get the joke. But when I assumed you were leaving Ballybeg… I guess I’m surprised by how much the idea upset me.”
    He cupped her chin in his hands. “Am I moving too fast for you? If so, I’m sorry. I haven’t done casual in the past. I don’t think I know how.”
    “You’re not moving too fast, Brian. Truth be told, I’ve never been happier.” Her tentative tone made his heart skip a beat. “Being able to
talk
to a man is weird, though. My Da… well, he’s not exactly the warm fuzzy type. I love my brothers, but our relationship is based on teasing and fighting. Until I started going out with you, I saved all my emotional stuff for the women in my life.”
    He grinned down at her. “Let’s just say the women in
my
life left me with no choice but to learn to express my emotions and listen to them express theirs. I grew up with three sisters, a mother, several aunts, and loads of girl cousins. Dad and I didn’t stand a chance.”
    “How did they feel about you joining the police?”
    “Not happy, but I needed to strike out on my own. I love them to bits, and I enjoy visiting, but they’d suffocate me if I lived there. My mother refuses to believe I can actually work a washing machine.”
    “Apart from Ruairí, my brothers genuinely
can’t
work a washer. They expected Ma to do their laundry.”
    “And now they expect you to do it?”
    She grimaced. “Spot on.” She leaned in for a hug. “I’m glad you’re not leaving Ballybeg.”
    He stroked her wild blond hair and bent down for another kiss. “The only place I want to be is where you are. Now what about a dance?”
    She tugged on his hand. “Lead on.”
    The decorations in the recreation room were more lavish than those in the lobby. It was also the one room in the small police station building that sported
only
two leaks. Ballybeg Garda Station was relatively small and was responsible for the town of Ballybeg and several nearby villages. In addition to a superintendent who oversaw Ballybeg and two other stations, there were two full-time policemen (Brian and Seán), four reservists, and one part-time receptionist-cum-secretary. McGarry and Doyle were on duty tonight, and everyone else was swaying on the makeshift dance floor.
    Brian and Sharon’s entrance earned them a few stares: Some friendly, some wary, and—in O’Shaughnessy’s case, some downright hostile. Brian put his arm around Sharon’s waist. Screw anyone who objected to her being his date tonight.
    Seán was manning the punch bowl. He ladled orange liquid into two plastic cups and shoved them across the counter. “Here you go.”
    Brian sniffed his cup. “Jaysus. What concoction is this?
    “Pumpkin punch,” Seán said. “Or so I’ve been informed. Tastes like vodka and orange juice with a few spices thrown in.”
    Sharon took a cautious sip. “Ugh. Vile.”
    Brian’s own