Baily's Irish Dream: Baily's Irish Dream / Czech Mate. Stephanie Doyle

about, what did you mean by eleven o’clock?”

      “Larson said Sarah was out buying a dress.” Daniel had calculated the time difference and realized that it was after eleven at night Philadelphia time when he had called. “What kind of stores are open at eleven at night? He lied. He didn’t want me to talk to Sarah. I can’t stand that he lives with her in that house. He’s got too much control over her that way.”

      “What kind of control?”

      “He can screen her calls, for one thing.”

      “He has to. He’s afraid you’ll talk her out of getting married. It’s actually a risky gamble on Pierce’s part. If Sarah finds out that her calls are being screened, she might call off the wedding herself.”

      “He’s right to be afraid. I’m sure if I could talk to Sarah, I could tell her what lunacy this sudden marriage is.” At least that was what Daniel hoped. He didn’t want to think about the possibility that his sister was truly in love with this con man.

      “Do you think he’ll do what you asked? I mean, if he’s a true con man he’s better off if you don’t make it to the wedding.”

      Good point. He didn’t know. “I don’t think Sarah would let Pierce rush her down the aisle without me there. And hopefully it won’t matter. I still plan—I mean, we still plan to be in Philadelphia on time, right? There’s nothing he can do from his end to stop me.”

      Daniel’s eyes were lit with a ferocity that sparked something deep in Baily. She imagined what it would be like to have a man love her with same intensity that Daniel loved his sister. She knew that a man like Daniel would be protective as well as possessive. But he would also be giving and indulgent, much as he was with his sister. Much as her own brothers were with her. If only Harry could be more like Daniel. But Harry was Harry. He was sweet, and lovable, and an absolute pushover.

      Their meals came and for the next hour they satisfied their hunger and attempted not to further confuse the waiter. It was while they sipped their coffee after dinner that Daniel decided it was time to talk about what had happened back in the motel room.

      “Listen, Red, we need to work a few things out.”

      Baily’s eyes met his over the rim of her coffee cup, and instantly she knew what he referred to. His hazel eyes took on a deeper color and he lowered his voice. He hunched forward in his seat, creating a more intimate atmosphere. And if it were possible, although Baily didn’t see how it was, he made himself look sexier.

      “Did I tell you about the history of this restaurant? It was named after a famous mountain man.” Baily simply couldn’t tell this man with a straight face that she wasn’t interested in him, which of course she had to say because she was going to become engaged to another man in a few short days.

      “You’re avoiding the subject,” Daniel informed her. Ironic, since he was usually the one to avoid personal conversations. It was why he had never dated a woman for any longer than a couple months. There was only so much sex you could have and so many superficial conversations you could carry on. Once a woman started to talk about a future and family, Daniel bolted. He had no interest in becoming part of another family again. Not when he knew from experience that the pain suffered from the loss of a family could cripple a man. He’d protect Sarah, but that was where all of his family obligations ended. He couldn’t say that he ever broke any hearts. Most women never got to know him enough to like him very much, let alone love him.

      Red was different. He wanted to talk about the intimate stuff with her. He wanted to talk about what they were going to do with this attraction they felt for one another. And it was mutual. Instinctively, Daniel knew that to be true.

      “Did I tell you that this man was the first to cross the Sierra Nevadas? He was. He fought off Indians. He tackled bears. He charted new land. He….”

      “…seduced virgins,” Daniel filled in, hoping to snare her attention.

      “I don’t think he did that.”

      “I do. It must be the air at this altitude,” Daniel quipped. Pushing ahead now that he had her attention, he continued. “So about what happened in the hotel earlier…”

      “I’m engaged!” Baily shouted, which in turn caused the other diners to turn their heads in their direction.

      In a lower tone, but no less menacing, Daniel insisted, “No you are not. Regardless, that doesn’t have anything to do with us.”

      “Of course it does,” Baily replied, her tone equally soft.

      “This is between you and me. Howard has nothing to do with us.”

      “It’s Harry, and I hope you aren’t implying that I’m the type of woman who could promise one man that I was going to marry him and then sleep with another man days before I saw him again.” Just because that was exactly what Baily wanted to do didn’t mean that he could go around implying it. Besides, it didn’t matter what she wanted. She couldn’t betray Harry. It would be wrong. No, they weren’t married. No, they weren’t engaged. They had never even been lovers. Really they were just good friends.

      But she had made up her mind that she was going to marry him, which meant that she had to be faithful to him starting now. Never mind that in her heart she had already been unfaithful to him. She wanted Daniel. Was it wrong to want someone when you were supposed to want someone else even though you didn’t really want the someone else? She thought so. It was hard to tell.

      Sometimes, Baily confused herself.

      “I did not imply anything,” Daniel countered irritably. In truth though, he had. He wanted Red, and he was annoyed now that he wasn’t going to get to have her because of some man that waited for her in New Jersey. A man, he could tell, she didn’t even want. “Why are you marrying this man?”

      “I’ve already told you,” Baily said as she reminded him of their conversation earlier that day. That day! Had they only known each other less than twenty-four hours? It didn’t seem possible.

      “Oh, yeah, now I remember. Security.” He might as well have said money for all the disdain in his voice.

      “If I remember correctly, you agreed with me.”

      Daniel shrugged his shoulders as if to pretend he couldn’t quite recall what he said on the matter. It had been a long day. Day. Had it only been one day?

      “We both agree that love is nothing more than a fancy word for poems, songs and romantic stories,” Baily continued. “In real life it doesn’t happen the way people say it does. There are no sparks.” Well, there were a few between them it seemed. “There is no love at first sight.” Okay so maybe she’d been attracted to Daniel at first sight, but that wasn’t love. “And there is no ‘happily ever after.’”

      And that was certainly true. Even if they did decide to pursue their mutual attraction it would only end in heartbreak. He was going to Seattle. She was going to be with her family in New Jersey. Certainly not a fairy-tale ending. Baily told herself to stop being depressed by that thought.

      Daniel wondered what she was thinking that dimmed the sparkle that always seemed to glow in her eyes. He supposed it was her convincing argument that true love, magical love, didn’t exist. He wondered why that thought should depress him.

      “Go home and marry Herbert. See if I care,” he said a bit nastily.

      “That’s exactly what I’m going to do,” she returned haughtily. “Nothing is going to stop me.”

      Please stop me. Please. Shut up, she told her conscience. She was doing the right thing. She had waited all her life for someone like Daniel. She had waited for someone handsome, smart and funny. Okay, so he was a little arrogant. And maybe he could fly off the handle from time to time. But probably only after trashing his car or getting his wallet lifted. A case could be made that he was overly protective of his sister, but that really couldn’t go down in the negative column. There was still the whole walnut issue. Frankly,