Catch Your Breath (13 page)

Moira sat curled on her couch with a huge bowl of buttered popcorn and
His Girl Friday
popped into the DVD player. It might not be the best date in history, but it didn’t
suck either. The opening credits rolled and Moira studied the frame.

It talked about how in the good old days, reporters did anything short of murder to
get the story. There was something romantic about that idea. She wanted the fire of
a great story to hunt down. She glanced at the mess she’d made earlier and still hadn’t
cleaned up. Her time would come for a great story.

Then, on the screen, Hildy entered and Moira was immediately caught up in the banter
and fun.

A few minutes in, as Hildy ranted about Walter basically stalking her, a knock on
the door almost caused Moira to drop her bowl of popcorn. She hit pause and went to
the door.

She swung it open to see Jimmy leaning on the doorjamb. “Hi.”

“You didn’t check the peephole.”

“Of course I did,” she answered quickly, hoping he’d believe her lie. “Why else would
I open the door?”

He pushed off the wall. “I had my hand over the hole. You had no idea it was me.”

Knowing she was busted, she said, “Well, at least I had the door locked.”

“You need to be more careful, Moira.”

She crossed her arms. She did not need a lecture from a man who’d stood her up. “What
are you doing here, Jimmy?”

“I came to apologize.” He held up a brown paper bag. “I really was working. We got
a break in the case and I couldn’t leave.”

She believed him. At least she wanted to. “What’s in the bag?”

“Ice cream. Chocolate fudge brownie.” He waved the bag. “It’s Sunday, so Super Cup
closes early. Otherwise I would’ve brought one of their brownies.”

She snatched the bag from his hand and then took a long look at him. For a guy who
should be celebrating a break in the case, he looked beaten down. “Want to come in?”

He nodded, so she stepped aside. Waiting for him to get in, she made sure he heard
the lock click.

“What the hell happened in here?”

“That?” She pointed at the piles of crap. “I was searching for something.” She didn’t
need another lecture about butting into his case.

“Any luck?”

“Not yet.”

He stood in her living room, like he didn’t know what to do or why he’d come.

“You can sit down. I just started
His Girl Friday,
but I can turn it off if you’d rather watch something else.” She waited a beat, holding
her breath. His answer would tell her a lot. She liked to use her choice in movies
as a litmus test for guys.

Any guy who would let her watch an old black-and-white movie was definitely worth
a second look. If a guy asked her to turn it off, he would not likely get another
date. A guy who showed an appreciation for the movie would probably be a keeper.

Jimmy looked at the screen. “Cary Grant?”

“Yeah.” Not too many men could recognize Cary Grant.

“I don’t think I know that one.” He settled on her couch, which was really more like
a love seat given the size of her apartment. He took up more than half, especially
when he spread his arms across the back.

Moira ducked into the kitchen to grab a couple of spoons. When she came back, she
eyed the single chair that was more for appearance than comfort, but decided she could
sit beside Jimmy without too much discomfort.

She sat and pried the lid off the ice cream, then handed him a spoon.

“I don’t rate a bowl?”

“Why dirty a dish? This isn’t going to take long.” She dug her spoon in and scooped.

He did the same but waited until she sampled before he put it in his mouth.

She licked her lips. “Are you waiting to see if it’s poison?”

“No, I wanted to see if it’s worth extra miles of running to make up for the calories.”

She scooped more. “Life’s too short to worry about calories.” She reached for the
remote.

“Before you start again . . .” Jimmy reached and took the ice cream from her hand.

That wasn’t a good sign.

“I’m sorry about blowing you off earlier.”

“You didn’t really stand me up. You called. That’s more than I’ve gotten from some
guys.”

A muscle near his eye twitched. “I don’t think this is a good idea.”

“What? Sharing ice cream and an old movie?”

“Yeah. Us, dating.”

“But if I get Liam’s blessing, then we’d be okay?”

He shook his head and let out a small laugh. She grabbed her phone and dialed.

He looked over at her. “What are you doing?”

“Calling Liam.”

“Christ.” He reached over to grab the phone, but she scooted farther away. “Moira,
hang up.”

Liam’s voice mail answered, so she disconnected.

His jaw clenched, which sent her into a fit of giggles. He rubbed a hand over his
face, drawing out the look of exhaustion.

“I’m trying here, Jimmy. What do you want from me?”

“I don’t know.”

“Well, you need to figure it out.” She pressed play on the remote and grabbed the
ice cream off the table.

He glanced at the ice cream but picked up her forgotten bowl of popcorn. Walter and
Hildy continued their banter, and Jimmy settled back against the couch. Like everything
else he did, Jimmy watched the movie intently.

While he did, she stole moments to stare at him. Something troubled him, and she worried
it was her. Maybe she shouldn’t have pressured him into a date. But really, how long
should a girl have to wait? If she were smart, she would’ve never given him a chance.
They’d known each other for years, yet Jimmy hadn’t made a move until he saw her dressed
up playing a role that was far from her real life.

Maybe that caused his confusion. He was attracted to the Moira who schmoozed, but
he knew the real her, the girl who talked too fast and too much.

Halfway through the pint of ice cream, she tapped his shoulder and held out the carton
to him. He handed her the popcorn.

She ate a handful, but what she really had a taste for was him. She shifted closer
to get his attention, and when he looked at her, she leaned in and planted her lips
against his.

He bobbled the ice cream, and she leaned closer, swiping her tongue against his lips,
urging them open. Salty sweetness, chocolate and popcorn. Delicious.

He touched her shoulder with his free hand and gently pushed her away. For a third
time, they shared a kiss and he pushed her away. The message couldn’t get any clearer.

“Sorry,” she said, and retreated to her corner of the couch.

“No, Moira,” he started, but then cradled his forehead.

“I get it, Jimmy. You’re not sure if you want to go on a date with me. Kissing me
makes you all kinds of uncomfortable. It—”

For such a big man, he moved fast. Suddenly, she pressed uncomfortably against the
arm of the couch as he ravaged her mouth. The length of his body lay against hers,
and muscles flexed and throbbed all around her.

He pulled away for a second, and she was sure she’d lost him again. But he took a
slow breath and came back to her lips and slowed his kiss. He rubbed his lips against
hers gently and licked the seam. Then he traveled across her jaw and down her throat.
His teeth scraped her pulse, causing it to ratchet up even more. He tugged her earlobe
between his teeth and she arched against him. She wanted more. She wanted him to do
this all over her body.

When they were both panting, he slowly backed away. His body still pressed hers, but
he moved his face to meet her eyes. “You’re right, Moira.” His voice was ragged. “I
am uncomfortable kissing you, but not for whatever reason you’ve cooked up in your
head. I don’t think I can do this right now.”

Her heart sank. Jimmy was attracted to her. Never in a million years would she have
guessed he would be. She felt it now in every move he made as he lay on top of her,
but he was letting her down easy. What next? The it’s-me-not-you speech? She stared
into his eyes, willing him to tell her something, anything but the excuses he seemed
ready to dole out.

He stroked her cheek. “I can almost see the thoughts in your head. Don’t. This whole
thing is far beyond what I know how to handle.”

“It’s not something to handle. It’s life. We like each other. Let’s see where it goes.”

Now he did pull completely away from her. He sat back and sighed while looking at
the ceiling.

She touched his thigh and he jumped. “What’s going on?”

“Norah’s back.”

Moira hadn’t expected that. “That’s good, right?”

“She’s pregnant and hasn’t finished college yet.”

Moira stared and tried not look as shocked as she felt. “Wow.”

He shifted again. “Don’t say anything to anyone. She showed up tonight. Tommy and
Sean flipped out. She was crying and locked herself in my room.”

Shit. His family was pretty screwed up. But then, she’d always known that. “You can
stay here if you want.”

He looked at her.

“I’ll sleep on the couch and promise to keep my hormones to myself.” She smiled brightly,
maybe a little too brightly, but he looked miserable. She knew that look. Ryan had
it every time he thought about Maggie.

What was it with older brothers thinking they could solve everyone’s problems?

“Thanks for the offer.” He tucked some hair behind her ear, skimming the sensitive
spot he’d aroused with his tongue, and she shivered. “I’m going to Kevin’s. I’ll break
the news to him and spend the night there.”

“Want to at least finish the movie?”

He put forth the effort to give her a smile, but it was weak. “Absolutely.”

Then he did something completely unJimmy-like: he pulled her against his chest and
wrapped his arms around her. She sank against him and couldn’t focus on the rest of
the movie to save her life.

The final credits on the movie rolled, and Jimmy was afraid to move. Moira had fallen
asleep on him, nestled against his chest. He didn’t want to wake her, but he couldn’t
stay. Even if he had the willpower to control himself, he needed to talk to Kevin
before Tommy did.

He slid out from under Moira and settled her on the couch with a pillow under her
head. She stretched and moaned and snuggled the pillow. He wanted to be the damn pillow.

For all his misgivings about getting involved with Moira, tonight made him feel the
possibility. Everyone, including him, had a hard time seeing Moira as more than a
kid sister. She was a woman, and every kiss they shared emphasized that. If he could
deal with Norah, maybe he and Moira could have something.

He covered her with a blanket and tried to imagine a life with Moira. Could they be
a forever thing? He shook his head. His thoughts were running as crazy as hers usually
did. He didn’t even know if they wanted the same things.

And if they didn’t?

She stirred again, and her eyes fluttered open. “Leaving?”

“Yeah. Good night.”

She sat up, knocking the blanket off. She stood and stretched. Her shirt rode up,
baring her stomach and tightening across her braless chest.

“Sorry I woke you.” He kissed the top of her head and walked to the door. “Lock up.”

She followed him and stood beside the open door.

He looked at her sleepy face and felt the pull to stay again. “I want a rain check
for tonight.”

“Rain check?”

“I didn’t get my date, remember?”

The look of shock gave him pleasure. It wasn’t too often he surprised her. He pulled
the door closed and waited. She must’ve still been standing in shock. He thumped the
door. “Lock up now, Moira.”

The clunk of the lock was the only answer he got. He sent a text to Kevin to make
sure he’d be awake. The ease of his evening with Moira dissipated with each mile he
gained toward Kevin’s apartment.

Kevin didn’t respond to his text but met him at the door, wearing nothing but boxers.

“What’s wrong?”

“I need to crash here. You don’t have company, do you?”

Kevin walked away from the door. “Sean called.”

Fuck. He’d asked them not to. “He told you?”

“He just said you’d be here, although that was hours ago, and that Norah was home.”
Kevin crossed his arms. “He didn’t make it sound like she was visiting.”

“She’s pregnant. Very pregnant. Tommy flipped out because she wouldn’t tell him who
the father is.”

“The fuck she won’t.” Kevin started moving around as if to get dressed.

“Sit your ass down.” Jimmy flopped on the couch, exhausted. “She’s home. She’s safe.
And she’s scared.”

“I told you we shouldn’t have sent her to Boston. If she was here, we would’ve been
able to watch her. This never would’ve happened.” Kevin paced while he talked, making
Jimmy even more tired.

“I was overseas, and Tommy and Sean were doing nothing but getting into trouble. You
weren’t much better. Who was going to stay on top of Norah? At least Aunt Bridget
made sure she stayed in school. Norah could’ve come home for college. She wanted to
stay in Boston. She made a life there.” He leaned his head against the back of the
couch and closed his eyes.