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About a decade earlier, she’d started her own new Thanksgiving tradition, escaping her mother as soon as humanly possible, then joining the Collins family for dessert. And wine. A lot of wine.
He flipped the dead bolt on the front door of the pub, trying not to laugh at the haggard expression on her face.
“How’s Barb?” he joked.
“Speak that name to me again and I will kill you.”
He tugged her inside, locking the door again. Padraig was already on his way over to them, a large glass of merlot—and the bottle—in his hands.
“Paddy. My hero. You are the most wonderful man on the planet. Marry me.”
Colm expected Padraig to give his standard response, to claim she was too much woman for him, but instead, his brother said, “I’d love to, Kell, but it sounds like you’re already taken.”
Kelli turned to Colm. “Told him about Halloween, huh?”
“Sort of surprised you didn’t tell me,” Padraig said.
She shrugged. “Figured I’d leave that to Colm. I told Sunnie, Yvonne, and Darcy and didn’t want to hog all the fun of seeing people’s reactions when the bomb was dropped.”
Padraig laughed. “So you really thought you and I…” He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, letting her know that was his favorite part of the story.
“Don’t remind me. That was a rough week and a half.”
Padraig wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “You could’ve told me. I’m not as fragile as you and my brother choose to believe.”
She gave Padraig a quick kiss on the cheek. “I know that. I’m sorry. Next time. Full disclosure.”
“Not going to be a next time,” Colm said, playfully knocking his brother’s arm away from Kelli. “And hands off my girl. Drink up, Kelli. It’ll make you feel better.”
“Not sure a bottle’s going to cut it this year,” she said as she lifted the glass. “Nothing short of hooking up an IV of wine is going to help me forget the nightmare I just left.”
Kelli took a long drink, chugging nearly half the glass. She was oblivious to the fact her arrival had been noticed by most of his family, and the room had gotten quiet.
When she finally lowered the glass, she looked around, confused, until the light went on. “Okay, okay. You got me. I’ve fallen off the wagon again. Who had Thanksgiving?”
Colm chuckled and raised his hand. “I did.”
“Of course you did.”
“Barb never lets me down.”
Kelli rolled her eyes, though the wine was already working its magic. Her shoulders visibly relaxed as she lifted her glass. “Happy Thanksgiving,” she called out to everyone. “This year, like every year, I’m grateful for the Collins family. And wine.”
Everyone laughed as several of his cousins, as well as his parents, came over to say hello. Colm remained next to her, fighting the urge to pull her close and kiss her.
Once the crowd around them thinned out, he took the wineglass from her and placed it on a nearby table, then he grasped her hand and tugged her to the quiet corridor at the back of the pub that led to the restrooms and storage closet.
He wondered if she’d insist on playing it cool in front of his family, but he should have known better. The second he turned to face her, she was there, her hands in his hair, kissing him with an air of…desperation.
Colm gripped her waist, pulling her closer, until they were breast to chest. They weren’t in the main pub area, but they weren’t exactly hidden either. Anyone in his family could happen to peer down the corridor and see them.
Not that he gave a shit. He was ready to tell the world about the two of them.
Kelli moaned as his tongue touched hers, and she pulled away. “You taste so good.”
“Aunt Riley puts on one heck of a Thanksgiving feast. I ate everything. Twice.”
“Barb managed to outdo herself this year, too. I honestly didn’t think she could find a way to make the turkey even drier. And she’s on some stupid diet, so we didn’t get real mashed potatoes. Only mashed cauliflower.”
