The Gallaghers of Ardmore Trilogy

and her smile all for him. By the time she’d squeezed her way to the bar, her smile was a laugh, and he’d forgotten about the Guinness he was building.
    “What’s going on?” She had to lift her voice to a near shout and lean in close, so close that he caught her scent, the mystery of it that lingered on her skin.
    “A bit of a party, it seems. I’ll get you some wine when I’ve got a free hand.” He’d rather have used that free hand, both hands, to snatch her up, haul her over the bar, and gather her in.
    You’re well and truly hooked, Gallagher, he thought, and decided he rather enjoyed the sensation.
    “Did you have a fine time in Dublin, then?”
    “Yes, a wonderful time. I bought everything that wasn’t nailed down. And if I started to resist, Darcy talked me into it.”
    “She’s good at spending money,” Aidan began, then caught himself. “Darcy? She’s back. Oh, thank the Lord. Another pair of hands might get us through the rest of the night without a riot.”
    “You can have mine.”
    “Hmm?”
    “I can take orders.” The idea took root in her head and bloomed. “And serve.”
    “Darling, I can’t ask you to do that.” He shifted as someone elbowed to the bar to order pints and glasses and fizzy water.
    “You’re not asking. And I’d like it. If I bungle it, everyone will just think the Yank’s a bit slow, then you can call Darcy.”
    “Have you ever waitressed before?” He gave her an indulgent smile that instantly put her back up.
    “How hard can it be?” she snapped back and to prove her point, turned and muscled her way toward one of the little tables to get started.
    “Didn’t take a pad or a tray.” Aidan looked at his customer for sympathy as he filled the order. “And if I was to call Darcy now, that one would have my head for breakfast.”
    “Women,” he was told, “are dangerous creatures at the best of times.”
    “True enough, true enough, but that one is normally of a calm nature. That’s five pounds eight. And,” he continued as he took the money and made change, “it’s the ones with the calm natures who can cut your throat the quickest when riled.”
    “You’re a wise man, Aidan.”
    “Aye.” Aidan took a breath in a moment’s lull. “Wise enough not to call Darcy and have two females bashing at me.”
    Still, he figured it wouldn’t take Jude more than a quarter hour to realize she was over her head. She was a practical woman, after all. And later he could smooth her feathers by saying it was a rare night in the pub in any case, and how thoughtful it had been of her to offer to help, and so on and so forth until he got her naked and in bed.
    Pleased with the image, Aidan served the next cheerfully. And he had a smile waiting for Jude as she wove her way back to the bar. “I’ll get you that wine now,” he began.
    “I don’t drink on the job,” she said smartly. “I need two pints of Harp and a glass of Smithwick’s, two whiskeys, um, Paddy’s, two Cokes, and a Baileys.” She offered a smug smile. “And I could use one of those little aprons if you have one handy.”
    He started the order, cleared his throat. “Ah, you don’t know the prices.”
    “You have a list of them, don’t you? Put them in the apron. I can add, and quite well, too. If you have a tray, while you’re filling that order, I can clear off some of the empties before they end up broken on the floor.”
    A quarter hour, he thought again, and dug out a menu, an apron, laid them both on a tray and passed it over. “It’s kind it is of you to pitch in, Jude Frances.”
    She lifted her brows. “You don’t think I can do it.” With this, she flounced away.
    “Does it hurt?” Shawn asked from behind him.
    “What?”
    “Shoehorning your foot in your mouth that way. I bet it cracks the jaw something fierce.” He only snickered when Aidan jabbed him sharply, elbow into ribs. “She has a way with her, too,” he added, watching as Jude cleared off one of the low tables and chatted with the family who sat there. “I’d be happy to take her off your hands if . . .”
    He trailed off, a little daunted by the vicious look Aidanshot at him. “Just joking,” he muttered and slipped back to the other end of the bar.
    Jude came back, began unloading the empties, loading the first order. “A pint and a glass of Guinness, two Or-angeens, and a cup of tea with whiskey.”
    Before Aidan could speak, she’d hefted the tray, just un-steadily enough to make