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her
at some stage this week—she’ll be bringing me up some work that needs doing.”
    Jillian seized on the opening. “I’m actually a bit surprised
that you’re here, considering how busy you must be.” Please decide to go
home. He was way too distracting.
    He took a sip from his drink. “Nah, it’s all good. Lynne can
handle the routine, and it’s not like she can’t reach me if necessary. Mick
asked me to hang about and help if you need me.”
    Lovely. She gulped down her water and the bubbles
burned her throat. Eyes watering, she put her glass down and blinked furiously.
Through a sheen of tears, she saw Fin grinning.
    “Go down the wrong way?” His tone was solicitous, but the
cheeky smirk on his face said otherwise.
    “Um. Yeah.” Jillian cleared her throat and carefully swiped
the moisture from her eyes. “Sorry.” She wanted to sink through the floor. What
was wrong with her? She was an adult, rational, reasonable, relatively
sophisticated. Why did this man turn her into a moron? They’d barely spoken two
words to each other!
    “Not a problem. So, is there anything you need from me? Mick
and I convinced Ma that she doesn’t need to be here ’til Mick arrives on
Friday, which’ll keep her out of your hair. I just need to report in daily so
she doesn’t panic.” He was still smiling, the corners of his amazing eyes
crinkling in the most appealing way. A wave of heat swept up Jillian’s chest to
her face, and she prayed that the blush wasn’t too obvious. A different kind of
heat gathered between her legs, and she shifted slightly in her seat.
    “Everything seems to be under control for the moment. The
staff here has been tremendously helpful. I’ll be meeting with all the vendors
and touring the facilities properly tomorrow. We’ll see then what still needs
to be done.”
    “Well then.” Fin Dunne leaned forward, his gaze capturing
hers. “If you’ve nothing else to fuss about tonight, why don’t we try out the
restaurant?”
    Try out the restaurant? Oh crap, he’s asking me to
dinner. “Er,” Jillian hedged, trying to think of an excuse, and then
stopped when the corners of his mouth tipped up in amusement. Why shouldn’t she
have dinner with the attractive brother of her client? It wasn’t like anything
was going to happen, no matter how hot he was. She was almost obliged to
have dinner with him—he was her liaison with the groom while she was in
Ireland.
    She took a breath and smiled, pleased that it felt natural.
“Sure, that sounds good. Let’s see what the chef can do.”
    * * * * *
    Jillian’s face hurt from laughing so much. “You’re pulling
my leg!” she accused Fin, leaning back so the waiter could clear her dessert
plate. The evening had been wonderful. The supremely talented chef had come out
to speak briefly with her about the menu for the wedding, and they’d set a time
to speak properly tomorrow, but after tasting his food, she had complete faith
that the wedding dinner would be excellent. In addition to that, Fin Dunne was
an entertaining and charming dinner companion. He’d gone out of his way to be
amusing, and the stories he’d told about himself and Michael growing up with
their younger sister were hilarious.
    “My mouth to God’s ear, it’s all true. Mick may seem like a
respectable type but deep down he’s the worst sort of reprobate.”
    “What’s he doing with her —” Jillian slapped a hand
over her mouth. Damn it, she’d only had two glasses of wine, but clearly they’d
done too good a job relaxing her. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have—”
    “Don’t be sorry, we’re all asking ourselves the same thing.
None of us can work it out, and he just says he’s in love with her. Damned if I
can understand it.” The grin had faded from his face and his stunningly blue
eyes were serious for the first time since they’d met. “I never thought I’d
dislike my brother’s wife, but there you are.”
    Jillian shifted awkwardly in her