She inhaled a ragged breath, then pressed her palms against his chest. "You're right."

Sean stared down into her eyes. "Sometimes I'm wrong." All she had to do was to give him the slightest sign and he'd carry her to the nearest bedroom. But he saw only indecision in her eyes. Why make this more complicated? He'd completed his end of their bargain and now it was time to walk away. Besides, he knew he was more suited to be her temporary bridegroom than her permanent lover. It was obvious that Laurel Rand was the marrying type-and he wasn't.

"It was nice being married to you," she whispered with a weak smile. "Thank you for helping me out."

"And thank you for the ten thousand," Sean said. He reached up and ran his fingertips along her cheek. "Have a good time on your honeymoon. I hope you find another husband-a good husband-soon. You deserve that."

Laurel nodded and Sean stepped toward the door. But the sound of her voice made him turn around. "Would you like to-" She paused.

"Would I like to what?"

A tiny frown furrowed her brow and then she shook her head. "Never mind. It was a silly idea. Goodbye, Sean Quinn."

"Goodbye, Laurel Rand."


* * *

Quinn's Pub was crowded and noisy when Sean walked in. Saturday nights were always the busiest and now that Quinn's had been written up in a tourist guide as "authentically Irish," business had been booming. Sean hoped he'd find at least one brother in the bar, though with five of the six Quinn brothers now married or engaged, the odds weren't as good as they used to be.

Sean hadn't bothered to go home to change after he'd picked up his car at the church. On the ride over he'd been more preoccupied with thoughts of his short and very sweet "marriage" to Laurel Rand than his choice of wardrobe. There was a spot at the bar between two eager ladies and they smiled at him when he entered. Since the other brothers were off the market, the target on his back had grown much bigger. There was only one Quinn left and the girls who frequented the pub considered him the ultimate challenge.

But there was only one woman who occupied his thoughts tonight-his "bride," Laurel Rand. He strolled through the pub and was surprised to see his twin brother, Brian, behind the bar. His fiancée, Lily Gallagher, sat on a stool, deep in conversation with Brian. The three of them had lived together until the end of August when the newly engaged couple had found a new apartment.

A quick scan found Dylan and Meggie in the rear of the pub, playing pool. Lily saw Sean first and her expression was welcoming, but when Brian turned, he let out an astonished gasp. "What the hell are you wearing?" his brother asked.

"A tuxedo," Sean replied, sliding onto the stool beside Lily.

"I know it's a tuxedo, eedjit. Why are you wearing it?"

"You're not the only one who can wear one of these things. I can be sophisticated."

"So what can I get you, Mr. Bond? A martini, shaken not stirred?"

"Give me a Guinness," Sean said. "And some duct tape for your mouth."

Brian chuckled as he grabbed a pint glass and wandered over to the Guinness tap. Sean slipped out of his jacket, then draped it over the bar. He withdrew a folded paper from the breast pocket and unfolded the agreement that Laurel had written out, his gaze dropping to the delicate scrawl of her signature. Suddenly the paper was snatched from his fingers.

"What's this?" Brian asked.

"Give me that," Sean said, standing to reach out across the bar.

"Brian, give it back," Lily insisted.

But his brother danced away. "Does this have to do with why you're dressed in that tux?" He stared down at the paper and began to read it out loud. "'I, Laurel Rand, promise to pay you, Sean Quinn, the sum of-' Holy shit. Ten thousand dollars?"

With a low curse, Sean braced his hands on the bar and jumped over it. He retrieved the paper from Brian's hand, then grabbed him by the front of his shirt. It had been like this their whole lives, the best of friends and then, a moment later, the worst of enemies. Maybe that's what twins were all about. "Stay out of my business," Sean said.

"What the hell is goin' on here?" Seamus demanded, wandering over to observe the commotion.

"Your sons are about to come to blows," Lily said. "And I'm going to play pool with Dylan and Meggie before I get stuck in the middle." With a little wave, she headed to the back.

Seamus turned to Sean. "Get out from behind my bar. People will mistake this pub for some hoity-toity place if they catch a look at you."

Brian clapped Sean on the shoulder. "I didn't mean to get into your business."

"Yes, you did," Sean said.

"So why did you get all dressed up?"

Sean raked his hand through his hair. "Promise you won't say anything to the brothers?" They'd made the same promise hundreds of times before, a vow between twins who were closer than mere brothers could ever be. From the time Sean had broken the bedroom window and Brian had sworn to Conor that a bird had done it, to the time when Brian had snuck the keys for Dylan's car and taken it for a joyride. His secrets were safe with Brian.

"You know I won't," Brian said.

Sean leaned against the back bar. "I got married earlier this afternoon."

Brian's jaw dropped. He tried to say something, but words wouldn't come. When he finally regained his voice, he shook his head. "You got married? Just like that, without telling the family? I didn't know you were even dating someone. Hell, Sean, we've all accepted the fact that you're a little closemouthed, but this is taking it too far."

"It wasn't a real wedding," he explained.

"And that's just an imaginary tuxedo you're wearing?" Brian asked. He grabbed Sean's arm, dragged him down to the end of the bar, then flipped up the end section and shoved him through. "Go find us a booth," he muttered. "I'll get us something stronger to drink."

Sean found a spot near the front door of the pub, not exactly a quiet spot, but far enough away from prying ears to make conversation private. Brian joined him a few moments later with two shot glasses and a bottle of Irish whiskey. He set the bottle and glasses on the table, then slid into the seat across from Sean. Brian filled both glasses, snatched one up and downed it in one gulp. Sean did the same, then shoved the glass toward the bottle for another pour.

"Not until you tell me," Brian said.

"I've been tracking down a drifter named Eddie 'The Cruiser' Perkins. He romances wealthy women, marries them, then takes off with their money."

"What does he have to do with you getting married?"

"I found him and I was there when the FBI took him away. He asked me to do a favor for him. Gave me a hundred bucks to get a message to a woman named Laurel Rand. I didn't realize the address he gave me was for a church and that Laurel Rand was waiting there in her wedding dress. Waiting for Eddie. She didn't know he was Eddie the Cruiser, she thought he was Edward Garland something-or-other, her groom."

"So you just decided to marry her then and there? Isn't that taking your professional responsibilities a little too far?"

"She offered to pay me." Sean reached into his pants' pocket, withdrew the check and placed it on the table. "Ten thousand dollars to walk down the aisle with her. To pretend I was her groom for the rest of the afternoon and evening."

"But you married her," Sean said.

"Not for real. We didn't have a marriage license. I was pretending to be someone else. It's not legal. Hell, do you think I'd really marry a woman I just met?"

Brian grabbed the bottle and poured them both another shot. "Looking at it objectively, would you say you… rescued her?"

"Yeah," Sean said. "And then I married her. That's it. Don't you see? The curse is broken. I collect my money and it's over. No marriage, no curse. Clean and simple and safe."

Though the Mighty Quinn legends went back centuries, the Quinn family curse was a more recent development. It had begun the day Conor had met Olivia, and since then, every time a Quinn brother rescued a damsel in distress, he promptly fell in love with her. But that wouldn't happen to Sean. He'd neatly maneuvered himself around the curse.

"I don't think it's that simple," Brian said. "So when are you going to see her again?"

Sean looked down into his glass. "I'm not. I did what she asked, she paid me, and now I have enough money to rent an office and buy some office equipment. I won't have to operate my business out of the apartment anymore. Maybe I'll get a better class of clientele. Some corporate clients would be nice."

"I get the sense that you don't want it to end there."

Sean twirled the empty shot glass around in front him. "She was beautiful. I knew I shouldn't have gone along with her plan, that it was tempting fate. But I wanted to help her. And I'm glad I did."

"You know what I think? All those stories Da used to tell about the Mighty Quinns are just a load of crap. And so is this curse. There's a reason all of us fell in love with these women of ours. They were the right women in the right place at the right time."

"What does that have to do with Laurel Rand?"

"Maybe she's your perfect mate," Brian replied. "Maybe this is the right time and you just don't know it yet. Think about it. You've always kept your distance from the opposite sex. You didn't do that with this woman. Maybe there was a reason for that."

"That's a lot of maybes. You're in love and you're talking like a sap."

Brian sighed. "I'm simply saying that maybe you shouldn't write her off so soon. Maybe there's something there."

"Yeah, there's something there," Sean said as he slid out of the booth. He picked up Laurel's check and waved it at Brian. "Ten thousand and a chance to build my business. And that's all."