Free It's in His Kiss Holiday Romance Collection by Mary Leo Page A

grin that still looked as if it could give Tom Cruz a run for his money.
    “Is that any way to greet an old friend?”
    The two men hugged, slapping each other’s backs. When they finally parted, Paul invited Ronan and Cathy to come inside.
    As soon as they walked inside, Ronan introduced Cathy to Paul who gave her a big tight welcome hug. Paul had always been a friendly guy.
    “I’d heard you’d gotten married. This must be the lassie.” He gave her a quick once-over, nothing weird, just a glance. “And a mighty fine one at that.”
    “We’re not—” Ronan started to say, but Cathy interrupted him. “—going to be able to stay for long. Sorry, but next time we’ll plan something. Dinner or lunch or something.”
    “That would be fine. The wife would love to meet you both. But what the hell brings you to my doorstep after all this time? Wait. You’re a cop, right? This isn’t anything official is it?”
    “Why? You do something I should be aware of?”
    “Not unless you count my five-year-old daughter walking out with a bag of stickers the other day from the A&P.”
    “You have a kid?”
    “Three—two boys and a girl. Couldn’t be happier. They’re with their grandmom right now. Triplets, and it’s all because of you, my old friend. Never would have happened if you hadn’t given me that lucky coin. Have a seat. Can I get you anything? Soda? Coffee? Tea?”
    The living room was painted a warm blue that kind of matched Paul’s eyes. With tan comfortable furniture and a big, plush rocking chair in the corner of the room nestled next to the fireplace. A pang of jealousy swept through Ronan. Paul seemed to have everything going for him, including a family.
    “Tea would be nice,” Cathy said, as she made herself comfortable in the rocker that faced the front windows. “So, tell us more how that coin was lucky for you.” She glanced over at Ronan who sat on the sofa with an I told you so look on her face.
    “Let me put the kettle on, and I’ll be right back.”
    When Paul left the room, Cathy said, “I can’t wait to hear what he has to say.”
    Ronan smiled back at her, biting his tongue to keep from saying anything negative.

Chapter Three
    “Becky and I wanted kids almost more than life itself. We tried everything, even in vitro. Nothing worked. The doctors finally told us there was nothing more they could do and we should adopt. Which would have been fine, really, but my Becky had her heart set on getting pregnant. Then, one day while I was going through the old boxes in the basement, trying to clean out some of my old trophies and junk from when I was a kid, the leprechaun’s coin rolled out across the floor in almost a complete circle. It was like some kind of miracle or something. I’d completely forgotten that you’d given it to me. At first, I didn’t know what it was. The glow was almost blinding, and I’m here to say there was no sunlight coming in through those tiny street windows. Only the light from the bare bulbs overhead.
    “So I watched it roll around, not really able to take my eyes off it. Then that coin did a funny thing and spun on itself—like a top or something—all the while getting closer to my feet. It finally stopped next to my right foot. When I could finally see that it was that old gold coin you’d given me, I knew right then and there, this was my lucky day. That night, Becky and me, well you know, we’d been so down about the whole baby thing that we’d more or less given up on sex. But that night I knew it would be different. I knew absolutely that if we made love, my Becky would get pregnant. And sure enough, the next thing I knew we were having not one baby, but three babies! Can you imagine? We knew there was a risk of multiple births with in vitro. Never in a million years did we think it could happen without it. It was the coin, ya know?”
    “Ah, the luck of the Irish,” Cathy said, thinking the coin was even more powerful than she’d first