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with my hand out for a handshake. "Mr. Donnelly, such a pleasant surprise to see you. How is your beautiful bride?"
    I watched the surprised look on his face as I continued to hold my hand out. He quickly looked at Patrick and out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Patrick do a quick nod. It was then that he took my hand in his and very softly shook it.
    "Ms. O ’ Rourke, always a pleasure to see you. My Allyson is excellent, thank you for asking."
    I smiled brightly at him, "I ’ ve asked you to call me Christi, meeting you here doesn't change that. ” Again he looked at Patrick, his face contorted with confusion. I didn't understand what was going on between these two men, so I decided to be polite and give Ryan an easy out.
    “ Please tell her I said hello." He nodded with understanding and I turned back toward Patrick.
    All of the men in the room waited until I had taken my seat before they sat down. I thought this odd since we were in a strip club.
    "Mr. Malloy, you're a busy man and I only want to take a minute to personally tell you thank you. Thank you for helping my sister and my niece."
    A devilish grin spread across his face as he looked directly into my eyes. "I'm not certain I know what you're referring to, Ms. O ’ Rourke."
    "Please, Mr. Malloy , call me Christi. After everything you have done, it seems only right. ”
    He smiled his devilish smile and moved his left hand up to rest under his chin. His green eyes sparkled in the light from the lamp on his desk.
    “ Only if you call me Patrick ” His voice was doing strange things to my insides. I only smiled at his request.
    “ You and I both know you had everything to do with Kevin, err rather Douce, owning up to his responsibilities. I simply wanted to say thank you, it'll go a long way toward paying for her education. ”
    There I said it, now to get the hell out of here.
    "Giggles is a smart little girl, she deserves the best." I was so sick of these names he had given to the people I loved, “ Her name is Abigail. ” It came out very snippy, though I didn't mean for it to.
    “ Sorry, Christi, Abigail is a smart little girl, ” he emphasized her name as he corrected himself. "Smiles did a fine job of raising her by herself, and it shows."
    "Why do you call my sister Smiles?"
    He didn't bat an eye as he looked directly into mine. "Because giggles start as smiles. Your sister is always smiling every time I see her, and your niece has a laugh that makes my Ma giggle."
    Fair enough. However, I refrained from asking why he called me Legs.
    "Yes, well, again, I know you're a busy man and so I won't keep you..."
    "You didn't answer my question, Christi; does your father know you're here?"
    For a brief moment, I thought about telling him to mind his own business. I was an adult after all. However, I decided that since he had just gotten Kevin to pay up that I would remain nice.
    "No, Patrick, I haven't spoken to my dad today. He has no idea I was coming to thank you," I answered and began to rise from my chair.
    "This isn't a safe neighborhood, Christi. A beautiful woman such as yourself could attract some ... unwanted attention."
    “Yes, you’re right, thank you for your concern. I'll see myself out."
    "Not so fast, Christi," Patrick rose from his seat. I turned my attention back to him and sat back down in my chair.
    "Although it was very courageous for you to come here and thank me for helping your sister, I'm afraid I cannot accept only that." His eyes never left mine as he continued. "After all, I did get Douce to pay your sister a large sum of money, did I not? I'd say that mere words would not be quite sufficient."
    I was at a loss for what to say at this point. This had not gone as I had planned. This was only supposed to take a few minutes and I would be on my way home. He was right; I was attracting unwanted attention.
    "Then please, enlighten me on how I can properly thank you." Again with the clipped tone, I was in way over my head.
    "Easy,