He chuckles and shakes his head. “No, but speaking of her, she loved you. She keeps texting me and telling me to get my shit together.” He pauses. “Her actual words.”
I laugh. “Your grandmother can text?”
“Of course,” he says. “Does that really shock you after meeting her?”
“Actually, knowing her as little as I do, no, it doesn’t.”
* * *
We check out of the hotel and head out of town, a small part of me sad to be leaving. Ben’s mother lives about twenty miles out of Vegas. I’m nervous when we pull up at the front of the house, even more so after sleeping with him. I’m trying not to read too much into everything, but it’s hard. I glance over at him, wishing I didn’t like him as much as I do. I look around, trying to get my mind off him. It’s a nice area, but nothing flashy. I glance over to Ben. I’ve got no idea what to expect when we get inside.
“Are you nervous?” he asks with a grin as he unbuckles his seatbelt. “You don’t have to pretend to be my girlfriend here, okay?”
I roll my eyes and get out with a twinge of disappointment. I follow him up the steps to the front door. He knocks, then opens it and walks in, calling out for her. His mom races out, her face lighting up when she sees us. I watch as he throws his arms around her, hugging her tightly. I can tell how happy she is to see him. It’s written all over her face.
“You’re looking good,” she says, turning him around. She notices me standing there and looks surprised. “And who’s your friend?” she asks with a smile.
“This is Siobhan. I don’t really know her that well. I found her in Vegas, and she offered me sex in exchange for a lift home.” My eyes widen, my face is burning, and my mouth falls open in disbelief at what he just said.
His mother laughs and walks toward me, giving me a big hug. “Nice to meet you, Siobhan.”
“Nice to meet you, too,” I say, totally embarrassed. “I can’t believe he just said that. I did no such thing.” I glower at Ben over her shoulder, and he just grins back at me.
“It’s okay. That’s his father’s sense of humor coming out, right there. Just ignore him,” she says.
“She’s the sister of a friend of mine, Rory Maguire. I think I told you about him. Big country star. She’s over on vacation from Ireland to visit him. I thought I’d show her how nice Vegas is,” he says.
“That’s nice of you,” she says, narrowing her eyes suspiciously.
“I’m a nice guy,” he shrugs.
She walks into the kitchen, followed by Ben, and me behind them. I’m still in shock at what Ben said, so I take a seat at the table and stay quiet. His mom seems nice and she doesn’t seem overly interested in me while she talks to Ben, which I’m grateful for, then she suddenly turns to me.
“Gosh, I’m sorry, Siobhan. I’m being so rude,” she says, as she realizes she’s leaving me out of the conversation.
“It’s fine,” I say with a grin. “I’m sure you two have a lot to catch up on. Just pretend I’m not here.”
“Nonsense,” she says, waving her hand. “Can I get you a drink? A coffee, perhaps?”
“That would be nice, thank you,” I reply.
She looks in the fridge and frowns. “We’re short of milk. Ben,” she says, smiling at her son and holding up a bottle with barely enough for one cup of coffee in it.
He rolls his eyes at her. “Fine.”
“Could you pick Josh up on your way through? He should be finished with basketball practice by now.”
“Sure,” he says. He smiles at me and I nod. “I’ll be back soon,” he says, then disappears outside.
She brings my coffee over, smiling at me as she sits down opposite me.
“I’m Denise, by the way.”
“Nice to meet you, Denise” I say, smiling back at her.
I shift in my seat, unable to shake the feeling that the lack of milk was just a way to get rid of Ben for a little while so she could talk to me. It makes me feel uncomfortable, because I’m sure with three questions, she’s going to figure out everything that’s going on with us.
“So, you’re a friend of Ben’s?” she says. “I don’t think he’s ever brought a friend home, much less a girl.”
I look down at my coffee. “We’re not really friends, as such,” I say, trying to get my head around that. “I’m over to visit my brother and his girlfriend, but she got sick and they thought it might be contagious, so they thought it best I didn’t stay at their house. It’s kind of a long story, but Ben offered to help me out when I got stranded in Vegas.”
Oh God, I’m babbling.
“How is he?” Her question catches me off guard.
“Uh, fine, I guess?” I reply.
She laughs. “I’m sorry, that must’ve sounded like it was from completely out of nowhere. I’m just a bit worried about him with the anniversary of his father’s death coming up.” She shakes her head. “I’m sorry, none of this concerns you, but I worry about him.”
“He seems fine,” I assure her, not sure what else to say. We small talk for a few more minutes, until Ben gets back with milk and Josh in tow. He pats Josh on the back and nods at me.
“Josh, this is Siobhan. She’s the sister of one of my good friends.” Josh nods, his grin earning him a slap across the back from Ben.
“Whatever you’re thinking, just stop it,” Ben says.
“I was only going to say good work,” he mutters as he sits down and starts tucking into the sandwiches his mom has put on the table. “Where’s Jess?” he asks. As if on cue, a girl about sixteen walks in. I can tell she’s Ben’s sister, immediately. They have the same shaped face and intense eyes.
“Here,” she grins, sitting down. “Oh, hey,” she adds when she notices me.
She glances at Josh, who just shrugs and says, “Don’t ask me. I just got whacked for smiling at her.”
Ben sits down too, and passes me a sandwich, which I take gratefully. I sit back and just watch and listen to the four of them chatting. He wasn’t lying when he said they get on well. They joke and laugh about everything and it makes me homesick for the same kind of banter around the kitchen table back in Ireland.
It’s ridiculous. I’ve been gone for less than a week, but I miss all that interaction. It takes no effort, it’s just natural between a family. Maybe it’s because this is my first big trip anywhere, other than over to London when I was at school. If anything happened back home now, I’m aware that I’m too far away to do anything. It’s getting me down.
* * *
It’s after four by the time we say goodbye and get back in the car to go back to L.A. I don’t say much for a good part of the drive, choosing to just gaze out of the window. Ben turns to me after a while and smiles.
“You’re awfully quiet,” he comments.
I shrug, still feeling homesick. “I know it sounds stupid but watching you with your family makes me miss my own.” I stick out my bottom lip in a fake pout. “It’s ridiculous, I know, since I’ve only been away for a few days…”
“It’s not ridiculous at all,” he says with sincerity. “It’s good to miss your family. A lot of people underestimate how much they need them around.”
I smile, feeling a little better. “How old were you when your father died?” I ask him softly.
He glances at me. “I was eight. Josh was two and Jess was only six months old. He was such a fitness freak, but he had a heart attack.”
“Wow, that must’ve been really hard on your mom.”
He nods. “Not that she ever showed it, but I was old enough to notice. I stepped up and helped her out. Well, as best as an eight-year-old could,” he says with a chuckle.
“That’s a huge responsibility for someone so young,” I say.
“It got harder when I grew older. Then I really understood how things were. Grammy moved in with us, which helped, but I could still hear Mom crying through the night.” He pauses for a moment. “I think that’s what got me the most. I tried to take a bit of th
e pressure off her, but there’s only so much I could do.” He glances at me and smiles. “So, you’re obviously close with your family too, then?” he asks. “Aside from Rory, of course.”
I laugh and smile fondly. “Oh yeah, you’d freak if you had to stay with us. Just ask Amelia. We gave her a real baptism by fire when Rory brought her home to visit.”
He chuckles. “I’ve always wanted to go to Ireland,” he muses.
“You totally should,” I say. “Come visit me,” I say, without even thinking what I’m saying. I blush, a small flutter racing through my stomach as he raises his eyebrows at me.
“Thanks for the invite. Maybe I will,” he murmurs. He’s probably just saying that, but deep down, I hope he does.
* * *
The rest of the trip is quiet. I’m lost in my own thoughts as we drive back through the hills toward L.A. At some point, I must have fallen asleep and I wake up as Ben pulls into the fancy hotel Rory had booked for me to pick up my bags and check out. Half an hour later, we’re swinging into the driveway at Rory’s house. I had fun with Ben, in more ways than one, and I’m disappointed our trip is over. I unbuckle my seatbelt but hesitate before I get out and glance over at him.
“So, this never happened? We did nothing?” I ask.
“Sure. If that’s the way you want it,” he says, but I’m sure I see a flash of disappointment in his eyes, too. “Call me if you want to explore this some more, though,” he adds.
“I’d better get inside before Rory comes out,” I say, unsure of how I feel.
“Are you sure you don’t want me walk you in?” he asks, his eyes sparkling.
“Oh, I’m sure,” I say as I get out. “Hopefully, I’ll see you again before I leave?”
“I sincerely hope so,” he replies with a smile. “See you later, and thanks for everything. I loved having you around.”
“Me, too,” I say, then I walk up the path, pretending I can’t feel his gaze on me.
* * *
“Well, look what the cat dragged in,” Rory says, grinning as I walk through the door and dump my bags. I turn around and smile as he jumps up from the couch and rushes across the floor to greet me.
“Oh, don’t give me that,” I warn him as we hug each other tight. “You told me to stay away while Amelia was sick, remember?”
“Hey,” he says, backing away and holding his hands up. “Calm down, won’t you? I was just kidding. And when I said to stay away, I didn’t mean for you to go off with Ben.”
“I didn’t go off with Ben,” I frown, worried at what he knows.
“Come on, Siobhan. Do you think I came down in the last shower of rain?” he presses. I sigh, fast becoming annoyed with his big brother attitude.
“Fine,” I say, not caring anymore. “I was with him. Are you happy now?”
“I fucking knew it,” he roars, shaking his head. “I warned him. I’m going to kill that little fucker.”
“Nothing happened,” I plead with him. “He just helped me out of a tight situation.” I immediately curse my choice of words as Rory glares at me.
“There better not have been any kind of tight situations,” he retorts.
“Rory!” I growl. I squeeze my eyes shut and cover my face with my hands, horrified he just said that. “Nothing happened, okay? Can we just leave it at that?” I plead.
“It depends on whether you can leave it at that,” he mutters.
“Rory—”
“Fine,” he sighs, staring down at his hands.
“How’s Amelia?” I ask, changing the subject and trying to ease the tension building between us.
He nods. “She’s okay. She’s much better than she was, and the doctor confirmed it was food poisoning all along.”
I smirk. “So, I guess that rules out a home-cooked meal to go along with your proposal, then?”
“Go away, Siobhan,” he growls at me as I chuckle and disappear out of the room.
Chapter Seven
Ben
I don’t hear from Siobhan at all for the rest of the night. When I don’t hear from her on Wednesday either, I wonder if I should be taking the hint. I text her as I thought she’d call, for sure. Maybe that’s just me being arrogant, but I do really want to see her again. When I wake up Thursday morning, I check my phone. I’m disappointed to see no messages or missed calls from her, so I text her again—still no response, so I busy myself with work, but I can’t concentrate.
I call Rory to arrange lunch with him, so we can go over some details for his upcoming tour, but also to see if I can figure out why she hasn’t been in touch. I’m not nervous about seeing him after what happened, but then again, after what Siobhan said about her inability to lie to him, maybe I should be? Okay, now I’m nervous. Perhaps that’s why I haven’t heard from her.
We meet at a small Irish pub that Rory always insists we go to, since it makes him feel closer to home.
“Do you get homesick often?” I ask him as we sit down.
He shrugs. “Not so much now that Siobhan is here, but usually, yeah, I miss my family. I like it over here, but it’s a completely different kind of life, you know? It’s so laid back over there, but here, everything is so full on.”
I laugh. “Dude, you live in L.A. What were you expecting?”
He shrugs and picks up his menu. “Hey, you asked.”
I pick up my menu too, but study Rory over the top of it. He hasn’t mentioned the fact that he thought we were in Vegas together. I’m glad for that, but I’m also waiting for the other shoe to drop.
“So,” I ask him. “Are you ready for your show on Saturday?”
“Honestly? I’m as nervous as fuck,” he mutters. “I wrote her a song, you know.”
“That’s sweet,” I say, smirking at him.
“I’m more nervous I’m gonna fuck it all up.” He glances at his watch. “I’ve got a meeting with the jeweler after I finish with you, to get the ring. I think that’s where this freak out is stemming from. Having the ring makes it real. I’m also terrified she’s going to find it before Saturday.” I nod as he sits back and runs his hands through his hair. “Then I start worrying. What if she says no?” he mutters. He looks physically sick, like he never thought it was a possibility, until now.
“Better you than me,” I say, grinning.
“Agreed,” he says. “Considering I’m fairly sure you’re doing my sister.”
I feel my face heating up and let out a snort. “I, uh…you’ve got no idea—”
“She told me, Ben” he says quietly.
“She did?” I mumble.
“Actually, no, but you just did,” he says, coldly.
Fuck. I open my mouth to backtrack and realize there’s no way out of this. He glares at me, his eyes piercing into mine like daggers.
“Relax, Rory,” I say, trying to lighten the mood. “You look like you’re about to pop a blood vessel.”
“Yeah? Can you blame me?” he growls. “Jesus, Ben. Why did you do it after I asked you to stay away from her? I thought you were my friend.”
“I-I’m sorry,” I say, not sure what else to do. “It’s not like I planned this.” He glares at me, and I wince, since the way I’ve been going on about it, he’d be forgiven for thinking that maybe I had planned it.
“Are you just trying to mess with me?” he asks. “Because it’s working.”
“Of course not,” I frown. “I’m disappointed that you think I’d go that low. I happen to like your sister…a lot.”
He sighs and stares at me. “Okay, look, let’s not talk about this right now. I don’t want to say something I might regret.”
“Fine,” I agree. “Let’s try and enjoy our lunch while we go over the details of your tour.”
* * *
“I’d better go, or I’ll be late picking up this ring. I’ll see you later,” Rory mutters the second he finishes his lunch. He pushes back his chair and stands. I watch him walk away, disappointed I didn’t get a chance to ask him why Siobhan hasn’t been
in touch with me.
If I was ever going to try and see her again, now would be the perfect time.
Visiting Siobhan should be the last thing on my mind, but unfortunately, it’s not. Knowing Rory won’t be home for a little while, gives me the incentive to drive over there and see what’s up. I park one street over, paranoid he’s going to come home early and see my car. Not that there’s much to hide, but I’d still prefer he not catch us together just yet. I walk up the driveway and knock on the door. So wrapped up in my own thoughts, it doesn’t hit me until then that Amelia might be home. Siobhan opens the door and frowns at me.
“Rory’s not here,” she responds, her arms crossed tightly over her chest.
“I know. I just met him for lunch. He’ll be a while. I’m here to see you. He’s not such a good kisser as you, anyway,” I add, which, thankfully, gets me a smile. “Are you going to invite me in?” I ask.
She sighs and opens the door. “What makes you think Amelia isn’t here, either?” she asks.
I shrug. “I don’t know. I just took a chance.”
She shakes her head. “Well, lucky for you, she isn’t. I was just about to go for a swim, actually.”
“If you’re inviting me in for a dip, then I’m up for that,” I say.
“I wasn’t inviting you,” she says, glancing over at me, and her eyes soften. “But you’re welcome to join me…if you can keep your hands to yourself.”
She walks outside and sets her towel down. I follow her, peeling off my shirt along the way. She looks over, her eyes widening as I take off my pants, followed by my shorts.
“Are you all right?” she laughs.
I toss them on the ground and shrug. “I think so. No point getting them wet,” I point out. I dive under the water, wiping the water from my eyes when I surface. I look over at Siobhan, still standing on the edge.
“Well, are you joining me or not?”
“I’m coming,” she says, laughing. “I just can’t believe you,” she adds.
I watch her as she takes off the dress she’s wearing, revealing a stunning black bikini underneath. It hugs her curves perfectly, the sight of her forms a lump in my throat—and other places.
Irish Affair Page 17
