In fact, it did sound crazy. Taking the bus was not a reason to think she was more at risk than anyone else.
He turned and slid his palm along her jaw. “I worry about you. I can’t bear to think about anything bad happening to you.”
That, however, wasn’t crazy. She adored the fact that he cared so much about her. She leaned into his touch. “If Norah’s not available, I’ll call a car. Would that be better?”
“A little. Maybe call one of the girls to meet you outside the rink. Then I’d have nothing to worry about.”
She rolled her eyes but smiled. With a sigh, she agreed. “Get me Caitlyn’s number. She’s at every game, so I’m sure she’ll meet me.”
“Excellent.” He shifted again, moving her farther back on the mattress. “Now let’s get back to enjoying our night.”
He stroked her softly and her breath hitched. “Did I show you the new app I found?” she asked.
“Seriously? I’m rubbing your naked body and you want to talk about apps?”
She giggled, which was something she did often with him. “Trust me. You’ll enjoy this. I downloaded it with you in mind.”
Rolling out from under him, she reached for her mobile on the bedside table. “It’s like a roulette wheel of sexual positions. You spin the wheel by tapping the screen. Then tap again to stop. She demonstrated and turned the screen to him.
He tapped the screen and his eyes lit. “Oh, yeah. That’s an app I can get behind. And that right there”—he pointed at the screen—“is something I intend to do right now.”
Deirdre didn’t have to look at the app to know what it said because Tommy was already kissing his way down her body. As he spread her thighs wide and licked her, she lost her grip on the mobile and it dropped to the floor.
She sighed and gave herself over to the pleasure he offered, knowing that their night together was nowhere near finished.
Chapter Fourteen
Deirdre had known her life was going too smoothly for it to continue. The silence from Ireland couldn’t have lasted. Her mother called, which Deirdre successfully avoided. Donal called and left a message saying he was checking on her, which she knew he had been put up to. Then Brendan got tricky. He had her friend Bridget call and as soon as Deirdre answered, he spoke.
“Why are you avoiding us, D?”
“I’m not doing any such thing. I’m busy here.” She looked down the street for her bus.
“I hope you got your fill because we need you home.”
What? “I’m not due back for more than another month.”
“That was before we lost Rory.”
Anger sparked at her brother’s words. She began to walk instead of sitting still for the bus. “You didn’t lose him. You fired him.”
“You’re upset over that? After what he did to you?”
“He did nothing to me,” she lied.
“Regardless, he’s gone, and we need you here. We’ve given you space to lick your wounds and feel better.”
A whopping three weeks. A five-year relationship broken like that, and all he thought she deserved was three weeks to get over it. “I’m doing just fine, thanks for asking. But I’m not ready to come home.”
Mostly, she wasn’t ready to leave Tommy.
“Take ’til the end of the month, but then you have to come back. I wasn’t joking when I said Rory had picked up all your jobs. We’re drowning here.”
“Then maybe you shouldn’t have fired the best man you had.” She disconnected without another word because it would only get ugly between them and that would solve nothing. The late-afternoon sun beat down on her, scorching her scalp. Her stomach was in knots and she felt like crying.
At the next corner, a bus was headed in the opposite direction, so she crossed the street. The bus would take her to Tommy’s work, and right now, she needed to see him. What was she going to do?
The trip to Ink Envy was longer than she’d expected, but even that hadn’t been enough to calm her. She stepped from the bus and looked around. Although Tommy had told her where he worked, she’d never been to the studio. As the bus pulled away, she looked across the street and saw it.
For a minute, she stood staring and began to doubt herself. While Tommy referred to her as his girlfriend, were they close enough that she should show up unannounced at his place of work? The glare of the sun prevented her from seeing inside the shop so there was no way to see if he was busy. At least, if she knew he wasn’t with a client, she wouldn’t feel bad about showing up.
She pulled out her mobile and called him.
He answered before the second ring. “Hey, Cupcake. What’s up?”
“Can you talk?”
“Yeah, sure.”
A truck rumbled by.
“Where are you?”
The easy sound of his voice made it hard to speak. “Outside,” she answered. “Across the street.”
“Here? Come in.”
Suddenly crying seemed more than likely. “I wasn’t sure if you were busy—” She choked back some tears.
“What’s wrong?”
Swallowing hard, she forced words out. She’d wanted comfort from Tommy, but she didn’t want him to see her crumble. “I shouldn’t have come.”
“Don’t move.”
* * *
Tommy kept his phone to his ear to keep her talking. Something was definitely wrong. He swung the door to Ink Envy open and looked across the street. Standing at the corner, Deirdre looked lost, even though she stared right at him. The sun shone on her reddish-brown hair, making it look like she radiated heat. She squinted in the sunlight at him. Not waiting for the light, he jogged across the street, pissing off a few drivers.
“What’s wrong?” he asked before coming to a stop in front of her.
“Nothing worth getting yourself killed over. What’re you thinking, running across the street like that?”
Anger was better than tears, so Tommy would take it. “It’s Chicago. We all learn to cross the street like that.” He stepped close and took her hand. “Want to come in?”
She shook her head and stared at the ground.
“Tell me.”
“My brother phoned today.”
“I thought you were still dodging your family.”
“I was. He had my girlfriend call.”
“Did something happen at home?” He hated referring to Ireland as home for her because she felt like she was home with him.
She shook her head again. “They want me to come back. Now.”
“What? You said we had ’til summer.”
She licked her lips. “I thought so too. But since Rory is no longer working at the pub, they need me.”
“Let them hire someone else.”
She huffed a sad laugh. “That’ll never happen.” She finally looked up at him. “I don’t even know why I came here.”
“Because when you care about someone, you talk about the shit in your life so you can feel better.” He loved that she’d come to him first, that she hadn’t thought about it, but just come.
“You should go back to work.”
Instead of speaking, he pulled her into his arms and held her. Of course, she didn’t cry. Deirdre wasn’t overly emotional, which was how he knew something had gone sideways for her. She sagged against him and let him comfort her.
“What if you just ignore them and don’t go back?”
“I wish I could. But I have to go back eventually. What happens then? I have no home, no family, no job.”
“They would disown you for not jumping when they demanded?”
Her shoulders lifted in his arms. “I’d like to think not, but who knows? But I can’t just stay here. I’m technically on holiday, remember? At some point, I’m sure your government will want me to leave.”
He hated the reminders that she would leave him. But the thought of her leaving now was devastating. “What can I do?”
“There’s nothing to do.” She stepped out of his arms and looked up at him.
“I just . . .” She blew out a breath. “We only have a little time together, and I’d like to spend as much as possible with you.”
“Goes without saying, Cupcake. You want to come hang out with me while I work?”
“Thanks for the offer, but no. I’ll have to see about getting a plane ticket and quitting my job.”
“Hey, there’s my silver lining.”
“What’s that?”
“The upside to your brother’s call is that you’re quitting your job so I don’t have to feel guilty about keeping you up all night.”
She smiled brightly at his joke. “I am expected at work tomorrow, so let’s hold off on the debauchery until tomorrow evening, all right?”
He groaned. “So I don’t get to see you tonight?”
“You have a late practice. Go have fun with the boys and we’ll see each other tomorrow night. Absolutely.”
She was putting on a brave face for him, so he let her because he didn’t know what else to say or do. She was resigned to doing her family’s bidding even though she hated it.
“Want to take my car?”
“It’s still very much daylight, so I’ll take the bus. But I’d love for you to wait with me.”
He looked down the block and didn’t see a bus coming. “I can think of an excellent way to make the time pass.”
The soft look in her eye was the last thing he saw before lowering his mouth to hers. He loved having her in his arms and couldn’t imagine not feeling this. They stood on the corner and kissed until the bus showed. Then he gave her one more quick kiss good-bye with a promise to call after practice.
When the bus pulled away, he walked back to the studio. If he didn’t have a client due in an hour, he would’ve taken the rest of the afternoon off to be with Deirdre, but maybe it was better this way. He’d have time to think about it and process her leaving.
Or dwell on it and make himself miserable.
“Who’s the hot chick you were making out with?” Puck asked as soon as Tommy walked through the door.
“My girlfriend.”
“Whoa,” Karla said. “Since when do you have a girlfriend?”
How long had he been with Deirdre? It seemed like years. “A month?”
“Looked way intense for a new relationship, dude,” Puck said.
“What would you know about a relationship? Have you ever had a girlfriend?”
“Fuck you.”
“Shut up, Puck,” Karla snapped. “I want to hear about the girl.”
“Not much to say. She’s visiting from Ireland and now she’s going back.” Any other words he’d considered saying got stuck in his throat. Deirdre was leaving him.
“Fuck, bro. That’s harsh.” Puck sat back on the battered couch and crossed his arms.
Tommy couldn’t talk about it. Didn’t want to think about it either, so he went to the back and sat at the table to sketch. Maybe if he focused on some art, he could pretend the whole conversation with Deirdre hadn’t happened.
It was a great theory, but his chest felt like the Incredible Hulk had reached in to squeeze his heart.
* * *
Practice was brutal, mostly because Tommy was looking to inflict and feel pain. His entire body ached before he left the ice. In the locker room, Kai looked him over.
“You okay?”
He must really look like shit if Kai was asking.
“I’m fine.”
By the time Tommy was done with his shower, Sean was already dressed. “You coming to McGinty’s?”
“Yeah. I could use a drink.” Or ten.
Sean narrowed his eyes like he wanted to say something else, but changed his mind. “See you there.”
“No Emma?”
“It’s a school night.”
Tommy smiled. Sean often gave Emma a hard time about not wanting to be out late on a school night, but they all understood that she had to deal with kindergartners every day.
“Cupcake?” Sean asked.
It took a minute to figure out what his brother was asking. “She has to open the bakery in the morning.”
As he reached for the door, Sean added, “Our women need better jobs.”
Tommy laughed. “Better? Or just better suited to our schedules?”
“You got it.” Then Sean disappeared through the door.
Tommy got dressed. Would Deirdre want a better job? She seemed to enjoy working at the bakery. She liked it a whole lot more than working at her family’s pub.
There had to be a way to get her to stay. He drove to the bar thinking about possibilities. If she got a student visa and started school—like culinary school—her family would have to let her stay. They couldn’t hold it against her, right? What parents didn’t want their kids to go to college?
He walked into McGinty’s and found Sean at the bar waiting with a couple of shots and beers. Last year, he would’ve already been hitting on some girls by the time Tommy strolled in. Now, because he’d found Emma, he sat waiting for Tommy.
“Whiskey? What’s with the splurge?” Tommy asked as he sat on a stool.
“You looked like you needed one. Drink it and tell me what the fuck is going on.”
Tommy gulped the shot and chased it with a swig of beer. He considered giving the alcohol a chance to hit his system, but Sean wouldn’t be that patient. “Deirdre’s leaving.”
Sean stared. “Uh . . . wasn’t that the plan all along?”
“Not yet. Her brother called today and told her she had to come home now. We were supposed to have until summer.” He drank some more beer. “Thing is, she doesn’t want to go. They want her to run the family’s bar, but she hates it. I need to find a way for her to stay.”
“Dude, fucking with family shit’ll get ugly.”
“I’m not dealing with her family.” Hell, they probably didn’t even know he existed. “She feels stuck, but if I can come up with a plan . . . What do you know about visas?”
“Not a fucking thing. Wouldn’t she know about that?”
“She didn’t need a visa to come here to visit, but if she got a student visa, she could stay. I think. I don’t know how it works.”
Sean waved the bartender over and ordered another shot for Tommy. “If she wanted to find a way to stay, don’t you think she’d be the one plotting here?”
The burn of the alcohol didn’t take away the sting of Sean’s accusation. “What are you saying?”
But he knew. He just didn’t want to consider it.
“If she was as desperate to stay as you are to keep her here, she’d be sitting here with you coming up with a plan.” Sean sipped from his beer. “It sucks. I get it. But maybe you just need to let her go.”
“I thought I could.” The pain in his chest returned. “You couldn’t let Emma go, could you? You didn’t even try. Even when she told you it was over.”
“That was different.”
Now Tommy felt like hitting his brother. “How is that different? Deirdre didn’t tell me to get lost. We’re good.”
“Fuck, dude. How the hell did you let this happen?”
“What?”
“You fell in love with her. Just like I warned you not to. It was different for me and Emma because she lives here. Yeah, I fucked up, but it was in my power to prove to her that what we had was real. How the hell are you going to do that from thousands of miles away?”
“It is real. I think she knows it too. We haven’t had a conversation about it, but this is killing me and all she did was break the news today. What the hell is going to happen to me in two weeks when she’s on a plane?”
“Do like the rest of us and get drunk. Stay drunk until she doesn’t matter.”
Tommy drained his beer. “You drank so much that I thought you had alcohol poisoning. Didn’t work, did it?”
Sean slapped his back. “I didn’t say it would work, just that that’s how we handle it.”
Tommy shoved away from the bar. Suddenly the thought of more alcohol didn’t appeal to him. He reme
mbered the pitiful state Sean had been in when things had gone south with Emma. Right now, Tommy needed to be able to think. Getting drunk wouldn’t give him a plan.
He trusted that if he gave Deirdre an out, she’d take it. He knew she didn’t want to go home.
“I’ll see you later, man. Thanks for the drinks.”
“You okay to drive?”
“Yeah.” He waved to the other players on his way out.
Sean had given him something to think about. He couldn’t convince Deirdre that they had a chance for a something permanent and real from thousands of miles away. But what if he went with her?
He could do tattoos anywhere. If it took time to get set up in Ireland, he could work at a bar.
But the thought of leaving his family bothered him. He’d never been alone, not like that. It would be even worse if her family didn’t like him.
When he got home, he lay in bed scrolling through information on his phone about what he would have to do to just pick up and move to Ireland. Being a tattoo artist meant he’d have to be in a big enough city. Deirdre had said she was from Ennis, which, by Ireland’s standards, might be considered a city, but not by his standards.
Obviously, if she continued to work at her family’s pub, she’d have to stay there. It wasn’t like she could move to Dublin or something. He did a search for tattoo shops in Ennis. Of course, they already had one. And a few more in nearby towns. Fuck.
He closed out the browser because he didn’t need any more depressing news. He couldn’t give up being a tattoo artist. Maybe tomorrow he’d call the shop in Ennis and see how big they were. In the meantime, he’d ask Deirdre if she’d thought about going back to school. Anything to keep her.
* * *
Deirdre tried not to be sad when she gave David her notice at the bakery. He seemed irritated that she wouldn’t be able to stay as long as she’d thought, but he understood how family worked. Although she offered to stay on until they found her replacement, he’d said they’d be fine. She was completely free as of this moment.
She turned back and looked at the brightly lit windows of the bakery. She’d learned a lot here, but not nearly as much as she’d hoped. Tommy had texted her earlier and asked if she’d considered culinary school. She’d laughed at his question. Right before she’d left Ireland, she’d argued with her mother about just that.
Through Your Eyes Page 19
