Irish Nights

by Marissa Dobson

  As Chip stood in the diner across the street waiting for the takeout he ordered, he did his best to battle his emotions. He wanted to hunt down that asshole and teach him a lesson for touching her. No one touches what’s mine. Even as the thought flashed across his mind, he knew he had no claim over her. Still, that didn’t diminish his need to teach this asshole a lesson.

  Men like Sal would feed off whoever was easiest and until he had to pay the price for his actions, he wouldn’t stop. With his father riding to the rescue every time there was the hint of scandal it would be hard to get Sal to see the error of his ways. Chip would need to find the opportunity to confront the bastard when he was alone. Though Jos was right, that needed to wait until they were back in the States. Back home, he’d have the upper hand. He just needed to keep his temper in check until the right opportunity appeared.

  Patience had never been his strong suit. The only trait that outranked his patience was his inability to take orders. Funny how he’d lasted eight years in the military doing the two things he hated most—waiting and taking orders. He’d still be following his commanders if it wasn’t for his last unfortunate mission.

  “Sir.” A waitress strolled toward him with a brown paper bag in hand. “Your food. Enjoy.”

  “Thank you.” He accepted the bag and headed for the door.

  There would be plenty of time to put a game plan together. For now, he wanted to get back to Jos. He needed to show her that she deserved better than Sal. Hell, she deserved better than him but they had two days before their flight back to the States; in this time, he planned to show her just how much she meant to him.

  Chapter Three

  Joslynn lost track of how many times she paced past the windows in Chip’s hotel room. Each time she scanned the sidewalk below looking for any sign of him but from the height, she couldn’t make out any features. Every person below looked like a small dot.

  “Where are you, Chip?”

  Her cell phone beeped, as if answering her. Except it wasn’t from him. Annie’s name popped up on the screen with a text. Just got off work. Everything okay?

  Okay? Nothing seemed to be okay at the moment. For a brief instant when Chip had found her in the bar, she’d thought everything would be fine, but now she wasn’t sure. He was out there somewhere. Even with his word that he wouldn’t go in search of Sal, it didn’t mean the two of them couldn’t bump into each other. If that happened, there’d be no stopping Chip. He was too headstrong, just like her brother. Between the two of them, she had cleaned enough wounds to last her a lifetime. That was one of the reasons why she hadn’t followed in her mother’s footsteps and become a nurse.

  Did you know Chip was coming? She pressed send before she could rethink her question. With Chip in Dublin there was no reason to worry Annie with what had happened. There was also no reason to tell her that Chip might be out there walking the streets in search of Sal. She could fill her best friend in once she got back home.

  I told him about Sal but didn’t think he’d show up. Did it cause another big fight with you and Sal?

  She stared down at her phone, debating how to answer that question. Long story. Sal and I are done. Staying with Chip until we fly home. I’ll fill you in then. She hit the send button as her gaze turned back to the street.

  As always with her, her thoughts conjured up the worst outcomes to any possible situation. If Chip didn’t come back, she would be in the same position she had been in hours before. Only now one less option of help was out there for her to call. Actually, it would eliminate two options. If Chip ended up in an Irish jail because of her, she couldn’t ask Annie for the money to help her get home. Not after she became the reason her cousin ended up behind bars.

  “Deep breath. It’s going to be fine.” Even saying the words aloud didn’t stop the anxiety from rising within her. Everything seemed to slam into her at once until she felt as though she was drowning in all of the bad shit that had happened.

  Sinking down onto the small sofa near the window, she brought her hands up to her face. Squeezing the bridge of her nose, she tried to push her tears away. Everything was crashing into her and she couldn’t handle it. She wanted to be back home and put all of this behind her.

  The hotel room door opened, and Chip stood in the entryway. “I’m back.”

  She ran her fingers under her eyes, drying up any tears that escaped. “Thank Heaven.” She let out a sigh of relief.

  “The lobby clerk recommended shepherd’s pie from the diner across the street. I guess it’s their weekly special.” He held up a brown paper bag. “I hope that’s okay with you.”

  “It’s fine.” Even though she wanted to rise from the sofa and go to him to put her arms around him, she forced herself to stay where she was. This was Chip, her brother’s best friend. She couldn’t allow her emotions to get a hold of her so much that she forgot this. No matter what she felt for him, she couldn’t allow herself to get carried away.

  “While you were gone, Annie texted. You didn’t tell her you were coming?”

  “No.” Sitting the bag on the small two-person dining table, he began to pull out the food. “It was a spur of the moment decision.”

  “Spur of the moment? Really?” She moved over to the table so that she was standing next to him. “This isn’t like you just got into your truck and all of a sudden ended up at my door. You flew to Ireland to see me.”

  “True.” He sat two bottles of water on the table and tossed the bag aside. “I found myself sitting outside the airport, debating what to do. At that time, I wasn’t sure if you needed me or if I was overreacting. I did know I was going to have words with your asshole boss and his son when you returned. But I wasn’t sure it was necessary to come here and possibly embarrass you.”

  “What made you go into the airport?” Uneasy, she focused her attention on the task at hand and took the lid off the to-go containers.

  “You, Jos.” His finger brushed along the curve of her face until he reached her jaw and gently he tugged her head up to look at him. “From what Annie told me I could tell how upset you were. I couldn’t sit by and do nothing. Even if all that happened was that I come here on the pretense of business and offered you a little comfort.”

  “That’s a long way to go to offer comfort.” As she stared up at him, their gazes locked.

  “There’s no distance I wouldn’t go for you.”

  His words tightened her chest until she thought she couldn’t draw another breath. She didn’t want to read further into what he said but her heart told her to trust her instincts. She moved close to him. Their chests brushed against each other as they breathed. “Tell me I’m wrong. Tell me I’m reading into this.”

  He slipped his arm around her and pressed his hand against the small of her back, drawing her even closer to him. “Is that what you want? Or do you want to see where this could take us?”

  Us. That single word sent her heart rate into overdrive. What about Jack? The thought of her brother slammed into her, but she couldn’t stop herself from rising up to press her lips to his.

  Butterflies danced within her stomach as their lips met. She looped her arms around his neck to gain some balance as his tongue slipped between her lips. The kiss she meant to be sweet blossomed into passion. Until that moment, she never understood it when her mother would tell her that during the first kiss with her father, fireworks exploded, and she knew he was the one. Now it was as if the grand finale was lit within her.

  As the kiss ended, she leaned against him, her thoughts hazy while she tried to digest what had just happened. This was the moment she had been waiting for but there was still a huge ball of concern in her stomach. Going down this road with Chip could mean the end of their friendship. If things didn’t work out, it wouldn’t just ruin things between them but would also affect things among the four of them—she, Chip, Annie, and Jack. They had been almost inseparable all of their lives. Now, if they went through with this, they’d throw a curve ball into their
friendships.

  As much as she wanted to explore what might be happening between them, she wasn’t sure she could risk that. He was one of her best friends and the thought of losing him hurt her like a stab in the heart.

  Chapter Four

  With his arms around her, holding her tight against him, Chip watched as she worked through what had just happened. He almost expected her to pull away from him, to shut him out. Instead, she took comfort in his embrace. Even without asking, he knew she was thinking about her brother and Annie. Their friendship meant a lot to both of them and this could put a strain on it. Said friendship had been the reason he’d kept his feelings to himself for so long, but that time was gone.

  She deserved someone better than him, but that knowledge didn’t stop him from wanting to claim her as his own. He couldn’t allow that knowledge to sidetrack him because he knew what it was like to lose her. When he learned she was engaged to Sal he thought he’d lost her for good. But now, the door he believed closed was open, so he had to try.

  “Don’t overthink it, Jos.” He pressed his lips to the top of her head.

  “Jack and Annie—”

  “This isn’t about them.” He leaned back to look down at her. “This is about us.”

  “Bull. Ever since kindergarten we’ve always been a foursome. What do you think they’ll say when they find out? You’re Jack’s best friend. What do you think he’ll do when he finds out you’re sleeping with his sister?”

  “I’m planning on more than sleeping.” He ran his hand down her arm, caressing her. “Jos, I can’t tell you when it happened because it feels like it’s been this way forever, but you’re the woman who’s filled every fantasy of mine. The one who occupies my dreams at night. The strength that I needed to keep fighting after coming home from my tour of duty, burned and damaged. I understand if you want someone…unscarred, but don’t use Jack and Annie as the reason. Be honest.”

  “Unscarred…” She shook her head. “That never crossed my mind. Your scars take nothing away from you. If anything, they add to you.”

  “Bullshit!” His tone was deeper than he’d meant for it to be but still, she didn’t pull away from him.

  “Okay, maybe I’m wrong. They did take something…” As he started to pull away, she grabbed hold of his arm, her fingers pressing into the scars from the burns on his arm. “They took skin. Nothing more. They don’t make you less of the person you were before. They show what kind of man you truly are.”

  She pushed up the long sleeve of his T-shirt, revealing his forearm and the beginning of the burns that laced their way up his arm and across his torso. “These scars show that you’re a man who would risk everything to save someone. You ran into a burning building to save that little girl and a fellow soldier. Everyone else was escaping the inferno but not you.”

  As her fingers traced along the burns, his thoughts were pulled back into the past. After hours on the plane with the horrors of the past pressing on him, the last thing he wanted to do was revisit them again. Those memories held nothing but horror and sadness and brought the need for a stiff drink back to him. Only one drink wouldn’t be enough. He’d need a bottle of liquor to push the past away this time.

  “You don’t believe me.”

  Her soft words brought him back from his thoughts and into the moment. He wanted to wrap his arms around her, to bring her back against his chest and take comfort in her the same way she took comfort in him. Instead of giving in to his desire, though, he glanced down at her hand as she traced along each of the burns. The tender touch lit something inside him that he couldn’t put into words.

  “What if all my actions did was cause more pain and suffering?” The question was out before he could stop himself. Never before had he voiced his concern and he hadn’t meant to now.

  “I know you went through some rough patches when you came home—”

  “I wasn’t talking about that.” He shook his head. “Forget I said anything.”

  “The little girl.” Her hand stilled over his arm and she looked up at him. “Jack told me she’d lost her leg from where it was crushed under the pillar that collapsed on her, but she survived.”

  In the blink of an eye, he was taken back. Not to his tour of duty, or the weeks in the hospital recovering from his injuries, but to the letter he’d received that had ultimately led him to Ireland. He could see himself standing in his kitchen with the small silver cross in his hand.

  I found this on E.

  The letter had been short and to the point. He already knew about the attack on her village and the injuries she’d sustained. It had happened weeks before, but the news had been sketchy at best. He held out hope that she was strong enough to get through it but that hope had been destroyed in one short sentence.

  “Chip.” Her fingers tightened around his arm until her fingernails pressed into the skin. “Chip!”

  “Huh?” He opened his eyes to look at her and the concern etched on her face sliced through him. He had been so lost in his own torment, he hadn’t realized she had been calling to him. “I’m fine.”

  “You’re not, but you will be.” She slipped her hand into his, interlocking their fingers, and pulled him toward the bed. “Come here.”

  “What about the food?”

  “It will be there.” She let go of his hand and crawled up onto the king bed. Pressing her back against the headboard, she tapped the space beside her. “You don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to but come here.”

  His lips curled up into a smile as he slipped onto the bed next to her. “This is why I went to your apartment. I hoped you wouldn’t mind me showing up unannounced because I needed this.”

  “I never mind when you show up.” She curled against his body, and he wrapped his arm around her shoulders, bringing her closer.

  “After I opened the envelope, I didn’t know what I was doing…everything was hazy. One minute I was standing in my kitchen and the next I was knocking on your door. The only thing I could think of was seeing you. I didn’t want to talk; I just wanted to turn on some movie or television, order a pizza, and hold you in my arms. Whatever was going on inside of my head, I knew that it would settle the moment you were next to me. Just like it did whenever you’d visit me at the hospital.”

  “I’m sorry I wasn’t there.” She looped her arm over his waist and rested her head on his chest, just as she always did when they’d curl up together.

  “Don’t apologize.” Needing to see more of her, he reached over to push her dark brown hair back from her face. “Right here, right now, this is what gives me confidence in moving forward with us.”

  She tipped her head to look up at him. “Sometimes I feel as if we bounce around like ping-pong balls. One subject to another. Yet somehow for us it works because we always make a full circle. So, tell me what is it about right now.”

  Knowing she was right, he let the first comment slide. He’d work back to the little girl, but he couldn’t talk about E yet. He needed to just embrace the moment. “Having you in my arms, I know this is where we’re supposed to be. Maybe not in Ireland, but us together, that’s what this is all about. Jack might be angry at first but he’s going to realize I’d never let anything happen to you.”

  “You’ve always been my protector.”

  “And you’ve always been my supporting angel. In the darkest times, you’ve shined a light on me and gave me the strength I needed to get through it.”

  Minutes ticked by silently as they just enjoyed each other’s company. With them there was no uncomfortable silence. They could remain in silence, or they could talk for hours. There was nothing they couldn’t share with each other.

  “Annie knows.” She tipped her head up to look at him. “I mean, she knows I’ve always had a thing for you. I’ve never confirmed it or anything, but she knows.”

  “I suspected my cousin had an idea.” He ran his hand down her back. “She gave me the hotel information for you. She might not have realized I
was going to come after you, but she figured I’d contact you.”

  “Then I’ll make you a deal.” She propped herself up on her elbow and stared down at him. “I’ll see where this goes on the condition that I get to tell Annie, but you deal with Jack.”

  “I’m not sure that sounds fair but for you I’d do it.”

  Chapter Five

  The room was dark when Joslynn was jerked awake by a noise. Laying there on the bed, she wasn’t sure what she heard. It could have been something from the hallway or even one of the hotel rooms on either side. Still, she couldn’t shake the feeling something was wrong.

  “No!” Chip’s tone was angry.

  The voice sounded farther away than the other side of the bed and it took her a moment to realize he wasn’t next to her. He was in the bathroom. Slipping out of bed, she crept closer to the bathroom door. She wasn’t sure who he was talking to but hearing him so upset made her want to go to him.

  “Stay the fuck away from her.” Even with Chip keeping his voice low she could hear the growl of anger. “I’m not someone you want to mess with.”

  With no other voices it was clear he was on the phone with someone, but who? Her first thought was Sal. She glanced over at end table near the sofa and from the light coming in the window she could see her phone still sitting there. That meant it wasn’t Sal. He didn’t have Chip’s number; in fact, he despised her friendship with Chip and had practically forbidden it.

  That should have been the first clue he wasn’t the right man for her. But, rather than put her foot down, she’d concealed her friendship with Chip. How she would have done that once they got married, she wasn’t sure. I never intended to go through with it. As the thought crossed her mind, she sucked in a breath and backed away from the bathroom door. Was it true? Had she not intended to go through with it? Thinking back on all the little things, she realized that part of her had already decided she couldn’t marry Sal. She just hadn’t known how to break it off. That was until he hit her.