Celtic Magic

by Amber LaShell

  Tom sat next to her and put his arms around her, “Okay, how about we just agree to have you wear it for the dinner party, and we will figure out what to do with all of it after that. Is that good for now?” he asked her, looking hopeful.

  She nodded as she reached down and took the shoe off, “Okay, but I want you to keep all of this stuff over here until the party. In the meantime, you never did feed me breakfast, so how about we cook something together, do you have food here?” she asked him.

  He blushed and shook his head, “No, I usually grab something at the hotel when I work, or order in when I’m here, sorry.”

  She smiled, “That’s okay, how about we go to the grocery store and pick up a few things. I make a mean BLT sandwich.”

  Tom laughed, “Sounds good to me, let’s go.”

  Abby grabbed her purse as they headed out the door, ready to spend the rest of the day together just relaxing.

  Chapter 13

  Later that night as they lay in his massive bed, they started to tell each other about their hopes and dreams for the future and for a split second Abby considered telling him all about her mother and the things that she had recently learned about her destiny, but didn’t know if it was something she was supposed to share.

  She was also worried that he would think she was crazy and have her locked into a mental facility, or dump her. Either way, she decided she wasn’t ready to tell him the truth about herself and encouraged him to talk more about himself.

  She watched as his eyes shut and he started to breathe heavier, and she knew that he was asleep. She watched as his eyelids fluttered and wondered what he was dreaming about. Just as the thought crossed her mind she saw a mental flash of a field of flowers, which surprised her enough to make her entire body twitch and her heart started beating against her chest so loudly, she was sure it would wake him up. She held her breathe for a few seconds, but once she saw that he was still asleep, she let it out.

  She had a feeling deep down inside of her that she could see into his mind, so she followed her instincts and put her hands on either side of his face and closed her eyes, thinking of Tom, and wanting to see his dream. Suddenly it was like she was looking into a television set, but instead of actors she saw herself lying on a blanket in the middle of a field of daises with Tom lying next to her, and it appeared they were talking. She tried to focus in on the sounds, but no matter how hard she tried, she could not hear what they were saying, she could only see that it was a very serious conversation.

  Suddenly Tom leaned over and kissed the Abby that was lying on the blanket and she watched as they started to become more and more intimate. She watched as he undressed her, and it was odd watching herself becoming naked, especially when she couldn’t feel or hear anything that was happening.

  She started to feel a familiar tingle between her legs as she watched herself and Tom start to position themselves as though they were about to have sex, and feeling suddenly ashamed and like she was peeping into someone’s window, she pulled back out of the dream and opened her eyes. She looked at Tom, knowing that in his dream he was having sex with her right now, wondering if he had this dream about her often.

  She sighed as he pulled her closer to him, wrapping his arms around her and moaning in his sleep. She enjoyed the feeling of his arms wrapped around her and was finally able to fall asleep in his arms.

  ***

  The next few days went by way too fast, in a whirl wind of dates with Tom, with Abby trying unsuccessfully to forget about what she had seen in his dreams. They had spent one night at her apartment, but after sharing such a large bed, her small full sized bed seemed much too cramped for them, so they slept at Tom’s apartment the rest of the week. Finally it was Saturday, and she woke up nervous about meeting Tom’s father, who he described as stuck up, snobby, and a pain in his ass.

  She didn’t know what to expect at the party, but was terrified that he wouldn’t like her, and that it would put a cramp in their relationship. She hadn’t ever been in one before, but it seemed to be going really well, and she didn’t want anything to spoil it.

  In keeping with trying not to spoil things, she made it a point to never go into one of Tom’s dreams again, not wanting to feel as awkward with him as she had after she had gone into his dream before.

  She woke up before Tom and decided to make him breakfast in bed with some of the food they had bought together, but just as the bacon started to sizzle, he woke up. She looked over and saw him sitting up in the bed watching her cook wearing only her underwear and one of his large t-shirts.

  “Are you hungry?” she asked him.

  He nodded and slowly dragged himself out of bed, and sat at the small table he had set up next to the kitchen.

  “Why are you up so early?” he asked her.

  She shrugged her shoulders, “I don’t know, couldn’t sleep I guess, maybe I’m just nervous about tonight, I’ve never met a guy’s family before” she told him, blushing.

  He smiled up at her, “You sure do blush a lot, but it’s okay because your cute when you blush. Don’t be nervous about tonight, my family will love you, how could they not?” he said.

  She opened her mouth to say something, but changed her mind and turned back to the stove, putting the finishing touches on his breakfast. She had almost asked him if he loved her, but it was way too soon to start throwing around questions like that. Besides, she was almost afraid of what he would say.

  “Where are we going?” Abby asked, as Tom drove into a section of downtown that she had never seen before.

  “It’s a surprise, you will have to wait and see” he replied.

  Abby shrugged her shoulders, she knew how stubborn he could be, and if he wasn’t ready to tell her where they were going, he wouldn’t say a thing. She looked out the window as they pulled into a shopping center with a very prestigious salon on the corner.

  She looked over at him, “Are we going to this salon?” she asked, thinking about how much she really needed a haircut.

  He nodded and smiled, “I think you need to be pampered. Besides, I am making you meet my family, the least I can do is have you relaxed when you walk in.”

  Abby smiled at him, he really could be very sweet, and she felt lucky to have met him. As soon as they walked into the salon, she was once again ushered into a VIP area and experienced what life was like for the rich and famous. They sat her in a huge cushioned chair that vibrated and massaged her. She sat there feeling pure bliss while one woman started to give her a pedicure, another woman started up a manicure, and a very colorful man got to work on her hair.

  He had bright red hair, and he was wearing a rainbow shirt and yellow pants, but he really knew his way around hair. He started by putting, what he called low lights, into her already ice blonde hair. By the time they finished pampering her, and giving her champagne to drink, and strawberries to munch on, she really felt like one of the VIP people. Once she was finished, she walked around the salon, thanking everyone who had helped her in some way, then slid into Tom’s car as he pulled up outside.

  “Wow, you look great Abby” he told her,leaning in for a kiss before he pulled away from the salon.

  “Thanks, they did a wonderful job, thank you so much for taking me there” she told him, sitting back to enjoy the short ride back to his loft.

  When they got back to Tom’s place she disappeared into his bathroom to get ready. She didn’t want him to see her until she was completely dressed and as she walked out of his bathroom with her dress on, her shoes on, her jewelry on, and her hair and makeup done by the salon, she anticipated that first look. Tom was standing near his bed with his back turned toward her, so she cleared her throat and he turned around. The look on his face when he saw her was priceless, and it was even better than she had hoped for. His eyes got wide as he looked her up and down.

  “Wow, Abby you look really great” he said to her.

  “You don’t look to bad either you know, you clean up pretty well” She said bac
k to him nearly laughing at how odd she felt all dressed up.

  He walked over to her and pulled her into a hug and gently kissed her, making sure not to smudge her lipstick.

  “You really do look beautiful” he said to her while looking in her eyes.

  She blushed, “thank you” She mumbled out.

  He grabbed her hand, “Are you ready?” he asked her.

  She nodded and they made their way to the car for what she was sure was going to be an awkward but very interesting evening.

  Chapter 14

  As they pulled up to the front on the hotel, there was a person waiting there to open her door for her, and as he helped her out of the car she looked around at all of the people standing around the entrance to the hotel.

  There was a red carpet set up that extended from the front door of the hotel, to the end of the sidewalk, right where she was standing. She looked over to the side and saw a mass of photographers behind a velvet rope, all taking pictures of her. She had to look away because the lights from the cameras were making her feel a little dizzy.

  Tom walked around the car, giving the man who helped her out of the car the keys to park it for him. When he made it to her, he put his arm around her waist and leaned in and whispered in her ear.

  “These are paparazzi, and we have to give them a show, so we stand in front of them and pose, smiling. Then, we give them a little kiss and walk into the hotel, okay?”

  She looked at him and nodded, then they walked right to the middle of the red carpet and faced the photographers and she smiled as he kept hold of her waist. Finally after what seemed like forever, he leaned in and kissed her softly on the mouth as the cameras went wild. Once he pulled away from her, he waved to all of the photographers and they turned and walked into the hotel.

  The inside of the hotel was even more impressive than she imagined. The lobby was huge, with a large pond in one corner that had a waterfall, and as she looked up noticed that the water came in at the very top of the room, which was at least two stories high.

  She looked over to her left and noticed that there were people that were just as dressed up as they were waiting for an elevator that had another velvet rope in front of it, with a sign that read, Party Guests Only, with a man checking invitations before anyone could go into the elevator.

  She looked at Tom, ready to ask him why they were walking toward the right, while all of the other guests were walking to the left when he answered her question without her asking.

  “Those people are guests of the party, but since my family owns the hotel I don’t need an invitation” he explained.

  She nodded as they reached a small elevator that had gold shiny doors, and nearly rolled her eyes as she saw a small plaque that read VIP next to it. Tom punched a code into the keypad under the sign and the door popped open.

  As they walked in and turned around she looked for buttons, but there were none in there. Tom must have seen the confused look on her face because he laughed.

  “My family has the top two floors as our living suites, and this elevator takes us right to them without stopping. The main elevators are usually locked, and unable to open there, but for the party they have unlocked that one elevator for guests. They also blocked it off on every floor so that there aren’t hotel guests accidently getting into the party.”

  She shrugged her shoulders, she didn’t understand how all this worked, and didn’t really care at this moment. What she mostly cared about was meeting Tom’s parents, and the tiny butterflies that had settled into her stomach as the elevator continued to climb.

  When the elevator door opened, Abby’s stomach lurched, and she nearly puked right there on the floor she was so nervous. But, she knew it was time to meet the parents, and then hopefully she would be able to relax. Tom pulled her out of the elevator into a large crowd of people standing around and drinking champagne.

  “Relax, it’s going to be okay, you’ll see” he told her, squeezing her hand in reassurance.

  She forced a smile, but didn’t trust herself to say anything, for fear she would hurl all over the place as soon as she opened her mouth. Finally they reached a couple who she had no doubt were his parents. The man looked to be an older carbon copy of Tom. He had the same curly brown hair, with just a hint of gray near his temples, and as he turned to look their way, noticed he had the same light blue eyes.

  The woman had long blonde hair that was curled into perfection, just hitting the middle of her back in waves of blonde beauty. Tom’s father noticed them first, and when he did he smiled broadly, showing off his perfect white teeth.

  Tom let go of Abby’s hand as he gave his father a short hug, and then turned to his mother, who had noticed him by this point and kissed her on the cheek. Finally, they turned their attention to Abby.

  “Mom, Dad, this is Abby. Abby this is my mother, B.B., and this is my father, Thomas.”

  Abby smiled and shook his father’s hand, “Thomas? Do you two share the same name?”

  Tom chucked, “I’m a junior, I guess I forgot to mention that part” He told her smiling.

  Tom’s father laughed, “He never did get over the fact that I gave him my name, and he’s always hated it.”

  Abby smiled, “I think Thomas is a beautiful name” she told him.

  Tom’s father smiled and patted Tom on the back, “You’ve got you a good one there son, she’s smart, and knows how to suck up” he said laughing.

  Abby started to relax as she turned to his mother and held out her hand, ready to shake his mother’s hand, but his mother pulled her into a hug instead.

  “A friend of Tom’s is a friend of mine, it is so nice to finally meet you sweetie, we have heard so much already. He just can’t stop talking about you” she said, winking at Abby when Tom wasn’t looking.

  She must have known Tom would be embarrassed by that statement because she laughed as he sighed.

  “Mom, you aren’t supposed to tell her that.”

  Abby laughed, “You are so cute when you blush, and finally it’s not me blushing for once.”

  Tom pulled her into a side hug, “Yeah, Abby here blushes over every little thing it seems.”

  She smiled and felt the heat tinting her cheeks and Tom started to laugh.

  “See what I mean?” he teased.

  Abby punched him on the shoulder and turned back to his mother.

  “So is B.B. a nick name? People always ask me what Abby is short for, and they are always surprised when I tell them my name is just Abby, short for nothing.”

  Tom’s mother smiled, “Well, my parents decided that they wanted to give me a name that nobody could even pronounce, and once I was old enough to realize how awful my name was, I insisted everyone call me B.B. and surprisingly they listened. Maybe they regretted the horrible name they gave me once they signed the birth certificate, I don’t know” she told her.

  Abby shrugged, “I don’t think having an exotic name is so bad, mine is so simple that I sometimes wish it was a bit more exotic” she said.

  B.B. nodded, “Yes, I don’t mind it as much now as when I was younger, but B.B. just stuck so I kept using it.”

  Abby noticed Tom taking two champagne glasses off of a waiter’s tray and as he turned, he handed her one smiling. He leaned in close to her ear.

  “Are you having a good time? My parents love you, I can tell” he whispered to her.

  Abby nodded and smiled, thinking that this was going even better than she had hoped for.

  After the party ended, they headed back to Tom’s apartment where Abby realized that she was still a bit tipsy. The entire ride home Tom held her hand as she leaned back against the seat, taking in the sight of the city at night; she had always loved seeing all of the building lit up against the dark sky.

  Once they reached his apartment, the first thing she did was take off her shoes. She wasn’t used to wearing high heels and she felt like her feet were going to explode. She sat on Tom’s couch as she started to take off all of her je
welry and put them back into the small boxes she had left on his coffee table.

  She looked over at Tom and watched as he took off his tie and coat, feeling a little giddy about how great the night had gone. She had been so nervous about meeting his parents, but there really wasn’t anything to be scared of, his parents were great, and she spent the whole night with his mother, talking as if they were old girl friends.

  Abby sighed, “I wish we could start this night back over, I had so much fun, I didn’t want it to end” she said.

  Tom smiled, “I’m really happy you had such a good time, and I know my parents really liked you, or they would have ignored you all night.”

  Abby stood up and walked over to Tom and put her arms around his neck and stood on her tip toes to look into his eyes.

  “I really liked them too, and I hope we can have dinner with them or something again soon” she told him.

  Tom didn’t say anything, he just stared into her eyes, for what felt like an eternity, and she could tell that he had something on his mind.

  “Tom, what’s the matter?” she asked him, concerned that he thought it was a bad idea for her to see his parents again.

  He leaned down and put his arms around her waist and lifted her in the air.

  “I just realized something” he said.

  She put one of her hands on his cheek, since he had hold of her and she knew he wouldn’t drop her.

  “What is it?” she asked.

  “I’m in love with you, more than words could ever describe” he said in practically a whisper.

  Abby’s heart started pounding as she looked into his eyes and saw how sincere his words were. She thought for a moment, someone loves me, and her heart fluttered.

  “I love you too Thomas Murphy, Junior” She said never taking her eyes off of his.

  He smiled and lifted her higher into the air and gave her a quick twirl, and then he lowered her back down to his eye level and she grabbed his head and kissed him with all of the passion she knew she was hiding inside of her. He walked forward and lowered her onto his bed, never separating their lips and it was at that moment, she knew she was ready.