He glanced up at me, the one corner of his mouth beginning to turn up. “Of course that’s not the case.”
“OK. I’m good,” I said, pushed up onto my toes and kissed him softly on the lips.
“Well, if you’re insisting on encourage strangers to kiss you, I probably should make you add a ring to your finger.”
I looked up at him, grinning like a fool, and began bouncing on my toes. “Really? You weren’t kidding about already having a ring?”
He furrowed his brows at me. “Of course not. I got it when I came back in September like I said. Unless you’ve changed your mind?”
“Never.”
“Agreeing to marry me wasn’t part of jet lag?”
“Of course not.”
“All right.” He kissed me again before crossing the large, open room to the desk near the couch. Barely two arms lengths from where we’d been last night when he said he wanted to marry me. He yanked open the top drawer and pulled out a box. Damn. He wasn’t even inventive in hiding the thing. I might’ve found it had I been here longer. Then again, I hadn’t been to his place in a year. He’d had no reason to believe that I’d be here anytime in the near future either.
Then he came back to me. But first, he moved me over to sit in one of the kitchen table chairs and pulled another up in front of me.
“Tell me what you want,” he said.
“Why you of course.”
He smiled but shook his head. “No. I mean how do you want me to do this? I can get down on one knee if that’s how you imagined it.”
“Eagan,” I said softly and trailed a finger down his jaw. “You already proposed perfectly last night. I don’t need anything else. That’s the memory I want to have.”
“So you want to tell people I proposed while you were sitting in my lap about to have my cock inside you.”
I cringed. “Well, maybe we’ll leave a chunk of that out of the story for everyone else but yes. That’s what I want to remember.”
“All right.” He flipped the ring box open and my breath caught in my chest. This beautiful ring sat among the black velvet. Rose gold with a beautiful pink, heart shaped stone in the middle.
“That’s… beautiful.” Fucking tears formed at the back of my eyes again. This was really happening. He’d been totally serious.
“It’s a claddagh ring. Traditional Irish ring but you have to wear it a specific way.” He pulled it out and took my left hand in his before sliding it down my ring finger. “If you wear is here like this it means you’re engaged and after you get married you flip it around the other direction. But we can get a regular wedding ring too if you prefer.”
I cupped his cheeks and slowly brought his lips to mine. Then told him, “It’s perfect. I want nothing else.”
Eagan gave me his great smile and dove in for another kiss, this one more demanding, more intent on going somewhere until suddenly he pulled back and murmured “Fuck,” as he hopped up and jogged over to the stove.
He pulled some plates out and began dropping food on it. When he set one in front of me it was full of eggs and bacon and cinnamon pancakes and I swore that once we actually lived together I’d gain fifty pounds.
Once we were done, I offered to do the dishes but he insisted he’d take care of it so I hopped up onto the counter near him and we talked until he finished. As tempting as it was to join him when he went off to shower, I chose instead to call Indie.
“Was he surprised?” she asked when she answered the phone.
“Very.”
“Awesome. I’m so glad you got to go. Plus getting laid for a few days will hold you over,” she said.
Indie Cinderstone, along with Bellamy Harper, were my best friends and would never forgive me if I didn’t tell them we were getting married.
“So something interesting happened last night,” I told her.
She giggled and said, “I bet.”
Which in turn made me giggle but no. “That’s not what I meant. But Eagan… asked me to marry him.”
Silence hung over the line.
“What. The. Fuck!” her voice grew louder with each word. “I’m putting you on speaker so Bellamy can hear you.”
“Wait,” I said with a touch of panic. Who’s all there. I don’t want my parents to know before I tell them in person.”
“Yes, Maggie. Bellamy and I are hanging out with your parents.” More laughter filled the room. “It’s me and her and Cross and Ransom and we can make the guys leave if you want us to. They do whatever we tell them to.”
“The fuck I do,” Ransom called out but then there was silence in which I imagined Bellamy doing something fantastic like giving him a death glare. “All right. We do.”
I giggled into the phone. “No that’s fine. I don’t think they’ve ever even met my parents.”
“They have not. So say it again for Bellamy.”
“Last night Eagan asked me to marry him.”
“What. The. Fuck!” Bellamy echoed Indie, her voice even rose the way Indie’s had. “Did you say yes?”
“No. I said no but I’m still here in Ireland for the sex.”
“I mean… I’ve met Eagan,” Indie said back. “It’s a legit reason to stay.”
“The fuck?” Cross said with a groan causing all of us to laugh together.
“Of course I said yes. I love him.”
“Wait,” Bellamy interrupted. “Does that mean you’re moving to Ireland?” A cross between sadness and fear coated her words.
“We haven’t figure all of that out yet.”
“Send a picture of the ring,” Indie demanded. “He did give a ring right?”
“Hang on.” I pulled the phone from my ear and snapped a pic and sent the text to her. “It’s coming.”
Once again they all fell silent as they waited. It didn’t take long before they both said, “Awwww. That’s beautiful,” at the same time.
“Anyway, there’s a whole story behind it but I had to call to tell you guys.”
“This is very grown up,” Bellamy said and I could hear the smile in her voice.
“I know.” I smiled but at the same time I heard the water in the bathroom turn off so I told them I’d see them on Monday and we’d gush all about it.
Chapter Seven
Eagan spent the day showing me how Ireland celebrated St. Patrick’s Day and as much as he and his brother had scoffed at it, the traditions had become Americanized with the parades and I swore I saw some green pastries but when I tried to look closer, Eagan pulled me away. I think that was on purpose.
And yes, a few times, some comments and attempts were thrown my way, taking the Kiss Me I’m Irish
At some point, he’d texted Cian and said that instead of having dinner with him and Colleen he wanted to take me out to his parent’s house because they wanted to see me too. His mother sent me emails a couple of times a month because as Eagan put it, she always knew I was the one for him. We’d gotten to know each other and while it was weird at first, I’d grown much more comfortable.
Cian responded that they’d be there and we went back to Eagan’s place to change for dinner. He pled with me to pick a different shirt before seeing his parents and I’d already planned to so I let him think he convinced me.
We made the drive which didn’t take long enough as far as I was concerned and as we pulled up in front of their house I was reminded of the first and last time I’d been there. We came for Cian and Colleen’s wedding and Eagan had taken me searching for flowers for them.
“I had a thought,” I said to him before we got out of the car.
“When we get married, you’ll be the something Irish I bring to the wedding.”
He chuckled and reached over to kiss me. “According to your shirt, you’ll be the something Irish I bring to the wedding.”
Now it was my turn to giggle. We may not have met in the most obvious of ways but I wouldn’t have changed a thing. We both opened our doors at the same time to get out of the car.
“We should
get married at the church your brother did.”
“Yeah?” He came around and took my hand in his. “You want to get married in a church?”
“Well… ” I thought about it a minute. “Not necessarily but that church is your family tradition right?” We stopped before he opened the door to the house.
“It is.”
“Then yeah. I want to get married at the church.”
“Come on,” he said as he pulled me through the door.
His family was there lying in wait. When we entered, the room exploded with activity. His mother, Anna, pulled me into a tight hug. He father, Brian, also hugged me only in a somewhat more awkward, distant way, Cian said hello but Colleen also pulled me into her arms tightly. I was patting her back with my left hand when it happened. And it was Cian who did it.
“When did that happen?” he asked pointing at my hand on Colleen’s back.
“When did what happen?” Colleen asked pulling away from me. She slid her hand down my arm until she held mine in hers. “Is that… “ She looked over at Eagan. “Did you… “
“I did.”
“Well isn’t this a surprise.” Anna pulled me in tightly again. “I’m not a surprise of course but I wasn’t expecting it now.” When she let me go she added, “Welcome to the family Maggie.”
His mother hugged him and his father shook his hand as he slapped Eagan on the back.
“What I don’t get is why you’d say yes,” Colleen asked with arms folded under her breasts. “I think it’s the living so far apart. You must be blinded by distance.”
Eagan laughed loudly but countered with, “Well, you married him,” he pointed at his brother, “And you’ve lived here your whole life. So what’s your excuse.”
Colleen pinched her face together before finally shrugging. “Fair point I suppose.” But then she hugged Eagan and me together.
His family may give each other a hard time but they clearly loved one another.
We settled around the dinner table and everyone talked at the same time. They wanted to know when we were getting married and where as well as a lot of other things we hadn’t even begun to plan. First things first, I needed to get to graduation. Which unfortunately meant leaving the day after tomorrow. This is what I always dreaded. It wasn’t time to go yet here I was already worrying about.
On Saturday, Eagan spent the day taking me to some his favorite spots the way he had when I’d been here before. Places he’d loved since he was a kid. We walked. We talked. We made love every chance we got. But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t stop Sunday from coming.
I woke beside him Sunday morning knowing I had to pack and leave in a matter of hours to get back to my real life. This Irish getaway was a distraction. The best kind but still a distraction.
Sunday we spent together in his apartment without leaving once. We watched movies cuddled together on his couch. A lazy day of doing nothing but doing it together. At least until I had to leave for the airport. Since it was an international flight, I had to get there ridiculously early. So around three in the afternoon, I left the most comfortable couch in the world to change my clothes and pack my suitcase.
As I dressed, Eagan dressed beside me.
“What’re you doing?” I asked him.
“Getting dressed.”
“Duh. But why? I have to leave. You don’t.”
He gave me his sideways look that said I was being stupid only this time I didn’t know how. “Maggie, do you really think I’m not taking you to the airport?”
“But I have a car.”
“Which we’ll take but Cian will come get me. Or my da will. Either way, I’ll get home. But I’m driving you.”
I wouldn’t argue that with him. If he wanted to go out of his way to take me, I’d let him.
One thing I loved was the comfortable silence between Eagan and me. There wasn’t any pressure to talk. We could just be.
At the airport, he walked me in as far as he could but eventually we had to stop.
“So, this is goodbye. Again,” I said, dread and sadness climbing up my throat.
“Yeah. Well, hopefully we won’t have too many more of these,” he said back and if I didn’t know any better, he seemed fine with me leaving. Fine enough to keep my own tears at bay and piss me off a little.
“You’re OK with this?”
“I’m never OK with you leaving. But you have to go.”
The words made sense but I resented how easily he said them. Eagan brought me to him in a hard hug, holding me as long as he could but I had to go check in, get through security, and be ready to board my plane.
“I love you,” I said into his neck as I tightened my arms around him.
“Oh, Maggie, I love you, too. You’re my world,” he said back.
Finally, I let him go and gave him the best public kiss I could manage. He’d stay and watch me until he could no longer see me and I wished he could come and wait until the plane boarded but that was against the rules. I found a seat and waited.
This was the worst part. I hadn’t left yet but could be with him. It was like this in between area where sadness lived. The heavy feeling in my chest would grow the further from Ireland I got and would stay for weeks. But this was the way life worked for now.
Finally, they called for me to board so at least I had something to do. Get on the plane, put my bag in the overhead and settle in for a really long flight. Which I did. While I waited for takeoff, I sent my mom, dad, Indie and Bellamy a text letting them know I’d be home sooner rather than later. Unfortunately.
“Excuse me,” the deeply Irish accented voice that was too familiar to be true said from beside me.
I slowly looked up, knowing that I had to be mistaken. It couldn’t have been him and I was hearing things or I was so sad that every single Irish man had started to sound like Eagan O’Brien.
When my eyes finally got to his face, my mouth dropped into a silent O and I quickly pulled my knees up to my chest so he could pass. Then he dropped down into the seat beside me.
“What… I… “ There were so many words flying around my brain that I could organize them into a sentence.
“I couldn’t let you leave without me,” he said as if I was supposed to know what that meant.
“How?”
“The day you got here, while you were sleeping in my bed, I talked to Cian about taking over for a while so I could come home with you. I can’t keep leaving you. It doesn’t work for me.”
“But… how?” It seemed like that was the only thing I could come up with.
“I booked this seat that night after you fell asleep and made sure I had everything in order which was actually pretty easy from my last visit. There are some restrictions like I can’t work while I’m there and a few others but I’m coming with you and assuming everything goes as planned, I’m staying until after your graduation like we wanted me to.”
“Cian’s… ” I sputtered.
“Hell take care of the pub. I’ll get the same money with basically none of the work.” Then he thought for a moment. “Well, that’s not true. We argue over the paperwork and I have to do it all until I come back. All the ordering too.”
“I thought you said you couldn’t work.”
“I meant I can’t get a job in America. I can still take care of my business back home, though.”
I still didn’t know what to say. I stared at him and blinked so long that he raised his eyebrows as if waiting for me to say something.
“Maggie are you at least happy that I’m coming home with you?”
“Happy?” I asked, some of the shock beginning to wear off. I catapulted out of my seat onto hit lap and kissed him as if I hadn’t made love to him hours before. Kissed him as if I was starving for his touch and wouldn’t be able to live without it. Kissed him until the flight attendant tapped me on the shoulder.
“Excuse me. I have to ask that you take your seat. We’re about to take off.”
I laughed and tha
t’s when I realized a few tears had finally found their way free. Eagan brushed each of his thumbs over my cheeks to wipe them away before I moved back to my own seat.
“Sorry,” Eagan told the flight attendant. “I’m pretty irresistible. I just sat down and she attacked me.”
The flight attendant laughed then moved along checking the other passengers.
“I can’t believe you said that to her but you are irresistible.”
“I know.” He gave me a quick kiss before fastening his seatbelt. “But you’re glad I came, yeah?”
“Glad doesn’t cover it Eagan.”
I threaded my fingers through his to hold his hand, resting my other hand near his elbow and laid my head on his shoulder.
Absolutely nothing could’ve made me happier than bringing Eagan O’Brien home with me where I’d have him every day and we’d figure out what our future held. America or Ireland didn’t matter to me at all.
As long as wherever we were, we’d be together.
*
If you enjoyed reading Lucky Bachelor, please consider leaving a review!
Also by Heather Young-Nichols
New Adult Romance
Courting Chaos
Something Irish
Cross
Ransom
Finding Love
Making Her Mine
Making Him Hers
Harbor Point
Love by the Slice
Love by the Mile
Love by the Rules
Harbor Point Boxed Set
Gambling on Love
Highest Bidder
Highest Stakes
Highest Rewards
Standalones
Moonstruck
Written with Amelia J. Matthews
Dirt on the Diamond
After Office Hours: Seducing the Professor
Acknowledgements
I often find this part of the book the hardest to write. The fear of missing someone is real. But here we go!
First off, I have to give a big shout out to Nicole Andrews Moore for more reasons that I should probably list here because then I’d be rambling and people might get bored. But I’m thankful that the universe put Nicole in my life. Also, I can’t thank my Steamy Sensation Holiday Love girls for even having me along for this project. It’s going to be awesome! And for helping me with the blurb and whatever else might pop up. This is going to be an awesome year!
Lucky Bachelor (The HoliDATE Series Book 2) Page 4
