Love in Dublin

by Jennifer Gracen

  Colin nodded slowly, seeming to absorb her words. Then he said, “He sounded like he had an accent, but different than yours. Yes?”

  She couldn’t help it, a tiny laugh bubbled out of her. “Yes. He grew up near Austin, Texas. A Southern accent is what you heard.” The almost musical lilt of his words had charmed her from the very first time she’d heard him speak. Recalling his sweet, seductive voice made her heart twist for a second.

  “He sounded kind of like Matthew McConaughey,” Colin quipped. “Reminded me of him in a way.”

  She laughed. “I can see that. Zack had that kind of off the charts charisma too.”

  “I noticed,” Colin said quietly.

  “He was just a beautiful person,” she said. “Inside and out.”

  “So are you, Maggie,” he murmured.

  She smiled at his compliment. “Thank you.”

  “You made a striking couple. Clearly you were very much in love. And I haven’t been able to stop thinking about your losing him, and what you must have gone through, and it’s been eating at me.” Colin looked sad. “That’s the truth of it. That’s… what you’ve been sensing, I guess, when you say something’s been bothering me. It’s nothing you did, and I’m sorry you thought that.”

  Warmth steamrolled through her, making her insides tremble. She reached for his hand, giving it a squeeze. “Your empathy is touching. Truly.”

  He squeezed her hand back. “I’m so sorry for your loss, Maggie. I really am.”

  Tears stung the backs of her eyes, and she swallowed hard. “Thank you,” she whispered.

  “Are you… aren’t you ever lonely?” Colin asked, still holding her hand.

  “Sure, sometimes. But most of the time, I’m too busy meeting new people and seeing wonderful things,” she insisted. “I’m so used to being alone, it’s just a natural state for me now.”

  “Well, I can relate to that.”

  “I had a feeling you did.”

  He brushed her knuckles with the pad of his thumb before releasing her hand and drawing back. “I’m sorry if I delved into areas that were too personal—”

  “You didn’t. We’ve spent time together. It’s only natural that you’d be curious. I’m curious about you too and I ask questions often, don’t I?”

  “Aye.” A hint of a grin made the corner of his mouth twitch, but then his expression sobered again. “This may sound odd, but… I want to learn from you.”

  That made her brows shoot up. “About what?”

  He paused, clearly hesitant to say. “I want to learn how to move on. How to… embrace life again. Like you have.”

  Her breath caught in her throat.

  “I mean…” He scrubbed a hand over his jaw and his gaze shifted to the scenery passing outside the windows. “I’ve been thinking… if you could do it after suffering such a tremendous loss, I can do it after what I’ve gone through. If I stop feeling sorry for myself and get my head out of my arse. Maybe.”

  Maggie felt a smile spread across her face. “That’s a great goal. But I’m sorry to disappoint you—I don’t have any magic answers. I just get up every day and try again. That’s really all there is to it.”

  She reached up and touched his hair, playing for a few seconds along the back of his neck. His dark caramel hair was thick and soft, and she loved the feel of it. He shivered and she smiled, realizing she’d likely tickled him. “You can do whatever you decide you want to do, Colin.”

  “You keep telling me that.”

  “Because it’s true. You’ve just gotta try. Take an action… baby steps. Set some basic goals and go after them, just keep trying. Anyone can do that. I’m living proof.” Her hand dropped to his shoulder. “I want you to embrace life again too. And if I can help you with that while I’m around, I’m very happy to do so.”

  His eyes, so intense, were glued to her face. She leaned in and kissed his cheek. God, he smelled so good. “Thank you for caring about me. Your concern is touching. But I promise, I’m okay.” She gave his shoulder a squeeze before withdrawing her hand. “Please don’t torture yourself with thinking about what I’ve been through. If I don’t anymore, you certainly shouldn’t. Promise me.”

  He nodded.

  “Let’s just think about the present, which is pretty damn good. Okay?”

  He kept staring. Energy radiated from him; she could almost feel all the thoughts colliding in that overwired brain of his. But all he did was nod again and whisper, “Okay.”

  *

  The Cliffs of Moher were as breathtaking as Maggie remembered. Winds kept whipping her ponytail into her face and she was glad for her thick sweater. Her companion was distractingly handsome. With his dark blond hair, intense blue eyes, and ruddy cheeks, his lean build clad in a navy wool pullover and jeans, Colin looked like a poster boy for the Emerald Isle against the backdrop of the Cliffs. She took a few pictures of him, much to his consternation. When she insisted on a selfie and huddled close to him, the warmth of his body enticed her, but he wouldn’t put an arm around her shoulders. He just leaned in close enough for her to take the photo. Even after all they’d shared that day, he still literally held himself at arm’s length.

  As they listened to the tour guide talk and took in the magnificent views, her mind kept going back to their talk on the bus. Colin had gone digging into her past and been genuinely heart-rendered by what he’d found, and then speculated upon it and put himself through an emotional wringer. He’d been concerned for her. Sad for her. He cared. And when she’d thanked him for caring, he hadn’t denied it. He couldn’t have anyway, it was all over his face.

  Something had burrowed softly into her core as she’d absorbed that. How had that happened in so short a time?

  She’d met so many people on her travels. Many had made some kind of impact; a few had dug deep into her heart and they’d made some sort of connection. She’d also had a few steamy flings, short and sweet and with the open understanding that it’d be nothing more than a few nights. But something about Colin… she couldn’t explain it, but she felt so at ease with him. They were so different, but they just… fit. She enjoyed his friendship and the unspoken yet undeniable chemistry that bubbled underneath. Even though he was still closed off in a lot of ways, they’d connected emotionally.

  He was an interesting man, even though he thought himself a dull bore. She knew better. This was a man who, to her, got more interesting with every layer she managed to peel away. More appealing, more kind… there was so much more to him.

  She liked him. She just really, really liked him, and for now, there was no need to overanalyze that, but to simply enjoy him.

  The inn they were staying at for the night was about a half hour from the Cliffs. Maggie had heard about it from Ciara and was grateful there’d been two rooms left. She smiled at the charm of the faux castle, with its gray stones and round turret, its manicured front garden and stained glass windows on the ground floor. But when she and Colin went to check in, the middle aged woman at the small front desk twisted her hands, her pale eyes shooting back and forth between them as she said, “I’m so sorry, Miss Spencer, I don’t know how to say this. It seems there was a mistake with the booking of the rooms. I’m terribly sorry.”

  Colin frowned hard as Maggie asked, “Are you saying we don’t have rooms?”

  “I’m saying you have a room. One room. It has a king-size bed, but… no, not two separate rooms, as you’d requested. We overbooked.” The woman’s face started to flush bright pink as she continued, “We only have ten rooms, it’s a small place, as ya know. And the man who takes care of reservations wasn’t feeling well and wasn’t paying proper attention and… I’m so terribly sorry about this.” She cleared her throat. “Of course, we can roll a cot up to the room for ya as well. And to apologize, we’d like to pay for your dinner here tonight. For both of you.”

  “That’s nice to hear.” Maggie shrugged. “Okay then. We can share a room.”

  Colin’s eyes widened as they shot to
her face.

  Her brows lifted as she said to him, “What choice do we have? We’ll be fine.”

  His jaw tightened and the pucker between his brows made a re-appearance. “If you say so.”

  Maggie turned back to the woman and said calmly, “Mistakes happen. Of course I understand. But I’m sure you meant to say you would comp the room by half, didn’t you?” Her eyes and voice were unflinching as she stared the woman down.

  The woman’s mouth opened, then closed again. She looked at the computer and typed something in. Looking back to Maggie, she said, “Absolutely. Of course we’ll do that in light of our oversight. Thank you for being so understanding.”

  “Thank you so much.”

  As they grabbed their bags and left the small lobby to head upstairs, Colin chuckled low and murmured in Maggie’s ear, “That was some impressive negotiating.”

  “Nah. They know I’m a travel writer. They know they made the mistake. It was in their best interest to make up for that mistake and keep me happy.”

  “Remind me not to tangle with you.”

  “Heh. You keep that in mind, McKinnon.”

  They made their way up the stairs to the first floor, finding the door to their room. “Hope you’ll be okay sharing a room,” Maggie said.

  “Are you?” Colin asked. “I don’t want you to worry or feel—”

  “Colin.” She put a hand on his arm. “I trust you. I’m not worried. If I didn’t, I would’ve raised holy hell, and I guarantee you they would have found a closet for one of us to sleep in.”

  They entered the room, a charming space with dark wood walls, lace curtains over tall windows that allowed plenty of light, and a tremendous bed covered with a rich burgundy duvet and throw pillows.

  “What a lovely room,” Maggie said, smiling with delight.

  “I don’t see how they’ll even fit a cot in here,” Colin grumbled. “But I’ll take it, of course.”

  “No way, Irish,” Maggie said as she set her suitcase in the corner by the small writing desk. “You’re much bigger than me, you’ll take the bed.”

  “Absolutely not,” he admonished, eyes bright with ire. “And I’ll not argue with you about this.”

  “We can argue about it later,” Maggie said. “I’m starving. Let’s go down to dinner.”

  Colin mumbled something under his breath, but held out a hand toward the door as if to say, “Lead the way.”

  Chapter Eight

  Dinner had been lovely, Colin mused as they went back upstairs. Beef Wellington with roasted vegetables and potatoes, pleasant conversation, and several glasses of whiskey had him feeling warm and relaxed. And the candlelight. There was a little glass bowl in the center of the linen with a few of those floating tealight candles, and they lit Maggie’s pretty face in such a way that almost made him tongue-tied with wanting. Luckily, as usual, she drew him out of himself with easy questions about his kids, his job, his childhood, or regaled him with tales of her travels.

  She was alluring as the candlelight flickered over her features. Those high cheekbones and creamy skin, her wide brown eyes and long lashes… and that mouth. He longed to taste that mouth. He longed to rip the elastic from her ponytail and thread his fingers through her hair as he took her mouth with deep, searching kisses.

  He blinked at his own thoughts as they entered the room together, trying to shake them off. Bad enough they’d now share a hotel room. Nothing like close proximity and a huge enticing bed to ramp up his already rising want into overdrive.

  Staff had brought in a small cot and made it sleep-ready while they were down at dinner. It was only a few inches from the end of the bed. Eyeing the cot, Colin said, “We have to discuss the sleeping arrangements.”

  “I already told you,” she said assertively. “I’ll take the cot. It’s not a big deal.”

  “No.” He imagined her sleeping only a foot away from him and called on every ounce of stoic reserve he could muster. He tried to fill his head with rugby, financial statements on his desk at work, boring meetings… anything that tore his mind away from the pull of knowing she’d be right there. Of wanting to kiss her and dying to know what she’d feel like in his arms. Bloody hell, this was too much. He was going mad.

  “Tell you what,” she said. “We can have that debate in a few minutes. Just need to use the restroom.” With a charming smile, she grabbed her suitcase and disappeared.

  Colin sighed and dropped into the armchair in the corner of the room, beside one of the three windows. The suite was magnificent, truly. But he would have appreciated it more if he wasn’t suddenly filling with anxiety. He hadn’t shared a bedroom with a woman in over six years. Much less with a woman he was desperately attracted to. How would he be able to keep his lust off his face when he looked at her?

  A wave of self-loathing rushed through him. He was a grown man, for Christ’s sake; he had to stay cool. He couldn’t let on, not even a bit, about how he was fighting his desire for her.

  She trusted him. He was honored that she did, and didn’t want her to have a moment’s concern that he’d try anything less than honorable in this room tonight.

  Damned candlelight and whiskey…

  A cold shower. That would help. He’d take one as soon as she got out of the bathroom, then make sure she understood she would have the bed and that was that.

  Ten minutes later, she emerged… and his jaw dropped. He went utterly stupid. Maggie wore a pale blue short-sleeved top and matching boy shorts that molded to her body, showing off her curves and revealing more skin than he’d seen before. Her toned legs… God help him. And her hair was down. He’d never seen it loose before and it was glorious. The sight of the swaying curtain of straight gold that fell past the middle of her back was an unexpected surprise that mesmerized him. With her hair down, she was transformed somehow, luminous and even more beautiful than usual. She was gorgeous, sexy, wearing skimpy clothes… and he was paralyzed.

  Before he knew what she was about, she’d shoved her suitcase against the wall and slipped between the blankets on the cot. With a smile, she announced, “I’m sleeping here.”

  It finally registered: she was in her pajamas. Those clingy little things were pajamas, and she’d tricked him. Totally blindsided him. He blinked, sputtering, “What? No! No. I told you—I won’t have you—”

  “And I told you that I’d take the cot. You’re much bigger than me, you should have the big bed. End of story.” She smiled sweetly and lay down.

  He didn’t know whether to laugh or throw something. “You’re a bloody sneak, woman.”

  “You said yourself not to tangle with me.” She batted those long lashes at him and he had to laugh.

  “Get out of that cot and get in the bed, dammit,” he commanded in a growl.

  “I don’t take orders, boy-o.” Her gaze turned outright wicked as she said, “I’m staying here. You want me out of the cot, you’ll have to pick me up and move me.”

  He gaped at her. “You can’t be serious.”

  “Try me.” She smiled wider and burrowed in further, snuggling into her pillow.

  He swore vehemently under his breath and scrubbed his hands over his face. Then he rose from the chair and grumbled, “I’m going to take a shower before bed.” He stormed across the room to his suitcase to get his things, ignoring the satisfied giggle he heard from her. Cold shower, straight away.

  *

  Colin woke with a start, his heart racing in the darkness. Someone had cried out. Disoriented, it took him a few seconds to remember where he was: in the room at the inn with Maggie.

  Another frightened cry, followed by a guttural moan of terror.

  Colin threw the covers back and bolted from the bed. The awful sounds were coming from Maggie. She thrashed around, groaning, still deeply asleep. Rushing to rouse her, he dropped to his knees beside the cot.

  “Wake up, Maggie. It’s just a nightmare.” He gripped her arms and gave her a gentle shake. “Wake up, love, it’s all right. C’mon, wak
e up.”

  With a thick, panicky cry, Maggie’s eyes snapped open and she sat up fast, gasping for air. Colin held her hands as her unfocused, wild gaze fell on him.

  “Breathe, Maggie. It was a nightmare.” He made his voice as soothing and steady as he could. She was trembling under his grasp. “You’re okay. Just breathe.”

  She sucked in loud lungfuls of air as tears sprang to her eyes and rolled down her face. But she kept her eyes locked on his as she panted.

  “That’s a girl. Breathe.” He reached up with one hand to sweep her hair back from her face, alarmed to find she was slick with sweat. “Jesus, you’re a wreck. Must have been pretty bad.”

  “The accident,” she managed between breaths.

  He winced. He’d brought up the accident earlier that day, and now she was having nightmares about it. He’d put it back in her mind; it was his fault. “Just keep breathing. I’m right here. You’re okay. Slow it down, love.”

  It took her a minute to calm down. He rubbed her upper arms, held her hands as she worked to compose herself. Then her eyes fell away and her chin dropped to her chest. “Jesus Christ,” she rasped. “I hadn’t had that dream in months.”

  “Shhhh.” He sat gingerly on the edge of the cot, testing that it could hold his added weight. When he saw it could, he pulled her closer, nudged her head onto his shoulder, and rubbed her back. Her whole body was shaking. Christ, the poor girl. “It’s over now. Just breathe.”

  She softened against him. A shuddery sigh whooshed out of her.

  “That’s it,” he murmured. “Breathe in through your nose, out through your mouth.” She did as he instructed. His hands skated gently over her hair and her back, soft sweeps meant to soothe. “There you go. Keep doing that. That’s a girl…”

  After a few minutes, her trembling eased and her breathing slowed to normal. But when he moved to pull back, her fingers dug into his sides, a silent plea for him to keep holding her. He kept holding her.

  Time passed as they sat together silently in the darkness, wrapped in a careful embrace. Finally she yawned against his shoulder. “I’m so tired.”