The Claddagh Trilogy: Irish Affair - Irish Love - Irish Heart

by Amanda Heartley

  “Yeah, of course.”

  “It sucks, because I was really looking forward to us catching up,” he says, sounding disappointed. “I’m sorry you came all this way and now I’m dumping you in a hotel. I feel like a complete tosser.”

  “Trust me, it’s fine,” I say with a laugh. “If the alternative is catching whatever she’s got, then I don’t want it. Especially if it was your cooking,” I tease. “Even without the salmonella, your food is hard to swallow.”

  “Funny, Ben said the same thing. Maybe you guys are perfect for each other, after all,” he grumbles. I blush at the thought. “Okay, so you go and settle into the hotel. I’ll call now and book it, then text you the address. I’ll let them know you’re on your way.”

  “Great,” I say. “I’ll get Ben to drop me off.”

  “And then you’ll get him to leave, right?” he presses.

  “Yes,” I say, rolling my eyes. “Now, can you stop being such a big brother for five minutes?”

  “No, I can’t. It’s my job to look after you. And tell Ben to stop smirking,” he orders. I glance over and laugh when I see that’s exactly what Ben’s doing.

  “I’ll see you tomorrow,” I assure him. I end the call and hand Ben back the phone, my cheeks heating up when his fingers touch mine.

  “He takes the protective big brother thing quite seriously, doesn’t he?” he smirks.

  “Very seriously,” I laugh, “but he means well, even if his concern is misplaced.”

  “Ah, so I don’t need to be concerned about you throwing yourself at me?” he murmurs.

  “Definitely not,” I assure him, but deep down, I’m not so sure about that.

  I finish my sandwich then stand and turn around, ready to tackle my mountain of bags. Before I can pick them up, Ben swoops in and takes them for me. I follow him outside and over to his car, a rush of excitement sweeping over me. I’m in L.A.

  I’m so excited.

  We drive away from the airport and into the light Sunday traffic, heading toward the city. I’m mesmerized as we drive through the streets of Los Angeles in the direction of my hotel. I can’t get over how pretty it is. There’s people everywhere and everything feels so big. It’s a completely different atmosphere to what I’m used to back home. Ben glances over at me and raises his eyebrows. I flush, feeling the need to explain myself.

  “I’m from a small village out of Dublin so this is completely unlike anything I’ve ever seen,” I explain, shaking my head. “Sorry,” I add, feeling silly at reacting this way. “You’re no doubt used to all the glitz and glamour.”

  “Hey, you’re allowed to be excited,” he says with a grin. “It is Los Angeles, after all.” He glances at me. “So, how long are you here for?”

  “A week.” I feel a pang of disappointment even saying it because it doesn’t feel like nearly long enough, especially considering the sixteen-hour flight. “I’m on a study break, before my exams begin at college,” I explain. “Otherwise, I’d stay longer.”

  “Then shouldn’t you be, uh, studying?” he teases.

  “You’d think that, right?” I say with a grin. “Rory really wanted me here when he proposed to Amelia,” I explain with a shrug. “And I’ve been studying my arse off all year, so I thought, why not? I’m confident I’ll do well, even without this week.”

  “So, what are you actually studying?” he asks curiously.

  “Animal science,” I say, my mood brightening instantly.

  Just mentioning my studies cheers me up, because it’s something I really love. I’ve always wanted to work with animals, ever since I was a kid. My uncle was a vet and I remember going out with him to treat horses and cows on the farms. I loved it, so it made sense to make a career out of it.

  “Nice,” Ben says with a smile. “So, you’re smart and cute. Interesting.”

  I narrow my eyes at him and shake my head, resisting the urge to ask why that’s so interesting. I don’t know what to make of him yet. The attention he’s intent on giving me is nice, but I’ve met guys just like him before. Guys who’ll say whatever they think you want to hear, to get you into bed. I don’t doubt that Ben has a different woman every night. Rory hinted at that when he told me Ben wasn’t my kind of guy.

  Hearing him say that of course made me want to go after him, just to prove Rory wrong, but then I worry that maybe he’s right. I can see myself falling for someone like Ben and getting my heart broken in the process. Besides, I much prefer a guy who cares about me and listens to what I want, rather than just saying what he thinks I want to hear.

  Eventually, we pull into the parking lot of the London West Hollywood at Beverly Hills. I bounce impatiently in my seat, a rush of excitement hitting me. This place is amazing. I can’t believe Rory went to this much trouble and expense to put me up for the night. I would’ve been just as happy at a little bed-and-breakfast or something—not that I’m complaining.

  “You go and check in. I’ll grab your bags,” Ben suggests.

  I nod and get out, racing inside without waiting for him, then I walk up to the desk. Everything is already paid for, so check-in is nice and painless. My eyes widen when I see how much a room costs. It’s even more painless that I’m not paying. Holy fuck, this is one expensive hotel.

  Ben insists on carrying my bags up to my room, even though the bellboy is right there and offering to assist. I roll my eyes and relent, letting Ben take them, even though I’m sure it’s just because he wants to try and worm his way into my bed. That is so not going to happen.

  I meant it when I promised Rory that my flirting with Ben was innocent. I wouldn’t appreciate him going back on a promise to me, so I wouldn’t have agreed if I didn’t think I could keep it. I shiver, because seeing him in the flesh stirs something in me. I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that. I can’t deny he’s gorgeous, but the problem is he knows it. Guys who know they’re attractive are usually the ones you want to avoid.

  When we reach my room, I swipe my key card against the door, buzzing it open. Walking inside, with Ben right behind me, my eyes nearly bug out of my head when I see how nice the room is.

  “Wow,” I gasp. I was expecting nice, but not like this.

  I head straight over to the window, where the most amazing view of the city is laid out in front of me. I stare out, the scene enough to make me weak at the knees.

  “I can just imagine how beautiful this is gonna be at night,” I mumble, more to myself than Ben.

  “Maybe I should stay and find out.”

  I turn around to glare at him. He’s sprawled across my bed. I can’t help but laugh as he takes a selfie, no doubt to torture my brother with. I roll my eyes at him.

  “What?” he asks innocently. “It’s comfortable as hell,” he adds, patting the bed next to him. I shake my head, smiling, because I know exactly what he wants to do.

  “I’ll check it out later. When I’m alone,” I add. “In fact, I’m pretty jet-lagged. I think I need a nap now.” My hint goes right over his head, because he just shrugs and grins at me.

  “Sure, I’m up for that. What side do you prefer, left or right?”

  “The middle,” I fire back.

  “Then I guess I’ll be lying on top of you,” he says with a smirk. I glare at him until he sighs and gets up. He wanders over to the door, looking like a wounded puppy.

  “Thanks again for picking me up,” I say, walking him out into the hallway. “I appreciate it.”

  “No problem,” he replies. “You can pay me back tomorrow.”

  I have no idea what that means, but I’m too tired to try and figure it out now.

  I wasn’t lying about needing a nap. It’s barely two in the afternoon, but I’m still on home time, which makes it…okay so it should only feel like ten o’clock Sunday night, but combined with the long flight and lack of sleep on the plane, I’m exhausted.

  I walk back over to the bed and climb under the covers. Before I go to sleep, I find my friend Kayla on Facebook and send her a message
. She’s been in the States for quite a while, so I’m keen to catch up with her. Placing my phone on the nightstand next to me, I yawn and close my eyes, ready to fall asleep. Unfortunately, my mind has other ideas. I waste over an hour trying to drift off, before I give up and climb out of bed. I check my phone, pleased to see a message from Kayla on there. I fire up Skype and press call, excited to see her face and hear her voice again.

  “Siobhan,” she screams. I chuckle at her reaction. I’ve missed Kayla a lot, so it’s good to know she’s missed me too. We grew up together in the same village in Ireland, but it wasn’t until we hit high school that we became close friends. She was loud, outgoing and feisty, whereas I preferred to do my own thing, away from the limelight. I wasn’t exactly an introvert, but I didn’t really care if the popular kids liked me or not. Despite our differences, our friendship blossomed. We complemented each other. She pushed me out of my comfort zone, while I brought her back down to earth a little bit.

  “Hey, Kales,” I say with a giggle. “What’s been happening?”

  “Oh, you know me,” she says, waving her hand. “Nothing and everything. Forget about me. I want to hear about you! When did you get in? Where are you staying? With Rory? How is Rory, by the way?” she adds, her voice dropping a few levels when she says his name. I laugh and shake my head, surprised she’s still crushing on my brother.

  “I’m staying in a swank hotel in Downtown L.A. because his girlfriend is sick,” I explain. “Hear that, Kales? Girlfriend,” I tease.

  “And she’s sick? Oh, that’s a shame,” she says, her voice dripping with fake concern. “I hope it’s not terminal. Will you at least tell me she’s an absolute bitch?” she asks hopefully.

  “I could, but I’d be lying,” I say with a laugh. “Because she’s great and an absolute sweetie.”

  “Typical,” she mutters. “Well, then I’ll have to console myself in someone else’s arms. You’re coming out with me tonight,” she announces. It wasn’t a question as much as it was an observation. “There’s a party we can go to.”

  “Sure,” I say. “Sounds good.”

  I’m tired and going out to some party is the last thing I want to do, but since I haven’t seen Kayla in ages, I feel obliged to say yes.

  “Good,” she says with a nod, as if I had a choice. “Text me the address of where you’re staying, and I’ll pick you up when I finish my Tai Chi class at around four.”

  “Great,” I nod. I force a smile, because that gives me just fifty minutes to get ready. There goes my nap. “See you then.”

  I end the call and walk over to my suitcases to unpack—and by unpack, I mean upending everything onto the bed, so I can sort through it. Even then, I struggle to find what I’m looking for. My fingers eventually land on my favorite little black dress and I hold it out in front of me like a trophy.

  I have a quick shower, because the long flight hasn’t been kind to my body, then I get changed into my dress. When my make-up is done, and my hair is styled, I examine my reflection in the mirror. Happy with how I look, I grab my bag and head downstairs to wait for Kayla.

  Much to my dismay, she drives up to the hotel on time. I’m shocked, considering she’s consistently late for everything. It was a running joke back when we were teenagers, that anytime we arranged to meet somewhere, I’d add an hour onto the time and still be there first.

  “Siobhan,” she says when I climb into her car. Her eyes are glassy with tears as she smiles at me. She reaches over and squeezes my arm. “You look amazing. God, I can’t believe I haven’t seen you in forever. I’ve missed you so much.”

  “It’s been, what, eight months?” I tease.

  I roll my eyes, pretending I’m not feeling the same tug of emotions, but we both know I am. Kayla has been over here for the last eight months, studying fashion design, and she loves it. Our town just isn’t big enough for her. She’s got a huge personality and tastes to match. Everything has to be big in Kayla’s world, or there’s no point in it being there. I don’t know how I slotted in, because we’re complete opposites, but maybe that’s why we work so well as friends.

  “Eight very long months,” she corrects. “So, what’s happening?”

  I shrug, surprised at how hard it is to find words to summarize the last eight months.

  “Not much.” I say after thinking about it. God, I’m so boring. “The usual, I guess. College and life. More college than life,” I add. I glance at her. “You?”

  “Same. Except college and guys.” She pauses, a cheeky grin spreading across her lips. “More guys than college,” she giggles, and I smile. Yep. Still the same, boy-obsessed Kayla.

  “So, where are we going?” I ask her.

  She grins at me. “Vegas, baby.”

  “Vegas?” I repeat with a laugh. “Isn’t that a little far to drive for a party?”

  She shrugs. “For a good party, you’ll travel as far as you need to,” she says with a shrug. “And besides, it’s not far. It’s like four, maybe four and a half hours.” My head flops forward and I groan at the thought.

  “Fine, but only because I might get some sleep on the way.” I glance at her. “Can you tell me more about this party?” I ask suspiciously. I narrow my eyes, because she’s doing that thing with her nose, which is a sure-fire sign she’s holding something back. “Kayla?” I ask, my voice a low growl.

  “Oh, fine,” she huffs, caving in. She shakes her head. “It was going to be a surprise, but we’re going to a wedding.”

  “A wedding?” I repeat. I shake my head because, it’s ridiculous. “Whose wedding? It’ll be like nine in the evening when we get there.”

  “Which makes us just in time for the reception,” she retorts. “And I don’t actually know her name,” Kayla admits. She pauses for a moment. “Or his, for that matter.”

  “So, then why are we going?” I ask, laughing. “Did you sleep with the groom or something?” I tease.

  “Of course not,” she snaps. “Well, probably not,” she corrects herself, because the likelihood of that being the case is still high. “We’re going to meet Dylan Kane. It’s his cousin who’s getting married. I thought we could try and get in there and—”

  “You want to crash some movie star’s wedding?” I repeat, gaping at her.

  She can’t be serious, can she?

  “Not his wedding. His cousin’s,” she corrects, and I shake my head again and laugh. That doesn’t make it any better.

  “Fine. Whatever,” I say, giving up. It’s crazy, but it’s so hard to argue with her. Besides, what else am I going to do? I glance at her and groan, sure I’m going to end up regretting this.

  “Should I have brought a change of clothes?” I ask. There’s no way we’d be driving back home tonight, surely?

  She waves her arm. “Nah, I’ve got plenty. You can wear something of mine.”

  “You do know this is not gonna work, right?” I chuckle.

  “I guess we’re going to find out,” she says, a devious grin on her face.

  All I can do is laugh, because nothing has changed at all. It’s like we’re sixteen again and back in Ireland. Kayla’s still getting into trouble and I’m still going along for the ride.

  Chapter Three

  Ben

  I drop Rory’s phone back to him later that afternoon, but not before updating a few things first—and stealing his sister’s number, of course. I sent her a text, so she has mine…just in case. I’m nice like that. I ring the doorbell and grin at Rory when he answers. He motions for me to come in, so I follow him through to the living room.

  “Your phone,” I say tossing it to him.

  “Thanks,” he says, glancing down at it. “Do I need to go through it to check for swapped numbers, inappropriate photos and other immature shite?” he asks, looking suspiciously at me. I try my best to look wounded.

  “Really, Rory? What am I, eight?” I ask with a frown.

  “Sometimes, I do wonder,” he says.

  I chuckle. “Fair point.
How’s Amelia?”

  “She’s okay. She’s feeling better than earlier, but she’s still not completely over it. I might leave Siobhan at the hotel for another night or two, just to be safe.” He glares at me. “Which means I’m still expecting those photos every half hour.”

  “Can you, uh, clarify which photos again?” I say with a sly grin. “Because I had this daydream a while ago—”

  Rory shakes his head. “Seriously dude? That’s my sister.”

  My smile widens. “I know.”

  He groans and wanders over to the couch, sinking down onto it and I sit next to him. He reaches forward and grabs two waters from the coffee table, tossing one at me. I catch it and twist the cap off, drinking half of it in one hit.

  “So, are you ready for the concert next weekend?” I ask him.

  His face says it all. “I’m terrified as fuck, to be honest. What if she says no?”

  I laugh, because just the idea of her saying no is beyond ridiculous.

  “Dude, she’s not gonna say no. She loves you. You guys are great together.”

  He nods, as though my words are helping.

  “It’s just really nerve-racking. I get anxious performing in front of people as it is, but throw the proposal in there and the pressure’s really getting to me.”

  “Okay, but you’re Rory Maguire. You gotta go big or go home, dude. Not that Amelia wouldn’t be just as excited if it was just the two of you alone and you did it by candlelight, or some other romantic shit. You know what I mean? It’s you she’s saying yes to, not the big music star.”

  “I just want to make it special for her,” he says quietly.

  “And it will be. You’re committing your life to her, and she’s going to love it,” I remind him. This is all stuff he already knows, but I know it won’t stop the doubts from creeping in. I glance at my phone and sigh.

  “I should go now, and let you look after Amelia, but do me a favor? Stop stressing. Okay?” I say. “I’ll catch up with you soon. I need to discuss some ideas I have for your tour, sometime in the next few days.”

  “Sure,” he says. “Hey, thanks for calming me down.”