by Forbes, Sara
“Anyway, what did you want?” he asks testily.
“Only for you to do your duty and man the front desk.”
“What?”
“Don’t what me. You promised you’d do it Wednesdays. It’s Wednesday. Don’t let me down like you did on Monday. And Wednesday last week.”
He grunts. “Give me a break, bro. I’ve got exams coming up. You don’t.”
“I don’t care. A promise is a promise. I have a life too.”
“Since when?” He gestures at the hi-tech technology on the ceiling, the air con, the music system. “This is all you care about.”
I look around at the features he points out, surreptitiously making sure they’re in working order. Then I bring my gaze back to his face. I’m secretly glad he hasn’t heard anything about Cliona and I. “What’s your point?”
“Ohhh,” he growls. “You always do this.”
“Do what?”
“Guilt me into doing my duty.” He uses air quotes on duty.
“Tell you what. You can still talk to Ms. Bridesmaid down in reception. You seem to have mastered the art of multitasking,” I say sardonically.
“You won’t moan at me if I do? You won’t lecture me about five-star service?”
“No.”
“Promise?”
I feel my face breaking into a grin. “Promise.”
Thank goodness it’s low season because the Callaghan boys have their minds set on women these days.
*
I my room, I take extra care with my clothes and shaving.
I can’t remember when I was this nervous before meeting a woman. They’ve come and they’ve gone. In Dublin, where I studied Finance. In San Francisco where going out on a Friday with the guys from work entailed checking out the most fashionable bars and women there who were all too keen to have a good time.
But I’ve never gone out with a local woman, despite Cliona’s notion that they flock to me. I repel them once thigs get too cozy.
The plan is, I go home with Cliona and Lorcan when she arrives to collect Lorcan. Under the pretext of wanting to show Lorcan the boat. Cliona mentioned something about him expecting to see it because she’d mentioned it in the manor. It’s as good a cover story as any. In fat, it’s brilliant. If anyone sees us in the harbor, it’ll be naturally because we have joint interest in the boy.
So we will go to the boat, and then we’ll go back home and eventually…Lorcan will fall asleep. Da will fall asleep here and dear Niall will be so engrossed in his Gothic goddess that he won’t even realize I haven’t returned.
And then, finally, I’ll be able to show Cliona how I feel. I want to give her everything I’ve got, take her to heaven and back because I know she’s going to have that effect on me. Monday night was incredible. My first taste. An introduction to a treasure trove that I never want to leave.
I often doubted myself, told myself I was absolutely crazy, getting fixated on one woman, but it seems to be a Callaghan trait—Da with Ma, Niall with this shadowy Marci character he only saw a few times in reception, and me with Cliona, a ghost from my past. We just need Enda to find someone to moon over, preferably someone unsuitable. Of course, given that he wants to be a priest, any woman is unsuitable.
I finish up and head down to the restaurant where Lorcan is finishing his dinner. Meatballs and spaghetti—his favorite. The chef, Killian, has great fun with Lorcan, trying to get hm to try a new vegetable every time he comes. Today, it looks like it was a roasted beetroot. It lies untouched on a side plate.
“OK if I come home with you to show you the boat?” I ask him, taking the seat opposite him.
He nods.
We walk together to reception. While I’m gathering his bag and coat, Cliona’s Audi arrives.
I notice that Da is hovering about. He’s scowling. It’s because of Cliona, of course. And she’s going to sit out there in the parking lot, of course, like some second-class citizen.
How did she put up with this ostracization for all these years? How did she not lose her temper, storm in, and damn them all to hell? This has got to change. A lot of things have got to change.
“You’re going with him?” Da asks suddenly.
“Yeah.”
“Why?”
“To show him the boat.”
“Now?”
“Uh huh. Say bye to Granpa,” I say to Lorcan, ignoring Da’s dagger looks.
“Bye, Granpa,” Lorcan says, oblivious to everything, going to my father with arms outstretched for a hug.
The old man clasps the child to him. “Bye, Lorcan. Make sure you tell your uncle to come home when it gets late.”
“Yes, Granpa.”
My father straightens and looks at me like he’s just scored a point. And I suppose he has, if you count using a child as a weapon. Which I totally don’t.
I shake my head and walk past him out the door. Da is a problem I’ll have to deal with later. Right now, I have better things to do with my life.
14
CLIONA
My heart nearly stops when I see Seamus walking out of the hotel hand-in-hand with Lorcan.
It’s not just that Seamus is gorgeous, the low sunlight catching his fair hair, reddish beard, bathing his well-built frame in golden light, making me clench my thighs together in anticipation of the delights in store.
It’s not just that Lorcan looks up at him with big, trusting eyes, and a carefree, happy smile.
It’s not just that Seamus is smiling right at me, acknowledging me, making me feel like a worthy person again, despite his father and his brothers’ low opinions of me.
No, it’s that this feels like we’re a family.
I feel a lump in my throat. I’m actually glad he’s driving his own car to the docks because having him here in this car with Lorcan…hat would be too much for my little heart right now. I might have to start crying or something.
God, I’m getting so emotional and we haven’t even slept together.
When we get down to the docks, thing get awkward. Of course, I can’t even hold Seamus’s hand because none of this has been discussed with Lorcan yet. We haven’t discussed it with each other—how or whether—we want to say anything to him
I blubber through my lips in unladylike fashion as we walk along the pier, each holding one of Lorcan’s hand. “I just wanted to say, well, I had a good time on your boat, I never really thanked you properly for taking me out and showing me it.”
He slides me a look of amusement. “It was my pleasure,” he says softly. “You didn’t even get to see it all.”
“I enjoyed what I did see though,” I say. “There’ll be time to see it all.”
His dancing eyes catch mine. His har flying in the breeze. He’s loving this. As am I.
“Well, there’s plenty of time for thanking me properly.”
“Oh, I intend to.”
I glance down at my son. Lorcan’s skipping along, trying to avoid the lines in the concrete, happy in his own little world.
I meet Seamus’s heated gaze over his head. “It’s a perfect size.”
He shakes his head, a smile tugging at his lips. “Sure it’s not too big?”
Lorcan looks up at him. “Is the boat too big? he asks gleefully. “Why’s it too big?”
Seamus pretends to consider the matter while I bite down on my bottom lip. “Well, if it fits into the space provided then it’s not too big, is it?”
Lorcan shakes his head thoughtfully. “No.”
“It can be a tight squeeze though.”
“Lorcan,” I say suddenly. “Run on ahead to the ice cream shop. They close at eight so we’ll just make it. Choose whatever flavor you want.”
When he’s gone, I spin around to Seamus. “Oh my God, would you stop?”
“You started it.”
“Maybe.”
He lets out a labored breath, his eyes darkening. “I want to kiss you right here, right now.”
“Well, don’t. The walls have eyes, and bes
ides, Lorcan’s going to come running out any second to inform me they don’t have Stracciatella or something.”
You were saying?” Seamus remarks, as two seconds later, the pastel pink door of the ice-cream parlor flings open and Lorcan comes dashing out like the place is on fire. Breathless, he comes up to us and says, “They can stay open for another ten minutes if you two want to order as well.”
“That’s nice,” I say to Seamus as Lorcan disappears back inside. “The ice-cream shop people have clearly decided we’re an item. We should order a Lovers Chocolate Sundae and be done with trying to avoid the Ballytirrel rumor mill. Because that’s an impossible task.”
He tuns to me with a solemn expression. “I know, Cliona. I don’t assume anything. I know it’s sensitive. Given our…history. Nothing we do here can be proven to be anything other than us looking after Lorcan.”
“Thanks,” I say. “I appreciate that. The sooner we get home, the better.”
“You got that right,” he says in a strained voice. I don’t have to look down to know that he’s hard as a rock.
*
One somewhat hurried tour of Seamus’s boat later, we’re all back at the house. If Lorcan finds it strange that his uncle is in the house for the very first time in his lifetime, he doesn’t remark on it. Then again, children adapt to things much quicker than adults do, finding new situations normal within minutes.
We’ve an hour to kill before Lorcan’s bedtime. Seamus prowls around the house, inspecting various decorative items—most of them dusty—and the woodwork. I don’t know what’s so interesting.
“It’s so strange,” he says at one point. “I haven’t been in this house since I was a lad. There’s never been reason to. Who keeps the place? It’s beautiful.”
“It’s just me. Well, sometimes Deirdre helps.”
“No outside help?”
“I can’t afford it, Seamus. Just holding onto this is taking everything I earn from my horticulture.
I feel a tinge of pride saying it, though.
“Deirdre had her exam?” he asks. He’s standing by the table with her anatomy texts.
“Oh. Oh yes. Thanks in part to you.”
“I had nothing to do with it.”
“Well, she did fine. She thinks anyway. Results won’t be for another week though.”
“She works hard, doesn’t she?”
“Very. Only two years to go and then she’s free.
“’Free’ —An interesting choice of words.”
“Yes, Seamus,” I say with a sigh. “Free. She doesn’t have the responsibility to keep up this place, as I do. She doesn’t even know the extent of the repair work needed. My horticulture business is hanging by a thread some days.”
“I can imagine. If the customers dry up, that’s it, right?”
“Yeah, not that you’d have experience of that.”
“When I went to San Francisco, I didn’t get a penny from the family coffers. My father was furious with me for leaving. I started from scratch. I had a small internet business, selling catering services. Some months, I swear, I was living on rice and beans, and pancakes. Don’t worry, I’ve been there.”
I laugh in surprise. “Wow, you went out on a limb?”
“Mm. It was freeing in a way. But still scary.”
I nod. I’ve tried explaining this to Danny, but Danny can’t fathom how hard it is to live without money and the desperation to cling on to whatever dignity one has left. “When I sold my horses, I pretended that it was because I got fed up of looking after them, but nothing could be further from the truth. It was just because I couldn’t afford them.”
He walks over to me. He looks like he wants to take me in his arms, but I shake my head and glare at the door.
He backs away.
“Lord and Lady Stephenson clearly had aspirations when they designed it,” he remarks.
“Delusions of grandeur, more like. Then they ran out of cash. Then both of them died in close succession. You know the story.”
I trace my finger over the frame of her parents sitting on a bench, smiling.
“That was taken on their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary,” I say. “They died soon after.”
“Tell me more. I missed all that while I was away. When I heard about your mother, I’d just come out of a board meeting. I was nearly going to call you.”
“But you didn’t.”
He rubs his jaw. “No, I didn’t feel it was my place. I regret that now, of course.”
“It was six years ago. It’s okay. They were always together so it’s fitting he didn’t have to wait long after her. I somehow always knew it would be that way.”
“Hm. That’s what I thought about mine. But Da is hanging on.”
“Yes. It must be hard for him.” This is about as much sympathy as I can rack up for Seamus Senior Callaghan who, let’s face it, hates my guts.
Seamus is prowling again. “It wouldn’t take much to convert this place to a B&B or do the AirBnB thing. In the summer months there are enough tourists to go around.”
“Yeah, I’m not sure.”
“Now I know how you spend your free time.” He glances around and then trails his thumb down my cheek. Instinctively I draw in toward him. “If I could hire someone for here. You’d have more free time. You wouldn’t be stuck here polishing floors.”
I snort. “Do these floors look polished to you? Anyway, before you plan my future, would you like a drink? I’m sorry, I’m being remiss.”
“Don’t worry. I’m surrounded by alcohol all day. It’s not what I came here for.” His gaze lands on me, steadfast and heated. Such gorgeous eyes. His thick eyelashes catch the glow of the overhead lamp, like bronze filigree. My last hold on the reins of self-control is loosened. I need him.
“I’m putting him to bed, like right now;” I say.
He nods.
“He’ll insist on you reading for him but don’t fall for t or you’ll be up there talking all night. I point to the sofa. Sit there.”
“Yes ma’am.” He sits down heavily and take sup a book from the coffee table.
I leave the room and go look for Lorcan to put him to bed. It’s another hoop to jump through, but once the boy is asleep then the fun begins.
I can’ ay I not nervous.
*
Three quarters of an hour later, I shyly open the door of the living room. I’ve changed into a night-dress and dressing gown. I move toward the sofa. He follows me every step of the way with his hungry eyes.
He throws the book he’s pretending to read aside and rises. His arms are outstretched, his eyes burning, drawing me in with a special brand of magnetism.
“The boy asleep?”
I nod. “And he’s a deep sleeper.”
“Come here,” he says quietly.
He envelopes me in his arms, his lips seeking and finding mine. I let everything go and relax into his kiss, letting him support me. His lips feel so good.
He walks me backward to the wall. Pressing me up against, it he slides his hands under the nightdress and hikes the fabric up to my waist. I’m not wearing panties so my bare butt feels the cool of the wallpaper behind me.
“I knew it,” he growls. He scoops his hand under my knee and lifts that too, exposing my pussy to the air. I gasp. He captures my slack mouth in a heated kiss.
He keeps kissing as his finger slides in where his tongue explored two days earlier and left a memory with me that I’ll never be able to erase. I’m wet and he slides a second finger in easily and begins pumping. Sounds escape my throat and resonate in my mouth which he’s plundering with his tongue.
I moan into the kiss and he keeps the friction going. I want more.
My hands grapple with his belt.
He attempts to unbuckle it with one hand while stuck in me with the other. I help him, and soon, he kicks off the trousers, exposing his long, lean legs.
He lifts my chin again for another mind-bending kiss. Then I feel his cock pressing into my abdo
men, hard and velvety.
“I have protection this time,” he says.
“Me too,” I say with a smile.
“Wait.” He hunkers down, retrieves a condom, and puts it on. My nightdress has fallen down to my knees again.
He takes my hips and turns me to face the wall. He slides his hands around my waist and pulls me into his hard, naked body. While I lift my arms backward clasping my fingers around his neck, he slides his big hands over my breasts, pressing, rubbing my nipples between his fingers until they’re hard. I squirm in desire, wiggling my butt into his hard-as-steel cock. He doesn’t let me turn around but holds me in place, smoothing his palms down my front, up and down my abdomen, finally pressing the silky fabric of my nightdress into the gap between my legs.
Then, inch by inch, he lifts the nightdress. It tickles as it slides up over my butt. He holds it bunched up at my waist for a moment of stillness. I stand quivering in anticipation, wondering what he’s doing, what he’s thinking. I feel exposed. Then he pulls the dress up over my torso, my shoulders, my head.
He cups his hands on my buttocks and massages the cheeks toward and away from each other. Heat builds in my core, an ache for him to fill me.
“Seamus, I need you.”
“You’re so wet,” he says pressing his fingers flat against my pussy lips, locating my clit with absolute accuracy.
I nod. I couldn’t be more aroused.
“Put your hands against the wall—you’ll need the support if we’re going to do it this way,” he says, the tip of his sheathed cock pressing against my ultra-sensitive labia from behind.
“I-I’m not used to this,” I admit, feeling a bit virgin-like.
“No worries, I’ll be gentle.” He kisses my shoulder.
“Although,” I laugh. “I’m not used to any angles at this stage. It’s been so long, so if I..”
“Shhh,” he says, caressing down my side, and at the same time, pushing inside my pussy with his cock. I feel like he’s going to be too big and I cry out in alarm, but then the resistance inside of me relaxes and I realize how freaking good it feels. As he pushes in further, I tilt my hips back to accommodate him and he supports my hips with his hands encouraging me to lift my ass ever further.
