“Kieran, we need to talk.”
That confused the hell out of him. “Did you ask Lani? What did?—”
“She’s okay with the plan but she?—”
“She is?” He gave Rance a thumbs up and got one in return.
“She doesn’t want me driving the truck by myself.”
“I don’t fancy that part, either. I wish?—”
“Kieran, I’m worried.”
“About driving Midnight Thunder?”
“The truck’s minor. I’m worried about how this… whatever we choose to call it… could impact you.”
“Meaning?”
“You could become… attached to me.”
“I’m already attached to you. I can tell you’re attached to me. We should do something about it.”
“Maybe attached is the wrong word.”
“I like it.” He smiled. “Connected is another good word.”
Rance mouthedWhat the hell?and lifted both hands, palms up.
“The point is, we might see each other again if I go to Dublin for work, but there’s no guarantee.”
“Oh, it’s guaranteed. If you come within a thousand kilometers, I’ll make sure we see each other.”
“You will?”
“You’ll be crossing that ocean sometime. It’s part of your job.”
“But it might not be convenient. You might have a girlfriend.”
“I’ll still want to see you. You were with me on the most important day of my life. I don’t intend for us to lose touch. It’s not all about sex, although I wouldn’t mind adding that to the mix.”
Rance made a circling motion with his hand, which meantwrap it upin any language.
“It sounds different when you put it that way, but…” She trailed off.
Time to face this head on. “What’s bothering you?”
“What if you fall in love with me? What if you can’t imagine life without me?”
He sucked in a breath. “I’m already half in love with you. I can’t imagine the world without you in it. Do I see us spending the rest of our lives together? I’m not an eejit.”
“Oh, Kieran, that’s not what?—”
“We should probably decide about tonight, though. Rance is staring at the ceiling and tapping his foot.”
She made a funny sound, half laugh and half gulp. “I want to come over. But first Lani has to talk to Rance. Could you please put him on?”
“I’ll do that.” He held out the phone. “Lani wants to talk to you, mate.”
