“You are dressed nice and sharp.How about you man the main room?”
He releases my hand and salutes me.“Cillian Doherty, reporting for duty, milady.”
Two and a half hours later, I bet he’s regretting it heartily, but we’re finally done.“We did it,” I say.“Thank you for your help.I couldn’t have done it without you.”
Vanessa showed up, and Hannah, Bryce, and Trace all lent a hand.Rían and Sam had their hands full with the normal horse stuff, since two of the horses are needing nightly wraps, and it’s been raining, so they’re all in stalls around the clock.I told them not to come.
But the hotel’s full, and we’re actually making money, and Thanksgiving dinner’s past, and now we just have a mountain of dishes to do.
“Thank you,” I say to Cillian.“I really mean that, but go home.We’ll get things cleaned up, and I’ll see you tomorrow.”
He ignores me, gathering up dishes and carrying them into the kitchen.“You’re not done, so I’m not done.Isn’t that how this works?”
“Don’t take this the wrong way, but I don’t help with your real estate stuff.You have an entire office for that.”
“Well, your office called in sick,” he says.“And now your kids have school tomorrow, right?”
Vanessa laughs.“I’ll get them all moving on going to bed and finishing up homework.”She ducks out, winking at me as she does.
And then Cillian and I start cleaning.He washes while I clear, and he whistles a tune I’ve never heard while doing it.
“What is that song?”I ask.
He freezes.“Ah, twas always my da’s favorite.”He’s smiling.“Ae Fond Kiss.You should listen to the Irish version of Robert Burns’ famous poem.My favorite version is by the Voice Squad.”
“It’s a love song?”
He laughs, drying his last plate.“Well, sort of.”
I turn and lean against the counter beside him.“What does that mean?”
“It’s about two people who love one another a great deal, but the woman heads back home to her husband in Jamaica, leaving the man alone.”
I don’t hide my dismay very well.
Cillian laughs heartily.“It’s still a love song.You can love someone and not choose to be with them, because it’s what’s best.”
That’s a sobering thought.“I guess.”
“And you don’t have to regret what you shared.It can still be lovely.”
I can’t help my grimace.
“You don’t agree?”
“I was raised in America, and we all want a happily ever after.”
“So a love story must end in forever, or it’s not a love story?”
I think about my past with Mason.He and I loved one another, and we have five beautiful children.Now we’re trying to navigate life apart but we’re also trying to be together happily enough for the kids.Is it beautiful?Not really, not to me.“I guess for me, it needs to end in forever.I want a love story where I grow old and grey with the same man.I want him to change to fit what I need, and I want to be inspired to do the same.”
“You’re not very Irish,” he says.
“Burns isn’t Irish either,” I say.“He’s Scottish.”I’m a little proud of myself for knowing that.
“We forgive him for it,” Cillian says.“And maybe I’ll forgive you for your close-minded American ways.”He grabs my waist, pulling me against him.His hands are wet from the dishes, but his eyes are bright, and his body’s warm.His head ducks over mine, and when our lips meet, my whole body comes to life.
A shiver runs down my spine.
