Page 31 of SCRUMptious

Chapter12

L A U R EN

Donaland I were sitting in my living room, having toured Dublin’s historic Kilmainham Gaol a few hours prior. It’d been a somber afternoon—the story about the couple who’d gotten married moments before the husband was executed for his participation in the country’s rebellion had stuck with me. What would it be like to love someone so much that you’d marry them knowing they’d be dead in hours? I couldn’t imagine the emotional fortitude it would take to go through something likethat.

Now, with those thoughts swirling in my head, I knew if I wanted Donal in my life beyond the present, sacrifices needed to be made. Certainly not as dramatic, but beyond what I’d ever thought possible.

“My contract is up next week,” I murmured, bringing my wine glass to mylips.

Donal tipped back his beer, finishing what was left in the bottle before setting it aside. His eyes locked on mine, he answered, “Itis.”

I dropped his piercing gaze and stared down into the ruby liquid and then brought my eyes to his. “I don’t want our time to beover.”

“I don’t want that either.” His eyes slipped away, and he licked his lips. “If I thought I had a chance of success, I’d try to convince you to stay even longer.”

“Donal, we talked aboutthis.”

We’d talked, and talked, and talked … and then talked some more. He’d tried to convince me to move to Dublin permanently, but I couldn’t do that. First of all, there were visa issues to consider, and I didn’t think the Irish government was keen to give one to me just because I’d gone and fallen in love. Second, there was my mom to consider. It was bad enough that I’d left her as long as I had; it was time for me to put a plan in motion for my return. Thirdly … well, you didn’t just uproot your entire life after having known someone for less than three months.

Didyou?

Nothing about us worked on paper—we were as unlikely together as two people could ever be. And yet, when I was in Donal’s arms, everything felt right. I knew the type of crazy, topsy-turvy love we shared didn’t come along very often, but I didn’t know how to make things work outside of the little bubble we’d created for ourselves here in Dublin.

And neither didhe.

The truth was, there was no long-term solution to our problem. All we could do now was delay the inevitable.

Donal sighed and heaved his body off the couch. After grabbing another beer from my fridge, he dropped back down across from me. “I know. It doesn’t mean I’ve stopped wishing things were different.”

“Me neither,” I answered regretfully. What I wouldn’t give to have met Donal at a different point in my life. But I hadn’t, and we needed to make the best of the time we had left together.

“I spoke with my mom last night. I’ve arranged the caretaker to stay an extraweek.”

He let out a gust of pent up air and dropped his head back to stare up at the ceiling. Pinching the bridge of his nose, Donal brought his face forward. “Andthen?”

So far, we’d only talked about me staying here. I’d been too chicken to broach the subject of him going back with me for a couple of weeks because even if he did, that wasn’t a long-term solution either. He’d get a 90-day tourist visa, and then in three months, we’d be right back where we’d started.

Andyet…

“You could come to L.A. for a visit.”

He stared at me for what seemed to stretch into eternity as I waited with bated breath for his reply. “Where would Istay?”

“With me, of course.”

He nodded and looked away. “Howlong?”

“As long as you want,” I replied, my nerves kicking up. Donal staying at my place in L.A. would be a monumental step in our relationship. Yes, we’d admitted that we were falling in love with one another, but that didn’t erase the fact that since the beginning of our relationship, we’d only ever spent two nights together at a time. He had his place, and I had mine. And now that he’d traded in his manual for an automatic, we spent even less time together since I didn’t need to drive him around anymore. If we did this, he’d effectively be moving in withme.

Were we ready forthat?

“Are you ready for that?” he asked.

I chuckled and rolled my eyes. It was as if he could read my damnmind.

“Nah, just your face,” he smirked as if he knew exactly what I’d been thinking. “You’re so expressive, I can read you like abook.”

I laughed out loud. “Bullshit.”

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