Page 70 of Dangerous Devotion

“This place reminds me of a place in Dublin.” She sipped her own soda. “There was a small pub tucked away off Grafton Street. It was stuffed to the rafters with locals. I had the best stew of my life there.”

His smile was so familiar to her now that she could trace the line of his lips with her eyes closed. In her lap, she curled her fingers to keep from reaching across the table and doing just that.

“Was it better than this pub?”

She tilted her head, pretending to consider the matter. “Hard to say. Besides the fantastic stew, there was live music and everyone kept buying me shots of whiskey. I was pretty tipsy.”

His eyes gleamed. “Now that I’d like to see.”

A flutter took up residence low in her belly.

“This resident kept trying to teach me Irish slang, but I’m pretty sure he was really trying to get me to go home with him.”

AJ narrowed his eyes. “I’m sure he was. Prettiest woman in Dublin, I bet.”

Warmth flooded her cheeks at his compliment. She knew by the way he looked at her that she was attractive. But the way he was looking at her right this moment made her feel like the most beautiful woman in theworld.

“Have you ever been to Ireland?”

“Yup.” He sipped his drink again.

“Were you there for pleasure?”

“Not exactly.” His evasiveness told her that he had been there on an op. “I was working and couldn’t drink the Guinness or Irish whiskey.”

The mystery surrounding the statement made May want to push, to find out what kept him there, sober, moving like a ghost through a world where she was free to indulge.

“Maybe we could go there together. Do the things we didn’t get a chance to do.” The words escaped her mouth before she could snatch them back.

Their eyes met. AJ’s filled with quiet intensity as he contemplated her.

She dropped her stare to the table and traced a pattern of wood grain. To shift his focus from her slip-up, she babbled out, “You should have seen me at the Jameson factory. They have whiskey-filled truffles at the gift shop. Rich and decadent with just the right burn of whiskey inside.”

He eyed her. “But were those truffles better than your pin from the museum?”

She glanced up at him. “But wecouldgo to Ireland,” she said quietly. “Together.”

His expression softened, seeming to blur around the edges as if she had that pint of Guinness instead of soda. “Yeah. We could.”

The weight of the possibility settled between them. A trip without a mission to cover up with stories. Just them. Latenights, whiskey-filled truffles and new memories that weren’t tainted by work.

“You know what else I regret?” he asked.

“What’s that?”

“That I didn’t take you to a fancy restaurant instead of this place.”

“Oh, AJ…”

“Tonight.” He slapped a palm lightly on the table as his decision was made. “You’re going to put on that dress you wore last night and we’ll go out later.”

She couldn’t deny the little tingles sparking inside her core at the prospect of getting dressed up just for him.

Their food arrived, and they chatted while they ate, like a normal couple out for lunch. For the moment, he wasn’t a special operative and she wasn’t an explosives expert. They were just May and AJ, enjoying each other’s company and getting to know each other.

And falling in love.

By the time they returned to their hotel after a full day of sightseeing at many of the best local spots, they had exchanged so many flirtations and small touches that they barely got through the door before AJ grabbed her.

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