Page 68 of Verses Of Us

His traitorous mind kept going. Try as he might, he couldn’t forget how the sunlight hit her unique shade of green eyes or the way she looked at him after he’d showered her body with his adoration. He couldn’t forget how she made him feel like a real man, not some icon.

He’d let her in once and had paid for it. And stupidly, he’d done it again. He’d let her creep into his heart for a second time. Only this time, he feared she was there to stay.

TARTS AND TEMPTATIONS

Alexis

Dublinlitup,thelights along the River Liffey glowing in the dim early evening light. Through the restaurant’s window, Alexis spotted her friend Julie with her fire engine red hair, sitting precisely where she’d said she’d be—at a table for two with the best view of Ha’penny Bridge.

“Hey,” Alexis said, sneaking up to her.

“You made it!” They hugged. Julie smelled of white wine and floral perfume, all of which instantly made Alexis smile. “How was Trinity?”

“It was exactly what I dreamt it would be.” While Alexis removed her coat, draping it over the back of her chair, Julie poured some wine into an empty glass. “How have you lived here for so long and have never been?”

“It’s just a library, Lexi.”

Alexis grimaced. “Sure, like all the other five-hundred-year-old ones, I suppose.” She nodded toward the bottle. “What are we drinking?”

The crisp white taste of Pinot Grigio tickled her taste buds with her first sip.

“Oh, who the fuck cares?” Julie said with the wave of her hand. “It’s your last night here. Time to get drunk, eat and go out.”

They clinked their glasses together, laughing. With her best friend, the weight of the past couple of days of sightseeing and minimal sleep lifted.

Alexis tried to ignore the fact that she’d be heading home in a few hours. Julie shared an apartment with her boyfriend, meaning Alexis had no alternative but to stay in a hotel. Plus, Julie had been unable to take time off work, busy with late night film shoots, which limited the time they’d spent together. So, Alexis appreciated every single second they got, but her heart ached a little when she thought about returning home without her bestie by her side. They hadn’t seen each other in over a year, and a five-day trip would never be enough.

“Wow, this is so buttery,” Alexis said with a pleasurable moan, savouring her strawberry tart dessert. “You should try—”

“Holy shit!” Julie interrupted, her fork dropping noisily onto her plate.

“What?”

“Ciarán.”

“What?” Alexis repeated, her voice lower, hoping she’d misheard. A sharp pain stabbed her in the middle of her chest.

“Ciarán. He’s over there.”

She was sure it was still beating, but Alexis couldn’t feel her heart. The blood drained from her face. Refusing to turn around, she kept shaking her head, her body growing cold.

“Lexi, it’sCiarán.” Julie kept nodding for Alexis to look.

Curiosity forced her to turn around, her body heavy and languid. Searching the restaurant, she soon spotted him and her shoulders relaxed. True, it looked like him, but it couldn’tbehim—it was too coincidental. On what planet would she bump into him during her first visit to Dublin? And especially in such a random, tiny pub she and Julie had chosen last minute.

The universe didn’t work that way.

“That’s not him, Jules.”

“It so fucking is.”

The more she looked at him, the more uncertain she became. His hair was longer and lighter, and he was sporting a short beard. And even if she wasn’t close enough to meet his blue eyes or hear his voice, her body tingled in response and told her she was wrong. Itwashim.

Abruptly, she turned back to her plate, uninterested in her buttery dessert. Overwhelmed by the reaction that never happened around anyone else, she fiddled with the gold band that now felt as if it were strangling her finger. She wondered why she was even wearing it.

“That’s him, isn’t it?”

Alexis gulped her water. From the mirrored wall behind Julie, she watched him. She hoped her friend would pick up on her awkwardness and move on, but she didn’t. Then Ciarán glanced their way, and to her horror, Julie waved.

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