Page 69 of Verses Of Us

“Why did you do that?”

Confused, Julie ducked her head. “Don’t you want to talk to him?”

Alexis pinched her lips together so tightly they stung. Her breathing sped up, and her temples throbbed.

“Shit. Did I just do something stupid?” Julie reached over, rubbing Alexis’ arm.

“It’s fine. Forget it.”

Julie peeked over Alexis’ shoulder, then cringed. “I’d love to, but… he’s coming over.”

A glance in the mirror confirmed it. Ciarán, with his broad shoulders pulled back, was walking through the restaurant toward them, catching the eye of a few patrons as he passed by.

Fight or flight impulses took over. Unsure where or how she could leave without being super obvious, Alexis gave in, tucking her hands under her legs to keep them from shaking. She focused on the flickering votive on the table, but it did nothing to stop the flutters in her stomach as he approached. Just as one feels the light spring breeze in the last lingering days of winter, it was inside of her. Innate.Unshakable.

She hadn’t followed his career, but after 2005, his name didn’t pop up very much, so she assumed he’d taken a break, or maybe his career had taken a hit. But seeing the way people perked up with recognition as he walked by, Alexis figured he was still popular.

The flutters in her belly awoke the nearer he got. One thing was certain; if Ciarán had taken a step back from the limelight since she’d last seen him, it wasn’t the case for the spot he held in her heart.

Panicked, Julie fidgeted. “Lexi… he’s getting closer. What do I say?”

“I don’t know,” she replied, unable to manage more than those three words. In a few seconds, it wouldn’t matter, anyway.

Julie reached for her phone, pressing buttons frantically. “OK, well, I need a picture with him.”

Alexis rolled her eyes as her stomach dipped. And then she heard him speak—one word spoken from lips she could somehow still taste and it made her head spin.

HELLO

Ciarán

“You’rekidding.”

The complete opposite to Ciarán, his younger sister, Saoirse, sat with her back straight, her long blond hair flowing down in wavy rivulets, her hazel eyes staring at him with derision.

“No, Sersh, not happening.”

“You won’t go say hi?”

Ciarán kept shaking his head, his eyes glued to his glass of water, wishing he’d ordered that beer. To please his sister, to make their monthly dinner out a good one, he was trying to be on his best behaviour tonight. But now, he wished he’d given into his craving.

Lex was here. Inhiscity. Inthispub. What were the odds?

He hadn’t even wanted to come to this restaurant tonight. He wanted to celebrate his sister’s new promotion and splurge on some fancy place, but she’d insisted, claiming they had the best food on this side of the city. And as was always the case with his baby sister, he gave her what she wanted.

But now, the long, dark hair so straight and silky smooth he could almost feel it tickling his palm, called to him from across the restaurant. And it made him want to run.

This couldn’t be happening. Not to him. Not tothem.

But then he grinned. Oh, yes, it could. And it always did.

Perpetually in each other’s orbit, they would keep bumping into each other. Life was ironic that way. But it was one matter to bump into her in Montreal. It was a whole other matter to find her here in Dublin.

Alexis sat across from a familiar-looking woman with flaming red hair and a laugh he heard clearly across the busy restaurant—her roommate, the film student. She looked different. Her hair wasn’t as wildly curly as it used to be and she was paler. He didn’t want to over-analyze the roommate’s looks, but unfortunately, the woman he wanted to stare at for the rest of the night had her back to him and wouldn’t turn around.

Even from the little he could see of her in the mirror across, he could tell it was her without a doubt. Like the buzz of excitement before a show, he knew in his bones when she was close. He hadn’t experienced that thrill since the last time they’d spoken, but he recognized it the moment it sparked in his blood, tugging on his heart and stomach with equal force.

“Ciarán,” Saoirse said, snapping her fingers in front of his face.

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