Page 5 of Pints & Potions

Cian clamped a hand over Seamus’s mouth. “I know what you were meaning. You’d do well to shut your pie hole, Seamus McCleary.” He released his drunk friend with a second none-too-gentle shove. “He’s cut off.”

“Ya got a mean streak as wide as—”

“Not another word, Seamus,” Cian growled.

“You’ve wasted two of your five minutes, Brother.”

“Come on, love. I don’t want you to be a witness to murder.”

Cian placed his hand on Piper’s lower back and guided her toward the door. A current of sorts passed between them, surprising him, and he sent her a sharp glance to see if she’d experienced the same.

She appeared unfazed.

A simple touch had never set him off before. Dry-mouthed, he held his own council and silently walked with her toward the building next door.

“You handled that well,” she said as he strolled beside her.

Thrown by her cool sarcasm, he stopped and stared. His laughter, when it started, was deep and boomed out across the night. The sound carried and seemed to echo forever. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d laughed that hard.

Cian reached for her hand and placed a lingering kiss on her fingertips. “Come, let’s get you home.”

2

Piper woke with a song in her heart. She stretched and grinned.

Ireland!

Her welcome yesterday had been more than she could’ve hoped for.

Cian was delicious. With his shaggy, sandy-brown hair, dancing green eyes, and tall, muscular—but not overly so—build added to a keen intelligence and a devil-may-care attitude, he had checked off every single one of Piper’s heretofore unknown boxes.

He’d been the perfect gentleman when he walked her to her lodgings. He’d insisted on checking out the premises, which surprised and thrilled her. Last night, she’d figured it was another of his flirty games, but once he’d declared the all-clear, he had graced her with a light kiss on her cheek and disappeared.

Apparently chivalry wasn’t quite dead yet.

She’d practically danced all the way upstairs to her room, reliving their mini make-out session in the pub.

Damn, the man could kiss.

She’d forgotten where she was the minute his lips touched hers and had gotten carried away. Cian had too. She’d felt it in his touch and the budding erection pressing against the soft swell of her belly. If it hadn’t been for Bridget’s timely interruption, they’d have gone up in flames.

Piper toyed with the idea of stopping by today in the hopes of seeing him again. But first things first, she needed a shower and a cup of coffee—not necessarily in that order.

She stumbled into the bathroom and groaned at her reflection. Yesterday’s forgotten makeup made her resemble a demented raccoon. So as not to terrify the other occupants of the B&B should they run into her, she scrubbed her face clean, pulled her unruly hair into a topknot, and dragged a large cardigan sweater over her pajamas.

Halfway down the stairs the wonderful aroma of fresh-brewed coffee and perfectly cooked food drifted to her. For the second time that morning, she grinned. This trip was going to be incredible. And if she skipped down the last of the stairs in her eagerness to get to those mouth-watering smells, well, no one was around to bear witness.

She sailed around the corner and buried her nose directly into a burly, unyielding chest. Pain set her eyes to watering, and although Piper wanted to cuss up a storm, she muttered, “I’m sorry” instead.

“No need to apologize, darlin’. I understand your eagerness to see me again. I’m feelin’ the same way, myself. Anytime you want to sniff my chest, I won’t deny you, to be sure.”

The delicious sound of Cian’s amused voice jerked her head up.

O’Malley’s Black Cat Inn!

Of course! Either he was part owner, or he was related to the owners.

She’d been too tired to make the connection before.

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