Page 8 of Pints & Potions

Piper was excited in a way she hadn’t been in a long while. If she stopped long enough to think about it, she experienced a pang of guilt. Maybe if she’d been more attentive to previous boyfriends and less involved with her job or hobbies, she wouldn’t still be alone at this point of her life. And there was still the problem of her inability to choose a good guy. It’s like she was a beacon to all the lazy-good-for-nothing cheaters on the planet.

Of course, none of them had looked like Cian or possessed a smidgeon of his charm. She refused to think she was setting herself up for heartache. Accepting him as her tour guide was as far as this flirtation went.

Or so she kept telling herself as she flew down the stairs, was ushered out to his car, and fought back her answering grin when he flashed his pearly whites her way.

“Where to?” he asked, as if he were at her disposal and would cater to her every whim.

It was a heady sensation, and she almost forgot herself as she stared at his brain-cell-scattering face. He had the kind of handsomeness that was seen on movie stars and that made women go a little nuts in their desire to be with them. More than good looking, he was compelling, and his dazzling grin was hypnotic.

After giving herself a mental smack, Piper dug inside her backpack and pulled out a notebook. “I made a list of places I should see while I’m here.”

Cian glanced down at the paper and shook his head. “Of course, you did. Now put that back in your bag and tell me which way yourhearttells you to go.”

Her gaze locked with his, and she wanted to get lost in those emerald depths for all eternity. She almost said her heart was pointing to him, but she didn’t want to sound like an idiot or be a love-at-first-sight statistic like the rest of the Thornes. There was such a thing as free will and she damned well intended to use it.

“Abandoned mansions are a thing of mine,” she finally confessed.

When Cian started the car and shot her a quizzical look, Piper elaborated. “I enjoy the history. I like to wander through the ruins and guess what the old place might’ve contained by way of furniture, people, and dramatic circumstances.”

The slight smile on his face spoke of understanding. Piper was drawn to that half-smile. Maybe even more so than to his wide, engaging grin. Because although she wanted to be the recipient of that grin, she also liked the realness when he dropped his practiced charm.

A short drive later, they pulled off the road onto a dirt drive. Cian put the vehicle in park, climbed out, and walked around to Piper’s side to assist her. Nerves ate at her belly when she got her first good look around her.

The area was desolate and had a neglected, abandoned air about it. The grass came up mid-thigh, and overgrown trees obstructed the view down the lane.

“There’s nothing here.” Her voice came out tentative and shaky due to her sudden awareness of their isolation.

“Piper me love, you have an adventurer’s heart.” Cian took her hand in his and brushed her fingertips with his lips. “Consider this your first Irish adventure.”

“I thought that was last night’s kiss,” she muttered.

He stopped short and spun back around. His brows shot up and a delighted grin took up residence on his face. “Our kiss was quite the adventure. Care to take another journey?”

He’d sounded incredibly hopeful, and despite the embarrassed flush coloring her cheeks, Piper was forced to laugh. She stretched up and bussed his cheek. “That’s as adventurous as I plan to be for the moment.”

He put his hand to his chest and fell to his knees. “If this be all I get from ya, love, then I’ll die a happy man.”

Laughing at his foolishness, she skipped backward down the lane. “Come on, youeejit! There are abandoned mansions to explore,” she called out. Turning her back to him, she continued on her way, more at ease with his playfulness.

Serial killers weren’t such blatant flirts, right?

“You’ve become Irish in a single day, darlin’. It’s my sister’s unholy influence, to be sure,” he hollered back.

She hadn’t expected him to catch her as fast as he did, nor had she expectednotto hear him charging after her. When he scooped her up in his arms, she let loose a scream, following it up with laughter.

“Jaysus, you pierced my eardrums with that one. Now you’ll have to pay a forfeit for deafenin’ me for life.” His teasing smile begged her to kiss him.

She complied.

When they parted, they shared a look of wide-eyed wonder.

“Damn, you’re good at that,” she sighed.

“Was you who kissed me, love, so the complimenting should be mine.” His lips twisted, and he leaned in to brush his nose to hers. “Damn, you’re good at that,” he parroted. “Now, climb aboard, the way gets muddy ahead, and I fear you wore the wrong sort of shoes for this excursion.”

He shifted her around to carry her piggyback style.

“Onward, good steed!” she ordered with a giggle.

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