Page 35 of Once upon a Summer Night

His gaze lowered to her mouth, and Ellie stopped breathing altogether. He looked as though he was about to kiss her, here, in this magical, wonderful place, where the outside world simply didn’t exist.

He leaned toward her. He smelled of lemon and mint—a heady combination with the scent of books. Ellie’s eyes fluttered closed, and she parted her lips, her heart pounding in her throat.

She peeked out from her lashes and saw his gaze sharpen, then shutter suddenly. Her heart constricted as he stepped back and he gave her an easy smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “It is that, Ellie. Come on, I’ll show you to the room you’ll be staying in.”

She watched him turn for the stairs, a hollowness spreading in her chest and humiliation flooding her cheeks. She berated herself for misreading his intent; hadn’t he said already that he wasn’t interested? Embarrassed, she headed down the stairs after him, resolving not to make a fool of herself again.

If only she knew how not to, things would go much easier for her.

After unpackingthe suitcase Gwen so kindly brought to her, and realizing that her friend had gone on a massive shopping spree at Marks & Spencer rather than packing the perfectly serviceable clothes in Ellie’s closet, Ellie quietly descended the stairs, hoping to steal out the kitchen door to the back garden. It looked to be a beautiful day, and her jet lag hadn’t yet caught up to her. Perhaps it was because she’d had a fantastic night’s sleep on the private jet.

She shook her head in disbelief. The kind of money Aidan MacWilliam had was mind-boggling. Before they left for Heathrow, she overheard him talking about some real-estate deal for a new restaurant. She knew next to nothing about business, and even less about real estate, but apparently Emma’s husband was a lot more than a pretty face.

An incredibly pretty face, she amended. Now that she was a bit removed from the whirlwind of the press conference, she wondered how she’d managed to speak any words at all, being surrounded by so many beautiful men.

Reilly was the largest man by at least a few inches, both in height and shoulder span. When he greeted Gwen, she all but disappeared in his embrace. His hair was black and his eyes were an indefinable shade of hazel. But there was something else to him—his teasing manners aside, he radiated power, as though the world was just waiting for him to take it. And Aidan…Ellie smiled at the thought of him. He had piercing green eyes that were always zeroed in on his wife. He looked every inch a man in love, and he wasn’t worried about showing it. That was the Irish, for sure. Aidan had an edge to him, though, and Ellie couldn’t place her finger on it, but for all his lovestruck looks, something else simmered beneath the surface. He was almost uncivilized.

And then there was Colin. Ellie suppressed a sigh as she caught sight of him, his back to her, as he worked the giant coffee contraption in the kitchen. He looked like the best of America; Hollywood had nothing on him. His dark blond hair wasalmosttoo long, and it was usually swept to the side. She stared unabashedly at the tee shirt he wore. It clung to wide, muscled shoulders that tapered into biceps that would have made most men weep. He wore low-slung, well-fitted Levi’s that made it hard for her to keep her eyes on his classically handsome face.

And, though she’d only seen them the one night weeks ago in Reilly’s garden, Colin had the deepest dimples known to mankind.

He turned, and she quickly descended, unwilling to be caught staring.

“Do you like coffee?” he asked as the machine sputtered out some delicious-smelling brew.

“I do, but I don’t need a caffeine rush at the moment, thanks.”

“Sure. I have a meeting in my office in a couple of hours, but I have to get some stuff done before that. Make yourself at home.” He took the steaming cup from the machine and pointed down the hallway. “My home office is there, if you need anything.”

“I don’t think I saw that room,” she noted. “If it’s okay with you, I’d like to take a walk around your neighborhood, get some fresh air.”

“It’s a nice day. Definitely check out the area.” He reached into his pocket, and her eyes tracked the movement. He withdrew a cell phone and a set of keys. “Here, take this. Key to the front door and my personal cell. Just call the ‘office’ contact if you get lost; it’ll send you right to my business phone.” He flashed her a small smile. “While you might notuse a phone while on your walks in Ireland, here I think you’d be better served with a GPS.” He quickly had her set up her thumbprint on the phone.

“Thanks,” she replied, blushing.

“You bet. How are you feeling? Tired?”

She shrugged. “Not particularly.”

He raised his eyebrow at her. “One more question for you before you head out.” He canted his head. “Do you know how many universities there are in London?”

She shook her head, confused.

“Forty.”

She blinked. “Forty?”

He shrugged. “Yep. Just thought you should know.”

He walked out of the kitchen, leaving her bemused. As the office door shut behind him, her mouth dropped open.

He searched for me.Her thoughts whirled, her heart kicked up its rhythm, and she sat down, hard, on the closest chair.

Hedidfeel the pull between them, then. But why wouldn’t he want to pursue something with her? She wasn’t so clueless as to know when a man was uninterested in her. They had chemistry. She knew they did. Colin O’Rourke definitely had interest in her.

She kissed a few men in her time, sure. But never had any of them looked at her the way Colin did that night. She hated and loved that their kiss replayed itself so frequently in her brain; she still felt a thrill when she remembered the look on his face in the split second before his lips touched hers. No one had ever looked at her with such intensity and raw desire before. When their mouths joined, she could swear that time itself stopped. There existed only the two of them in the universe, made for exactly that moment.

Logically, she understood why the kiss haunted her dreams, both day and night. It was a new experience, a fantastic one, and she longed to repeat it. But she also realized she didn’t know anything about love. Once upon a time, shethought she did, but her relationship with Andrew, and the subsequent fallout, had been such a disaster that she knew she wouldn’t recognize real love if it tapped her on the shoulder and handed her a business card.

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