Page 5 of Irish Fire and Forbidden Love
A knot formed in my belly. Then in a tight voice, I said, “In about an hour.”
He stared at me a long moment, and I didn’t know whether I wanted to edge closer to him or run away. Had Eliza been right with her worries? Was I an idiot for finally letting my guard down?
But then he nodded and turned back to the pipes, and suddenly, I wished he was staring at me again, prying me apart with his eyes.
“We need to shut off the water— plumbing specifically. Do you think your customers would be terribly bothered if we closed the bathrooms? I’m honestly surprised these pipes don’t have any worse damage.”
“Oh, sure, I suppose we can.”
“Great.”
I waited for him to do something, suggest something else, but he had this intense look on his face, so I slipped into the bathrooms, ensured no one was inside, closed them, then switched off the water. When I returned to Rory, he had gotten comfortable. His shirt was off and his hands were elbow-deep in the toolbox.
His skin was a reddish white, like he’d spent just a little too long in the sun, but the burn highlighted his biceps and his chiseled abs. Somehow without his shirt, he looked even bigger, like he might crush me if we embraced.
“You… you need anything?” I asked, keeping my voice leveled.
He looked up and smiled. “Just for you to be patient, and stay away. This might get a little messy. Do you have masks or anything I could use?”
“Yeah, sure,” I said and quickly retrieved those, plus some gloves.
He took the items, and our fingers touched for just a moment, sending a thrill through my chest. I slipped back up with Eliza. The bar had died down in the last half hour since the open mic had ended. A few patrons still hung out, drinking the last of the beers slowly. Eliza was punching in a drink order when I approached.
“I hope you know what you’re doing.”
There was a low vibration from the back. It echoed through the walls, like song birds finishing the other’s sentence. And then there was silence.
“Give us another beer, love,” came a swaying regular from the end of the bar.
Eliza turned just as there came an explosion, followed by Rory yelling out a string of curses. The whole bar had quieted down, and everyone was looking at me, like I had something to do with it. Eliza and I locked gazes, but I was running to Rory before I said another word. I found him on the ground, unmoving, and covered in a foul-smelling liquid.
“Rory?” I said, taking a hesitant half step forward.
He groaned, then said, “Do you have a shower?”
Chapter 2
Rory
There have been justa handful of times in my life that I’ve felt more embarrassed. I knew something like this could have happened, but I’d done it anyway. The proper way would have been to snake the pipes first. Make sure any trapped water pressure would release, but I’d been too rash. Too confident, and now I was laying in shit— strangers’ shits which was all the worse.
“Are you… okay?” Maeve asked.
I sat up slowly. My head was killing me. There had been so much pressure pulling the pipe off, I’d been thrown back, and my head cracked against the tile.
“I’m okay,” I said, rubbing at the back of my skull. I wasn’t bleeding. I almost wished I was because the pulsing ache in my head was almost too much to bear.
“No, you’re not. How hard did you hit it? Do you have a concussion?”
I smiled. It had been a long while since a woman doted on me. I’d forgotten how much I liked it.
“I’ll be okay. I’d take that shower if you have it but might need to spray me off first in the alley. Wouldn’t want to stain your shower.”
She had a small dimple on the side of her right cheek when she smiled, just under a collection of brown freckles. And then she laughed. It was a big belly laugh, one that was infectious. I laughed, though not as loud or as boisterous, but just as relieved.
Finally, wiping her eyes free of tears, she said, “I didn’t realize how much I needed that laugh. Come on.”
She took me through a side door into a back alley and grabbed a hose from the neighboring business. “They won’t mind,” she said it more to herself then me, then said, “You should probably take off…”
