Page 7 of An Irish Kiss
“Look at that moon.”Aurora sighed.“Isn’t it beautiful?”
“So lovely,” her sister agreed.
Aurora stepped down deeper into the water, and he knew he had to say something.But still the words wouldn’t come.Come on.Lying here in the dark would only make her think him some kind of sicko, and he really didn’t want to add to her already low opinion of himself.
He cleared his throat.
She shrieked and lost her balance off the pool steps and fell with a splash into the water.He instantly shifted from his shadowed corner and stretched out a hand to help but she soon stood, hands up in what looked like a jiu-jitsu move, warning him to keep his distance.
Despite the darkness, her eyes held fire.“What are you doing here?”
Sorely tempted as he was to point out the rights of paying guests at establishments like this, he didn’t think she’d appreciate that right now.“I’m sorry for startling you.”
She winced as she grasped her wet hair and began wringing it out.“I didn’t want to get my hair wet.I’ve already washed it once today.”
“I’m sorry,” he muttered.
“You know this pool is closed to guests now,” her sister said, arms crossed over her re-bathrobed form.
“I didn’t, actually.I lost track of the time and fell asleep, but thanks for letting me know.”
“It closes at eight each night.”
“But not to staff?”he couldn’t help but ask.Injustice had always made his blood heat.
The sisters pressed their lips together, glanced at each other then back at him.
Fine.He got the message.They had special privileges, even if he suspected they were the kind of employees who treated this place like they owned it.
“I’ll leave you to it then.”He shot a glance at Aurora, who instantly covered her chest with crossed arms, causing an internal wince inside.He wasn’t that kind of guy.He might work with a few sleazes, but he’d done enough pro-bono work with women who had endured domestic violence and other issues to know to treat women with respect.Which meant eyes up.“Sorry.”
She shook her head, but whether that was a rejection of his apology or something else he wasn’t going to hang around to find out.
So he waded through the shallows to the steps, picked up his towel and wrapped it around his waist, and nodded to the curvy sister who even now was eyeing him with narrowed eyes.
“I lost track of the time,” he insisted.“It’s really relaxing, so I fell asleep.”
Her chin dipped.“I’m not surprised nobody saw you there when the staff locked up before.We probably should install better lighting in that corner,” she said in a louder voice to her sister.
Aurora was still watching him.She’d done that a few times today.It was a little unnerving.Although he guessed he deserved it, given he’d acted like a bit of a goose.“Good night.”
She pressed her lips together, then dipped her chin, just as her sister had.
He swallowed a smile and turned away.
“Sleep well,” she called, then added softly, in a voice he probably was not meant to overhear, “you obviously need it.”
Even though those last words had been said with what felt like more than a pinch of salt it didn’t change the fact that truer words had never been spoken.He was tired.He did need rest.Ten-hour difference time zones did that to a man.
And this time when he finally fell asleep, he’d make sure he didn’t dream of redheaded princess warrior types wielding swords.“So help me God.”
CHAPTERTHREE
“Rory, would you be a dear and move these books for me?”
“Certainly, Mary.”
Rory shifted the large box from the large wooden table to the office in the back.Here at Quirkes and Connolly they did their best to ensure patrons would feel at home, and this latest shipment from America was blocking sightlines from the door.Rather than the cosy aesthetic Mary aimed for the boxes made the place look cluttered, cramped and small.Plus, the books needed her aged boss’s expertise before it could be shelved appropriately.
