Page 21 of After Indigo Irish Nights
The whole idea was wrong. She’d have to try another approach.
He rolled his massive shoulders, and they cracked. “Well, it seems we had a good chat.”
Had they? “I never got you a cup of coffee. Ah… Do you want one?”
“No, thanks. I’ll be leaving you to your morning.” He inclined his chin. “I know Ellie and Brady and many others will be taking care of you, but if you need anything, you let me know. Ellie will be my sister-in-law, and you’re like her sister. That makes you family.”
It did, but the thought of trying to be that kind of family with Declan formed a hard knot in her chest. “Yes, it does, I guess. I’m glad we thought that far ahead. Because, to our minds, we are sisters, and that means I’ll be around—”
“For the rest of my life,” Declan said, his jaw locked. “Every holiday, likely. I thought about that last night. Couldn’t expunge it from my mind. Hell, we’ll probably be godparents to their children.”
She had a glimpse of his torture. “I’ll be Aunt Kathleen and you’ll be Uncle Declan.”
“Exactly.”
The idea of those sweet children should have made her smile, but it only cemented the daunting task ahead of them. They weren’t just protecting themselves from hurt. They were protecting Ellie and Brady and their family. That kind of incentive was stronger than a cold shower.
“And birthdays too,” she added. “I always celebrate Ellie’s birthday with her.”
His mouth shifted to a morose angle as he studied her. “Is it awful of me to say that I hope you grow uglier as the years pass?”
She laughed. She couldn’t help it. The words were so unexpected. “So long as I can say that I hope you get fat and puffy in the face and—”Stop smelling so delicious,she silently added.
“We’ll work on looking ugly to each other then,” he said after a moment with a crisp nod. “Very ugly. In fact, I’m going to start telling myself I don’t like women with short brown hair.”
Declan stepped a few inches closer and touched her hair softly. Everything stilled inside her. She could feel his body heat.
“You clearly don’t lack confidence,” he said, tipping her chin up while studying her face. “Only a woman brimming with it could clip her hair as such and wear it so proudly. It should make you look mannish.”
Her throat went dry. His touch was even hotter than she remembered. Lucky for her, she was used to heat. Fire was part of her profession, her art. “My brothers tease me about that too, saying I’m trying to fit in with them.”
“Then there’s your jawline.” His fingers slid over the bones. “It sticks out even more with your hair this short.”
God, she wished she could laugh as they tried to convince each other they were unappealing. “When you frown, you look like a thug. And your eyes turn small—like a weasel’s.”
She wasn’t telling the truth now. They might be the most captivating eyes she’d ever beheld, ones that could inspire a work of art.
“I’m glad we’re finding reasons not to find each other pleasing.” He inhaled harshly, as if the sound was forced from deep within him. “We’re going to need it in the coming days. I’d best go before I find more reasons you aren’t beautiful.”
Beautiful? He thought she was beautiful? Guys in her neighborhood always told her she washotorsmolderingorwicked sexy.
Never beautiful.
She watched him walk to the door. That damn lump rose in her throat again. “Declan…”
He stopped and turned.
“I wish we were strangers who’d met on vacation.”
His eyes held hers for a long moment. The quiet seemed to chill her skin, and she longed for the heat between them. But it was gone, snuffed out by their mutual decision.
“So do I,mo chroí.”
With that, he left her, heading back out into the rain.
She shouldn’t look up the words he’d used. She knew the phrase was Gaelic. But if she couldn’t follow through on her temptation with him, at least she could follow through on this small wish. When the meaning flashed on her screen—my heart—she felt the pang deep in her chest.
She thought back to her dream, of them walking along the beach, holding hands. Deep inside her, she knew there was greater emotion with him. His endearment suggested he knew it as well.
