Page 42 of After Indigo Irish Nights
Could he trust himself and his heart to another?
When Kathleen’s image remained in the puddle, her bright eyes shining at him, he knew it was a sign. He could and would trust her.
There was no other way.
CHAPTERTEN
Meeting Declan at the door in nothing but a short nightgown seemed nutso, no matter how late it was getting, so she was still dressed…dressed and feeling like an idiot. What if he didn’t come? Not a happy thought.
She told herself she was still dressed because the cottage was cold from the endless rain today. To comfort herself, she’d chosen her favorite pair of worn jeans that had frayed hems from walking barefoot on the Cape—along with the signed Tom Brady jersey her brothers had given her one Christmas.
She’d already celebrated her news about staying with Ellie, who had squealed loudly enough to make her ears ring. They’d hugged and jumped up and down like little kids. Then she’d made her friend laugh by saying she was going to wait until evening to tell Linc since he’d given her a timetable.
Ellie had asked her to come over for dinner, but she’d begged off, saying she needed to start reworking her design with the new dimensions. Most things could be easily enlarged, but the new scale would allow her to make certain embellishments that wouldn’t have been possible previously.
Once home, she’d called Linc to confirm that she would go for the seventy-five-foot height, and he’d chuckled before telling her, “You’re going to make one hell of a splash with this sucker, sugar. It’s going to look fabulous, rising above those hills beside the Sorcha Fitzgerald Arts Center.”
She could already see it in her mind, and her energy was charged with excitement and a little trepidation. Only natural, she told herself. “I’m going to need to hire a crew so you’d better put your money where your mouth is.”
Her reply had sent him into fits of laughter. “We’ve got you covered.”
Shortly thereafter, Bets had walked down from her cottage to tell Kathleen how delighted she was by the change in plans. Linc had texted her, of course. As the setting sun turned a brilliant red over the emerald hills outside her cottage, they’d enjoyed a celebratory whiskey from the bottle Bets had brought in a gift bag. They’d shaken their heads over Linc and his big ideas, but in the end, they’d agreed they wouldn’t want him any other way.
Kathleen’s impulse had been to find Declan after he got off work, but she’d resisted it, knowing he had training. To interrupt it would be rude. She would want him to respect her time and work, wouldn’t she? So she did what she’d never have imagined doing.
She called Sorcha, wondering if the woman would come, and sure as hell, she had, appearing in her tiny cottage after Bets had left. The woman had assured her she’d deliver her message—and then vanished into thin air.
Her brothers and father still didn’t know about her decision, and she’d given plenty of thought to how to tell them. Her pop was clearly on board, and she imagined her brothers would be too, in the end. But it wasn’t a conversation she wanted to rush into. They would have questions, and right now, she didn’t need to take on any more tough guys.
Declan was plenty.
Only he didn’t look so tough when he finally knocked on her door shortly after ten. He looked exhausted standing in the meager light from the rising full moon overhead.
“You’re using Sorcha to deliver messages now?” he asked with a dry note to his usually steady voice.
In the shadows, she couldn’t see his face or tell what he was thinking. “You’re here, aren’t you? Declan—”
“Is it true?” he asked, his hand wrapping around her arm and pulling her against him.
She was half-in and half-out of the cottage, she realized, as she gazed into his serious face. This time she didn’t need to ask what he meant. The hoarseness of his voice told her all. “Yes, I’m staying.”
His other arm gripped her so she was locked against him. His gaze seemed to rake over her face. “And you want this?”
She pressed closer. “Yeah, God help us. You in, Ace?”
His mouth tipped up at the right, the first break in the granite angles of his face. “I’m for it. Kathleen, I can’t seem to want anything but you. If I come in now…”
Her belly liquified with pure lust. “I want you to come in.”
“But you called me Ace just now.” He locked gazes with her, his blue eyes molten. “Ask me inside, and when you do, say my name.”
God, that was hot. Desire coursed through her. “Declan, please come inside. Now.”
He came inside and kicked the door closed, his hands banding around her waist. “I like it when you use my name. Kathleen, I’m not going to be able to go slow the first time.”
An agonized laugh spurted out. “Who’s asking you to? I should be the one asking you about your bruises. DoIneed to go slow?”
“I’ll die if you do.”
