Page 12 of Over Verdant Irish Hills

Her eyes turned midnight. He wasn’t hungry for food right now, and they both knew it. Something told him neither of them were.

“Wednesday seems an awfully long time away, doesn’t it? Are you sure you don’t want to come in?”

He leaned over and kissed her slowly on the lips until they both gave a low murmur. “Not a chance. I want it to be super special. When we finally come together, there will be no force on earth strong enough to pull me away from you.”

She touched his jaw, her caress all too fleeting. “Me either. I’ll see you Wednesday, cowboy.”

He made himself step away from her. Otherwise, he was going to snatch her up and kiss her senseless again. “Count on it. Night, Bets.”

“Night, Linc,” she said softly.

The longing in her voice stayed with him as he left her. It was a longing he shared. As he drove home, he thought of all the things they shared—a love for travel, art, and adventure. She made him laugh, and he was pretty sure he tickled her pink. Then there was Paris, a city they both loved.

Which got him to thinking…

He’d waited a long time to please Bets O’Hanlon, and please her he would.

Linc Buchanan was going to pull out all the stops.

That was what a man did for the woman he loved.

CHAPTERFIVE

Rain scattered down the window, as scattered as her thoughts. Bets sat in the car with Liam as he navigated the wet winding roads. Her son was talking about something at work—at least she thought that was what he was saying.

Shewastrying to pay attention to their conversation, but it was Wednesday morning. Ever since Linc had shown up at her front door with one of her favorite meals, she’d been positively dreamy, so infatuated that she might as well be a teenager writing hearts in her school notebook. When were they going to meet? They hadn’t made official plans. Was she just going over there? Would he come to her again?

“Mum, did you hear anything I said?” Liam asked as he made another backcountry turn. “I can’t wait to show you this old cottage I’ve been painting. I know how much you love the ones with the cottage gardens.”

She was such a sucker for good gardens, but at the moment she had the attention span of a toddler. “When in the world did you have the time to work on a cottage? I thought you were too busy building more sheds for the arts center.”

“I have good time management skills,” Liam said as he slowed down at a blind curve. “You seem distracted. Something on your mind?”

Like she was going to tell her son what she had on her mind—sex, sex, sex.It probably wasn’t appropriate. “Nothing beyond the usual.”

He smirked.

She made a face back. “The arts center. The state of the world. You.”

“I’m good, Mum, and so is the arts center, but the world is in serious jeopardy.” He flashed her a rakish smile. “We’re almost there. Why don’t you shut your eyes and take a rest? You look tired.”

Shewastired. How was she supposed to sleep when all she could think about was spending time with Linc? Her head was in the clouds while her body burned like a furnace.

“Good idea.” She probably should stock up on sleep while she had half a chance.

When the car pulled to a halt, she slowly opened her eyes and gasped. Linc was standing outside her window, grinning from ear to ear. She blinked at him before giving him an answering smile. Then he was opening her door. She wanted to run into his arms, but shock stalled her because as soon as she stumbled out into the light rain, she realized where they were.

The airport!

His private plane was in the background, the door wide open above the metal stairway. Memories flashed through her head from their firstnot-a-datetogether in Paris—the plane ride, the candlelit dinner, how she’d been so conflicted because it’d felt more like a date than any date she’d ever been on. Now she could look back and see that she’d felt so discombobulated because she’d already felt drawn to her cowboy. According to him, he’d felt the same way that night. They were coming full circle, it seemed.

“You’re kidding,” she said, mostly not to be presumptuous.

“No, ma’am.” He put his hand on her arm for a moment. “Good to see you, Bets. Thanks for driving her out, Liam. I owe you one.”

Her son was humming as he exited the car. “I packed a bag for you, Mum.”

She watched as he pulled out a small black carry-on from the trunk and wheeled it around. Linc capably took it and clapped her son on the back, all man stuff. She could see the budding respect and friendship between them, which gave her a crazy rush of gooey feelings.

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