Page 16 of Against Ebony Irish Seas

“You’re welcome. You and January are going to have sweet dreams tonight. Night, angel.”

Sophie watched him, her heart expanding, and their eyes met as he slowly rose, one long line of masculinity. “I’ll walk you out,” she offered. “Greta, jammies.”

“Yes, Mama.” She waved a final goodbye as they stepped outside.

Sophie left the door cracked but turned to look at Jamie in the harsh porch light. He had rugged angles to his face, the kind the artist in her wanted to draw, the kind the woman wanted to trace with her fingertips.

“I really don’t know how to thank you.”

“I told you there’s no need for thanks.” He shifted to block the glare from hitting her in the face. “You’ll stay as long as you need. As long as you want.”

The last part seemed laden with emotion. She swallowed thickly. “And clever you for knowing where to pick me up for our first date. When were you thinking that would be?”

He took a step closer, and this time she could see his eyes. “I know you’ll need someone to watch Greta.”

“Sandrine will still be helping—”

“And then I got to wondering, with you two so newly arrived, if you were worried about being parted from her,” he continued, his mouth a serious line now.

“For a few hours?” she asked in shock. “God, I hope not. Wait! Is that a trick question? Like a bad mother question?”

“Not at all.” He shifted again, the light playing off his face. “I want to ask you out tomorrow night, but—”

“Perfect! You can pick me up at seven after Greta’s bath. Sound okay?”

“Sounds grand.” He took her hand, and she was struck how much bigger it was than her own. “Sophie, I’m— I’m really glad you’re here.”

The near stutter was downright romantic. She impulsively leaned up and kissed him on the cheek. “That’s for everything so far. Good night, Jamie.”

“Night,” he said softly before wandering off into the night.

She waited until she was inside to wrap her arms around herself and close her eyes.

The last person she’d fallen for was Franz, and that was so long ago it was like it had happened to someone else. Divorce did that to a person. It stripped away all the good memories unless you sifted through the rubble for them.

But that feeling was back and bigger than ever, like the sun as it rises over the ocean at dawn. She’d wondered since she was a kid why it looked so much larger in the morning, but that was how it felt in relationships. There was so much promise in the beginning. Everything seemed bigger and more beautiful.

She wanted it to stay that way.

CHAPTERFIVE

Luck was on his side.

No one was at Summercrest when he arrived, the old manor so dark and creepy, his arms broke out in gooseflesh. His friends were obviously still enjoying themselves at Bets’ house, no notion of coming home yet. He reminded himself he would be staying at a place that had terrified him since childhood for a good cause. But as he neared the door, something white flashed in front of him out of nowhere and yelled, “Boo.”

He staggered backward, stepping off the sidewalk and nearly losing his balance. He clutched the bag he’d packed to his chest as stars danced in his vision. “Dammit, Sorcha!”

“But you didn’t faint,” she said, laughing. “I think you’re officially cured. Now, I’m here to show you there’s nothing to be scared of here.”

He glared at her as he set his feet. “Your sense of irony stinks.”

“And I wanted to congratulate you on asking Sophie out as fast as a March hare.” The front door suddenly opened unbidden. “Come inside.”

How she’d managed that, he didn’t want to know. He remembered that used to happen here when he was a kid—doors opening unbidden, the flickering of candlelight inside even though no one lived there, and the feeling of someone touching his shoulder as he stood terrified in the courtyard, waiting for his friends to return after he’d fled to what he’d hoped was safer ground. “You’re not making this any easier, you know.”

“Well, turn some lights on, silly,” she chided. “Iopened the door.”

He almost walked back to his car. He could stay with Carrick and Angie, but that would be cowardly. He could do this. Sorcha was the only thing he could see inside the manor’s pitch-dark hall before he flicked on the lights. “You could be an exhibit for a school showing. Why do you glow in the dark?”

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