Page 68 of The Bossy One

He held out his hand. “Shall we join them?”

“Oh, I don’t…some of these people really know what they’re doing.”

He laughed. “I won’t make you step dance, if that’s what you’re afraid of. Come on,a ghrá. Dance with me.”

I slipped my hand into Declan’s and let him pull me toward the bonfire. As we approached, the musicians finished their frenzied reel and slipped into something slower and softer. A middle-aged woman with a wineglass in her hand sat down next to the musicians and started singing something sad and lilting in Gaelic.

Declan pulled me into his arms. I looped my hands behind his neck, and we swayed together in the flickering firelight.

“What’s this song about?” I asked. “It sounds so sad.”

“It’s an old trad tune about Fionn and Sadhbh. They sing it every year.”

I leaned against him, liking the possessive, protective feel of his hands on my waist. “It sounds so much sadder than the movie feels.”

“Most of the song is about the end of the tale,” Declan explained. “The part where the dark wizard shows up when Fionn is away at war. He turns Sadhbh back into a deer, and Fionn never sees her again, no matter how hard he searches.”

“That was my least favorite part of the movie,” I said. “She finally found a home, and then it was ripped away from her.”

“It’s not all bad,” Declan said, smiling down at me. “He finds a fawn in the woods and recognizes it as their child. And when the child comes home, the spell is broken again, and they live happily together.”

“But what about Sadhbh?” I pointed out. “We don’t even find out what happens to her. We just know she loses her home, and her man, and finally her child.”

“Shhh, love.” Declan cupped my cheek. “It’s just a story.”

I didn’t realize I was upset until I felt his calming touch against my skin.

I closed my eyes briefly. “I know. I’m being silly. I just wish she had a happier ending.”

“Then let’s give her one.” He spun me out, then brought me back close into his arms. “She escapes the wizard and builds her own home. When she steps over the threshold, she becomes a human again. And this time, the wizard can’t touch her ever again because she carries her home in her heart.”

“What about love? Does Fionn find her again?” I asked.

“Does she want him to?” Declan asked. His eyes were piercing in the twilight. I felt like we were talking about more than a made-up story.

Before I could answer, the song ended, and the music shifted again, this time something fast and jaunty. There was whooping and stomping from the other dancers, and before I knew it, Declan and I were pulled into a circle of dancers clasping hands and spinning faster and faster around the fire. The music soared, and the sky spun, and when everyone threw their hands in the air and let go of each other, I found myself falling back, dizzy.

Declan caught me easily with one arm behind my back and pulled me tight to his chest, laughing down at me.

I leaned against his chest to brace myself and felt his heart pounding under my fingertips.

“What’s that line from the movie? ‘Sir, you have stolen my breath.’”

Declan dropped his voice into a comical brogue. “‘Fair play, for you have stolen my heart.’”

“‘Then steal a kiss, my lord, for it is yours,’” I said cheekily, feeling pretty proud of myself for remembering the line. The words didn’t actually make sense when you thought about it—if it was his already, then it wasn’t stealing—but the phrasing certainly rolled off the tongue.

Declan looked at me, eyes dancing. And then without warning, he dipped me backward in a swoony kiss, just like in the movie.

At first I clutched at his shoulders, laughing against his mouth as people around us whooped and cheered. But as his lips lingered against mine, and I realized he wasn’t going to drop me, I felt myself relaxing into his arms. Relaxing into him. Trusting him.

The music changed again, to something dark and driving and romantic, with a drumbeat that matched my racing pulse. Declan straightened and pulled me out of the dip, so that we were both dancing together again. But now that we’d found our way back to each other, we couldn’t seem to keep our lips apart for long. I felt as hot and hungry as the fire blazing at my back.

Declan brought his mouth to my ear. “Come home with me, Olivia,” he said, his voice husky. “‘Be kind to your man.’”

I shivered, remembering what came after that particular movie line…and understanding exactly what Declan was asking me.

“Yes,” I breathed. “God yes.”

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