Luck of the Irish: Complete Edition (11 page)

It was Declan’s turn to be quiet, considering what she had just said.

“I don’t know, Jen. I don’t want to rush things. It’s too soon to say if either one of us is in love or not.”

“Nobody rushes love. It just happens, sweetie.”

That phone conversation haunted Declan for the rest of the morning. At work, he was distracted. Even though, Harry and Màire had always gotten him covered, they were running out of patience.

“You’ve got to pull yourself together, man,” Harry said when Declan spilt the third drink over the counter. “Let me clean this mess up. Take some minutes out to cool off.”

Declan went to the employee lounge where Màire was taking her morning break.

“What have you done this time?”

He plopped down beside her on the couch and closed his eyes.

“Nothing.”

“Harry must be pissed off at you, if he’s sent you away.”

“How do you know he’s mad at me? Maybe I just needed some time.”

“On a busy morning like today? Forget about it. The bar’s packed but he preferred to stay alone, which means you must have really gotten to him. Come on. Spill it!”

Declan looked at his coworker, tempted to ask her advice. She was a good-looking, experienced woman. She could probably help him more than Jennifer because they hadn’t been romantically involved.

“Is it the American beauty, Declan? I’ve got to tell you, man. You haven’t been the same since she left.”

“Is it that obvious? Gosh!”

“Don’t be embarrassed. Everyone feels stupid when they’re in love.”

Declan rolled his eyes.
Enough with this bullshit! I’m not in love with a stranger
.

Not wanting to offend Màire, he kept his mouth shut. It was useless because she didn’t give him time to say anything. Her face got red and her eyes seemed to bore holes in his skull. She was also pissed off at him.

“And don’t you dare roll your eyes at me, mister! Maybe you don’t see it but there’s clearly something going on with you. You’ve changed. That’s a fact. Perhaps, you should take some time off to get to the bottom of this - whatever ‘this’ is,” Màire got up and stomped out of the room even though her break wasn’t over yet.

“Apparently, nobody wants me around today,” Declan mumbled.

He stayed in the lounge for a while longer, considering the advice she had given him before he had found the courage to ask for it.

What if they are right? What if I’m falling for Keira? What should I do? She’s too young and innocent. I have too much baggage. A lot of heartache and hurt in my past. Would I harm her beyond repair if I stuck around? Should I let her go before it’s too late?

* * * *

On the morning of her tenth day on the road, Keira woke up feeling depressed and exhausted. After that horrible nightmare, she hadn’t gotten much sleep. She crawled out of bed and dragged herself to the bathroom. She took a shower and thought about calling or texting Declan, if nothing else, for moral support. Feeling a little better after the shower, she changed her mind about texting Declan. She realized he would worry about her; and, since he was miles away, he could don’t do anything to help her.

As she went downstairs, she hoped she’d bump into Sylvia or John in the dining room. Since they were staying at the River Lee Hotel, she could use a couple of friends to cheer her up. Watching the stunning views through the glass windows from her table wasn’t working. When the waitress was serving her breakfast, Paul appeared at the doorway, and spotted her.

Walking over to her table, he had a big grin lighting up his handsome features

“Good morning, Keira. Do you mind if I join you?”

“No, not at all. Grab a seat.”

“So, what are your plans for today?’ he asked her, after he had sat and ordered his food.

“I haven’t planned anything for today, yet. I figured I’d do some shopping in the morning. Tomorrow, I’ll start my trip back to Dublin, so I’d better take it easy today.”

“Aren’t you going to meet with your friends?”

“I don’t know what Sylvia and John are doing. I haven’t talked to them today.”

“Oh, I didn’t mean these friends. I meant the ones you were supposed to meet with in Waterford. Remember?”

Keira looked puzzled. She had no idea what he was driving at. Before she could ask him what he meant, the waitress returned with his breakfast, and while she served Paul, it dawned on Keira. On the way from the Wilskinsons’ farm to Waterford, she had told Paul she would meet with friends there. She was a little afraid of him, then. Now that she got to know him better, the whole thing sounded silly. But, she didn’t want to offend him. She stretched the truth a little further.

“Oh, yeah! I remember, now. We had a great time there but they live in Waterford and couldn’t leave work to come to Cork with me. I’m very happy for having met Sylvia, John and you. Otherwise, I’d be alone here.”

She hid her face behind the steaming cup of coffee, hoping he’d think her red face was caused by heat from the beverage, not from her embarrassment. For a couple of minutes, Paul just stared at her and didn’t reply. She was starting to feel uncomfortable under his penetrating gaze when he smiled at her.

“Yes, of course. People have to work, right?” he also drank from his cup of tea but kept his eyes fixed on her face. For a split second, Keira thought his smile looked more like a smirk. His expression changed when he looked up and greeted John, who had just stopped by their table.

“Hey, man! How are you today? Would you like to join us?”

John and Sylvia sat down to have breakfast with them and Keira thought to herself.

Gosh! I’m on edge today. I’ve got to relax! I’m on vacation!

She did her best to calm down and ended up having a great time with her new three friends. John was a very funny man and Sylvia was a sweet lady. Keira already knew that but she was surprised to discover that Paul was a charming, intelligent man, as well. He and John got along very well and made Keira and Sylvia laugh so hard they couldn’t breathe.

“Oh, stop, please! I can’t take it any longer!” Sylvia begged her husband, still smiling and wiping the tears from her eyes.

“You’re killing me, here,” Keira added, putting her hand over her chest. “I can’t see straight. I’ve got tears in my eyes from laughing so hard at you, guys.”

“In that case, we’ll behave,” Paul replied with a playful wink. “You have a long drive back to Dublin, tomorrow. You’ll need to see straight.”

“Also, I have to cross out some items from my shopping list, today. If you’ll excuse me, guys, I need to leave you.”

“Oh, that’s a shame you have to go, honey.”

“Why don’t you come with me, Sylvia? I’d love some company.”

“I’d love to go with you. But, we’ve got to go on this tour we’ve already booked,” Sylvia patted John’s hand and smiled adoringly at her husband. It was clear that skipping the tour was not an option for her. “Why don’t you go shopping with Keira, Paul? Have you got any plans?”

“Actually, I don’t, Sylvia. If you’d like some company, Keira, I’d love to go shopping. I have to buy some souvenirs for my family, too.”

“Yeah, that’d be great, Paul,” Keira agreed. “Tell you what, I’ll go upstairs to grab my stuff while you finish your breakfast. We’ll meet in half an hour at the lobby. Deal?”

“It’s a date. See you,” he agreed.

Sylvia stood up and said, “John, I need to go up to our room. Take your time to finish your breakfast.”

“I will,” he winked at her.

Keira and Sylvia got inside the elevator and the older woman put her hand on Keira’s arm and squeezed it a little.

“I’m glad to see you’ve found a fine young man for yourself, Keira. I was worried about you when you left my house. You looked so sad. But now, you seem very happy.”

“What do you mean?” Keira was surprised at the comments because she hadn’t mentioned Declan to Sylvia.

“Paul, obviously. He’s quite a catch! Don’t tell me you’re not interested!”

“In fact, I’m not available,” she winked and held the elevator door to get out of it because when it reached her floor.

“Hmm, I see. There’s a boyfriend waiting for you back home, right? Good for you.”

“Yeah, something like that. See you later. Have a great day, sweetie.”

“You, too.”

Keira and Paul met at the hotel lobby and went for a stroll along St. Patrick’s Street – or ‘Pana’ as the locals call it. She admired the surrounding buildings; the curious, winding street. She had read somewhere that the street had been built over an arm of River Lee, which had resulted in its odd shape.

On a Saturday such as that, St. Patrick’s Street was bursting with people. Keira didn’t mind it, though. She had always loved watching people and in Ireland she could do that and hear their enchanting accent at the same time. She was walking on air.

They walked along the street for almost an hour as she bought things for her family: a silver and gold Triskele pendant on a delicate silver chain with matching earrings for her mother, a set of crystal wine glasses for her father, and a gorgeous designer purse for Megan.

After another half-hour or so, she hadn’t found anything for Declan. She had stopped at countless windows. Nothing had gotten her attention. She wanted to buy something special for him, but didn’t know what, exactly.

They walked around for a while longer browsing more windows. Keira was having a really hard time picking something up for him. In a street where one could literally find anything, she was on the verge of giving up when Paul stopped, turned to her and asked, “Don’t get me wrong here, Keira, I’m having a blast spending time with you. But, we’ve been in and out of all kinds of stores and you haven’t bought a thing. What exactly are you looking for now?”

“That's the thing, Paul. I don't know,” she scoffed.

“Is it for you? Do you want to buy souvenir from Ireland? There are many nice stores on the next block.”

“No, it’s not for me. It’s a gift for a friend.”

“Maybe I can help you out with it. Is this friend a man or a woman?”

“A man.”

“Young or old?”

“Around twenty-five, I guess,” she blushed a little and looked around to try to hide it from Paul’s piercing eyes. She had just realized she didn’t even know Declan’s age and wondered what else she didn’t know about him.

“Well, I’d dare say isn’t a very close friend, if you don’t know his age.”

“He’s a new friend.”

He raised an eyebrow at her, but didn’t reply. They walked further down the street and Keira still couldn’t decide what to buy.

“There are some good clothing stores across the street. Would you like to check them out?”

She nodded and they started towards the stores. Keira still hadn’t gotten used to crossing streets in Ireland, because the cars seemed to come from the wrong direction, in her opinion. She hadn’t wrapped her head around it yet.

“Watch out!” Paul shouted, his arm went around her tiny waist and held her close to his warm chest, as a bus sped by them. The wind created by the huge vehicle pushed both of them backwards for a step or two.

“Gosh! I would have been run over by that monster bus if you weren’t here with me,” she steadied herself by putting a hand on Paul’s chest before adding breathlessly, “Thank you.”

“If I weren’t here, Keira, you’d be paying more attention where you were going. I distracted you,” he held her in a loose embrace, staring into her eyes. “I’m sorry.”

“Come on, Paul. It’s not your fault.”

Keira stepped back and he didn’t try to hold her, although he looked disappointed.

“Can we agree to disagree on this one? Let’s find a gift for this friend of yours.”

He grabbed her hand as they crossed the street. She felt like a little girl but the protection he offered was not entirely a bad thing.

“Look, Keira. What about that sweater?” Paul suggested as they approached the fourth store.

“It’s very beautiful. I like it. Would you mind trying it on? I think you and Declan are about the same height and have roughly the same built.”

“Sure.”

“Thanks,” she sang with a wide grin as she laced her arm through his, holding it close to her body. “You’re a life-saver. Come! Let’s go inside.”

Keira had grown fond of Paul in the last couple of days. She was at ease with him, more than she had ever been around other men. When she was near Declan, for instance, she was on edge. She didn’t feel the same with Paul. That was probably why she had grabbed his arm like that, so intimately. Either Ireland was teaching her to loosen up a bit, like Megan had told her to do, or she liked Paul more than she had realized.

He came out of the fitting room wearing the sweater and it looked perfect on him. Keira noticed how the design on the burgundy Aran sweater showed off his broad shoulders and strong arms.

“I think that’ll do. Thank you, Paul.”

As they waited in line to pay for the sweater, Keira said, “You’re a life-saver, Paul. I know I said it before, but that’s true. I don’t know how I can thank you.”