Chapter 14
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
R ory touched her tender lips as she stared at herself in the bathroom mirror.
Yes, she should be getting ready for bed, but instead she wanted to relive in technicolour detail every second of this most perfect and wondrous day.
Of that most perfect and wondrous kiss. Any doubts she had about his feelings or intentions were answered in that moment downstairs when his lips had touched hers.
Had she ever felt such heady delight? Never.
And while she hadn’t exactly combusted, her knees had felt weak and she’d needed his arms around her, as emotion had ignited deep within.
Oh yes, this sense of connection did feel quick.
But better this than the sense of uncertainty she’d felt before.
Now, it felt like a petal had unfurled giving a glimpse of the beautiful life that lay within grasp.
And while moving to Australia for a job—okay, and yes, a man—might seem extreme, people had done less for love.
Love? She touched her lips again. This feeling wasn’t love, was it? Perhaps it was.
And perhaps this was yet another element of the Fairall legacy, where Cupid’s arrow struck and stuck fast, and nobody could dislodge it.
Was this how her father had felt upon meeting her mother?
Regret panged that she couldn’t ask him, one of the many things she could no longer ask her father about.
She could ask Colin, she supposed, but that was fraught with challenges, so it was probably best that nobody in her family knew just yet.
Not that she could see a way that they would come around…
She turned away, unbuttoned the top button of her blouse when someone banged on the bathroom door. And seeing as there was only one person who would bang on the bathroom door, at this time of night, she braced and opened it. “Ash, I’m trying to have a shower, and I really don’t appreciate—”
“You kissed him!”
Rory covered her mouth. People could tell?
Her sister’s eyes were wide. “There! I suspected, but you just proved it. You did, didn’t you?”
She faced the mirror again. “I would really like a shower. It’s been a long day.”
“This day is going to take even longer unless you answer my question.”
She had a sinking feeling that was true.
“Did you or did you not kiss Aidan Quinn?”
She bit back a smile. “Well, technically I think he kissed me—”
“I don’t care about technicalities! You participated and enjoyed it. I can tell.”
“You should be a detective with these skills you’ve got.”
“Maybe I should, because then I could find all the cheaters.”
“I haven’t cheated. And he hasn’t either.” He didn’t have a girlfriend, surely. Except, maybe, now her. Her heart tingled.
“You did cheat. You’re consorting with the enemy.”
Oh, she’d done a lot more than just consort. Her cheeks gave away her thoughts, streaking pink.
“Oh my gosh.”
“I don’t know why you’re so concerned about this.”
“Because he’s a hotel guest . He’s Australian. And he’s the enemy, in case you’ve forgotten. Which clearly you have. How could you spend all day with that man?”
“He’s nice,” she protested.
“He’s trying to steal our family’s land.”
“I don’t think he is, not really.”
“Oh my goodness, you’ve got it bad. Do I need to remind you that a few days ago you were so upset with him that steam was coming out of your ears?”
“I don’t think it was actually coming out of my—”
“And you’re the one who called an emergency meeting looking for a solution in how to deal with this situation.”
She pressed her lips together. Explaining all of this to her family would be fun if this was Aisling’s reaction.
“You need to watch out for him, Rory. What if he’s doing all this just to butter you up?”
Hurt creased her chest. “You don’t think a man would like me without having an ulterior motive?”
“I’m not saying that,” her sister said, hugging her. “You’re a fabulous human being, we all know that, and any man would be lucky to have you like him. It’s just awfully sudden. On both of your sides, if I’m being honest.”
Was now the time to finally share about that lightning bolt of attraction she’d met upon their first meeting? “Actually…”
“Actually what?” Her sister frowned. “Don’t tell me you’ve been hiding your feelings behind fake outrage.”
She bit her lip.
“Oh my gosh, you have!”
“Shh, don’t wake up Mam.”
“Don’t you go saying things that might make me want to wake up Mam. Are you saying you’ve liked him all this time?”
Rory shook her head. “I didn’t expect it, but when I first saw him I felt this kind of instant connection, like my soul recognised him as being…”
“As being what?” Aisling asked suspiciously.
She swallowed. “As being mine.”
“Oh my gosh, oh my gosh. You sound just like Colin.” Her sister’s hands floated to clasp her cheeks. “Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”
She winced, then nodded.
“Let me be clear,” her sister went on. “You’re saying that the Fairall legacy works for us girls, too?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know if I can truly say that until we’ve spent more than just one day together, but yes, I really feel like he’s the one.”
“Oh my goodness. This must be serious. You’ve never been one for making ‘He’s the one’ type comments, have you?”
“No.”
Aisling’s eyes widened. “So excuse me while I have a selfish second, but does this mean I will have that moment one day, too?”
“Maybe. If it ends up being real.”
“Oh please. You might’ve tried to hide it, but I could tell there was something different about you. Oh wow. I can’t believe this. And tell you what, I can’t believe that Fiona has never felt that way either.” Aisling’s head tilted. “Do you think she has and just hasn’t told us?”
“I can’t think she’d be that good at hiding it all these years.”
“Hmm. Well, let’s not worry about her, especially if she doesn’t seem to be too concerned about us. So back to you. If this is real, then what are you going to do?”
Rory sighed. “I was thinking I should at least check out his LinkedIn profile.”
“Ooh, great idea. I’m going to do some detective work while you have your shower.”
“Hey, don’t go digging up too much.”
“Oh, you can trust me.” Aisling flashed a grin, then shut the door.
Oh, she certainly could. Trust her to meddle unnecessarily.
By the time she finished her shower—one of the quickest in living memory—and dried and dressed she was impatient to learn what her sister had discovered. No way did she trust her sister not to go poking around the internet.
And sure enough, when she went back to her room it was to find Aisling sitting on her bed, laptop in hand, grinning.
“Well, I’ve got good news and bad news. Do you want the good news first?”
“Tell me the bad.”
“Okay, the bad is something awful. Now you should brace yourself for this. Did you know that his dad killed his mother, and his dad died in prison?”
She nodded. “He told me that tonight.”
“He did? Oh. I was sure he wouldn’t want people knowing about that.”
“He said he doesn’t like to talk about it, but he wanted to be honest with me.”
“Wow. Well, good for him.”
“He said that was part of what’s motivated him to want to work with domestic violence victims.”
“That’s what he does for a living?”
“Your internet research didn’t reveal that?” she asked sarcastically.
Aisling shrugged. “It mentioned he works for a law firm, and does some volunteer work with vulnerable communities. I guess that counts.”
“Did you look at his LinkedIn profile?”
“What do you take me for?”
“You didn’t?”
“I did. Well, I was about to and then I thought I should wait for you.”
Just as well.
Aisling passed the computer over to her. “Here it is. I’ll let you do the honours.”
“What was the good news you mentioned before?”
“Oh, just the fact he does seem to be who he says he is. Like, he has a real job. And lives where he says he does. And has a sister. I saw a picture on Facebook—his sister really should adjust her privacy settings—but I found the cutest one of him and a little girl.”
“His niece, probably. Was she dressed in ballet clothes?”
“How did you know?”
“He told me about her too.”
“Huh. Well, maybe he is the real deal.” Aisling nudged her. “Come on. What does his LinkedIn profile say?”
Rory clicked it open, then studied the information. Yes, just as he’d said, it all lined up with what he’d told her. “I think he’s legitimate.”
“Let’s look up where he works, see if we can find anything about that.”
“Okay.” She got her own laptop while Aisling tapped away.
It might be now way past her bed-time, especially given the kind of day she’d had, but this was also kind of fun, working with her sister, finding out more about the man she’d shared such an epic kiss with. She sighed.
“If you’re sitting there thinking about him, then I don’t want to know.”
“Come on. You’re sitting there thinking about him because you’re busy looking him up online.”
“That’s entirely different. I’m researching, making sure he’s safe enough for you to fall in love with.”
It felt a little too late for that.
She soon found his workplace, and a news site search found some articles that mentioned him. Not many, but enough to know he was doing what he said and trying to help others.
Far more interesting however, was looking him up on social media, and seeing his name mentioned in occasional pictures and posts on his sister’s Facebook and Instagram.
There was a picture of an elderly lady as well, who she imagined must be the grandmother.
The grandmother who had started this whole quest. Her heart tensed.
Aisling leaned over. “Is that his granny?”
“I think so.”
“She looks sweet.”
That she did.
“But she can’t be so sweet if she’s sent him all the way over here.”
True.
“Rory, how is this going to work?”
“Work?”
Aisling turned to her. “You and him. A relationship.”
“Well, you need to give us a minute, but probably like anyone else who is long distance. We email and call and message and video and one day visit.”