Chapter Thirty-Eight Isla
W hile the others went back home to Boston, Quinn took me to Belfast to meet his mother and to see where he’d grown up. Since it was my first time out of the country, I’d wanted to drag him to all the tourist sites, but with my classes, I only had a long weekend to be away. Quinn promised to bring me back in the summer.
When we’d arrived at his house, or I should say mansion since it was bigger than the one in Boston, I’d been a rambling, nervous wreck. Although she’d been as friendly as she could be during our one phone call, I’d worried the staunchly Catholic woman would change her tune and look down on me for being a dancer in Quinn’s club.
While Quinn got our luggage, he nudged me forward to go on to the front door. Before I could make it up the path, Orla Kavanaugh came to greet me. “Hi, it’s good to see you again. Or I should say in person,” I began before she threw her arms around me and swept me into a warm embrace.
Tears pricked the back of my eyelids at the intensity of the emotions swirling through me. Hugging her was like receiving one of my own mother’s hugs. I’d missed them so very much in the last two years.
When she pulled away, there were tears in her eyes. “Don’t you look like Cliodna herself,” she mused.
I smiled. “That’s what Quinn calls me.”
She cupped my face with her hands. “I can’t tell you how happy you’ve made me to see my son so happy.”
“But he came to you so broken-hearted.”
“Aye, he did. But that’s in the past. The look on his face just now as he stepped out of the car warmed me from head to toe.” She winked at me. “It was pure bliss etched on his face.”
“I hate that I hurt him. I want nothing more than to make him happy for the rest of my life.”
“Aye, you have and you will continue to, sweet girl.” She wagged a finger at me. “Just don’t let him walk all over you.”
I laughed. “Don’t worry. I won’t.”
“Good. I’m glad to see you’re going to be as strong as Caterina when it comes to my sons.”
At that moment, Quinn appeared with our suitcases. “Let me guess. You’re talking absolute shite about me already.”
“We’re doing no such thing,” Orla huffed.
“You haven’t told her to keep a firm hand on me?” he mused.
“Perhaps,” she replied while winking at me.
“I don’t mind admitting Isla has me wrapped around her little finger and leads me around by the balls.”
My eyes widened in horror. “Quinn!” I admonished.
He merely chuckled before bestowing a kiss on my cheek. “Come on. Let’s get inside.”
“Are you hungry?” Orla asked.
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Starved,” Quinn replied.
“I made your favorite, Quinn.”
His eyes rolled back in his head. “I can’t wait.”
She smiled before turning to me. “I forgot to check in to see how yours turned out.”
Quinn snorted while I frowned. “It was terrible.”
“Oh no,” she replied while elbowing Quinn.
“You’re going to have to teach me how. I made such a mess of your recipe.”
“Don’t worry. You’ll learn.”
“I hope so.”
Orla slid her arm around my waist as we started in the house. “I hear you're ascientist.”
“Yes, ma’am. A microbiologist. I’m currently in graduate school.”
“My, that sounds like an important career.”
I smiled. “I like to think so.”
“I hope you can focus more on your studies now that you’re not dancing anymore.”
I froze. “You knew about me…dancing?”
“Quinn told me.”
I cut my eyes over to his. “He didn’t tell me that.”
“I think he was afraid I would make some scene. Like grabbing my rosary and praying for your immortal soul,” she teased.
“You can if you want. My late father was an Episcopal priest, so I’m sure he would’ve done the same.”
Orla laughed. “Oh honey, I don’t care about your past. You were doing it to take care of your family and put yourself through school. That’s truly noble.”
Tears once again filled my eyes. “That means a lot, and I thank you.”
She wagged a finger at Quinn. “With that said, don’t think that the two of you are going to be sharing a bed under my roof.”
“Mam,” Quinn groaned with a roll of his eyes.
“Not until you’re married.”
“We’ve just been reunited after a month apart.”
“Not under my roof.” She then made the sign of the cross before heading down the hallway.
Quinn exhaled a ragged breath. “Maybe we should stay in a hotel?” he suggested.
“I wouldn’t dream of insulting your mother like that.”
“Don’t act like you’re not horny for me.”
With a laugh, I countered, “I can abstain to please your mother.”
Quinn crossed his arms over his chest. “I didn’t think the lack of sex would start until after we were married.”
“If that’s a proposal, it needs work,” I mused before I started down the hallway to the kitchen.
I didn’t get far before Quinn grabbed my arm and spun me to him. The intensity of his stare caused my heartbeat to accelerate. “Say the word, and we’ll go down to the church after lunch.”
“You’re just saying that so you can fuck me in your mother’s house.”
He shook his head. “I’ve wanted to marry you since the first day I saw you.”
My eyes bulged. “You didn’t even know me.”
“I knew you were beautiful and kind. That was enough for me.”
“You’re serious about us getting married today?”
“Aye, I am.”
As I stared into his eyes, there was nothing more in the world that I wanted than to become his wife. “Yes, I’ll marry you, Quinn.” When his eyes lit up, I shook my head. “But not today.”
“Why not?” he demanded.
“Because I’m a girly girl who wants a big church wedding. I want to spend hours toiling bridesmaids dresses and which calligraphy to put on the invitations. I want to see you standing at the altar in your form-fitted tux. I want to dance with you under sparkling lights as man and wife.”
His lips curved in amusement. “You don’t want much, do you?”
“Oh, I also want a big, poofy designer dress and a rented antique tiara.”
“Jaysus, woman. You drive a hard bargain,” he teased.
“Do you think you can deliver all that?”
“Aye, I can and then some.”
“Oh my,” I murmured as he sank to one knee.
“Isla Grace Vaughn, will you overlook the fact that your beast of a boyfriend didn’t pull out all the stops to give you the over-the-top proposal you deserve and instead went with his heart?”
Tears overflowed my cheeks. “I will.”
“Will you do me the biggest honor of becoming my wife?”
“Yes, yes, a million times yes!” I cried before I threw my arms around him.
Quinn grabbed me by the nape of my neck and pulled my head to his. He slammed his lips against mine, causing me to moan. When he released my mouth, tears shone in his own eyes. “I love you, Little Dove. You’ve made me the happiest man in all of Ireland and the world.”
“I love you, too.”
“Tomorrow we’ll go to the jewelers, and you can pick the biggest diamond you can find.”
“Don’t tempt me,” I teased.
“We could still nip round to the church to be married and then have a big ceremony later in America.”
“Quinn,” I warned.
He groaned. “There’s two women in the world I fear: you and my mother. As much as I want to sneak into your room tonight, I know she’d kill me. But if I don’t have you, I’m going to explode.”
I giggled at the thought of Quinn fearing me and his mother. Then I thought about how close I came to losing him. How much pain I was in when we were apart. “All right. We can get married today on the condition that only your mother knows. Everyone else will believe our massive, over-the-top wedding is our first. Agreed?”
“Agreed.”
“I think you’re going to owe me live doves at the reception now as well as a live band”
He threw back his head with a laugh. “I agree with the doves, especially if they’re little like you.” He held out his hand to me. “Come on. Let’s go tell Mam the good news.”
“I hope she won’t think we’re doing this just to sleep with each other.”
“I think she’ll see it exactly as it is: two people so very madly in love they can’t wait another moment to be man and wife.”
“Even though they’ve only known each other barely four months,” I countered.
“Callum and Caterina knew each other for three days before they were married, and they were in love by six weeks. In the end, time isn’t a true measure.”
“It will be when we get to fifty years,” I said.
Quinn smiled down at me. “I can’t wait to spend the next fifty years with you, Little Dove. I can’t wait for you to become Dr. Kavanaugh. And when the time is right and we’re ready, I can’t wait for you to be the mother of my children.”
I took his hand and mine. “Let’s go and get married.”
“Married?” Orla shrieked from the kitchen doorway.
“Yes, married,” Quinn replied.
“Oh no. Not until we take care of a few things.”
“Such as?” Quinn questioned.
“Isla needs something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue.”
“My dress is new.” I smiled at Quinn. “Well, it’s the first time I’ve worn it since you took me shopping.”
“That should work,” Orla remarked. She then took off the pearls around her neck. “These can be your borrowed and your old.”
Waggling his brows, Quinn replied, “You could wear some blue knickers.”
Both Orla and I huffed an indignant breath at him. “Give me one minute to go grab a pair of sapphire earrings. They’ll look lovely with your dress.”
As Orla started up the stairs, Quinn drew me into his arms. “Instead of blue knickers, will you wear some green ones tonight?”
With a roll of my eyes, I said, “I didn’t come prepared with any lingerie when I was racing to get to you.”
“Then we’ll make a pit stop after the ceremony.”
“You’re a beast.”
“Aye, my beauty. That I am.”
As he brought his lips to mine, I sighed with pleasure. In that moment, I wasn’t silly enough to think we would live happily ever after. But I knew we would come pretty close.