Ten
No, Lilly shouldn’t have given in.
Yes, she was supposed to only talk to him.
She had reminded herself over and over while heading to his room that they were not to end up in bed again, but the more she listened to Quinn talk about his mother, Maggie, the more his eyes glistened, the more he read aloud from her diary, the more Lilly felt drawn to him. For a moment there, she’d almost told him that Maggie Phillips had been responsible for the breakup of her parents in the early days, but she’d used every ounce of her soul not to. This man was mourning the loss of his mother. Last thing she wanted to do was tarnish any sparkling thoughts he had of her.
Mom might drive her crazy every now and then, but at least she still had her around. Quinn had lost his forever. Watching him defend his mother, Lilly realized that his heart brimmed with soul, with love. He was a mama’s boy, a mother’s firstborn, and he missed her.
Something took hold of her.
While last night’s encounter had been driven by hardcore passion and desire, today’s was gentler. More than anything, she wanted to hold and comfort him, tell him it would be alright. Knowing Quinn for only such a short time, she was still convinced his mother had known how much she was loved—he could be at peace. But it didn’t come out with words exactly. Lillian was never good at putting together just the right sentiments, so she showed him by breaking down, cradling his head against her heart, letting him hold her tightly, and giving him the comfort he seemed to desperately need.
She didn’t expect anything in return. Quinn had already given her so much. Whenever she was around Quinn, she felt confident, adored, and understood. It seemed that every time she opened her mouth, he stopped whatever he was doing to listen. His eyes focused on her when she spoke. He made her feel like she was the most talented and beautiful woman in the world. She was grateful for the chance to be with him again, determined to enjoy every moment she could with this sweet man before they had to part.
Mellie and Cook would wonder where the hell she’d snuck off to when she’d told them she was only taking a five-minute break (something she normally wouldn’t have done until all the muffins, scones, and brioches were done and served), but she hadn’t been able to wait another minute to talk to him.
She’d had to hear Quinn’s side of the story.
Without meaning to, she was now caught on the loyalty fence with one foot on her mother’s side. Quinn’s mother had broken apart her mom and dad early on, so Mom wouldn’t be too happy knowing her daughter was consorting with the little wench’s son. But then there was Quinn. Had they never met up at Mulligan’s and gone home together last night, things might be clearer in her mind, but they had, and now she felt a connection to him she couldn’t shake. Quinn was a good guy with a good heart.
And damned sexy too.
They made love easily, slowly underneath the sheets, face-to-face, quietly so no one would hear them out in the hall, and truth be told, it was almost as if she’d known him much longer than two days. His body and hands struck a balance between familiarity and discovery. She felt like she was getting to know him while also sensing she’d known him forever. How was that possible? She’d definitely have to be careful not to fall any further for him. Already, his touch and kisses were becoming indelible in her mind, and his hands knew exactly what her body needed, as though she’d shown him herself. But how could he possibly?
Seeing him hovering over her during daylight, he took on a new, crystal-clear aura. Without the slight influence of alcohol and the dreamy canvas of the star-studded night sky, everything about him was vibrant and sharply-defined. His deep brown eyes shone clearly underneath thick brows, his trembling body glistened with a fine mist in the light, and his half-open mouth muttered shiny words about how gorgeous she was, how utterly perfect, how he couldn’t resist, and how they should take advantage of every moment they had together while he was here. Because soon—they’ll have crossed paths and never see each other again.
This time was much slower, much more about exploring, about touching, raking her fingers down his chest, his stomach, feeling the muscle underneath his skin. She’d never touched a body so taut and athletic before. Bodies like his only appeared on TV, books, or magazines, but now, he was here with her, and she couldn’t believe how beautiful he was.
Quinn was fascinated by her, too, though she couldn’t understand why. A man like him could have any woman he wanted. She could just imagine Irish women all over the world appearing at his rugby games, waiting afterwards for a chance to give him their numbers, or going home with him to see if he looked just as good outside his uniform as he did in it. And yet, he gazed at her body as though it’d been fashioned by angels. His hands cupped her breasts, and his fingers dug in gently and roved over her form as though molding her out of clay.
She might have even cried, as his head bowed and his cheek brushed hers, as his body rhythmically, deliciously crushed against her. Lilly had no trouble climaxing like she sometimes did when she was alone, which was all the time. With Ben, she’d always had to figure it out herself afterwards. He’d never had the patience to wait for her. The waves rolled right off her and through her, encouraging Quinn to do the same, and he did, spilling into the condom he’d hastily put on then collapsing in an airy sigh. Even the weight of his body felt familiar to her, and her arms wrapped around his warm body as she relished the moment, since she might never feel it again.
I don’t want to leave, she thought as she lay in his arms. If I let myself, I’d say to hell with Miami and beg him to stay and take a chance on us. But that was ludicrous, of course. They’d known each other two days. She’d end up regretting it; they both would. Their timing sucked, because as strong as the pull was between them, they both needed to explore and fulfill the passions they had outside of the bedroom first. Who knew? Maybe their paths would cross again and they’d have another chance. If it was meant to happen, it would, right?
Closing her eyes, she took a long breath, blew it out, then said, “I should probably go downstairs before they come looking for me.”
Pulling back, he stared into her eyes for a few seconds, then kissed the tip of her nose. “Until we meet again then?”
She smiled. “Hopefully sooner than later.”
A minute later, she sat on the edge of the bed, watching him finish getting dressed and tuck his mother’s journal under his arm. “I’ll look for you later,” he said, stroking his finger underneath her chin. “Going to see the bookstore and the flower shop Mam wrote about. Maybe find that bridge she talked about so much, but she didn’t exactly leave me a map.”
Lilly said nothing. She knew where that bridge was—it had been a special place for Lilly and her father to take morning walks to see the creek—but for some reason, she couldn’t bring herself to divulge its secrets to Quinn. She nodded, smiling sadly. “Wish I could go with you, but I’ve work still to do.”
“No worries. I need the alone time anyway.” They stepped into the hall. He kissed her softly, then headed toward the front door while she headed toward the kitchen. When she glanced back at him, he was turning back a moment to see her too.
They both smiled.
In the early evening, after she’d tended to her garden, Lilly sat at her laptop, trying to remind herself that she’d had a life before Quinn O’Neill came to town. What was it again? Ah, yes, furthering her baking career by entering a contest without her mother and all of Forestville knowing. There was something powerful about having a secret that no one, not even the town’s gossip queen, Avery Benson, knew about. As if to remind her, her email chimed, and for once, it wasn’t from Bed, Bath, Beyond, Bath Body Works, or Williams Sonoma touting its deals of the week. It was from Guy Santoli, head pastry chef of L’Appetite Boulange:
Mio caro, Lilly!
We are delighted to welcome you into our boulangerie and patisserie family! My assistant, Lola, will be setting you up with accommodations in a lovely Brickell apartment in beautiful Miami, Florida and sending you pertinent information for your residency. Please come ready on October 16th to pour your heart and soul into this wonderful opportunity. I was delighted with your baked treats and cannot wait to meet you in person! If you have any questions, do not hesitate to call L’Appetite Boulange at (305) 555-9270.
See you soon!
Guy Santoli
“Oh, my God. It’s really happening,” Lilly muttered at the bright screen. She’d be leaving in less than three weeks. It was truly a moral imperative that she break the news to her mother, so she could find a baking replacement in time, but oh, my God—she was going!
She stood and danced a little jig around the room, but no sooner did she feel like running out of the building to tell Quinn about the email did she slowly sink onto her comforter like a deflated balloon. How ironic was it, that the moment she got a call giving her the wonderful news, no sooner did she receive an email welcoming her to Guy Santoli’s inner circle, than a wonderful man strolled into town—one who might actually be perfect for her.
It was cruel and unfair timing.
Which only made her want to take advantage of her sparse time with him even more. While half her brain nagged that it might not be the best decision—God forbid you fall for him right before you have to leave him—the other half said things like, Fuck it. Go have fun with him while you can!
Before she could change her mind, she changed into jeans and a long-sleeved T-shirt, slunk her arms into a nice, comfy wool sweater and bounded downstairs. Quinn had said he was going to drive around town visiting places his “mam” had mentioned in her diary, but when she pressed her nose against the stairwell window, craning her neck for a view of the parking lot, she saw his rental car was back.
Downstairs, she knocked on his door and waited. She knocked again, thinking how much her mother would kill her if she saw Lilly disturbing the guests, especially these guests. There was a groan and a shuffling noise, and then the door clicked open, and holy hell, Quinn’s brother, Con, was gorgeous in his own lanky, green-eyed, bare-chested right. If she were a saucier woman, she’d have thrown caution to the wind and taken them both.
“So you’ve settled on the better-looking brother, have you? Finally came to your senses.” Con raised one arm against the door frame and yawned into his bicep.
“I’m…uh…so sorry to disturb you. I thought maybe Quinn was here,” Lilly said, averting her eyes to gaze down the hallway then discovering that her eyes had a mind of their own, as they sprung back to Con, standing there in his boxers and nothing else. Obviously he had a bit less modesty than his older brother when it came to answering his door, but didn’t these Irish boys ever sleep naked? Wouldn’t it be nice if they ever answered the door full monty?
“Sweetheart, I’m already disturbed, so no worries there, and…my brother, eh?” Con raised his brows and nodded cheekily. “So you prefer boring, wimpy men then. It’s alright, Lilly. Your secret’s safe with me.” He smiled a rascally grin that reminded her of Han Solo from all the Star Wars movies her father used to make her watch when she was little.
When Quinn had read from his mother’s journal, and then mentioned Ken, her father, her eyeballs had almost popped out. Yet she’d failed to say anything, not only to protect Quinn from knowing what Lilly’s mother thought of Maggie Phillips stealing her man, but also to protect her memories of her father. She could only imagine what Quinn’s mom might have said in her journal to justify throwing Lilly’s father over for Grant O’Neill. Truthfully, she didn’t have to imagine too hard. Her father hadn’t been overly passionate or funny or adventurous. He’d been on the nerdy side, no doubt about it. But Lilly and her mother hadn’t cared. Because while her father had often been serious and quiet and socially awkward, he’d also been warm and giving and tried to show them everyday how much they were loved. Yet now, Lilly had to admit, she’d always sensed on some level that her father had been waiting for something, or someone, to return. She’d dismissed the feeling as nonsense, but knowing what she did now, she could see how her mother, sensing that same thing, would have been cut to the bone.
“Lil?”
The sound of Con’s voice startled her back to the present. “Sorry. It’s just, Quinn mentioned a few spots he planned on visiting but I saw your rental car. Do you know where he went?”
Con studied her more intently, as if he could draw out the truth of Lilly’s feelings for his brother with the strength of his mind. Then his expression cleared and he was back to being his laid-back self. “Probably brooding in a corner or skulking somewhere. I’m sure if you play a violin loud enough, he might find his way to you.” Con yawned again and tapped the door frame. “I really have to get back to bed, though. I’m bushed. You’re still in time to change your mind. Oh! And this might belong to you…” He ambled over to the nightstand, plucked something off, and handed her a tiny silver hooped earring.
She felt both ears and indeed found one earring to be missing. Her ears also felt warm and flushed. “Wow, thanks. That’s not embarrassing at all.” She laughed nervously.
“No worries. See you later, Lil.” He flashed a sexy smile then closed the door.
“Jesus,” Lilly muttered under her breath and headed to the living room. One sweeping glance around confirmed the Delfinos sitting on a couch by the bay window and a gay couple from Phoenix sharing tea across from them. She waved at everyone then retreated to the kitchen. Doing her best to blend in, evade Mellie’s questions and act like she wasn’t doing anything special, she packed her small picnic basket, a couple of lemonades from their guest fridge, and headed out, wondering, briefly, if Quinn would even be happy to see her if she were to run into him.
Finding him was easy. He was sitting on the front stoop, reading his mother’s journal. “Hey!” Lilly said breezily, as though she hadn’t been looking for him everywhere.
He looked up, pleasantly surprised. “How’s the craic?”
“The craic is great! How’s your craic? I mean…”
Quinn stood, gazed down at her, and for a moment, her stomach flipped, thinking he wasn’t going to acknowledge their history, as brief as it was. But he smiled, whipped her into a long hug that felt both intimately breathtaking and comforting at the same time, and whispered, “Been thinking about you.”
Relief washed through her. He wasn’t going to pretend they hadn’t made love twice.
That deserved a reward. She squeezed his arm with her free hand, then pulled away enough to look into his eyes with the dark, long lashes. Damn him for having prettier lashes than her. “Been thinking about you too. In fact…” She hesitated. She was about to share one of her secret, most favorite spots with him. “Did you find the bridge?”
“The bridge?”
“Yeah, the one your mom wrote about. You were going to look for it today,” she reminded him.
“Oh, no, I didn’t. You’d think a bridge over a river would be easy to find, but no go.”
“That’s because it’s over a creek,” Lilly said.
He cocked his head at her. “You know where it is?”
She nodded. “I can show it to you now…if you want.”
His face seemed to progress from stunned, to happily surprised, to wonder and joy. “That would be amazing. Is that picnic basket coming with us?”
“Indeed, it is,” she said, sauntering down the steps toward her car, parked on the street.
He followed her like an excited puppy. “Why didn’t you tell me about the bridge before I spent an entire day looking for it?”
Lilly looked back at him over her shoulder. “I wanted to make you work for it.” She smiled, not telling him the truth—that something had made her hold back. Something that had since gone away. She’d made love to this man twice now and things felt different. He wasn’t going to snow her. The deed had been done, and he was still interested in her.
“Ah, so that’s how it is,” he laughed. “Alright…alright.”
Climbing into her Honda Fit, they pulled out and drove off toward an area she hadn’t been to since before her father died. Going to Langley Creek would open up some fresh wounds. The drive only took about five minutes, but she had to drive off-road, over gravel patches, and through a tunnel of trees. She stopped, cut the engine, and stared ahead at the small wooden bridge spanning across a small river valley. “That’s it right there,” she said, watching Quinn’s eyes light up. “The bridge your mom dangled her feet over.”
Slowly, he got out of the car and closed the door, his eyes on the old bridge. “How do you figure?”
“Well, there’s only a handful of bridges in Forestville. One is half rotted, two are for car traffic, and this one—this is the only secluded one, the kind a kid might come to if she wanted to be alone.” Lilly stared out at the bridge, remembering the picnics she shared with her father here. She’d often wanted to ask him why he’d looked so sad, but somehow felt it wasn’t for her to know. So she’d just twirled and pranced and acted goofy just to make him smile, and that had been enough. “My dad and I…we used to come out here,” she confessed. “It was one of his favorite spots. And now that I think about it…that makes sense.”
“What does? What makes sense?” Quinn asked, beginning a slow walk toward the bridge, the closer end of which was shrouded in the heavy shadows of two large oak trees.
He still had no idea that his mother and her father used to be boyfriend and girlfriend—lovers. He had no idea his mother had split up her parents before they were married, that her father might have brought her here because he remembered good times with Maggie, before she left him and ran off with that O’Neill boy from Dublin. Lilly wasn’t sure she was the right person to tell him either.
“Nothing,” she said, stepping onto the bridge, hearing it crackle and creak underneath their weight. “Just that all the town kids have spent time here at some point in their lives.” She walked halfway over the creek and sat, dangling her legs over the roped-off edge. “See? The perfect place for dangling.”
Quinn followed suit and slid his legs off of the edge of the bridge. They faced a beautiful sunset that illuminated the sky in a miasmic swirl of pinks, oranges, and purples. “I can’t believe I’m here. Wow…it’s not the Pacific, but it’s something,” he said, resting his arms against the taut ropes. He cast watery eyes on her and gave her a reaffirming nod. “Thank you.”
“You’re very welcome, Quinn,” she said and turned to watch the sun fall slowly in the sky. “You want to see the Pacific?”
He nodded. “I know it seems odd, given I’m from Ireland and have seen plenty of water.”
“Or maybe it seems perfectly right. That an Irish boy who’d even consider putting down roots in America for even the shortest of times would still want that soulful connection to the water.”
He stared at her as if she’d just unveiled the secrets of the universe. “I hadn’t consciously thought of it that way, but you’re right. I want to see what the world outside of Ireland has to offer, yet I want a bit of familiarity, too. Maybe that’s why being here feels a little like being home. Maybe that’s why Mam was able to settle in Ireland so easily.”
She nodded. “Makes sense. So you’d visit the water often then?”
“Not as much as Con, but one of my favorite places was about forty minutes from Dublin, a pretty little fishing village by the name of Howth that had amazing views of the Irish Sea. I’d take the DART, walk the pier out to the lighthouse, explore St. Mary’s Abbey above the village. On Sunday, the town held a farmer’s market, and I’d buy produce for The Cranky Yankee.”
She laughed with delight. “Your family restaurant?”
He nodded.
“So you helped run it?”
“After my father died, yes. About two years before Mam passed.” He stared out at the creek, a sudden faraway look in his gaze, and she knew grief had taken hold of him again.
Reaching out, she took his hand. “I’m sorry. Losing both your parents so soon. It can’t be easy.”
He smiled, lifted her hand to kiss it the way he’d done the night before, then released it. “No. Not easy. But the truth is, my family’s suffered quite a few tragedies in Dublin. That’s why I think it will do all of us good, my three other brothers included, to get away for a while.”
She blinked. “But you said you’re only planning on staying a week. I mean, I know you said you might stay on longer but are your other brothers planning on joining you at some point?”
“It’s more that I’m hoping they will. You see, Brady, Sean and Riley are more tied to Dublin, and are needing a bit of convincing to leave, even for a brief time. That’s partially why I’m here. To get the lay of the land, and determine if this is what Mam would have really wanted. To come back here. Home to Green Valley.”
“Sorry. I’m not following.”
“Based on what I’ve read of Mam’s journal, I want to spread part of her ashes here in Green Valley. Despite some reluctance on their part, my brothers will come around to that, provided I’m sure, after seeing this place, that it’s what Mam would have wanted.”
“And what do you think so far?”
“I think she would. I’m not as spiritual as Con, but even I can feel her here. And Con’s said the same thing. This is where she’d want to be, and we all want to do right by her.”
“You will, Quinn. I’ve no doubt of that.”
He smiled. Then, clearly feeling overcome with emotion and needing to get the conversation back on safer territory, he gestured to the basket she’d brought with her. “Planning to seduce me with more of your sweets, Lil? Because I assure you, it’s not necessary. I’m already at your mercy.”
God, how she wished that were true. “Okay,” she said, picking up the basket. “I’ll just take this back and—”
He snatched the basket away from her. “Now, now. Let’s not be hasty. I said it wasn’t necessary, but it’s certainly most appreciated. Seems I’m always hungry around you.”
His comment had its intended effect, making her shiver with desire, but she forced herself to say, “Let’s eat before it gets too dark.”
Opening her basket, she offered him a variety of leftovers from their kitchen, still mostly fresh, and he delighted in eating them but only if Lilly fed them to him—first with her hands, then using only her mouth. When she tried passing a slice of dilled cucumber using only her lips, he took it but it fumbled and fell to the planks.
“Agh, see what a mess you made? Let me get that,” he said, eyeing her chin. “You have a cucumber seed right there.” And then his tongue was sliding slowly across her chin, as he lapped up the seed, if in fact there was even a seed. She rather hoped he was only making that up so he could run his tongue across her.
Either way, it blazed a trail across her skin that lit her up inside. It was amazing what this man could do to her, the electricity that would spark across her arms and legs and down into her belly. All these years, she’d come here with her father, but now, the bridge had new meaning—she was here with Quinn, a man on a mission to know his mother—and because of Lilly, he was one step closer to that goal.
Suddenly, the massive arms embracing her in the kiss gripped and moved her toward the edge of the bridge in a quick but controlled way, though luckily, she caught a glimpse of his smartass smile, and she realized he was only playing with her. She shrieked anyway. “Quinn! Oh, my God! Don’t do that!”
He laughed and pulled her back to safety, laying her against the planks, and hovering over her. “I would never let you fall for real, Lil,” he whispered, lowering his face, kissing her gently in the cooling autumn evening air. Because of the kisses that followed, because of thoughts that she might not ever find a man as playful, sexy, or sweet as this in Miami, she missed the critical moment when the fiery ball of sunset disappeared below the valley’s hills.
“What are you doing to me?” Quinn asked between gasping soft breaths.
She held his face, watching the way his lips moved when he spoke, feeling her heart crunch when he said it, and knowing, fully well without a doubt, that she would not come out of this unscathed. She was falling and falling hard. “I was about to ask you the same.”