16. Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Sixteen
Maeve
There’s absolutely no doubt that I know Aidan hasn’t been a boy for a very long time. He looks like every woman’s wet dream, and he’s certainly starred in mine more than once since then.
The way the blue T-shirt clung to him, his hair slicked back, drops of water running down his hard as flint jaw. All that heated testosterone aimed directly at me, who looked like a drowned rat with raccoon eyes was the most incredible distraction. He’s too much for any woman to bear.
It’s interesting and infuriating at the same time.
I’m so bloody aware of him and the way he moves that lithe body when I’m with him that I can barely see straight.
I pinch the bridge of my nose and try to drown out the noise from the other villagers frequenting Holly’s this early evening.
I wasn’t sure I’d stop by, but Aidan’s friendly warning about not becoming a recluse resonated with me, and I’ve thought about his words far more than I should have since then.
I’ve thought about that man way too much, period.
I can’t shake the butterflies I feel, either, and it’s annoying as hell. He’s too bloody handsome for his own good.
He’s too much for a woman like me who hasn’t felt the touch of a man for so long that she hardly remembers what it’s like to let go and just feel.
I crack my neck and sit up straighter in my seat.
If I don’t think of something else, I’ll combust on the spot.
I flick my hair behind my ear and focus on the newspaper in front of me, flipping it open to the crossword puzzle page and set to work quietly.
As the puzzle so often does, it drowns the chatter around me.
I focus on the words on the page and work methodically.
I frown at one of the trickier questions, pen paused in the air but then the answer comes to me, and I scribble it in the boxes.
I tilt my head at the next one, then fills in four letters without hesitation.
Another pause. Another answer. Bit by bit, I relax in my seat, lost in the calmness of solving the puzzle one word at a time.
In fact, I’m so lost in it that I don’t even notice I’m no longer alone before the clearing of a throat close to me makes me snap my head back.
Aidan gives me a crooked smile and sets down a pint next to me.
“Any good?” he asks.
I give him a small shrug. “Keeps my brain busy.” I look down and point to a phrase I can’t work out. “This one is a little annoying, though.”
He cranes his neck. “A deep enjoyment or passion for the act of kissing. Whoa.” His eyebrows shoot up. “Is there actually a word for that?”
“Apparently.” Warmth creeps up my neck. “I have the first two letters, see?” I push the newspaper closer to him so that he can see the p and h clearly. “I know I can just look it up online, but…ugh,” I groan.
He sits down next to me, and I scoot a little further away on the bench to give him more room.
Unfortunately, we’re at a corner booth, and I can’t avoid him completely.
He presses close to my side, and I push a lock of my hair behind my ear, trying to do my best not to think about his body mine. Hip to hip. Thigh to thigh.
“When did you start doing crossword puzzles?”
I pull my lips down, thinking hard. “It was shortly after I came to live with my last foster family.” I stare off in the distance and let the memories wash over me.
Jack coming home with a magazine. Jack sitting down next to me when I needed help with an answer. Jack giving me a high five when I got a really good one.
“Nellie and Jack, right?”
I look down, touched that he remembers their names. “Yes.”
“My mum does them, too.”
Aidan’s words bring me back to the present, and I blink the blurriness away from my eyes and look at him. He takes a sip of his pint.
“Really?”
He nods and looks at me briefly. “Yup. Maybe she knows the word you’re after.” He grins. “Though I kind of hope she doesn’t, because that’s a little icky for me.”
I snort and flatten my hand on the newspaper. “Icky? Since when does a grown man use the word icky?”
“I have an impressionable twelve-year-old daughter. I have to watch my language.”
“Of course.” I let my eyes roam the busy pub. “Where is Katie, by the way?”
“She’s with my parents most Wednesday afternoons, and they’ll probably join us soon.” He turns and flashes a charming smile. “We should both be prepared for an ambush, I’d say.”
I clap a hand over my eyes. “Oh, no…”
His body shakes, sending delicious vibrations through me. “Relax. I’m just teasing you.”
I spread my fingers, shooting daggers at him through them. “Not funny.”
“I thought you weren’t afraid of anything?”
My hand falls to pick up my own drink. “What makes you think that?”
“You’re the Gardai. Capable. Tough. Dependable.”
I weigh my words carefully. “That only makes me sound boring, not courageous.”
“Hey.” He places a hand on my arm that’s resting between us.
I raise my eyes at him, my breath catching at the intense warmth staring back at me.
“I didn’t mean it like that at all. I can’t imagine what being in the force takes out of a person, but it’s one of the toughest jobs on the planet.
And the fact you’ve chosen it for your career speaks volumes about your character. ”
I blink rapidly. “What does it say about me?”
His eyes roam my face as he takes his time to answer. So much time that my breathing picks up, and I can’t look away from his probing eyes. I lock my body in place, challenging the rush of adrenaline sending shivers down my spine.
“You’re passionate, brave, kind. Always willing to help someone in need. Not boring at all.”
Wow. My heart thumps in my chest.
“Thank you,” I whisper.
“You’re welcome.”
“Maeve!”
I wrench my eyes from Aidan’s and look up towards the bar. Our moment is broken by the familiar voice of Roísin, and I spot her waving, urging me up to her.
I tap Aidan’s hand. “I’ll just go check what Roísin wants, okay?”
“Sure.”
He stands up to let me through, but the tight space forces me to brush his body when I pass him, pushing my chest into his. I bite my lip at the sound of his low groan that whispers across my skin and close my eyes briefly, almost hugging the sound to me.
I want to savour the sound even though I shouldn’t.
But I also know that I’ll think of him later tonight, when I’m alone, because I’m so needy that I won’t be able to fall asleep until I make myself come from the thought of him.
I push the forbidden thoughts about Aidan to the back of my mind and focus on my friend instead.
“Hey, you.” I smile at Roísin and hug her. “You look amazing.” I take in her pleated pink skirt matched with a black T-shirt with flowy script that says Knitting Is Sexy. Her hair is slicked back with a wide yellow hairband, the ends of her hair curling slightly behind her ear.
“What a perfect answer. Thank you.” Her eyes dance with mirth. “You look a little flushed. Are you okay?”
I see where she’s going and shake my head. “I’m fine.” I move closer to the bar so I can still keep an eye on my table.
She opens her mouth but before she gets a sound out, I hear Aidan calling.
“Mae!”
Roísin’s brows shoot up. “Does he mean you?” “
“I…I don’t know,” I murmur.
I glance back at Aidan. He stares back at me, mouthing Sorry, and then looks down at his glass.
I can’t think straight. He did mean me, didn’t he?
Only…no one’s ever called me that before, and he didn’t say it the same way as when he calls me Detective.
He said it in a way that makes my heart react with flutters and dips that only confuse me more.
No longer teasing me but as if there’s a shared intimacy between us even when there isn’t.
“Are you sure nothing’s going on between the two of you?”
I’m absolutely not sure about anything when it concerns Aidan.
But I don’t tell her that.
I shake my head. “Of course nothing’s going on. He’s a friend, and that’s it.”
“Hmm…if you say so.”
“I do. So,” I turn back to her and try to change the subject, “what’s up?”
She pulls out two pieces of paper from a manila envelope and holds them up in front of me, dangling them between her fingers.
“Which one is your favourite?”
I look between them and frown at the yellow circles with pink, swirling script underneath them. The Cloonmara Self-Love Club? “Um, aren’t they identical?”
“No!” She lowers her hands and stares at me. “Can’t you see the difference?”
I study them closer, and this time, I see that they’re not entirely the same. The variation in the design is subtle but still leaves a different vibe.
I point to her right hand. “I think I prefer the one with the sunflower instead of the daisy.”
She doesn’t look entirely convinced. “You’re absolutely sure?”
I grin. “Yes, I’m sure.”
She nods once and tucks them both safely back into the envelope. “Great. That one’s my favourite, too.”
I lean a hip on the bar. “What’s this club about?”
“What it says it is.” She leans over the bar and raises her hand to get Holly’s attention.
“It’s about taking care of yourself, both mentally and physically.
To not give in to pressure from others and learn how to say no if you feel overwhelmed or overstimulated.
” She runs a hand through her short hair.
“I think we need a women’s club in the village and maybe meet up every month or something like that.
We can have our meetings in the Community Centre, and I’ll prepare sandwiches or snacks that people can purchase at a discount.
” She taps her finger on her mouth. “I haven’t worked out all the details yet. ”
“Sounds to me like you have. You’re quite the entrepreneur, aren’t you?” I flash a smile at her.
She beams at me. “Thank you. I just want the village to continue to grow as a community, and not just for the sake of the tourists.”
I nod, thinking through her idea. “I really like it.”
“What can I get you, Roísin?” Holly interrupts us, wiping her hands on a towel.
“I’ll have a G&T, thanks, Holly.”