20. Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty
Carson
Ifind Luna at breakfast, staring at the castle ruins out her window. She looks peaceful.
Everyone in the quaint little room watches as I approach her. I feel a bit like a side attraction. To say I stick out like a sore thumb here is an understatement.
Normally it wouldn’t bother me because Cole would be by my side. He’d have everyone in this place at ease and smiling within seconds.
Luna turns as soon as she feels a shift in the room, and suddenly the rest of the world is irrelevant. Her smile lights the entire space.
“I’m so excited. It’s our first full day here.”
I chuckle, loving her enthusiasm.
The breakfast is amazing, and the company is even better, but I can’t help but check my messages to see if there’s anything from my brother.
“I’m sure he’s just busy,” Luna says, drawing my attention away from my phone.
“Yeah. Yeah, I’m sure that’s the case.”
I know that may be true, but it’s never stopped us from checking in with each other before.
We spend the morning driving through the Burren. Its vast greyness feels a bit like arriving on the moon. Luna holds my hand as we navigate over the split limestone, hopping our way over to the Poulnabrone Dolmen, an ancient portal tomb.
“This is incredible.” She lets go of my hand to walk around the roped-off structure. I know how amazing my surroundings are, but I can barely take my eyes off her.
She taps an elderly woman on the shoulder after she finishes taking a photo of her husband in front of the tomb. “Would you like me to take a picture of the two of you together?”
“Oh, that would be lovely, dear,” our fellow tourist says, handing Luna her phone. She pulls her husband near, and they smile happily.
Luna notices the people around her.
I like that.
The woman motions for Luna and me to switch positions with her and her husband. Luna hands the woman her phone and then comes to stand beside me. I smile down at her, because this is so unreal.
Luna pokes me in the stomach. “You’re supposed to look at the camera, silly.”
Oh yeah. I look at the woman and grin.
“I still can’t believe we’re really here,” Luna says, holding the bag of chips we’re sharing out to me as I drive.
“Me either.”
We spend the rest of the day on the road, laughing and talking.
“Sheep!” she yells suddenly.
I stomp on the brakes, coming to a complete stop in the middle of the road. “Jesus, those bastards come out of nowhere. I better slow down.”
“You’re getting more comfortable driving on the wrong side of the road.”
“Too comfortable,” I say, making a mental note to keep an eye out for critters. There sure as hell isn’t much fencing around here, and I cannot risk getting into an accident with her.
And so it goes, day in and day out. We explore from sunup to sundown.
Everything is going great until I sign us up for a hawk tour at Ashford Castle. It’s one of the most incredible experiences I’ve ever had, but the entire time, I wish my brother was here with me.
I watch as Luna holds her gloved hand out for our hawk, Java, to swoop in for a landing. The sheer delight on her face eases my pain somewhat.
This isn’t how I envisioned it. Falling in love. I guess I pictured Cole along for the ride. Which is stupid because it’s something we can’t share.
On the way to our next stay, Luna reaches over and grabs my phone.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m telling your brother he’s being an asshole.”
I laugh, trying to snag it back from her.
She doesn’t give it back, but she doesn’t message him either. “If you want to go home, we can go anytime, Carson. Seriously, this has been a week I’ll never forget.”
“We’ve got so much more to see.”
“We can come back another time.”
I focus on the road, my heart beating out of my chest, because she’s talking about us like we’re a couple.
“But the best is yet to come,” I tell her. “I’m not going to let Cole ruin that for either of us.”
“Maybe he isn’t trying to ruin your time here. Maybe he’s letting you and me have space to get to know each other.”
“You think?”
She nods, handing me back my phone. “I’m sure of it.” Luna doesn’t message Cole from my phone, but she does add his number to hers. “Just in case,” she says, grinning at me.
I wonder what she’d say to him if she did message him.
“Oh my god,” Luna says, leaning forward to look out the front windshield at Kilronan Castle. “This place feels like a dream.”
“I managed to get us the turret room. It’s the exact room your mother stayed in.”
She immediately looks up at the turret. “I’m going to cry,” she says quietly. “But I’m not sad.”
“That’s okay,” I assure her, pulling into a parking spot. I give her time to herself while I unload our bags. A few minutes later, she joins me at the back of the car.
“I’m going to need you to stop being so sweet,” she says quietly, bumping her shoulder against my arm. “I’m going to dehydrate.”
I wrap my hand around the back of her neck and pull her against me, giving her a hug. “I won’t let that happen.”
“So you’re not going to stop?”
When I first found Luna hiding in the closet of her camper, I thought she was broken. I was prepared to fight her demons with her, but the longer we’re together, I realize she’s already fought those battles.
“My mother called this area of Ireland the heart of the isle.”
“I’d say that’s a pretty good description.” I glance toward the nearby lake. “There are trails all around here. We should go for a walk before it gets dark.”
“That sounds nice.”
As soon as the attendant leaves us to ourselves in our room, her tears start again. She waves her arms around. “I’m overwhelmed, Carson. It’s too much. It’s too much.”
I grab her around the waist and pull her close. “Enough of that. We’ve been through all of this. Can you please just enjoy it?” I do my best not to sound exasperated with her.
Luna tips her head back and looks up at me, little drops of tears clinging to her lashes. “I will if you will.”
“Luna, I am enjoying it.”
“Fully? Or is your brother holding a part of your joy on the other side of the world?”
I release my breath through my teeth. “Okay, so how about we shake off the outside world and begin again?”
An ornery grin tugs up one side of her mouth. “Thank you so much for this trip. It’s fabulous.”
“You’re welcome. Now if you’ll allow me to show you to your quarters, ma’am.”
She pulls away from me and takes my arm when I hold it out to her.
We head up the stairs to the bedroom. She immediately goes to the windows. “Wow.”
I slide up beside her, pulling the sheer curtains back so we have a clear view.
“I’ll sleep downstairs on the sofa. This room only has one bed,” I tell her.
She glances over her shoulder at the four-poster bed behind us. She turns back toward the window. I can see the struggle going on in her mind, so I relieve her of it.
“I insist.”
She nibbles on her bottom lip.
“Stop.” I give her a gentle nudge.
“But I don’t want to wake up to this view alone, and if you’re downstairs …”
Her words trail off.
“I’ll come up whenever you’re ready. Just call out for me.”
“Promise?” she asks.
“I promise.” I draw a cross over my chest.
That is the last time I put any thought into our sleeping arrangements because it’s irrelevant. I’d sleep on the damn concrete to make her comfortable.
We enjoy our afternoon. I’ll never forget our time here. Don’t get me wrong, I love the Irish coast, but there’s something magical here in Roscommon.
The evening settles around us as we make our way along the path, surrounded by trees. Luna leads the way, and every few minutes she turns around. You can’t convince me that we haven’t stepped through a portal to the other side.
She fills the silence with tales of her travels back home. The cadence of her voice pulls me through the foliage like a siren’s call.
When we get back to our room, we shower and then order desserts and alcohol. A deadly combination.
“This is the most fun I’ve had in a long time,” she admits, sitting on the other side of the couch from me. Neither of us is in our usual bedtime attire. We’re both sipping wine in nothing but fuzzy white robes.
“I’m feeling pretty darn bougie,” I tell her, clinking my glass against hers.
“Bougie?” she giggles, pulling her drink to her lips. “This may be my first experience at that.”
“Mine too.”
I can see my reflection in her dark eyes, and I really can’t believe what I’m seeing. Never in a million years would I have pictured my life taking me to this moment.
She yawns into the back of her hand, and I’m sad that our evening is coming to an end.
“I better get to bed,” she says, setting her empty glass on the coffee table. She glances at the blanket and pillow I placed on a nearby chair.
When she gets to the stairs she pauses. “You’ll come whenever I call?” she asks, reminding me of our earlier conversation.
“Yep. I hope you have a good night’s sleep.”
She waves her hand around the room. “I’m sleeping in a turret of a castle. I’m pretty much guaranteed a good night’s sleep, aren’t I?”
“Of course, princess,” I tease. “Good night, Luna.”
“Good night, Carson.”
I retrieve the blanket and pillow from the chair, tossing them onto the couch. I’m fumbling with the lights when I hear the siren’s voice call to me from upstairs.
I hold perfectly still.
“Carson,” she tries again.
My hands begin to sweat. She’s calling for me. Now. Not in the morning. Now.
“Holy fuck,” I whisper, making my way to the stairs.
When I reach the top, she’s standing beside the bed, the moonlight shining in through the sheer curtains.
“Are you testing me?” I ask nervously, running my hands down my robe.
Her hands go to the tie on her own, and I swallow hard.
“Not a test. You said to call out whenever I was ready for you.”
“Um, I meant whenever you were ready for me to come up.”
She chuckles lightly as she slips her robe over her shoulders. “Well, I’m ready.”
It falls in a puddle around her feet, and I’m speechless.
We stare at each other for a long time. “Luna, you don’t owe …”