by Toni Aleo
“It’s bullshite is what it is. I swear, the man is going to drive me crazy.”
I nod. “Yeah, but I doubt you’ll stop seeing him.”
“Nope, but I swear to God, Amberlyn, he sees another girl, I’m gonna throttle him.”
“I’ll help,” I promise, and like I wanted, she smiles before wrapping me up in a tight hug.
“You’re too good to me.”
“Always will be, too,” I say, sending her a grin and then restocking the beer. We only have a few folks in the pub today, mainly older ladies who are enjoying tea and Aunt Shelia’s chocolate cake. I’d already had two pieces…okay three, but it’s the best dang cake I’ve ever had! I kind of hope that Declan comes in for a piece. I texted him earlier about it, but he hasn’t responded yet. He usually doesn’t during the day—he is busy at the distillery—but I’m still hopeful.
As Fiona walks around to make sure our patrons are taken care of, I clean the barstools and mop. We are getting ready for the Friday dinner rush, and since tonight is bound to be busy, we are working quickly so that we can both go back home and nap. As I wash out the mugs and glasses Fiona has laid on the bar, the door sounds and I look up, wanting to glare at the asshole who comes in twenty minutes before we close. However, I freeze when I see it’s Casey.
“Howya, Fiona.”
Fiona pauses, her eyes wide, but she doesn’t say anything. Casey doesn’t seem worried about it though. His eyes are on me as he comes toward the bar. “Howya, my beautiful sunshine?”
“Casey,” I say, diverting my eyes toward the glasses I’m washing. “How can I help ya?”
“I came to see if ya got the flowers I sent?”
I nod. “I did, thank you. They were nice.”
He doesn’t say anything, and I don’t look up. I am hoping he’ll catch the drift, but he doesn’t apparently. “Did ya read the note?”
I nod once more. “Yeah. I did.”
“I really am sorry,” he says, a little louder than a whisper.
Knowing that I can’t ignore him much longer, I look up and brace my hands on the sink as I look into his eyes. I can see Fiona watching me out of the corner of my eye, and I know she is there since I have to nip this in the bud now. I need to tell him the truth, even if I feel like my voice is shaky. My heart is clanking against my ribs, but I have to do this. “Thank you, and I forgive you, Casey. I didn’t set boundaries or something, but still, I don’t feel the way you do.”
He waves me off. “Sure you do. We just have to get over what happened and move forward. I wanted to give you some time. I think it’s been enough, don’t you?”
Not nearly enough, but I don’t say that. Instead, I say, “I’m sorry, but I don’t, and I can’t get over it. You hurt my face and you scared my family and me. Nothing is going to happen between us.”
“Because of Lena O’Callaghan?”
I shake my head. “No, because of you! I don’t feel comfortable around you.”
Holding my gaze, he seems to mull that over before he nods. “Then I’ll have to work to make you comfortable.”
Before I can say that, no, that’s not what I am trying to say, the door opens again. When I glance over his shoulder, my stomach drops.
Declan’s face breaks into a grin until Casey turns to look back at who I am staring at. The grin is gone, and I swear it is so quiet the only thing you can hear is one of the older ladies’ breathing machines. When Declan looks back at me, his eyes are full of anger, but before I can say anything, his heated gaze meets Casey’s again and he says, “What the fuck are you doing talking to my girl?”
Chapter 16
Declan
My body tenses and I feel my teeth grind as my gaze meets Casey’s look of surprise, but he still doesn’t seem to care that I’m talking to him. I want to kill him. Tear his limbs one by one from his body and then beat him with the bloody ends. Yes, I may be overreacting, but I hate this man and wish him to the nine circles of hell. I feel I have good reason for my hatred, too. He is a fuckin’ slick git!
Putting a smirk on his face, he leans against the bar and throws a thumb toward Amberlyn.
“This is your girl?”
“Yes, that’s what I said, you fuckin’ arsehole,” I say as I start for him. Within seconds though, a hand comes around my bicep, stopping me. I look back to hit whoever has a hold of me, but when my heated gaze meets Kane’s cool one, I pause. Kane slowly shakes his head as Casey says, “She didn’t tell me that. Maybe it isn’t true?”
I whip my head toward him to tell him that it is fuckin’ true, but Amberlyn beats me to it. “Actually, I never got the chance to.”
Casey looks back at her, his brows up. “You’re seeing stiff-ass Declan O’Callaghan?”
She nods. “I am.”
“So he’s the reason you won’t go out with me?”
She shakes her head. “That…and because I’m not comfortable around you.”
“I told ya I could make you comfortable, if you’d give me the chance, sunshine.”
“The fuck you will,” I sneer as I head for him, basically dragging Kane along with me. “Call her sunshine again, and you’ll never see the light of day, ya arsehole!”
“Dec, calm down,” Kane tries, but I’m not listening.
“No,” I say, pulling my arm out of his grip and going toe-to-toe with Casey. “You stay the fuck away from her. She doesn’t want anything to do with you, ya sick fuck.”
He still stands with a cool expression and a smirk. I want nothing more than to knock the look off his face, but I doubt Kane will let me get that far. I can still feel him beside me. As Casey turns fully toward me, I hold his gaze. He is bigger than I am by a foot, but in no way, shape, or form am I scared of this wanker.
“You looking for a fight, Dec? Because I feel you are, and I have no problem finishing with you. You’ve been a constant pain in my arse for years.”
“And I’ll continue being one until you leave.”
“I’m not going anywhere, friend, so get used to seein’ me. Also, you better be careful because I might try to steal your girl.”
Amberlyn scoffs. “In your dreams, buddy.”
He glances back at her, but I don’t move, my gaze locked on him, waiting for the moment to swing. As he looks back at me, Casey glares. “What do ya say, then?”
I have a lot to say, but before I can, Fiona comes between us, pushing Casey.
“That’s enough is what I say. Get the hell out, Casey. You’re not welcome here anymore.”
He laughs. “What the hell? You don’t mean that.”
She nods. “I do. Don’t come back.”
“Because of that wanker? You’re taking his side? I thought you were my friend.”
She takes a step toward him, a look of pure disgust on her face as she says, “I was until you laid your hands on my cousin. You’re dead to me, Casey Burke, and you are no longer welcome here. Now off with ya. Don’t make me go find my da, or he’ll let Declan have a go at ya.”
A look of distress comes over Casey’s ugly mug, but for only a second before he glances up at me. “Fuck you, Declan.”
Heat bubbles in my chest and I’m ready to go, but when a hand comes over mine, I glance down to see it belongs to Amberlyn. “Don’t. Let him go.”
I nod, and when the door slams shut, I let out the breath I was holding. “Fuckin’ eejit.”
Kane laughs as he sits down. “Jaysus, Dec, you dragged me at least a yard!”
I smile grimly. “He’s an arsehole, makes me crazy.”
Lacing my fingers with Amberlyn’s, I bring them to my lips, placing a soft kiss on her knuckles before looking deep into her eyes. Her hair is up today in a tight bun, her eyes are dark with makeup, and her lips lush and pink. Leaning forward, I brush my mouth over hers as her hand comes to rest on my cheek. I want to deepen the kiss, but we have an audience, so reluctantly, I pull away, smiling slightly. “Hi.”
She smiles. “Hi. Great entrance there.”
; I grin bashfully. “I only came to tell you I was madly thinking about you all day, not with the intentions of all that. I apologize.”
Her lips curve further before she runs her thumb along my bottom lip. “No worries, but I am confused on something.”
Her eyes are teasing, her lips plump, and all my anger from before is gone, replaced with pure lust for this beautiful woman. “And that is?”
“When did I become your girl?”
I smile, my cheeks dusting with color as I pull her closer to me. “The moment I kissed you. You didn’t get the memo?”
She shakes her head, biting into her bottom lip as she holds my gaze. She says, “No, must have lost its way to me.”
“Must have,” I say, bringing our mouths together again. This time I don’t care about the audience, and I hate that the bar is between us. I want to feel her against me, get lost in her kiss, but before I can, I hear someone clear their throat, causing us to part quickly.
“No making out in the pub,” Mr. Maclaster says sternly. “Or anywhere I can walk in, for that matter.”
Dropping my hands from Amberlyn’s face, I nod. “Of course, I apologize, sir.”
He nods before looking over at Fiona. “Burke leave?”
“Yes, Da.”
“Good. Is that the Kane you’re dating?”
I look back at Kane to see him look up from where he is playing on his phone. His eyes meet Mr. Maclaster’s and he stands, his hand out. “Yes, sir. Kane Levy. It’s nice to meet you.”
“You too. Same rules apply to you as well.”
“Yes, sir,” Kane says quickly as he drops his hand, tucking both in his pockets. Mr. Maclaster looks around the pub and then nods at us before walking away without another word.
“Well, that was awkward,” Amberlyn says with a laugh.
Fiona nods. “Hell yeah, it was. My da is something.”
Something scary, I think, dropping down in the seat. “What are you doing tonight?”
Amberlyn looks at me sadly. “Working. It’s Friday.”
I nod. “I know, but after.”
“After? Like two in the morning after?”
I didn’t realize it would be that late, but I nod anyway. “Yeah.”
“I don’t know, going to bed probably.”
“Can I come see you before that? For only a bit, I won’t keep you long.”
She shrugs as a smile plays on her lips. “Sure, but I’ll be boring.”
“Never,” I claim as I reach out, taking her hands in mine. “I want to see you.”
Our hands lace together but then she asks, “How about now? I feel like an ass pulling you out of bed at two in the morning.”
Leaning toward her, I say, “You can pull me out of bed any time ya want.”
When heat flushes her face, I smile, but she pushes me away. “No, seriously, let’s go hang now. I have a couple hours before I gotta be back.”
I feign hurt as I say, “You don’t want to hang out with me tonight?”
“Oh, shut up,” she says, smacking my arm before removing her apron. “Fiona, I’ll see you tonight.”
“Yeah, see ya later.”
She comes around the bar, stopping in front of me, and I smile. She looks hot even in a pair of shorts and a pub tee with her green toes wiggling in her sandals. “You ready?”
I wrap my arm around her shoulders. “Yeah, let’s go.”
We head out to the car and pull out of the drive before I even glance over at her. She is smiling, looking so contently happy, that I find myself feeling the same.
“Why don’t you want me to come later tonight?” I ask, even though I am glad to see her now. The only reason I wanted to see her was because I thought she had to work.
“Because it’s late, and after a Friday shift, I am so tired. I usually crash. Plus, this way we have plenty of time to spend together before I have to go back to work.”
“I understand. I just wasn’t sure if there was another reason behind it.”
She takes my hand in hers. “Not at all. I just want to be coherent when we spend time together, and at two a.m., I won’t be.”
I nod. “I get it. I’d probably be sleepy too. We’d probably end up falling asleep in the car.”
“If that happens, I can guarantee you my uncle will kill us if he finds us.”
I laugh. “I think you are right, so for now, we’ll go exploring.”
“Exploring?” she asks, wagging her brows at me.
Heat flushes through my body straight to my dick. I take in a deep breath before shaking my head. “Naughty girl, get your head out the gutter. I mean the distillery.”
“Oh, that’s what I thought you meant,” she said with a smile. “I’m excited.”
“Me too,” I reply, taking her hand in mine. I then ask, “Can I ask you something?”
She nods. “Sure, what’s up?”
“You weren’t mad were you…when I said you’re my girl?”
She glances over at me, smiling. “Not at all. I like you, Declan, a lot.”
Relief washes over me. I may have jumped the gun there, but I am glad she feels the same way I do. “Okay good, ’cause I feel the same.”
She grins as she squeezes my hand, holding our hands with her free hand. “It’s not too fast, right?” I ask, and she shrugs.
“I’m not sure. I’ve never had a boyfriend, so I don’t know how this is supposed to work. In books, they meet, have sex, fall in love, get into a fight, break up, and then get back together. So, I mean, I don’t have much to go on.”
Something in my chest lurches before I glance over at her. “You’ve never had a boyfriend?”
She shakes her head, a worried look on her face. “Never had the time. Sorry, that’s not a problem, is it?”
“No, not at all. It’s just I don’t want to rush you into anything, and I don’t want you to feel like you have to date me because I want you to.”
She laughs. “I am not dating you because you want me to. I am doing it because I want to. All I know is that I want to see you, I get giddy when you text me, and I love being around you. So that has to mean something. If it means we are together, then we are…and I’m okay with that. For a first boyfriend, I think I hit the jackpot,” she says with a wink that hits me straight in my gut.
Suddenly stopping the car, I reach over, taking her beautiful face in my hands before smothering her with a kiss. She responds the way I want her to, melting to my touch. As our kiss deepens, I find myself completely immersed in her. I am utterly gone when her lips touch mine, and I’m curious to see what will happen once we take it to the next step. Not saying that we are anywhere near ready for that, but of course, my body is. But I have to control that, even if it is the hardest thing I’ll ever do.
Pulling my mouth from her, I kiss the side of her mouth before sitting straight in my seat. Pulling at the crotch of my jeans to adjust, I let out a breath. “You kiss like a dream, Amberlyn.”
I glance over at her and she is blushing, the color so beautiful it takes my breath away. “Really?”
“Yeah,” I say with a nod.
“You’re not too bad yourself, big guy,” she says, sending me a cheesy grin. I laugh.
“Okay, enough before I ravage you and I don’t get to give you the tour.”
She smiles innocently as she giggles. “You’re the one who attacked me.”
“Yup, sure did,” I agree as I bring the car back on the road. Within minutes, with my hand securely in hers, I pull into my spot at the distillery. Getting out, I come around to help Amberlyn out as one of the workers comes up, like they always do.
“Sir, should I fetch Cathmor?”
I shake my head as I notice that he is the same guy who has been working for me for a year, and I don’t even know his name. How sad. “No, not today. I’m sorry; I didn’t catch your name.”
The man looks at me, surprised, before answering, “Matthew.”
I hold out my hand. “Matthew, thank you, but not today.
I have to take her home afterwards.”
He shakes my hand slowly, his eyes full of bewilderment, and I smile. “Sounds good, sir. Let me know if you need anything.”
“I will. Thank you.”
As we walk in, I am thankful my da works in the offices and not in the distillery. I don’t want to introduce him to Amberlyn yet. I’m afraid she’ll run the other way once she meets him. I know everyone is watching me, and more than likely, he’ll know within seconds that I am here—with a girl—but for right now, I’ll enjoy the way she looks with the stone wall behind her, how she’s smiling, and how fuckin’ gorgeous she looks in my favorite place.
I didn’t realize how much I was going to enjoy having her here. As we walk through the distillery, I explain how to make the whiskey and what we do. She seems very interested and hangs on every word I say.
“So it takes three years for the grain to be ready?”
I nod. “Yup, and the grain has to be grown in Irish ground for it to be considered Irish whiskey. Since that is the only thing we make, that’s the only way it works, but some places can outsource. We do not though. We are strictly Irish.”
“No way. I would have never guessed, being in an Irish distillery,” she jokes. I chuckle as she leans into me.
Wrapping an arm around her, I take her to the malting room and explain the process. A lot of our workers are working hard, turning over the barley. “This is a constant process. They are in here twenty-four hours, for eight to twenty-one days, depending on the germination. Kane has it down to a science. That’s why he is the boss in here. I used to do this when I was a kid.”
“Looks like fun,” she says with wide eyes. “Hard though.”
“No, not at all. Come on.”
“Huh? What?”
“Come do it with me,” I say, pulling her along. She comes willingly, smiling as we reach for rakes leaning against the wall. Picking a section that doesn’t look as if anyone has gotten to it, I show her how to rake the barley over and over again. She catches on quickly and soon she is laughing, just enjoying the process. I love how she lives. How she jumps in with no cares, no worries—she just lives. She is so happy, and it’s mind-boggling with all the tragedy she’s been through.