Becoming the Whiskey Princess

by Toni Aleo

  In my ear, he whispers, “I’ve sung that with your da many times, my dear. Let me just say, he raised one hell of a singer, and what a beauty she is.” Pulling away, he meets my gaze and wipes away my tear. “He’d be very proud of ya.”

  “Thank you,” I say softly.

  “Simply stunning.”

  I whip my head to the side to see Declan standing there, a grin on his face. “Hey!”

  I hop off the stool and into his arms. Pain explodes across my chest, and I scold myself for that dumb move, but I’ve missed him. He’s been a constant presence since I got shot, and I don’t think I like being apart. As I kiss his lips softly, he smiles against mine, and I know it’s because we are in front of the whole pub, but I don’t give two shits. He’s my man!

  Parting, I smile up at him, running my finger along his jaw. “They threw me a little welcome home party.”

  “It was Declan’s idea,” I hear Fiona say, and my grin grows as his cheeks warm with color.

  “Oh, really?”

  He shrugs. “Sure. Everyone’s missed ya.”

  I grin and he sends me a grin back before he unlocks my arms from around his neck. My brows come together as he says, “Sit down, sweetheart.”

  I do as he asks, and then he takes my hand in his. “I heard this song a couple years ago. I saw the artist perform it here, right, Fiona?”

  Fiona grins as she nods. “Yeah.”

  He meets my gaze again and kisses my knuckles before saying, “And yeah, he was amazing, but I never thought about this song until about an hour ago.” He pauses, lacing our fingers together, and I can feel the nerves coming off him in waves. He hates crowds, and I am surprised he is saying this much, but I appreciate it. “I was in my library and the thought of you was heavy on my mind. Like always,” he says, sending me a grin that I return. “And all of a sudden, this song comes to mind. This is how I feel for ya, and it describes ya perfectly. So, yeah, let’s have at it.”

  Richard starts to play and I fully expect him to start singing, but to my surprise, it is Declan who starts to sing. It is a lovely sound too! Deep but with a little bit of a softness to it. I recognize the song almost immediately as Ed Sheeran’s “Fall.” It is one of my favorites, and hearing Declan sing it has my heart coming out of my chest. While he doesn’t have the voice Ed Sheeran has, his voice is beautiful just the same, and I am in complete awe of him. The song lyrics talk about how much he loves falling for the girl he loves, and it rattles my soul seeing my boyfriend, I mean fiancé, sing so beautifully. Just for me.

  The whole pub has fallen silent again, and everyone is in total shock. As am I. Out of the corner of my eye, I see someone hold up their phone but Fiona takes it away, shaking her head. She really is so amazing. I meet Declan’s gaze again and can see that he is nervous, but my God, he has no reason to be. He is beyond amazing. Squeezing his hand as his voice fills the pub, I am flabbergasted.

  As the song ends, I stand up, wrapping my arms around his neck as I kiss his lips while everyone claps and hollers out for him. Love explodes in my heart for him, sending tingles through my body as we share a long kiss. His fingers are tight at my waist, and I can feel his heart beating against my chest, almost in time with mine. Parting, we share a smile, but when I go to say something, he shakes his head before falling down to one knee.

  Holding my hand in his, he looks up at me and my heart kicks into hyperspeed. I know what he is doing, but seeing him down there just makes it extremely real.

  “I would have never done that before,” he says softly. “Sing for ya like that.”

  “Sure the hell wouldn’t,” I hear Kane call out, and I hadn’t realized he was here, but he is, wrapped around Fiona like a glove.

  Smiling, I look back down at Declan and cup his jaw. “It was beautiful. Thank you.”

  “Anything for ya, Amberlyn. Really. Anything and everything you want, you’ll have because I honestly can’t live this life without you. I can’t believe I found ya, across a lake, looking so gorgeous. You stunned me. First glance, I was a goner. When I first talked to you and you poked me in the middle of my forehead, I knew I was going to love you my whole damn life. You’ve taken over my thoughts, my heart, and brought me out of the shell I’ve lived in for so long. I became alive when I met you.”

  Tears burn my eyes as I hold his gaze. “Oh, Declan,” I say softly, and he smiles.

  “Nothing feels like you. Nothing can add up to what you give me. I want to say I chose ya first, but I didn’t. My heart did, and by the time my brain and the rest of my body caught up, I was gone with ya. I never want to let ya go. So,” he says, pausing. I glance over to where he is looking as Fiona hands him a book. Meeting my gaze again, he says, “I want you to have this.”

  When he places it in my lap, I look up at him in shock. It’s his Pride and Prejudice first edition.

  “No, this is your great-times-ten-grandma’s,” I say, running my fingers down the front of it. I love this book and would love to say it was mine, but it isn’t, and I can’t allow him to give it to me. No matter how much I want it.

  “Yeah, it was and so is what is inside.”

  Intrigued, I open the book but don’t see anything. “Huh?”

  He pulls on the little string bookmark, and at the bottom of the fabric is a ring tied to it. Blinking in complete shock, I pick it up and gawk at the gorgeousness of this ring. A huge oval diamond sits on a gold band that is encrusted with smaller diamonds. It is stunning and beautiful, very vintage. So completely me. I meet Declan’s gaze, and he smiles as he takes the ring from my fingers and unties it. Holding it out, he looks deep into my eyes, and I can see the tears welling up in his own eyes. He is so beautiful, his ice-blue eyes burning with love for me. I can see every single one of his emotions, and I can’t believe that, so quickly, I can read him like this. He is nervous but completely in love with me, just the way I want him.

  “My grandma who wore this ring and bought this book was married for forty-six years to my grandda. They were mad for each other, and she loved this ring and this book, but I want you to have them.”

  A tear escapes my eye, and I try to hold in the others, but it doesn’t work well. He smiles as his fingers thread with mine while his other hand holds the ring out to me. “These things are part of my history, and I want you to have them because you are my future.”

  “Declan,” I gasp, my lip wobbling as I hold his gaze.

  “I love ya, Amberlyn, and I would like nothing more than for you to be my wife. To make this life worth living because without ya, I’m nothing. So will ya have me?”

  I don’t even answer him. I let my lips do the talking and ignore the sting in my chest or the exclamation of the audience. I mark the pain off as my heart exploding in my chest, and I couldn’t care less about the people in the room. The only thing that matters is the fact I’ll never love anyone the way I love Declan O’Callaghan.

  I am finally feeling like myself.

  It’s been almost four weeks since I was shot, and I feel fantastic. Yeah, it still hurts a bit here and there when I do things, but I know that I am healed. My wound is scabbed over and isn’t swollen anymore. The doctor gave me a clean bill of health, which is such a blessing since they thought I would die when it all first happened. But like my mom said, it wasn’t my time. Which is fine with me. While I miss her and my dad so much, I am about to spend the rest of my life with Declan.

  Swoon...

  It’s been a week since he proposed “the right way,” as he says. I still can’t believe how extraordinarily romantic it all was. I never expected that from him. I was fine with the way he did it in the hospital and thought that was how he operated, but then he blew my flipping mind with his real proposal. I swear I’ll never forget the way his eyes sparkled as he looked deep into mine. The way he sang to me, only for me. Or the way he held the ring up to me as his eyes pleaded for my forever.

  Which he already had.

  He’s changing right before my eyes, and I love
it. I remember the first time I met him, when he was looking at me, his brow furrowed with the worst case of resting bitchface! He was so closed-off, almost scared of me, although it didn’t take much to pull him from his shell. Now when he looks at me, I feel nothing but indescribable love.

  I know that Fiona and even my aunt and uncle think I’m crazy. That this is all insane, but I know it’s not crazy. It’s real. If my mom were here, she would believe in this. She always told me to fight for what I believe in. To never give up. That she’d rather I stand for what I believe in alone than stand for something I don’t. I know that it’s fast, and that it wouldn’t hurt to be engaged for a long time, but why wait when we are so in love? I know they think it’s because of the distillery, but that has nothing to do with it. I know he would give it up for me; though, I would never allow him to do that.

  We are getting married because we love each other.

  The distillery issue just rushed us along.

  Coming down the stairs, I smile at my aunt as I reach for my shoes.

  “Where ya off to?” she asks with a grin on her face.

  “Declan is picking me up for dinner with his family.”

  “Oh, that’s nice,” she says before looking down at the newspaper she is reading. Rolling my eyes, I hate that she is being so standoffish about it all. I know she doesn’t agree, but can’t she support me? Heading for her, I pause when I see the headline on her paper.

  Will Amberlyn Reilly, the future Whiskey Princess, testify against her shooter?

  “Why do you read that crap?” I find myself asking as I sit on the arm of her chair. Meeting my gaze with the same dark brown eyes of my father, she smiles.

  “’Cause I’m nosy as shite. Have to know what they are saying about you.”

  “And?” I ask, even though I don’t care.

  “They think you won’t.”

  I shake my head. “I want him to be punished for what he did to me. Of course I will.”

  “Oh, I know that, but Noreen is making sure that no one knows anything about you. It’s kinda spooky how much she is hidin’,” she says with a nod. “Good, though. She is protecting you.”

  “Yeah,” I agree, wrapping my arm around her, ignoring the sting in my chest. As I lean my head against hers, she kisses my temple and smiles against it.

  “Make sure to tell her thank you,” she reminds me.

  “I will,” I say softly. I can feel the tension in her body, and it worries me that I put it there. “Are you mad at me?”

  She shakes her head. “No, I’m worried a bit, that’s all. I just want to make sure I am doing right by my brother’s and your ma’s memory, is all.”

  “I think you are,” I say, leaning back to look at her. “I know you are.”

  “It’s scary. You’re so young, my love. I don’t want you to waste this life you have on the first boy you fall for.”

  “I don’t see it as a waste. I wish you could feel what I feel. The overpowering burst of love that rattles me to the core. I love him. And I want to marry him. My mom married her first love.”

  “Yes, but she had some duds before that,” she says, cupping my face. “You’ve had none.”

  “Good, so I’ll never know the feeling of heartbreak. I take that as a good thing in my book.”

  She shakes her head and then sucks in a deep breath before letting it out. She looks over at me with all the love in the world and I smile. Since I came to Ireland, she has done nothing but treat me like her own. It’s amazing how much she means to me. I always knew about her, spoke to her a few times on the phone, but now, I know I couldn’t go a day without speaking to her.

  “You’re an adult, my love. You do as you please. I’ll be here to guide you, and, above all, love ya like yer ma and da would.”

  I smile as I lean my forehead to hers. “That’s all I could ever ask for.”

  She kisses my nose, and I giggle as I pull back. “We need to go dress shopping.”

  She nods. “Sure, when?”

  “Soon, the wedding is October seventeenth.”

  “My goodness, so soon, yes?”

  “Yeah, that’s his deadline,” I say with a shrug.

  I kind of wanted to be a June bride, like my mom had been. She had even gotten married out beside the B&B when she was my age, but I won’t be a June bride. Declan’s father isn’t budging, and while Declan has told me repeatedly he’d throw it all away to make me happy, I won’t be happy if he does. So October bride I am! It’s really no big deal, I guess. Orange will look great on Fiona, so that’s a plus.

  With an unpleasant sound, my aunt’s thought on the matter is, “Ah, gobshite of a deadline, it is.”

  I laugh as I nod. “It is, but that’s how those O’Callaghans work.”

  She squeezes my hand, tears gathering in her eyes. “You’ll be one of them soon.”

  “Yeah, but I’ll always be a Reilly deep down,” I say with a wink as the doorbell rings.

  Kissing her cheek loudly, I get up and head to the door. Pulling it open, I smile when my gaze meets Declan’s. His lips curve up at the sides before he reaches for me, bringing me up to my tippy toes as his lips move with mine. Desire swims in my belly as my hands run up his chest and around his neck. I just love kissing him. Parting, he grins down at me before tucking a stray piece of my hair behind my ear.

  “Howya,” he says softly, running his thumb along my bottom lip. “You’re beautiful.”

  I smile shyly as I lace my fingers with his. He’s wearing a suit, not a tuxedo, but a dark blue suit with a light blue shirt underneath the jacket. The first few buttons are open, giving me a delectable view of his sexy neck. He isn’t wearing the beanie either. I’ve noticed he hasn’t been wearing it at all lately. “So are you,” I say. “I feel a little underdressed.”

  He shakes his head, taking a step back before drinking in the sight of me. I hope he sees that I’ve taken time straightening my hair and doing my makeup since Fiona had to work. The dress I’m wearing is sweet enough, I guess; it’s a pale green color, the skirt long with a cute little bird design all over it while the bodice is sparkling and tied around my neck. Smiling down at me, he gathers me in his arms before running his lips along mine.

  “You’re stunning,”

  I kiss his jaw and close my eyes, leaning against him. I’ve missed him. He had to work all day yesterday and most of the days since I was shot, and it’s sucked being so far away from him all day. Thankfully, I start back at work tomorrow, so I won’t be so lonely.

  “I missed you,” I whisper against this jaw, the blond hair tickling my lips.

  “I’ve missed ya too, my love. I got something for ya.”

  I lean back and meet his gaze. “Yeah?”

  He lets me go to reach into his pocket and pulls out my engagement ring. His great-grandmother’s ring. It didn’t fit, it was too big, so he took it to be resized. I thought it would take longer to get here, but knowing Declan, he probably had it rushed. I am still in such awe of the beauty of the ring. The diamond is so big, almost a little gaudy, but the diamonds on the sides accent it beautifully, and it really is stunning.

  Taking my hand, he slides it on my finger and smiles at me. Kissing the ring on my finger, he massages my hand with his thumb. “Perfect fit, yeah?”

  I nod, my heart pounding against my ribs. “It is.”

  “You ready?”

  “Yeah, let’s go,” I say, looking back at my aunt. “We are off.”

  “Howya, Mrs. Maclaster.”

  “Howya, Declan, good to see ya,” she says and I actually believe her.

  “You too, we’ll be back later.”

  “Sure, give your parents my best.”

  “Will do,” he says with a nod.

  He then pulls me out the door and to his car.

  We don’t say much as we head to the O’Callaghan estate. My fingers are laced with his, resting on his leg as we drive. I feel so complete. It’s such a euphoric feeling he brings me. Glancing over at him, I
take in the beauty that is my fiancé. His eyes are trained on the road he is following, and I notice that his hair is getting longer. It’s curling around his ears in a cute little way. The hair on his jaw is longer than normal too. He looks all unkempt, and I have to admit, it’s rather sexy.

  But then I notice the tension in his jaw. My brows come together as I ask, “What’s wrong?”

  He smiles as he shakes his head. “Know me too well, ya think?”

  “I don’t think, I know.”

  Clearing his throat, he says, “Yeah, I guess ya do.” Squeezing my hand, he glances at me for a moment before looking back at the road. “I don’t know how I feel about this. I don’t trust my da and ma.”

  I scoff. “What do you mean? We are going to dinner.”

  “Yeah, but I feel like it’s gonna be a pain.”

  “Anything you don’t want to do is a pain,” I supply and he laughs.

  “True, but promise me something,” he says softly, meeting my gaze. “You feel uncomfortable, at any time, you tell me, yeah?”

  I nod. “Of course.”

  “Good,” he says with a nod, bringing my hand up to his mouth to kiss softly. “I love you.”

  “I love you,” I say automatically as my stomach does a little flip-flop. There is something about the way he tells me he loves me that hits me in the gut every time. It’s all sexy and rough and Irish. And I know it’s all for me. As I watch him work his lip as he drives, I hate that he is nervous about going to dinner with his family. It reminds me of when we were going to the ball. Hm. That reminds me. “It’s been a week.”

  His brows come in. “Sure, yeah? So?”

  “You said we would talk about everything when a week was up. It’s actually been a week and a half.”

  He chuckles. “Sweetheart, let’s get through dinner.”

  I smile. “So you don’t want to talk about having sex.”

  I’m surprised we don’t crash the way he jerks the car to the side before righting the steering wheel and then looking at me. “Jaysus, Amberlyn! Run me off the road, will ya?”