I take a sip of the frothy Guinness to coat my throat as I come up with another lie. “Yeah, I was there with the real estate agent this morning, and we did another walk-through. We ran down the steps just in time before it all caved in. I’m pretty sure the entire inside of the house needs to be replaced now. My foot went right through the porch.”
“Wow. I’m glad you guys are okay. I didn’t know John and Hannah opened so early.”
Sip.
“They don’t. He met me there first thing before going to the office.” I’m going right to freaking hell on a jet plane. Lie after lie after lie...
“Man, that is crazy. Well, it is old, after all. You can’t expect it to be perfect. It was built in the eighteen hundreds, for crying out loud.” He snorts, taking a sip of his beer.
“It isn’t perfect at all. It needs a lot of work. It’s a good thing I’m suddenly a billionaire so I can afford it.”
“You haven’t told anyone?” he inquires as he finishes his beer, setting the mug down.
“Ye want another?”
He leans over the bar and pours himself another draft. “I got it.”
“Maybe I should hire you.”
“Psh, I’d be a shit bartender and you know it.” He sits back down, and as if to prove his point, his mug overflows.
He isn’t wrong.
“So, why haven’t you told anyone? You know people are already starting to get curious. Your mom bought a newer house and a new car. And Hannah... Why you went to her in the first place is beyond me, but she started blabbing her mouth, too. You should know you won’t be able to keep it a secret for much longer.”
I sigh, downing my beer and leaning over the bar to pour myself another like Anthony did. “I know. I know. My mom is so good at embracing things, though. She has always been the type to keep going on with life. I always admired that about her. She accepts things that I find hard to accept.”
“It didn’t seem too hard to accept the Gredence Place.”
He doesn’t say it in a malicious way, but I understand where he’s coming from. What’s holding me back from being the town billionaire when I just bought the most expensive house within a two-hundred-mile radius? I can’t say, “Well, it’s funny ye say that Anthony, because I got it for me and yer sister. Ye see, I have a journal entry of hers from back when I snuck into yer house and read her diary because I knew, deep down, that one day she’d be mine.” Yeah, right.
“Yeah, but it reminds me of Ireland with its old stones. And I can decorate the interior with Italian furniture. Make it feel like my two favorite places all in one.”
“I know. I also know that Gwen wanted to have that place someday. I don’t know how she thought that'd happen with a teacher’s salary, but dreams are dreams, I suppose. I wonder how long she’ll stay in town,” he ponders out loud before getting up and walking over to the pool table to rack up the balls.
My stomach turns, and I push my drink away. “What do ye mean? Why wouldn’t she stay in town?” I try not to sound too sad or worried.
“Well, you know how she is. She has a restless heart and this amazing desire to see other parts of the country. I mean, she could have gone elsewhere after she lost her job, if she really wanted to. She didn’t have to come back here.” He chalks his pool stick. “But I don’t know. There are no job openings for a teacher here. What is she going to do? Her savings can only last so long and her soul will eventually want to move on. It’s why she left in the first place. She is meant for more than this town, Reilly. She is bigger than what this place has to offer.” He hits the cue ball, breaking the triangle and sending a few solids through the two upper pockets. “I’ve always admired her for that.” He points the stick at me. “Don’t tell her I said that, though. Come on, play pool with me.”
I stand, letting his words reverberate in my mind. I smile, pick up a stick, chalk it up, and wait for him to miss his next shot. I sip the dark brew, wondering if I’ll be enough to settle her wandering heart, or if my own will get broken in the process.
Chapter Nineteen
Gwendolyn
I had my POD moved and now I kind of don’t want to take my stuff out of it. Picking up and moving had already been so hard, so I just want to keep all my crap in there for when I need to move again. And if Reilly is serious about the Gredence Place being ours, then that might happen soon. But who knows when that could be. A part of me keeps wondering if things with Reilly are too good to be true. I want to jump in and swim in the love I know we could have, but something keeps one foot out the door, like I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop.
Maybe it’s the hiding.
Maybe it’s the lying.
Maybe it’s the secrets.
I don’t know, but those things can’t add up to equal a healthy relationship. I walk inside the POD and start to grab a few things, the situation weighing heavily on my mind. When I go back outside, the sun blinds me for a moment. Mills is waiting at the bottom of the steps, shuffling the items in her hands.
Her arms are full of pillows and blankets. She peeks her head over the top of the soft, fluffy square. “Someone has a pep in their step, or maybe a limp in their walk. Whatever you want to call it.”
“It could just be a good day. The sun is out, the birds are chirping—”
“—You had sex with an Irishman. I know. Just a typical day.”
“Mills!”
“What? I pick you up from your sex cavern and you don't even give me any details. It’s just rude.”
I grab the keys from my back pocket, trying to find the right one. After three attempts with the wrong key, I huff. Mills won’t be moving in until the end of the month, but I’m moving in today. I need my own space, and sleeping in the room where I still have Dwayne Johnson posters up... Well, it feels like my parent’s house.
“You okay?” she asks, her voice a bit softer.
Yes! The right key. Finally. The door opens, and to my surprise, the landlord had cleaned the place all in one night. The carpet is still there, but I don’t expect miracles to happen overnight. Literally, it’s only been one night. “I’m fine. Why? Oh, which room do you want? Right or left?” It doesn’t really matter to me since both of the rooms are the same size.
The pillow tumbles to the ground after she walks through the door. “Can I have the room away from the red stain?” she asks.
I want to laugh. Her imagination cracks me up. “Sure. I’ll take the haunted room and sacrifice myself for you.”
“You’re the greatest friend a girl could ask for.” She opens the door to her room and disappears. “And you didn’t answer me!” she shouts, her voice echoing throughout the small space.
“Answer what?” I ask, setting my things down on the floor in my room.
“If you’re okay.” Her voice gets closer as she walks out of her new bedroom.
I wring my hands together and head to the front door. “I’m fine. Just thinking about how my first night in our new haunted apartment is going to go.”
She grabs my arm, stopping me in my tracks. “Don’t lie to me. What’s going on in that head of yours?”
The hallway is a bit dark, and if I listen well enough, I can hear the actors rehearsing for the play downstairs. “Nothing. Really, I’m fine.”
“Gwen.”
I sigh. “I don’t know what to think, okay? I finally have the guy I’ve dreamed about since I was sixteen, but I feel like it’s all a secret. I know it won’t always be like that, but it feels like that right now. I’m lying to Anthony, which is something I’m not okay with. Reilly is hiding something from me. He brought the Gredence Place, but he won’t tell me how he managed to afford it. He keeps saying Lucky gave it to him. I keep wondering if I want a relationship badly enough when it means lying to those closest to me. I had the most amazing night, Mills. I felt like a princess. He was perfect. He dragged me through the house, telling me all the things he planned for us and our future. He wanted my advice since this would be our house togeth
er. He wants to fill all the rooms with kids.”
“Oh, Gwen,” she says, sadness and sympathy both evident in her voice.
“It’s okay. I know.” Tears burn my eyes as I think about what he said in the car. “He said he wanted me more than kids, and he mentioned that we could always adopt. He is perfect. Everything is perfect.”
“But you really hate that you guys are living a secret life together? I mean, it isn’t that much of a secret. Everyone has known how you guys feel about each other for a long time now. Well, everyone knew except the two of you.”
“Anthony doesn’t.”
She rolls her eyes and hoops her arm through mine. “Anthony is oblivious to anything that isn’t written in subsections.”
“Ouch! Burn.”
“You know I’m right. Don’t keep yourself in the dark, okay? I really think you guys are blowing this out of proportion.”
“You saw what happened with Grayson,” I say as I walk out the door to the POD.
“You can’t really be basing what you’re doing now from that, are you? Anthony blew up because the bastard cheated on you, not because they were friends. You know what he is going to be the most upset about when he finds out? Because he will find out, it is only a matter of time. Secrets always unfold.”
My stomach knots, rolling with nausea when she speaks the words that I had already been thinking about. “What?”
“He is going to be hurt more than anything by the fact that the two people he loves most in the world didn’t trust him enough to tell him how they felt about each other,” she quickly adds.
“It isn’t about trust,” is all I can reply with.
“Isn’t it, though?” she shoots back grabbing one end of my bed frame while I pick up the other. Luckily, it’s made of cheap material and isn’t too heavy, or else we would have had to call in reinforcements.
I grunt, lifting it higher as we make our way up the steps. “I trust him with my life, Mills.”
“Well, yeah, because he is your brother,” she huffs. “But you don’t trust him with your heart. You don’t trust his reaction. Why, though? Has he ever given you a reason not to? I just think the game you’re playing, you and Reilly have made it up, and you guys are the only ones playing. The only way this is going to hurt your relationship with Anthony is if you don’t be honest with him, because he is going to be hurt by that.” She pauses when we get to the top of the steps. “Wait. I need a minute,” she gasps, putting the end of the bed frame down. Mills leans against the wall, holding her side as she tries to catch her breath.
I lower my end, placing it on the ground right outside our door. Sweat drips down the middle of my breasts as my chest rises and falls from the exertion of carrying that damned thing. It’s heavier than I thought. “You’re right.”
“I know,” she calmly responds.
“Don’t sound too smug about it.” I bend over, feeling like I’m going to throw up. Am I really that out of shape?
“Well, if I didn’t have to keep repeating myself, I wouldn’t be smug about it,” she says, her voice lined with sass.
I mock her by making faces. “Come on, let’s get this thing inside.”
A few minutes later, the bed frame is finally set up and the last thing I need is the mattress, but I don’t think I’ll be able to get that by myself.
“Do you have the rest? I told my parents I’d have dinner with them tonight,” Mills asks.
“I’ll figure it out. I always do.”
“You should call your hunka-hunka burning love and you guys can break in your mattress. You can christen the place since I’m not getting laid. What a shame,” she sighs. She shakes her head and pulls out a set of keys that is loaded with several different keychains. That thing must weigh five pounds. I don’t know how she can drive with it.
She gets into her car and starts the engine.
“Maybe. Or I’ll call Anthony. Or my dad.”
“Boring. I’ll talk to you later. Love you!” she calls out of the window of her car as it pulls away.
The sun is starting to set, so I only have about an hour of light left. If I’m going to call someone, I need to do it right now. I take my phone out of my back pocket and scroll through my contacts until I got to Reilly. My finger hovers over the call button with hesitation. Out of nerves, I start biting my thumbnail. It’s a disgusting habit, but I don’t know how to break it. I jump on the sidewalk, slide my phone in my back pocket, and start counting the cracks in the cement when I hear a muffled voice.
I spin around, looking for the source, but don’t see it. I figure I’m imagining things and go back to counting the cracks. I start thinking about everything that’s been going on, what Mills said, and what Reilly and I talked about last night. I’ll call Reilly, have him help me with the mattress, and tell him we need to talk to Anthony.
The muffled voice speaks again, still inaudible.
I fall off the curb of the sidewalk, catching myself with my palms. My phone slides out of my back pocket and I see Reilly’s name on the screen.
“Hello? Gwen? Are ye okay? Ye freaking me out,” he shouts over the loud noise of the crowd from the bar.
I flip over onto my ass, wiping my hands on my jeans, and wince when they start to burn from the pebbles that are embedded in my skin. I hold the phone with my fingers, careful not to let it touch my palm. “Hello?” I answer into it.
“Thank Christ. What the hell, Gwenie? I’ve been talking to air for about two minutes, hearing ye mumbling something. Are ye okay?” Reilly asks, sounding genuinely concerned.
Damn, that lilt gets me every time.
“Hey. I’m sorry. I must have butt-dialed you,” I explain, trying to regain my composure.
“At least yer okay. Yer okay, right?” Reilly grumbles, still not reassured.
“I am. Actually, I was just about to call you. I need help moving a mattress and I was hoping, my big, bad, and strong Irishman would help?”
He growls and my nipples react, tightening in my shirt. “Of course, I’ll help. I’ll be over in a few minutes.”
“I don’t want to bother you if you’re at work. I can call Anthony or something.” I toe the pavement, kicking at the same group of pebbles that are stuck in my palm.
“Gwenie, ye could never interrupt me. Brock is here, so he has it covered. Plus, I want to see ye. I miss ye.”
My heart soars. I try not to put too much faith in those words, but I can’t help it. I dreamed of hearing those words for years. They sound even better than I could have ever imagined. “You saw me this morning,” I say, feeling a bit shy.
“Yeah, but that was forever ago,” he whines as the strong rumble of his car echoes through the speaker.
“It was six hours ago,” I lash back. I walk back to the POD I rented and lean against the side.
“Six hours too long. I want to see ye all the time,” Reilly roars at me.
“You’ll get tired of me then,” I reply. I try to make light of it, but the insecurity still leaks through.
The loud growl of his car gets closer, and I watch as his Mustang pulls through the parking lot until he sees me standing there. I hang up the phone and cross my arms, waiting for him to get out of the car. The car door slams, and Reilly takes off his sunglasses as he starts to walk toward me. His legs are long, eating up the distance between us. His defined arms gleam in the low sunlight, stretching perfectly in his shirt, barely hiding his full torso of tattoos.
Time stands still as the sun reflects different shades of red off of his beard. Normally, it’s only a hint of red, but in the sunlight, you can see it shine through. His fingers run through his hair, swooping it back over his head.
He looks like a model.
I look like I went swimming in a lake full of sweat. “Don’t. I’ve been working all day. I stink and my skin is all sticky from sweat,” holding my hands up as he gets close.
He doesn’t slow down. He holds up his arms, coming in for a hug.
“Don’t!” I
squeak when he picks me up and twirls me around. His lips find my neck and he licks a path from my shoulder to my lips, sealing his lips over mine, taking my breath away.
“You are sweaty,” he says with a small grin, rubbing his lips over my cheek to my ear, “but ye taste good.”
I push him away, walking into the POD. “You’re gross,” I playfully tease at him as I wipe the spit trail he left on my shirt, smiling the entire time.
“Ye love it,” he retorts.
“Maybe.”
He grabs a thick handful of my ass as he reaffirms, “Ye do.”
My body shudders beneath his touch, but the last item in the POD still holds my attention. “I need help with that,” I announce.
“With what?” he questions as his hands wander to the front of my jeans, teasing the skin of my stomach.
“The mattress.”
“Yeah, lead me to it.” He sucks my earlobe into his mouth.
“It’s right here,” I whisper as I press my ass against his erection, tilting my head to the side as his lips explore my neck.
He lifts his head and a gasp leaves his lips, “Oh, ye actually mean ye needed help moving a mattress.”
I turn in his arms, jumping until my legs are wrapped around his waist. “What do you think I meant?”
“Well, I thought… Ye meant ye wanted to… Ye know.” His eyes don’t meet mine as the area above his beard turns a light pink color.
“You thought it was a euphemism to have sex?” I tease him.
“Yes?” he asks.
I hide my face in his chest as I laugh. “Oh my god. You’re insatiable.”
“Have you seen ye? Of course, I am,” he responds, his palms firmly gripping my ass cheeks, holding me up. “Come on. Let me help ye with your mattress.”
I slide down his body. The ridges of his abs rub against me and his cock teases the heat rising between my legs. I close my eyes and take a deep breath. Let’s just get the mattress inside and we can see where the moment leads.
He pushes the queen-sized mattress out and I close the door to the POD. The metal echoes and the last of the sun can hardly be seen. We’re moving it in the dark, and it makes me feel bad for asking him to come out so late. “I’m sorry I didn’t call you earlier, I thought we’d have more time before we lost light.”
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