by Paula Kay
“You’re not going to answer it?” Jemma asked.
Isabella shrugged. “Probably a wrong number.”
“Or it could be Colin.” Jemma grinned and grabbed Isabella’s phone up off the table.
“Hello? Oh, hey, Colin. No, this is Jemma. Hold on, Bella’s right here.”
Jemma handed her the phone and Isabella felt her mouth go dry. She really couldn’t believe that he was calling her so soon—or calling her at all for that matter.
“Hello?”
“Hey, beautiful. Remember me?”
Isabella laughed the moment she heard his voice and silly joke. “Of course I remember you. You’re not easy to forget.”
Jemma rolled her eyes across the table from her and gave her a thumbs-up.
“Well, in that case, you should instantly say yes to my invitation for today. I promise you a good time. I promise you a wonderful tour of the city aboard one of those cool buses where we can sit on the second level, enjoying the slightly rainy weather while we sip coffees and hold hands under a blanket.”
Isabella laughed. “You’re pretty sure of yourself, aren’t you?”
“I’m sure that we’ll have a good time together, if that’s what you mean.”
“So what time are you thinking for this little tour?”
“In an hour? Oh, and invite Jemma along also.”
“Can I phone you back? I have your number now.”
“Do you promise you will?”
Isabella laughed. “Yes. I’ll phone you back in five minutes. And Colin?”
“Yes, my darling.”
Isabella felt a slight pull in her gut. The way he’d spoken reminded her of the way that Thomas so often teased her. But she wasn’t thinking about Thomas on this trip. She was moving on herself—with new people and new adventures of her own.
“Hello? You were saying?”
Colin’s voice in her ear reminded her that she was still on the phone with him.
“Oh, sorry. I was just going to say thanks for calling.”
“Of course. Phone me back in five.”
Isabella hung up and grinned at Jemma, who’d just gotten back to the table with a cup of coffee.
“So do tell? What was that all about?”
“It was an invitation.”
Jemma raised an eyebrow. “Go on.”
“For both of us, by the way…”
“Mm-hm.”
“He wants to know if we would like to do a city tour. On one of those two-level buses.” Isabella looked at the time on her phone. “In about an hour.”
“Go—get ready!”
“Are you coming?”
“Nope. I’m not going to be a third wheel on this date of yours.” Jemma laughed. “Seriously. It’s okay. I have things I want to get done here. And I’m excited for you, Bella. It’s nice to see you going out on a date.”
Isabella grinned. “It has been a long time.”
“Yes, it has. Now call him back and go get ready. Wear something cute.”
“Does that mean I can raid your closet?”
“You may. Go!”
Isabella stole a glance at Colin sitting next to her on top of the bus. True to his word, he’d met her at the tour bus stop right on time with coffees and a blanket. They’d been riding now for about fifteen minutes and Isabella was intensely aware of her hand inside his under the blanket. It felt good—being romanced by a guy, especially one as cute as Colin.
They’d been chatting nonstop since they’d boarded the bus. Isabella had filled him in on some of the details of her life—where she was from, what she and Jemma had been doing on their travels—but nothing of much importance. There’d be time for that later, if they’d be keeping in touch at all.
Colin squeezed her hand and she felt the intensity of his stare.
“You’re really beautiful, Isabella. I don’t want to stop looking at you. Maybe you should come home with me today.”
“Colin! Don’t be silly.” Isabella felt herself blushing. It was a lot of attention to have all at once. “I haven’t talked to Jemma yet about our travel plans, but we won’t be leaving Dublin before the end of the week.”
“And then? How much time will you spend in Ireland and what will you do after that?”
Isabella caught herself before blurting out her plans. She didn’t want to get into all the details about her family life—about meeting her birth father in just a few weeks. That all seemed a bit too intense for first-date conversation.
“We have to be back in London in two weeks or so. I have a flight to San Francisco—to spend Thanksgiving with my family.”
“Okay, good. So that means you might want to take about a week or so to come down south to see me—I mean, to see the Ring of Kerry—one of the most beautiful spots in Ireland, not to be missed, I might add.”
Isabella laughed. “So you’ve said.”
Colin leaned over to kiss her cheek. “I have to see you again, Isabella.”
Isabella’s heart beat faster and when she turned just a bit to look at him, his hand came to the side of her face, drawing her to him for a deep kiss. It was unexpected and nice.
“Wow. I could kiss you for days. Yeah. I’m gonna want to do that some more.”
Isabella smiled widely. “That was pretty nice.”
“Shall we do it again?” He grinned like a little boy and didn’t wait for her answer as he pulled her to him under the blanket, kissing her again until she had to pull away a bit to get a breath.
When she felt his hand on her thigh, she put her own on top of it. “Let’s not get carried away now. We are in public.”
It wasn’t the only reason she didn’t want things to move too fast though. Isabella didn’t have a lot of experience with men. Maybe she was looking for a distraction, but she wasn’t looking to get into anything too fast. She knew better than that—how that sort of thing could derail one’s plans.
Just as she was having the thought, the words of Arianna’s letter to her came to mind. Finding love—was that what she was doing? At some point in her life, she did have to start taking more chances—with relationships, with men. She looked over at Colin, who was watching something that the bus driver had been pointing out. But was Colin the one? In her hearts of hearts, she doubted it, but her doubts had led her down the wrong path in the past.
He looked over at her, leaning in for another quick kiss, which Isabella happily gave him. Right now she was feeling content—happy to be wanted by a man—and for now she’d just let that feeling be enough, not thinking about more than that.
Chapter 18
Isabella looked toward Jemma in the backseat of the convertible that Colin was driving. She was laughing at something that Colin’s friend, Sean, was saying and Isabella thought that the two of them seemed to be hitting it off quite nicely.
Finally, after much debate, she and Jemma had decided a few days ago that the Ring of Kerry really was a not-to-be-missed sight for them while they were in Ireland. Isabella had been talking to Colin daily since he’d left Dublin, and he was more than happy to get them set up in a nice little bed and breakfast in Killarney.
Colin had wanted Isabella to stay with him, but she didn’t lose time shooting down that idea. She was a long way from spending the night with him, if it ever came to that. She wanted to see him, but she also wanted to spend time with Jemma, just as they’d always done while on their travels.
Today, he’d hired a convertible and come to take them for the famous drive along the Ring of Kerry. He’d packed a picnic and brought along a good friend who he’d told Isabella would be perfect for Jemma.
As Colin pulled the car off to the side of the road, Isabella looked out over the banks to the wide sea stretched beyond. It was a gorgeous day—something that Colin had said was a small miracle around there—and Isabella was feeling very content and lucky to be there.
“Who’s ready for some food?” Colin asked.
Isabella and Jemma looked at one another.
“I’m starv
ing actually,” said Jemma.
“Me too. What do you have?” Isabella grinned as she walked around to get the large picnic basket.
Colin kissed her on the cheek, taking the basket from her. “Let me get that, my love. If you could just grab that blanket from the back, that would be perfect.”
Jemma came over to whisper in Isabella’s ear as the guys started walking to find a good spot for their picnic. “My love?”
Isabella laughed, whispering back. “It’s just a term of endearment they use here, silly.”
“Oh, I know, and I think he’s quite smitten with you.” Jemma smiled. “Do you like him? That much, I mean?”
Isabella shrugged. “He makes me feel good, I guess. When I’m around him. I do like him. Oh, I don’t know. It’s too soon to tell, isn’t it?” She reached down to get the blanket from the backseat of the car.
“Are you girls coming, or what?” Colin called over to them.
“Yep. Right now.” Isabella linked arms with Jemma. “We’ll talk about it more later but tell me—what do you think of Sean?”
It was Jemma’s turn to shrug. “He’s nice—pretty funny.”
“But no potential love match, I take it?”
“Nope. But that’s okay. I’m happy to be chaperoning this date with you and your man.” Jemma winked at her and the two headed to where the guys were waiting.
“Colin, that was really fantastic,” Jemma said as she leaned back on her elbows. “Thanks for organizing all that food. I’m ready for a nap now.” She curled up slightly on the blanket in the space left empty by Sean, who’d gone off to make a phone call.
Colin stood, reaching for Isabella’s hand. “Who’s up for a little walk? There’s a path just down there a ways that leads to an even more spectacular view.”
Isabella let him pull her to her feet. “That sounds like a good idea to me. Jem?”
“Nah, you two go on. I was serious about my little nap.”
Isabella and Colin hadn’t gotten too far when Jemma called out to Isabella with her phone in hand.
“It’s Thomas.” She mouthed the word “sorry” to her.
Isabella returned and looked down at her phone, realizing that Thomas was on video chat. Thanks, Jemma. Although maybe Thomas seeing her with a guy wasn’t such a bad thing. She couldn’t help the thought.
She held the phone up so that her face filled Thomas’s screen, noticing that Colin had a look of total confusion on his face. She’d probably have to fill him in just a bit, but she’d deal with that later.
“Hey, Thomas. Long time, no chat.” She grinned into the phone.
“Hey, yourself. I’ve been missing you—wanting to see your beautiful face.”
Isabella felt Colin behind her grabbing for her hand. She quickly switched the phone camera.
“Hey, check out where I am right now. It’s so gorgeous. You’d love it here. We’re at the Ring of Kerry.” She moved the phone slowly as she rotated her body so that Thomas could see the view.
“Looks wonderful. I wish I were there with you guys. Give me back your face, Iz.” Thomas laughed.
Colin squeezed her tightly to him and it was all she could do to keep from shoving him away. It was obvious that he wasn’t going to give her any privacy right now. She took a breath and turned the camera direction so it was facing her now.
“Hey, Thomas, I want you to meet a friend of mine.”
Colin stuck his hand out in a wave. “Hiya.”
“Thomas, this is Colin. Colin, this is my friend Thomas—my best friend since we were kids.” She squeezed Colin’s hand as she introduced the two.
She thought she saw Thomas’s expression change just a bit. They had been communicating a little since she and Jemma had left London, but she’d not told him anything about meeting Colin. Not that she was keeping it from him, she just wasn’t sure that there was anything to tell yet.
“Great to meet you, Colin,” Thomas was saying from the other end of the phone.
“You too, mate. Well, I’ll leave you two be.” He leaned in to kiss Isabella on the cheek. “Don’t be long, hon. We still have a bit of a drive ahead of us.”
Isabella nodded and then went over to sit on a rock.
“Hon?”
“Oh, it’s nothing, Thomas.”
“Hmm—maybe you should tell that to him. I saw the way he was looking at you.”
“We’ll talk about that later. How are you? Is everything good?”
Thomas’s expression seemed to darken. “Yeah, you know. Everything’s fine.”
“Meaning? I don’t want to pry into your business—you know that—but I have to ask. Are things okay with Natasha?”
“Things are okay, yes. She’s got this big wedding coming up—her cousin, I think it is. So we’ve had a few parties and related festivities. It’s apparently an even bigger event around here than any wedding I’ve ever seen.”
“Interesting.”
“What?”
“Well, I can’t help but think that that could be you not long from now—preparing for a big to-do wedding.”
“Iz, please don’t start with that.”
“I’m sorry. Okay. I miss you. I really do.”
“I miss you too. Tell me about San Francisco. Is it next week already? How are you feeling, Iz? Are you nervous?”
“Yes, it’s next week and yes, I’m starting to feel nervous about it. I hope I don’t freak out. You know how I get.”
“How you used to get, you mean?” Thomas grinned at her. “You’ve come a long way. I don’t really think that you’re the freak-out type—not any more. Remember that.”
“Thanks.” She felt a huge sense of relief even talking to him, but it made her wish he was there, traveling with them even despite the fact that she seemed to have Colin now.
“So, Jemma really can’t go with you?”
“No, she’s meeting her mom in London. It was planned a long time ago. She offered to cancel and come with me, but I didn’t want her to change her plans. Yeah, it would be nice to have her going with me, but I’ll be okay. I can handle it.”
“I know you can. I’m pretty sure that you can handle anything.”
“You think? That’s quite a compliment coming from you.”
“What, that I think you’re pretty amazing?” Thomas grinned.
Isabella noticed Colin motioning for her near the car.
“Thomas, sorry. I gotta go. It was nice chatting. I’m happy you called.”
“Me too, Iz. Have fun. Iz? Don’t have too much fun—with Colin, I mean.”
Was that jealousy she detected or just Thomas’s normal teasing?
“It’s pretty casual, Thomas. Nothing too serious.”
“If you say so.”
“I do. Now I gotta run. Miss you.”
“Miss you more. Bye.”
Isabella and Jemma spent their remaining week in Ireland touring a bit in the south and then making their way back to Dublin for a few nights before they were to fly out. Isabella had only spent the few days with Colin while they were in Killarney, even though he’d begged her to stay longer. She liked him, but she had to be honest with herself that there wasn’t a future between them—not with her leaving and him back at his job and real life. They had promised to keep in touch though, and so far he’d been pretty persistent about calling her daily.
When the time came to fly back to London, Isabella was ready for it. Not so much because she didn’t care to spend more time touring Ireland, but more because her next adventure was looking to be her biggest one yet—meeting her father and sister. She was now officially feeling nervous about it, and it was all she could think about during their last days in Ireland.
Chapter 19
“Thanks for waiting around with me, Jem. You don’t have to if you want to get going.” Isabella glanced at her phone to see that she still had two hours before her flight was to leave London. “I’m sure your mom is very anxious to see you.”
“Mom’s at a meeting and w
e’re getting together for lunch after, so I’m here to keep you company until—” Jemma looked down at her phone.
“Yes?”
“Huh?”
“Jem, why are you acting so weird and distracted? Expecting an important message from your new boyfriend that you’ve not told me about?” Isabella laughed.
“Oh—uh, sorry—just watching for a text from my mom.”
“You were saying? You’re going to wait with me until my flight boards?”
“Yep.” Jemma grinned, then her face got more serious. “So how are you feeling about everything?”
“Everything meaning Colin?”
“Well I was referring to the meeting with your father, but we can talk about boys if you’d rather. And while we’re on the subject, what’s going on with you and Thomas? Is everything alright now between you two?”
Isabella felt her mood shift at the mention of Thomas’s name. It hurt her stomach to think about him and the weirdness with their relationship. It was so odd to her—feeling like they really didn’t know what was going on in one another’s lives. She hated it.
“No, not exactly. I don’t know, Jemma. We talked a few times and things seem fine on the phone, but I just feel pretty bad about everything. I should have just minded my own business when it comes to his relationship. I’m the one that started all this mess, so it’s probably up to me to fix it, I suppose.”
“With Natasha, you mean? Hopefully she’ll get over what was bothering her so much, now that she’s had Thomas all to herself again.” Jemma’s phone dinged with a text.
“Your mom?”
“Mm-hm.”
Jemma seemed distracted again as she sent off a reply. She smiled as she read the response that came straight back.
“Okay, so I really am starting to believe that you have a secret boyfriend now.” Isabella laughed.
“I’m sorry. Mom’s just being silly.” Jemma tucked her phone back into her purse. “You have my undivided attention. So what were we talking about?”
“Well, we were talking about Thomas, but really I’d rather not talk about it any more. It just makes me feel sad, and I don’t want anything to take away from the excitement that I know I should be feeling right now, you know?”