I smiled and repeated the whole phrase in his ear, not even flinching about delivering the accent.
Collin stood up so quickly that it startled me.
His chair screeched on the ground as he shot to his feet, pulling me up with him and clearing his throat to get everyone's attention. I thought about the speed in which he moved when I said those words, and it made me feel tickled. I giggled and sank my face into his chest, knowing everyone was now looking at us.
"I just want you all to know that we've had an amazing time spending the day with all of you…" Collin paused, and my brother cut in.
"But see ya later," Joe said.
"Exactly!" Collin said, pointing at my brother with wide eyes like he was thankful to have it said in those words.
This caused everyone to laugh.
"Are you guys in a hurry?" my mom asked in a disappointed tone from her place at the table.
And in unison, every single one of the men at the table (save my dad) said, "Yes!"
Collin waved and bowed as he began making his way toward the door, taking me with him. I followed easily since that's what I wanted him to do. I couldn’t wait to get out of there. We would spend the next five days in an actual castle, and as far as I was concerned, the sooner we got there the better.
"Form a tunnel!" Mrs. Steiner yelled from the end of the table.
Everyone stopped to stare at her with matching surprised expressions because she was normally so soft-spoken.
"Sorry, but weren't we going to throw the rice?"
It took maybe two minutes to round everyone up, but they all went outside in a hurry, grabbing handfuls of this beautiful confetti Drake had bought specifically because he knew it made for a good pictures. It was dark outside, but their beautiful home had spotlights, and yet again I felt like a princess when I walked out and everyone cheered and threw confetti for us.
Our bags were already packed in the sleek black car that was waiting out front, and Collin and I got into the backseat, laughing at the chaos and confetti. He rolled down the window so that I could wave to everyone, and I smiled at the sight of all of them yelling and waving back at us.
Once we were far enough away that no one was waving at us anymore, I plopped back, onto the seat with a long sigh.
"You tired?" he asked.
I sat up, feeling thankful that I was finally able to focus on him and him alone. It was the first time I'd been able to do that all day.
"No," I said with a little shrug. "I was just sighing to sigh, I guess." I looked over my shoulder. "They're all gonna be back in America by the next time I see them," I said.
"Yep. Most of them are headed back in the morning, I think."
"I can't believe they were all here. I mean, even Lu and Emily came."
"You wanna go back?" he asked.
I gave him a puzzled expression, asking if he was serious, and he shrugged.
"I think most of them are spending the night there tonight," he said. "I just thought if you were sad about leaving, we could—"
I cut him off by shaking my head, and I scooted closer to him, nestling in his arm and staring up at him. "I am definitely not sad about leaving," I said. "I'm glad they came and everything, and I'm glad everyone is on their best behavior. I think it went great and I wouldn't trade a minute of it. But, the truth of it is, Mr. Ross, that I was ready for that dinner to be over before it even started." I scooted even closer, putting my face right by his face, and feeling like I couldn't get close enough to him. "I just kept telling myself it would be over soon, and before I knew it, we'd be alone."
"And now look," he said, gesturing to the otherwise empty backseat.
"Not quite," I said, cutting my eyes at the driver who was not paying attention to us at all.
I stayed wrapped in Collin's arms all the way to the castle where we would spend the next five days off the grid, or mostly off the grid. We would probably go into Dublin at least a time or two. And Collin knew he would have to answer a few phone calls for work, but we were mostly each other's for the next five days, and I was ecstatic.
I stared out the window as we drove up to the castle. Even at night, the approach to it was absolutely breathtaking. The whole process of checking in and being shown to our quarters was a surreal experience, and I was relieved to have Collin by my side since he was always confident and sure.
Somehow, making it to our room seemed to take an eternity and, at the same time, a split second. We walked through ancient rooms and down stone hallways before coming to our beautiful suite.
It was done in ornate blues and golds and was one of the most beautiful places I had ever seen. It looked like something you'd see in a coffee table book, or on a movie set. I looked around in awe as we stood near the door.
I glanced over my shoulder, feeling giddy to be behind closed doors with Collin for the first time as his wife. He had already loosened his tie and the first few buttons of his shirt, but he made quick work of kicking off his shoes and unbuttoning his shirt the rest of the way, untucking it as he fiddled with the buttons.
I took a deep breath, scanning the room, and still feeling taken aback by its grandeur. "Where's Drake when we need him?" I said, referring to wanting a picture of the room. I was really just saying anything to distract myself from literally throwing myself at Collin.
"The last thing we need in this room right now is Drake," he said.
I smiled at him. "Is that what I said? I didn't even think about it when it was coming out of my mouth. I was really just saying anything so that you wouldn’t know what I was really thinking, which was…"
I was planning on saying something about wanting to be dragged off to bed with some sort of Irish accent, but instead I trailed off. I was feeling confident when I started to say it, but I suddenly got shy. Collin moved to stand next to me in a slow, measured movement as he looked me over appraisingly.
I knew how he was looking at me, and it made my blood turn warm. I felt the need to squirm with joy or anticipation or some measure of both. I could hardly stand still.
"What were you really thinking?" he asked, after taking what seemed like a whole minute to stare at me.
"What?" I asked, feeling short of breath.
He stood right next to me, so close that our bodies were touching. My heart was pounding.
"You said you were trying to distract me from what you were really thinking, and I was asking what that was," he said.
He stood right in front of me, and my downcast eyes fell onto his undershirt, which was still tucked into his pants. He took my hand and gently held it to his side, letting me feel the warmth of his ribs through the thin layer of cotton.
"I'm sorry," I whispered.
"Sorry for what?" he asked sweetly.
"Sorry I can't answer your questions," I said, still whispering vulnerably. "I don't even know what you're saying. I can't seem to think straight right now."
Collin hesitated for a few charged seconds before stooping down to literally toss me over his shoulder.
Epilogue
The following morning
I gained consciousness without moving or shifting at all. One minute I was dreaming, and the next, I was conscious. I opened my eyes just a crack the instant I woke up, and it dawned on me that I was in a real castle. I smiled sleepily at the thought. The room was comfortable but cool, and I found myself wrapped warmly in the elegant linens and warm comforter.
Without stirring, I focused on a ray of sunlight that was piercing through the curtains on the far side of the room. I smiled when I realized Collin was sitting over there with the sun shining down on him. He normally wore contacts, but he had on a pair of glasses as he stared at the screen of his laptop. His hair was falling over his eyebrow, and I felt the urge to reach out and run my fingers through it. I wanted him close to me so I could touch him.
I let out a little moan, letting him know I was awake, and I watched with delight as his head whipped up to see if I had indeed made a sound. He was sittin
g directly in the only sunlight in the room, so it was easy for me to see him, but hard for him to see me. He squinted in my direction like he was waiting to hear it again. I made another little noise, smiling because it was louder than the first one and I knew it would draw him to me.
Collin sprang off of his chair like it was on fire. He crossed the room, going over and not around obstacles like a couch and an ottoman to get to me. It was a beautiful and funny display of athleticism, and I giggled the whole time he ran to me, cracking up even harder when he came barreling into the bed. In one fluid motion, slid underneath the covers and snuggled up next to me.
"You're freezing," I said, giggling as he latched onto me.
"I didn't realize it would get this cool in here," he said. "I got up to take care of a few emails. I thought about lighting a fire, but you were sleeping so beautifully."
I stretched and positioned my face on his chest. "I don't mind if you wake me up," I said sleepily.
We stayed there for a few minutes of quiet comfort where we just held each other. I could feel his body temperature go from cold to warm, matching mine.
"Thank you for last night," I said, feeling blood rush to my face at the vulnerable feeling it gave me to say it. I was thankful that we weren't looking at each other.
Collin was silent for half a minute, but I stayed quiet because I knew he was thinking of what to say, or how to say it, or both. "Sarah, I, uh, last night… What I want to say is thank you."
I felt his hand come up to my head, holding me to his chest.
"I'm serious, Sarah, thank you. It makes me feel amazing that I'm the only one who gets to know you."
"You're welcome," I whispered. "Thank you for being so gentle."
I cuddled up next to him, and he settled into place with me. Just when we got comfortable, I lifted my head off of his chest so that I could stare at him. His eyes were mostly closed, but he squinted at me and smiled.
"I'm in love," I said.
"Tha's good, cause we're married," he said in perfect Dublinese.
I grinned at him and he returned it even though he was pretending to be sleepy.
"We're married," I agreed, testing out the words on my lips. I couldn’t help but smile when I said it. "My husband, Collin," I said. "My husband, Collin," I repeated, using different fluctuation. "This is Collin Ross, my husband," I added in a fancy, somewhat British-sounding accent.
That one caused him to laugh out loud, and I took great pleasure in the sight. I thought about kissing him, and that brought another thought to mind.
"This is random," I said. "But Lu kissed someone at the wedding."
"Really?" he asked. "Who?"
"I don't know," I said. "She wouldn't own up to it, which was weird since she usually tells me stuff like that."
"Maybe nothing happened," Collin said.
"It did. I ran into her in the hallway, and I could tell she had just been kissing someone. It was obvious."
Collin shrugged. "Maybe it was Grant," he said, referring to one of our new friends from Ireland. "Or your brother."
"Yeah, I didn't think about Grant. It could have been him. I don't think it was Drake or Joe. She would have told me if that were the case, don't you think? I wonder why she didn't want to talk about it."
"Maybe she just didn't want to go into it on your wedding day."
"Yeah."
"Or maybe nothing happened."
"Oh, she'd been kissed," I said.
I smiled and stretched up to place my lips right on his. "I know because I'm an expert." I whispered.
"You are?"
"Uh-huh."
"Show me," he whispered.
So I did.
The End
(till book 2)
Other titles available from Brooke St. James:
Another Shot:
A Modern-Day Ruth and Boaz Story
When Lightning Strikes
Something of a Storm (All in Good Time #1)
Someone Someday (All in Good Time #2)
Finally My Forever (Meant for Me #1)
Finally My Heart's Desire (Meant for Me #2)
Finally My Happy Ending (Meant for Me #3)
Shot by Cupid's Arrow
Dreams of Us
Meet Me in Myrtle Beach (Hunt Family #1)
Kiss Me in Carolina (Hunt Family #2)
California's Calling (Hunt Family #3)
Back to the Beach (Hunt Family #4)
It's About Time (Hunt Family #5)
Loved Bayou (Martin Family #1)
Dear California (Martin Family #2)
My One Regret (Martin Family #3)
Broken and Beautiful (Martin Family #4)
Back to the Bayou (Martin Family #5)
Almost Christmas
JFK to Dublin (Shower & Shelter Artist Collective Book 1) Page 14