Moving forward Rían blocked her vision with the length and breadth of him. Liadh tried to move backwards but his feet seemed to follow hers until she had no option but to stare up into his face. His hair was lighter than she remembered, the sun had obviously lightened it and darkened his skin to a warm tan. He was huge, Liadh had to back up a step and crane her face up to look at him. Almost a foot bigger than her own five foot five, he was as broad as he was tall. She took in his huge shoulders and thick neck, she noticed the muscles on his arms and the size of his hands, everything. Her eyes wouldn’t stop drinking him in, taking note of every bit of him. His eyes were chocolate and framed by black, long lashes, she heard the rasp of his beard as his hand moved across his face. The beauty of him was staggering, his face a mass of angles and hard plains, high cheekbones and a wide jaw line made him look both dangerous and angelic. Holy crap! Look at him, feckin hell like!
“What are you doing back Liadh, in Kilvarna?” He asked, his face confused yet hopeful. He wanted so badly to reach out and touch her. Her face, her hair, anything to prove she was real, to prove she was really here.
“I’ve moved into Rua Cottage, I’m getting it ready for sale.”
“You’re selling it, why would you sell up? What about your mam?”
“Mam died Rían. A few months ago.”
He rubbed his hand through his hair, drawing her attention upward again to the breadth of his huge arms.
“Jesus Liadh, I’m so sorry.” Rían felt his heart jump inside his chest and his stomach felt empty and tight. She was all alone then, all alone with no one to mind her. He checked her ring finger quickly. No ring. Silent celebratory dance.
Liadh nodded. Damn how did her Rían get so tall, and so hot! Seeing him on YouTube hadn’t prepared her one bit for the sheer force of him in person. Her palms felt sweaty and she was ridiculously conscious of the two dogs who were tied together beside them. Horny bastards!
She did a mental sweep of his clothes, tight black jeans and a tight, white long sleeved top. Yup, the signature outfit from the shop of ‘fuck me I’m hot.’ Was that typical millionaire hottie wardrobe?
“What?” He said.
“What?” Liadh repeated, raising an eyebrow.
“I said, I’m so sorry about your mam. Are you okay?”
“Yes. Sorry, I’m not usually so incoherent. It’s just weird standing here with you after all these years. It’s like a dream.”
Rían nodded at her. “I feel ya. When did you get back?”
“A month ago. I came with my friend Bonnie for the summer.”
“You’ve been here a month! Why the hell didn’t they tell me?!” The cagey little bastards!
“They should have told me!” Rían ran his fingers through his hair and growled angrily. Liadh watched him transfixed. Fuckin hell! I mean feckin hell! He was the best looking man she had ever seen in the flesh. When his had temper flared, his cheekbones became more pronounced, his square jaw taut and his eyes flashed with passion. Is it possible to swoon in the 21st century? Damn! Irish Rhett Butler alert!
“Um…dunno. Darragh said he’d tell you when you got in.”
Rían slapped his forehead. “Yeah, he mentioned that he had some news. You must have been the news!”
“Hey!”
Liadh whipped her head around and saw Bonnie, breathless and stumbling down the path towards them.
“Who’s that?” Rían asked, looking towards Bonnie with interest.
“That’s my best friend Bonnie, she’s staying with me.”
Bonnie stopped just in front of them both and bent over winded.
“Fuckin hell, I ran that fast… whoa. Gimme a second…woo, I haven’t been that winded since fuckable Brian and the all night marathon.”
Liadh rolled her eyes at Bonnie who grinned at her. Rían was looking at Bonnie as though she were an interesting but confusing puzzle. Bonnie stopped huffing and puffing suddenly, and pointed at the two Peanuts scrunching up her face. “The two Peanuts fucking? Were you aware? Or…”
Liadh groaned. “Bonnie…um…yeah.”
Bonnie finally caught her breath and straightened her back. She walked up to Rían and stuck out her hand.
“Bonnie Stapleton, special agent at your service. That last bit was a lie by the way. Jesus, you’re tall. The Peanuts have a better sex life than us Liadh. I don’t know whether to laugh or cry.”
“MAYBE YOU COULD JUST SHUT THE FECK UP!” Liadh whispered between her teeth.
Bonnie ignored her continued to smile and gaze up at Rían. “Pleased to meet you Rían O’Malley. I think your Peanut is finished banging our Peanut now. Glad you’re back, I’ve seen all your photos up in your house. I walked into your bedroom by accident when I was looking for the bathroom. I may or may not have sprayed your aftershave. Your family have made us very welcome. Proper nice people.”
Rían shook Bonnie’s hand and nodded his head, looking slightly overwhelmed.
“A pleasure to meet you special agent Bonnie Stapleton.”
Turning to look behind Bonnie, he groaned when he saw his Peanut sitting licking himself in full view of all and sundry. Liadh nodded in his direction grinning.
“Well, Rían. It’s been lovely to see you. I think I’ll be taking Peanut home and bathing her. I’m sure I’ll see you around.”
He watched as she gathered her Peanut up in her arms and started to walk away. Bending down Rían clipped the lead on his Peanut and dragged him away from his new ladylove.
“Wait…Liadh! When will I see you again?”
Liadh turned around and looked at him curiously, as she kept walking backwards. She shouted back at him.
“When do you want to see me again?”
“Meet me tomorrow, in the trees, by the old fallen oak at three.” Liadh shrugged and smiled at him.
“I suppose I could spare an hour for an old friend.”
Rían grinned, rubbed his hand off his chin and waved goodbye.
“Glad to hear it. See you tomorrow.”
Bonnie elbowed Liadh as she walked up the path to the house, carrying Peanut.
“What?” Liadh muttered.
“Oh what? What do you think? You have a date with Rían the ride, that’s what!”
Liadh groan and puffed up her cheeks blowing the air out of them in Bonnie’s direction. “Bonnie, stop. It’s not a date. I’m just meeting him to say hello.”
Rían O’Malley. Oh Jesus. Rían bloody O’Malley. And he wants to meet? Oh of course he does. And by the old oak tree. He remembered? Of course he did!
Bonnie’s voice kept interrupting her thoughts. Feck off Bonnie, will ya?
Leave it to Bonnie to over think everything. Sure what would Rían want with her anyway? Just friendship. Liadh looked up and saw Bonnie standing in front of her, smiling.
“No Bonnie. I’m not getting into this with you.”
“Okay. Fair enough. Just admit one thing to me. Is Rían O’Malley the hottest fucking man on the planet or not?”
“Bonnie.”
“Humour me.”
“Yeah. Rían O’Malley is hot as hell.”
“Now, I think his brother Darragh is hotter, all that red hair in a man bun and sexy glasses. Then again I’m not in love with Rían O’Malley. Or LiRí, as I’m now calling you both.”
Liadh stopped in the middle of the lane and laughed until she couldn’t talk. Eventually she wiped her eyes and sniffed at her friend.
“I’m not in love with Rían O’Malley, or planning to fall in love with him either. You know that made no sense right? You know I’m hitting thirty-one and there is no way in hell this is happening right? Jesus Bonnie, you’ve some imagination girl.”
Bonnie sniggered at her and took a sleeping and sexually satisfied Peanut from her arms.
“I’ll hold the deflowered doggie, you run the bath. Damn it if Kilvarna didn’t just get a bit more exciting.”
May your trouble be less,
And your blessings be more.
&nbs
p; And nothing but happiness,
Come through you door.
-Irish saying
Rían walked the three miles to Nellie’s pub in a temper. Why didn’t they tell me she was here? Why would they? Did they not remember what she meant to me? Bloody Rory and Cass too! Why would they not tell me?
He reached the wall outside Dirty Nellie’s pub and spotted his grandmother sitting alone outside in the smoking area taking a drag off her pipe. Plumes of blue smoke danced around her as she tugged on it. As their eyes met and she smiled at him, it was impossible for him not to return the smile, even in his annoyance. He walked down the few wide limestone steps and sat opposite her on a wooden bench. Looking around he waved at a few of the locals that were sitting in groups or alone on the outside benches. Murph and old O’Farrell waved back at him, Murph raised his nearly drained Guinness and pointed at his empty pint glass. Rían laughed back at him. “I’ll call you one in a minute.”
“Some things never change,” he whispered to his grandmother rolling his eyes.
She nodded at him. “Murph lives by the old saying, T’is sweet to drink but bitter to pay for.”
Rían looked at his granny and nodded his head toward her pipe.
“That stuff will kill you.” She shrugged at him.
“Something will always kill someone. Do you know what will kill you faster boy? Telling someone their pipe will kill them.”
Rían shook his head and threw his hands up in exaggerated despair.
“You’re a hopeless case.”
“Say a prayer to Saint Jude for me,” Granny drawled.
“Why didn’t you tell me she was back here?”
“Ah…so the real crux of the matter appears. I didn’t tell you because you would have driven yourself crazy not being able to come home till the job was done. Did you see her?”
Rían looked into her eyes and saw concern and interest staring back at him.
“I did, I met her out with her dog.”
“Two Peanuts. They have been having a bit of a love affair for the last few weeks. I think you can expect some little Peanuts in the near future.”
Rían shook his head and sighed.
“You kept the place clean all these years. Did you keep in touch with her mother too? What happened to Liadh?” His granny raised her hand and shushed him.
“I did. Caoimhe and I kept in touch intermittently throughout the years. I was very fond of her. There was a fire Rían, in the flats they lived in.”
“Why did you not tell me? We don’t keep things from each other. You always said that secrets fester and turn into lies.” His granny nodded, her face serious.
“Rían, you fell apart when she left. You don’t remember the extent of it, you were too young, but the whole family was so worried about you. You were nearly hospitalised. You wouldn’t eat, wouldn’t sleep. You spent months in torment worrying about her, missing her. Your father was at his wits end. When the fire happened you were fifteen. So much time had passed, Caoimhe wanted no one to know. She was afraid her family would find out and she wanted them all out of her life for good.”
Rían closed his eyes and tried to keep the memories of that time from flooding his mind. The memories were so fuzzy but the feeling of despair and anguish were just below the surface. He had loved her so much, and had been powerless to stop adults in an adult world from changing the course of his life and Liadh’s life too.
“The fire. How did it happen?”
“When her mother moved to Dublin, she rented a flat and took cleaning jobs to put food on the table. The flats were not the best and the wiring was not what it should have been. The block that the O’Neill’s were living in caught on fire one night. The whole place went up like a matchbox. Liadh and her mother got out and her mother went to help a neighbour who had suffered an injury. Liadh saw a face at a window of a flat on an upper floor and went to help, she saved three children but suffered third degree burns to her face and one side of her body.”
Rían closed his eyes and covered his face with his hands. While he had enjoyed a life of comfort and endless attention, Liadh had spent her teenage years in and out of a burns unit. He tried to comprehend what it must have felt like to be disfigured so visually and the pain and fear she and her mother must have felt. It was useless to try and imagine.
“What happened to her after that?”
“Ah the Bossman and your father got together and helped Caoimhe, they got them counselling and later helped to put Liadh through college. Caoimhe wouldn’t take it unless it was a loan, and she paid back every penny too. Liadh became a doctor, a successful one, I might add. She’s worked as a GP for a while and when a locum position came up in the medical centre for the summer, I wrote to her and she came back here to sell the cottage.”
“I wished you had told me, I wish I could have helped.”
“Rían. If wishes were horses, beggars would ride.”
“Great thanks for that,” Rían said shaking his head, he never had any idea where she came up with the old sayings, or what half of them meant, but she was full of them and dragged them out for every occasion.
Rían breathed out through his nose. A doctor. His heart filled with pride for his beautiful friend. She was always so kind and so gentle, it seemed like a natural progression that she would end up caring for others. Granny tapped her pipe off the side of the table and stood.
“Are you coming inside boy? The band is about to start up.”
Rían smiled at her and shook his head.
“Nah, not tonight. I need to think.”
He kissed Granny on the cheek and turned to walk up the steps. She watched him leave and pulled her light cardigan around her shoulders. The boy needed to sort out his own heart. So like the Bossman, so good and so righteous. Rían would be okay, whatever happened was in the hands of fate now. Smiling to herself she opened the wooden door into Nellie's pub and waved over at the gang. Annie held up a brandy for her and Granny raised a finger to the barman, in some unspoken code and he went off to pull a pint of Guinness for Murph.
May your heart be warm and happy,
With the lilt of Irish laughter.
Every day in every way,
And forever and ever and ever after.
- Irish proverb
Rían climbed over the gate and jumped down onto the hard earth, summer was definitely here. The earth was hardening, all the moisture evaporating, leaving everything scorched and dry. The weather in Ireland switched between summer rain and scorching sun depending on the luck of the draw. He brushed his hands off his jeans and walked along the paths that led him to the old fallen oak. It had been lost in the great storm of 1980. It stayed where it had fallen and had been used as a landmark ever since. His father was so fond of it, he would let no one carve it up for firewood, or clear it from the land. They gauged its age at about three hundred years old, and anything that had been on the land that long deserved to stay, according to his father. Rían smiled and shook his head when he thought of the sentimentality of his father and the ways of his generation. A dying breed for sure.
Breathing in through his nose, he pulled the air into his lungs and wondered about Liadh. It’s all he had done really since he had seen her.
Liadh paced up and down the back garden of the cottage. Damn it, I didn’t think this through! What the hell do you say to someone who was the centre of your life for four years and then nothing for twenty? The physical attraction was a bit overwhelming too. She had had certain thoughts about him over the last few years, but the feelings that had rushed to her heart, mind and nether regions when standing beside him were out of control. Get your shit together Liadh. You are a grown up professional woman not a horny seventeen year old.
Yeah tell that to the lady boner you’ve been rocking since you saw him. Jesus! She was turning into Bonnie for heaven’s sake. He probably felt a bit sorry for her and wanted to make her feel welcome in the town nothing more. Face facts here, a millionaire playboy was hardly goin
g to have any interest in a scarred, socially awkward and inexperienced ordinary person, was he? Probably used to more wealthy society types. Liadh bit her bottom lip nervously. Gawd!!! What the hell am I wearing? She looked down at her skinny maroon coloured jeans that hugged her every curve and a pink t-shirt with a picture of Barbie dressed as a Goth. Bonnie had insisted on dressing her in something other than black. She felt out of her comfort zone and completely insecure. What the hell am I doing? Jogging back into the house, Liadh pulled open the closet in her bedroom and tore all the clothes she had brought with her out onto the floor. Oh shit! Nothing seemed to scream anything other than drab and ordinary. What do you wear for a date to a fucking tree anyway? Goddamn it, she had only met him for five minutes and already he had her off guard. Just like he had done when they were kids. You never knew what adventure or misadventure Rían would come up with from one day to the next. Pulling the skinny maroon jeans and Goth Barbie t-shirt back on, she put on a pair of black converse and left the cottage pulling the door firmly behind her.
Standing with her back to the door for a second, she unlocked it again and walked over to the mirror in the kitchen. Looking at the face that stared back, she admired Bonnie’s handiwork. Long, lush black lashes and wide blue eyes stared back. Her lips were glossy and cotton candy pink. Her hair was curled loosely and parted in the middle, even though it had been curled, it still landed under her full breasts. She stood up on her toes and looked at her boobs in the mirror. Round and full, they were a little bigger than she would have liked, but she was careful with her body. She ran for pleasure and lifted weights to keep herself in shape. Yeah a pear is a shape, right? Regardless of how hard she work there was no getting down passed a size 14. Although if I shopped in America I’d be a size 10. Oooh I should totally shop in the states!
But, Liadh would never hate her body and its curvy bits, she loved every bump, lump and curve. When you have stared death in the face, literally, and lived, there was nothing that could make her see her body as anything other than a beautiful machine. That’s something, I suppose, she thought. Not to have a body complex on top of how she felt about her face, sometimes was a define advantage.
Rían: (The O'Malleys Book 3) Page 7