Lucky Bachelor (The HoliDATE Series Book 2)

by Heather Young-Nichols

  “And you came thousands of miles. You’re exhausted.”

  “I don’t want to waste a minute.”

  Eagan’s eyebrows slammed down and his jaw tightened. “You’re saying cuddling me on the couch is wasting time? I’m offended.”

  He was teasing me, giving me a hard time and I gave him a tired smile.

  “Do what you want, dote. I’m putting on some comfortable pajamas.”

  Then he walked away toward his dresser.

  “Fine,” I said with a sigh. “I have to go to my car and get my bag. I left it there earlier.”

  “Right. Where’d you park?”

  “Around the corner and down about half a block.” I pointed in what I thought was the general direction.

  “Keys.” He held out his hand expectantly.

  “You don’t know which one it is.” Still I reached into my purse and dropped the key into his hand.

  “I’ll figure it out,” he called out as his footsteps thudded against the steps.

  Somehow he was back in no time. He even had my bag which duh, when I thought about it there was the button on the key fob that honks the horn. He only needed to push that to find which car belonged to me. Eagan dropped my suitcase on his bed and set the key on the table at the top of the stairs. Same place he put his.

  He didn’t say anything as he pulled pajamas from the top drawer of his dress then yanked his shirt over his head and undid his jeans, letting them fall to the floor. Well… when in Rome…

  I unzipped my rolling suitcase and pulled out my standard pajamas. Sure, I could’ve gone with something much sexier than pajama pants with a matching long sleeve shirt but that wasn’t natural to and certain wasn’t where we were tonight. Funniest part was that Eagan wore basically the same thing. Much manlier of course but it was the pants and long sleeve shirt combo. We settled on the couch and he covered up with a blanket. I pulled my knees up to my chest and sunk into his side. He threw an arm around me and held me even closer. He turned a movie on the television that hung on the wall across from us and I didn’t care what we watched because it was extremely likely I wouldn’t be watching at all.

  But I yawned again.

  “Go ahead and fall asleep,” he said quietly.

  “I don’t want to,” I said back in my whiniest voice.

  His body shook gently against mine. “I’ll be here when you wake up.”

  “I know.” I worked my hand under his shirt to feel the silky goodness of his skin against mine. Those hard muscles made me melt. “But what Cian said… ”

  He sighed. “I noticed something on your face when he mentioned me moving to you. Do you not want that? Was it fear that I saw?”

  “Lord, no!” I pushed away just a little so I could see his face. “That wasn’t fear. That was confusion because I had been assuming that I’d move here.”

  “Why would you do that?”

  “Eagan… you have a business here.”

  “Your family is there,” he countered. “I’d never ask you to leave them.”

  “But your family is here.”

  He took my hand in his free one and gently held it as he ran a thumb over my knuckles. “One of us is going to have to leave their families, of course. Maggie, I don’t want you to sacrifice to be with me.”

  “But you should sacrifice to be with me?” I pushed away from him and turned my body sideways, leaning my back against the arm of the couch and setting my feet in his lap. This seemed like the kind of conversation I wanted to be able to see him for. Gauge his reactions.

  “It’s not the same sacrifice,” he says back. Not entirely sure what he meant by that but before I had the chance to aske he continued. “You’re just finishing college. Just starting out. You’ll be looking for a job and it’ll be easier for you if you’re there.”

  I already shook my head at him. “Not necessarily. I’m a communications major. I can use that pretty much anywhere and a lot of the jobs I’m already applying for are remote anyway so I can do them anywhere. Sure. I might have to go back every so often for in person meetings but even that’s a minimum. Most of those are via Skype. Besides, you have a business that you’ve built up with your brother. What about that?”

  “Pfh. That’s an easy one. Cian would buy my portion out and own it all himself. I could keep my part, let him do all the work, which I reap the benefits. And I can open an Irish Pub in Michigan.” He let his hand trail up the leg on my pajama pants. “From what I hear, everyone’s Irish on St. Patty’s Day.”

  I snorted. Leave it to Eagan to use my own words against me. “Be serious. I love it here.”

  “I love it there.”

  Now I sighed. There were so many wonderful things about Eagan O’Brien to love but once in a while his insistence on being stubborn wasn’t one of them. However, I had that same insistence.

  “So what you’re saying is that we aren’t going to figure it out right this minute?” I finally said.

  “I think that’s safe to say.” But then he pulled me onto his lap so that I was straddling him and wrapped his arms around me. I slid my hands up his shoulders until they were gently on each side of his neck. “Maggie Dwyer, I don’t care where we live. Here. There. Pick a spot on the map. I’ll make it work because I’ll be there with you. I want you. All the time. The rest is just details.”

  My heart swelled and tears burned the back of my eyes. He’d told me that very thing with different words so many times over the last nine months but sitting on top of him as he said it while his hands gripped the sides of my body took it to a whole next level. I wouldn’t cry but that didn’t mean that I didn’t want to.

  “Why, Eagan O’Brien, that almost sounds like a proposal,” I said in my best southern bell accent.

  His tongue slowly wet his bottom lip then he said, “It is.”

  My heart stopped for a second before thumping against my chest as if a starter pistol had gone off telling it to go. Did he… Was that… He couldn’t be serious. Right? My mind swam at the idea. Getting married was a forgone conclusion to me. There wasn’t any doubt in my mind that I’d spend the rest of my life with Eagan O’Brien. But I hadn’t expected him to propose right now.

  “Are you… ”

  “I’m completely serious, Maggie.” His hands slid up my back under my shirt then down again in a motion I thought was meant to be soothing. I swallowed hard. “We both know where this is going and I want to marry you. I’m not saying tomorrow but when you leave on Monday, I want us to be clear where we stand.”

  I shook my head as those tears threatened to fall. “As if there’s ever been a question of where we stand.”

  “Exactly.”

  I stroked my thumbs across this beautiful man’s jaw then dove in and kissed him in a way I’d never kissed him before. With new meaning and new intention. My tongue stroked his lips until he parted them. Eagan kissed me in so many different ways but this time, I was in control.

  Until he pushed me back. “Maggie,” he said against my lips. “Ya didn’t answer me.”

  Chapter Five

  Shit. I didn’t answer him but fuck it all to hell if I could even remember the question. Eagan’s erection beneath me was too distracting and I just wanted… oh fuck. He’d proposed. Asked me to marry him. That’s what I hadn’t answered. I’m an idiot.

  “Ohmygod, Eagan. Of course I want to marry you. I thought I said that.”

  “You didn’t.”

  “Well, I do. I want to be with you. Of course I want to marry you. Yes, yes, yes.”

  He chuckled quietly beneath me. “Usually when you say yes so many times in a row it’s for a completely different reason.”

  I scoffed and lightly slapped his shoulder. “You’re awful.” But something came to mind. My mom and dad would murder me if I got married and they weren’t there to see it. They meant so much to me and oh man, my grandma and grandpa. I wanted them there too. “But… I can’t… ”

  “Oh, Maggie, I didn’t mean today. Or while you’re her
e.” His hand ran down the back of my head then he took a lock of my hair in his finger. “Though to be honest if you wanted it to be now, I’d figure it out.” Because figuring things out was what he was best at. “I just want us to be clear of what we’re doing. That’s why moving to America isn’t even a question for me. I’m yours. Where you go, I go. No, I can’t drop everything in a second. I have to take care of things but I’m wherever you are.” He brought my lips down to his, slowly as if he wanted to savor me, his mouth moved against mine. “We do this when you say,” he said once he broke the kiss.

  “I would marry you right this minute but it’d kill my parents. And I love them. I want them with us. And my grandparents.” I glanced around the apartment. There may have been many things that weren’t as clear but one I was absolutely sure of. “But I want to get married here.”

  “In my place?”

  I gave him a soft jab to the abs. “I meant in Ireland. My grandma and grandpa never made their trip—”

  “Thank god.”

  I giggled because that trip was the entire reason he and I met in the first place. “But she’s recovered now and can make the trip I think and they’ve always wanted to see where their history came from. Mom and Dad would come for sure and Indie and Bellamy would have no problems getting here.”

  “True,” he agreed. “Their rock star boyfriends seem to like to keep them happy.”

  “Well, my rock star boyfriend likes to keep me happy.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “I think you mean rock star fiancé?”

  I sucked my bottom lip in between my teeth slowly letting it slide through. “That’s right. Rock star fiancé.”

  “I have a ring for you, Maggie.” Now it was my turn to raise an eyebrow. “This wasn’t a spur of the moment thing for me. I was going to wait until you graduated but I also thought that was the next time I’d see you. I bought it when I came home in September.”

  “Really?” Those damn eyes began to burn again.

  “I told you… this wasn’t spur of the moment for me.”

  I glanced around trying to figure out where he’d hide an engagement ring but didn’t see any obvious spots. “Is it within reach right this minute?”

  He laughed. “Not exactly.”

  “Would you mind waiting? I have something else in mind.”

  “I don’t mind waiting.”

  I gave him a shy smile then slowly lifted my shirt over my head.

  “I definitely don’t mind waiting.” He wrapped his hands around my head and pulled me to him.

  Once again our lips came together in sweet chaos, each of us trying to out do the other which resulted in both of us gasping for air. I leaned back and clumsily got his shirt off of him and there was no way to make taking off our pants sexy. We were sitting to begin with. We had to stand up and get those suckers off.

  But Eagan sat back down on his couch and pulled me down on top of him exactly as I’d been sitting before. This time we were naked when he wrapped the blanket around us.

  His hands moved down to cup my ass and yanked me into him, the contact hitting me in exactly the right place. But I wanted more. Normally I let him take care of me first but I didn’t want to wait to feel him inside me. So I lifted up and took him in a firm grasp then sunk down onto him. He groaned and his head fell back which gave me access to kiss up his neck. Even with me on top, he didn’t waste a minute before taking control. He moved me against him. His hands went from my hips to my ass which changed the feeling of him sliding in and out. Eagan was all consuming and I could only hope that I was for him as well.

  He took one of my nipples in his mouth as I moved against him. I was almost to the point of no return when his tongue scraped against my skin which pushed me right past. Pulsating waves of pleasure took me for a ride, causing me to lose control to the point that Eagan had to take over until I came back down to Earth.

  My breath came in hard puffs as he moved me off him. I no longer had control over my own muscles. Nothing I’d ever done, with him or anyone else, had come close to feeling like that. Gently, he laid me down on my back against the couch and wedged himself in beside me before pulling the blanket over us.

  If I hadn’t been tired before, I sure as hell was now. The moment he got situated, I buried my face in his chest and inhaled the scent of Eagan O’Brien. I’d never been so relaxed in my life.

  “I love you, Maggie.”

  “Mmm… ” I replied at first before realizing that those hadn’t been actual words. “I love you. You know I love you.”

  His hand trailed down between my breasts but stopped over my lower abdomen where he rubbed light circles. “That was the second time we didn’t use a condom,” he said quietly, his right hand still drawing circles while his left softly stroked my hair as if trying to sooth me.

  I wasn’t upset. Both times I’d been the one to move forward without a thought, need taking me over. Need and the knowledge of the limited time we had together.

  “Second time today,” I said back but didn’t think that was what he meant. I forced my eyes open and found him gazing down at me. “Sorry.” I shook my head because he wanted to talk about this. “Don’t worry, Eagan. I still have my IUD which is very, very reliable. We only really use condoms for extra, extra protection. I’m not going to give you any lumps or bumps because I’ve only been with you. We’re OK.”

  He dropped a sweet, soft to my lips. “I’m not worried about lumps or bumps, Maggie. And trust me when I say that I love nothing more than feeling you against me without a barrier but we should use condoms.”

  “OK,” I agreed quickly. He wasn’t wrong and I wanted to have time with him without a screaming baby. Even if it’d be the cutest screaming baby in the world. I wanted them one day but first I wanted us. “You do want kids one day though right?”

  “Maggie, I’m Irish. One thing we know how to do is procreate.” I laughed and shook my head. “But that’s for later. I can barely stand to have you three thousand miles away as it is. If you were carrying my child, I wouldn’t be able to do it.”

  “You say that as if it’s an argument against getting pregnant,” I joked.

  He flicked my nose and snorted. “It is. I’d drop everything and never look back but we have a plan. So let’s be more careful, yeah?”

  I rolled my eyes in an exaggerated way at him then sighed and said, “Fine. We’ll be careful. But I’ve never heard of a guy complaining about something like this.”

  “Trust me. I’m not complaining.” He pulled me tighter. “But we have a plan.”

  “Pfh. We have part of a plan.”

  “Whatever.”

  That was the last thing I heard him say before drifting off for the best sleep of my life. Not only was I safely ensconced in Eagan’s arms but traveling had worn me out as well as my body not being used to regular sex at all let alone twice in one day. By the time I left Ireland, I’d probably need to sleep for a week.

  Chapter Six

  I woke early the next morning with Eagan’s arms still tightly around me. We remained still naked but warm beneath the blanket he’d covered us with the night before. Never did move to the bed where we’d have more room. The sun hadn’t come up yet and the television was still on. I suspected that Eagan had watched long after I fell asleep. So I decided to let him sleep.

  I slowly slipped out from under the blanket causing him to use the open space to roll over onto his stomach. I quietly made my way to my suitcase still sitting on his bed. After grabbing the outfit I had specifically planned for St. Patrick’s Day in Ireland. I only hoped everyone would take it in the tongue in cheek manner I meant it.

  This time, I took a full shower, even washing my hair and while I didn’t want to wake Eagan, I still used his blow dryer on my hair and used my round brush to form loose waves. A few smatterings of makeup and I was good to go. But I added the sparkly green shamrock to my cheek. Even I had to laugh as I did it. He’d hate it. Then I grabbed up all of my things and headed out.
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br />   As soon as I stepped through the door, I smelled something wonderful. Eggs for sure. Ham or bacon, I couldn’t tell and something cinnamon. Eagan was up and if I didn’t love him for all of his other fantastic traits, I’d love him for his ability to cook.

  “Morning,” I called over to him as he stood at the stove. I however, went back to the suitcase and tossed my dirty clothes in.

  “Morning,” he said back.

  When I got a look at him, I saw that he was only wearing those pajama pants and his shoulders were a thing of glory. I walked over to him and wrapped my arms around his body from behind then dropped a kiss on the middle of his back.

  “Did you sleep well?” he asked as he began to turn my way, forcing me to let him go.

  “The best,” I said back to which he laughed loudly, his voice bouncing off the walls.

  “What the fuck are you wearing?”

  I gave him a wide smile. “Don’t you love it?” I turned for him to see every angle though there was nothing on the back. My green shirt read Kiss Me I’m Irish and underneath I wore a long sleeve, white shirt but that was so I didn’t have to wear a jacket.

  “Maggie. You can’t wear that outside.”

  I furrowed my brows at him. “Yes, I can.”

  “No. Ya can’t. First of all, you are Irish. I’m not sure how that’s a joke. Second, I’ll be damned if any fuck face is gonna try to kiss you. And they will.”

  Hmmm… sure. That happened at home too but like at home, I’d make sure that didn’t happen. “I guess you’ll have to stay with me all day. You know… to protect me.”

  “You’re not going to change?”

  “No.”

  “And the sparkly heart on ya face?”

  I shrugged. “Green is my favorite color.”

  “Maggie,” he said, pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed.

  “OK.” I rested my hands on my hips. “If you hate the way I look in this, if you think it makes me hideous and you’re rethinking wanting to marry me because I’m wearing it, I’ll change.”