“Maybe you should.” Maggie turned her smile up to the server, thanking him when he placed a basket of chips between them. “I’m addicted to these.” She grabbed one and bit in with glee. “I’ll gain a few pounds before I leave Ireland if I don’t stop. But ohmygod I love them. Good thing I walk a lot.”
“Everyone has their vices,” Colin said, and reached for a chip himself.
“True. What are some of yours?” she asked, a playful twinkle in her eyes.
He just arched a brow at her. “Wouldn’t you like to know?” He put another chip in his mouth.
“Ha! I would, actually.” She pointed a chip at him, brandishing it like a weapon. “I’ll find out sooner or later. Mark my words.”
He only grinned. She’d been right the other night, he had to admit it: she was fun to be with. He hadn’t met anyone like Maggie Spencer in a long time… maybe ever.
“So,” he said. “Where’d you grow up? Maybe that’s an easier question.”
“About an hour outside of Columbus, Ohio. Do you know where Ohio is?”
“Midwest, I think. Yes?”
“Pretty much. I hated it there. I grew up in the most boring suburb ever.” Maggie stole a sip of cider before continuing. “Third of four girls—aka, the invisible child.”
“You?” He quirked a small grin. “I can’t imagine you being invisible to anyone. You’re a force of nature.”
He was rewarded with a wide sunshine smile for that. “Am I? Well thank you. But I wasn’t really one there, or then. I was just the one always being either ignored or yelled at.” Maggie reached for the small cup of brown sauce and dipped her chip. “Hailey was the pretty one, Stacey was the smart one. Then me. Then right after me, we’re only a year apart, Brittney was the sweet baby. So naturally… I became the wild one.” The smile became laced with something wicked.
“Somehow that doesn’t surprise me one bit,” Colin said.
She laughed freely. “No, huh?”
“No. Also, the placement.” He wiped his fingers with the linen napkin. “I’m the third of eight, but the oldest son. My brother Sean, he was fifth. Stuck in the middle, I guess you’d say. And a pain in the arse from day one. He was wild, always stirring up some kind of trouble.”
“And you’re Mister Responsible. So you and he didn’t get along, I take it?”
“No. We… we never clicked. We went head to head all the time.”
“That’s too bad.” Maggie shifted her head, ensuring that her ponytail didn’t slide over her shoulder while she was eating. “Maybe he just needed some attention.”
“Maybe he just needed to listen to his parents and teachers once in a while,” Colin groused.
“Ouch. Harsh.”
He scowled at that. “It’s in the past. He has his own life now. He left Ireland at nineteen and never looked back. Owns a bar in New York City, married a lovely woman and has a little girl, with another babe on the way. He’s fine, I assure you.”
She stared at him. “And you’re a little jealous, maybe.”
“Jealous? Of Sean?” He snorted.
“That he got out of Ireland. That he went away.”
“No.” But something in Colin’s gut clenched all the same. “He wasn’t happy here. I’m glad he landed on his feet.”
“Does he know that?”
“What?”
“That you’re glad he ended up okay?”
The fist in his gut clenched and twisted. “I don’t think he’d care. He and I weren’t close. In fact, I’m likely one of the people he was most glad to get away from.”
Maggie gave him a sad look. “That’s too bad. You’re his big brother, he probably looked up to you… shame you didn’t get along.”
Colin pursed his lips. Everything she said bothered him. He didn’t want to consider that anything she’d gleaned, with only a few sentences, could be dead on.
“So how’d you get started as a travel writer, Maggie?” He stared hard, making it clear the subject was closed.
She simply picked up another chip. “By traveling with my husband.”
“Tell me about it.”
“Really?”
“Aye. You’ve dug into my past, haven’t ya? Turnabout’s fair play.”
Her mouth curved wryly. “I guess it is.”
She gave a short version of how, ten years before, she’d met Zack Spencer when they were students in a journalism class during their third year at the University of Chicago. They’d fallen immediately and passionately in love, and found they’d also shared a dream: they both wanted to see the world. So after graduation, they set out to do that, together.
They’d started a video blog together to document their travels, initially intending to explore for just three months. But they loved it, and the blog got popular, and Zack had a keen sense of business to go along with his sense of adventure. They wanted to keep traveling together, truly see every corner of the world. Soon, they managed to sell articles to other travel sites and work out small gigs with established tourism agencies… and their careers as travel writers were born.
“We went everywhere,” she said as she finished up her thick burger, the sauce and juices running through her fingers and onto the plate. “The blog grew, we had over a million YouTube followers, and our articles kept selling to other outlets, so we went with it.”
“What was your long-range plan?” Colin asked.
“We didn’t really have one.” Maggie’s hands stilled. “We didn’t get that far.”
He noticed that while Maggie kept saying “us” and “we,” and talked in detail about the travels, she didn’t reveal much about her relationship at the base of it all. The few times she said his name, her eyes lit up. She’d been crazy in love with that man. “You got married at some point, obviously.”
“Yes. We did.” She wiped at her messy hands with the huge paper napkin until it was a crumpled ball.
“How old were you?”
“When we got married? Twenty-four. Both of us were.” She seemed to slow to a halt before Colin’s eyes, then visibly shook it off and reached for her hard cider. “We’d been engaged for over a year, but on impulse we got married on the beach in Bali. Just the two of us.” Her voice and gaze had turned soft, dreamy as she remembered. “It was magic. Then we stayed there to honeymoon for another two weeks. Best trip of my life.”
“Christ,” Colin said mournfully. “You were only married for a year, then.”
“Yes.” She snapped out of her haze and met his eyes. “But don’t look at me like that. You don’t have to feel sorry for me. It was the best year of my life.” A wistful grin played at the corners of her mouth. “He was my soul mate, and we had an amazing five years together. Some people will never have that, ever. I had that. I was lucky.”
He swallowed hard. Her refusal to give in to sorrow or pity made him admire her all the more. “You’re right,” he said. “And it’s a damn good way to look at it.”
“Well,” she said, “it’s the truth. Plus, it’s either think of it like that, or get bogged down by grief every time I think of it, and that serves nothing. Life goes on, whether you want it to or not. I miss him every day, but I have to keep going, or I might as well have died too. And that’s not living.”
“Right again.” But Colin couldn’t help himself; he lifted his glass in a toast. “To living, then,” he said quietly. “And to your attitude, and your strength.”
Her eyes rounded and locked on his. But then she smiled softly, lifted her glass, and tapped it against his as she murmured, “I’ll drink to that.”
Colin had many more questions about her former life, but didn’t want to pry. He also didn’t want to drag her any further back into her sad past. Her attitude was amazing, but she didn’t need to think of what she’d lost, not today. They were out to have a good time. “So tell me where you’ve been most recently. Amaze me with your worldliness.”
Her features infused with light again, and she chuckled. “Might be easier to tell you
where I haven’t been. I don’t mean that to sound like a brag.”
“I know. I didn’t take it as such.” He liked seeing her smile again. “You’re comfortable in your own skin in a way that only experience brings.”
Her head tilted as she appraised him. “That’s a lovely thing to say. Thank you.”
“It’s just the truth.”
“Well, I like it.” She grabbed a chip and popped it into her mouth before listing off a bunch of countries that made Colin’s insides seize with longing. One of his initial assessments had been right: her life was the embodiment of everything he’d wanted and didn’t get to have. She’d traveled all over the world and loved passionately with all her heart. It made him feel like a bland shell in comparison.
“You got quiet,” she said. “Or, even more quiet than you usually are.”
He gazed at her. She couldn’t know how her life brought up turmoil in his head and heart. He finally admitted, “You make me itch with wanderlust just listening to you. I envy you more than a wee bit.”
She nodded at that, slowly, as if she was thinking before she spoke again. “Well,” she said, “maybe it’ll just be within the confines of your home country, but perhaps I can help you scratch that itch while I’m here. You’re welcome to join me on any of my excursions. I mean it.”
“That’s… kind of you,” he said.
“I’m serious.” Her dark eyes held him. “You’re an easygoing travel companion. I’ve enjoyed today so far. And besides, you need to get out more.”
“Can’t say you’re wrong there,” he murmured. “But easygoing? No one’s ever described me as easygoing, or easy anything.”
“I can imagine that.” Her grin turned wicked. “Actually, you’re a little gruff and stoic, and that frown seems permanently etched into your features, but I like you. There’s no pretense with you. No drama, no agenda. You’ve got secrets and stories, but you keep them to yourself. Makes me want to peel away the layers. I like all that.”
He regarded her across the table. Her pretty face, her warmth and humor, her natural charm… everything she’d seen and done… she liked him? “You can likely scoop up any man in Dublin to join you,” he said. “Ones who are more friendly, more outgoing, more energetic, and definitely younger. Why drag me along?”
“Because I like you,” she said flatly. “Isn’t that reason enough?”
He blinked at her.
“Besides, you need someone like me around.” That dazzling smile blinded him. “You need some fun in your life.”
“Oh really.” That was his response? He’d gone daft.
“That’s right. And I dare you to deny it.”
“This is me denyin’ it.”
“Then this is me calling bullshit, boy-o.”
He chuckled in spite of himself.
“You’re a good man,” she said. “You’re trustworthy. I feel it. My gut rarely steers me wrong on these things. Rational, smart, level-headed, and mature.”
“Ah.” He nodded slowly. “Mature being code for older. And since I am, I’m not really a threat, is that it?”
She shocked him by barking out a laugh. “Are you kidding me? Forty isn’t eighty, Colin.” She leaned in on her elbows, eyes narrowed on him. “What, you think I don’t find you attractive or sexy, a ‘threat,’ because you’re ten years older than me?”
“Almost eleven,” he murmured.
“You’re ridiculous.” She popped another chip into her mouth and chewed. “Hate to tell you, but I think you’re very handsome, Mister McKinnon. You have a sexy voice, the bluest eyes I’ve ever seen, a gorgeous mouth, and a trim body that I bet is quite attractive under those clothes. Yes, I noticed.” Everything about her exuded a sparkle, and he felt blinded. “You’re hot, Colin. But that’s not why I asked you along today.”
He could only gape at her. Words failed him.
She smiled warmly before adding, “But mostly, I like that you’re ‘not really a threat’ as in I feel safe in your company. You’re my hero, remember?” She winked. “So yeah, I’d like to take you along on a day trip or two so you can have some fun. Finally travel a bit yourself, have new experiences. Your repressed wanderlust speaks to me.”
He was flabbergasted.
“Hey, I’m doing all these things in Ireland whether or not you join me.” She shrugged, took a sip of her drink, then again smiled that bright, shimmering smile. “So, Colin? You want to take some day trips with me or not? You wanna bust out or not?”
He gazed at her for a long moment before he found himself saying, “I do.”
Chapter Four
Sweat dripping down the sides of his face, Colin slowed from a run to a walk as he adjusted the incline on the treadmill. After years of letting himself go, disgusted with his softening dad-bod, he’d joined a gym when he’d moved into Dublin. He’d done it to tone up, but hadn’t anticipated how the monotonous routine of walking and jogging on the treadmill would also make him feel better—not just physically, but mentally. He had to admit that he’d felt the changes over the months and liked them.
He liked to go in the mornings, before work. An hour or so in the gym, a quick shower, and he found he had more energy through the rest of the morning. His sons had rolled their eyes at him when he’d admitted that, as if he were daft. “Like no one’s ever said working out would do that for you!” Patrick had laughed. Colin grinned every time he thought of it.
When he got to work, settling in at his desk with a cup of black coffee and an egg sandwich, his phone dinged with a text message. Something in his chest hitched, hoping it was Maggie; when he saw it was, a feeling akin to warmth washed over him.
Hi Colin! Your favorite Yank here. Today I’m going to see the Book of Kells, then spend the rest of the day at Farmleigh House. You ever been to either?
He couldn’t help but smile. On Sunday, they’d spent the afternoon together at the National Botanic Gardens. The weather had been perfect, and her company even more so, though he was still mostly reserved around her. On Monday, he’d gone to work and hadn’t heard from her. For a while, he’d wondered if that meant she hadn’t enjoyed her time with him, then chided himself for acting like an insecure teenager. They’d spent most of the weekend together, but they weren’t anything to each other, she didn’t owe him anything… he was being absurd. She had a job to do and they had separate lives. He shoved the thoughts of Maggie Spencer out of his mind.
But later that night, last night, she’d walked into the pub and his heart gave a little kick at the sight of her. He’d watched her big brown eyes sweep across the room, searching. When they’d landed on him, the genuine smile that lit her face made his chest puff up. She’d gone straight to his booth and said, “Hey, new friend. Long time no see. Can I buy you a drink?”
They spent almost two hours together, talking and laughing before calling it a night. At the door of the pub, she’d gone up on her tiptoes to give him a quick peck on the cheek when saying good night, surprising him. One hand on his shoulder to keep her balance, he felt her warmth through his clothes. Her lips were soft and warm against his skin, and he caught a whiff of her scent, clean and sweetly feminine. He walked the four blocks home in the cool darkness smiling like a smitten fool.
It embarrassed him.
He liked her more than he was comfortable admitting. In less than a week, she’d gotten under his skin and made him do something he hadn’t been able to do in a long, long time… feel something. She was sunshine and light, energy and warmth. Whip smart and funny, savvy and confident, she fascinated him. The more they got to know each other, the more he found to like and admire.
And was he attracted to her? God help him, hell yes. She was beautiful, sexy, and had fired his long-dead libido back to life. Whenever her fingers brushed his, even for a few accidental seconds, it sent a jolt straight up his arm. At the Gardens, they’d gotten ice cream, and when she licked the chocolate—or even worse, her lips—it sent a zing of electricity straight to his groin.
Yes, she’d said she found him attractive. Perhaps there was a simmering, slowly building chemistry between them, like he hadn’t felt with a woman in years… maybe ever. Nothing electric like this had gripped him since his earliest days with Trish. But he would never act on it. She’d said flat out she felt safe with him; he wouldn’t jeopardize that, no matter how tempting she was. Colin always did what was right. What was expected of him, what was honorable. That was who he was and all he knew.
So on the treadmill that morning, as he’d thought of her, he’d decided it was best to somehow keep himself at a distance, even if only emotionally. Going on jaunts with her was too much fun and he didn’t want to stop. He could barely resist her. That feeling made him feel way off kilter, and he didn’t like it… but he liked her more.
Now, his lips pursed as he stared at the phone in his hands. Finally he wrote back, Yes to both. You’re still doing Dublin’s Greatest Hits, I see.
Have to hit the known ones and give my own take on them, she wrote back immediately. My voice & views are what they’re paying me for. Soon, I’ll see the newer, different, not as well-known places. Got to have balance.
I get that. Have a nice time.
So you won’t play hooky with me?
He was tempted. God knew he had plenty of personal time he could use. But the way her words set off rockets inside him just reinforced his instinct to maintain some distance. Not today, sorry. Busy at work, then dinner with my daughter tonight.
Okay. Just thought I’d ask.
Nice of you, thanks.
Sure, she wrote back. Tomorrow I’m going to a few more of the Hits, as you say. A few more hours on Grafton Street, St. Patrick’s Cathedral. Not your thing, I’d bet.
Not grabbing me, no. But thank you.
Okay. On Friday I’m going to check out the National Museum of Ireland, Archaeology. That night, I’m going to check out a pub in Temple Bar that was recommended to me. Supposedly has great billiard tables in the back, along with live music. Sounds like fun. Any interest in joining me for either of those?
Colin drew a long breath. He loved that museum. He’d been many times and it never failed to ignite his interest.
Love in Dublin Page 4