Something Irish (Courting Chaos Book 0)

by Heather Young-Nichols

  “This is one of my favorite places,” he said as we walked hand-in-hand through the grass. “Remember when you asked what I like about living here?”

  I nodded.

  “This is one of them.”

  He led me to edge, as close to the edge as we could get. We sat looking out over the ocean and ate sandwiches, fresh vegetables, and chips.

  It was my idea of perfect.

  Something about standing, or in this case sitting, before the vastness of the ocean put everything in my life in perspective. And made me feel very, very small.

  Still no leprechauns.

  Wednesday I helped him in the pub. I’d never done any waitressing, but Eagan was patient with me. It was kind of fun and I just wanted to spend every minute with him that I could.

  What sucked the most was every day that passed, I became more attached to him and the thought of leaving confused me, and began to hurt.

  Friday my mom called to say they were back in Grand Rapids and she’d searched the drawer in my desk but didn’t find what I needed. She was fairly certain she had an old driver’s license of mine. But she’d have to go to the courthouse to get a copy of my birth certificate. She could get one because she’s on the certificate. However, they were closed and she’d have to go Monday.

  If Dad had been in town he could’ve gotten a copy earlier in the week. Unfortunately, he was gone through the weekend and Dan, not being on the birth certificate, couldn’t get it for me.

  It started to look more and more like I wasn’t going home for a while.

  “What the fuck, Maggie?” Indie raged into my ear on Saturday afternoon.

  “I really don’t mind being stranded here. It’s not a hardship, I promise.”

  “You’re going to come home with an accent. Or having forgotten how to be American.”

  “I could never forget how to be American,” I told her. This was one of the rare times I was actually alone in Eagan’s apartment. He’d been making a huge effort to ensure I wasn’t alone as much as possible.

  “I know, I know,” she said. “Chili dogs,” we said together.

  “Is he around?” she asked.

  “No. He had to help his brother move something. Or pick something up. Something.”

  Indie grew unusually quiet.

  “Maggie?”

  “Yes?” I answered as if I didn’t know where this was going. I did. Indie and I had known each other too long.

  “Are you falling for this guy? Is that why you’re in no hurry to leave?”

  “When will I ever get the chance to come to Ireland again?”

  “Maggie.”

  “OK. I like him,” I admitted. She remained silent. “I really like him. We met him when we got here, but I haven’t known him very long.”

  “How long does it take to fall for someone?” she asked, wise beyond her years. The byproduct of growing up the way she did.

  “I don’t know. More than two weeks?”

  “At least the semester ended so you’re not missing anything.”

  “Or taken on a summer job yet. I would’ve lost it by now.”

  “All right.” She sighed. “I’ve got to go, but let me know when you’re coming home. You can meet the tour somewhere.”

  “I don’t think my dad is ever going to let me out of his sight again,” I said and we both laughed.

  On the next Tuesday, Eagan and I went for a walk through town and then back again, holding hands as if everything was normal.

  We had made a quick trip into Dublin the day before to return the rental car. I wasn’t using it so it didn’t make much sense to keep paying for it. Unless something was in walking distance, Eagan drove me anyway.

  Mom had gotten my birth certificate yesterday and found my old ID. She was going to overnight it, but I told her to send it regular priority air mail. International overnight was too expensive and could almost pay for my next semester of college. Eagan hadn’t given an opinion, though my mom settled on mailing it two-day priority. Still crazy expensive but it’d get to me on Wednesday.

  She’d been gone ten days and acted like it’d been a year.

  On the plus side, I still had to apply for the passport, which I hoped would take at least a week. If Eagan wasn’t sick of me, I didn’t want to leave.

  “So I have to go to Dublin on Friday,” he said as we made our way down a walking path at a park we’d come to three times already since I’d gotten here.

  “Yeah?”

  “I was thinking, since you’ll have your papers tomorrow, you’d want to come with to get your passport applied for.”

  I had not seen that coming. This was the first time he’d brought up me going home.

  “Oh. Yeah. Good idea.” I kept my eyes forward and breathed in deeply.

  “Hey.” He pulled me to a stop and forced me to turn toward him. “I don’t want you to go home. I don’t. But I also know you have to at some point. You might want a passport when that time comes.”

  “I understand,” I said again, trying not to let the burning in my eyes turn into tears because that was stupid. I’d never intended to stay in Ireland forever.

  But fuck. Indie was right. I was falling for Eagan. Already fallen actually and living half a world away from him was an idea that sucked ass.

  Instead of talking about it, I began walking again.

  Eagan followed.

  “You know,” he said, “if you come to Dublin with me, you’re going to have to come to my brother’s wedding. After all, I won’t be coming back until Sunday night at the earliest.”

  This time I stopped.

  “You want me to go to a wedding with you?” I smiled up at him.

  Back home that was sort of a big deal. But the fact that it was a family event meant there was something more going on in this relationship. More than a vacation fling. The same more I’d already been feeling.

  Eagan traced his hands up my arms until he could cup my face and lean down to kiss me. His lips moved forcefully and sure against mine. When his tongue reached out for mine, I should’ve pulled back. We were in public, after all, though I could only remember there being some moms with their kids at the other end.

  So instead, I leaned into it, let him claim me, then I could claim him right back.

  “I don’t want to leave you behind,” he said, then kissed me again quickly.

  Chapter Eight

  Wednesday afternoon while Eagan was at work, someone knocked on the door. I assumed it would be someone for Eagan since I didn’t know anyone else.

  But no. It was for me. The dreaded package my mother had sent me had arrived.

  I thanked the postman, went back upstairs and tore it open.

  Yup. My last driver’s license and a certified copy of my birth certificate.

  That meant it was time for me to go home.

  Or at least schedule me to go home.

  “I saw Luke today,” Eagan said as we laid in his bed, snuggled into each other.

  The feel of his long body beside me was becoming addicting and I really wasn’t liking the idea of quitting him cold turkey, which was going to happen very soon.

  I also wasn’t looking forward to the conversation we were going to have to have. Where do we stand when I leave? Long-distance didn’t seem like a perfect idea, but never talking to each other again didn’t seem possible at all.

  “Luke?” I asked back.

  “He delivers the post.”

  Oh. I didn’t say anything in response.

  “Said he left a package.”

  I sighed. Seemed nothing was secret in this town.

  “Mom sent my documents.” I said it, but even I could hear the disappointment in my voice as I drew circles across his chest.

  “Hey.” He jostled me so that I’d have no choice but to look up at him. “You knew it was coming, right?”

  “Yeah.”

  “So why the long face?”

  “Seriously?” I asked, feeling a scowl replace the sadness my face ha
d betrayed. “Well, I guess I’m a little more attached than you are.”

  I sat up, grabbed his T-shirt and slipped it over my head. Probably not the best idea. It brought his scent even closer, surrounding me, engulfing me, making it harder for me to be upset with him.

  Yet I still was.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” he asked.

  My face burned as I teetered on the edge of anger and embarrassment. I’d have to say I’d fallen for the guy if I weren’t lying to myself. But that was hard to admit to a person who obviously still viewed this whole thing as a hook-up.

  “Maggie, talk.” Eagan’s words were said gently; however, there was no way anyone could’ve mistaken it as a suggestion. He wasn’t going to let me out of this one.

  I paced a little path next to the bed while he remained sitting on the mattress and edged over, his feet flat on the floor. And I tried to ignore the way the blanket pooled loosely over his lap, giving me a glimpse of the heaven I knew laid below.

  “Maggie,” he snapped again.

  “OK.” I stopped in front of him and folded my arms under my breasts. “I’m a little sad about going home.”

  He gave me this delicious half-smile. “Vacation has to end at some point.”

  “Is that was this is?” I asked. I figured I may as well go all out and get to the bottom of this situation now before we were with his family. “Vacation?”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “I should not be telling you this, Eagan. And you’ll probably want to stay at your brother’s after this, but you totally have me under your spell.”

  “What?” he asked with another grin, soft and gentle.

  “Your Irish magic spell or whatever the hell it is.”

  “Irish magic spell?” He snorted, then stood, not caring that he still didn’t have any clothes on.

  And I couldn’t help letting my eyes roam over his nakedness. I wanted to kick myself for it when I made it back up to his eyes and found nothing but a cocky acknowledgment.

  “Eagan,” I said in a plea.

  “Maggie,” he said back with one eyebrow raised.

  I wasn’t getting out of this. So I took a deep breath and decided to lay it out for him.

  “Fine,” I snapped, snottier than I meant to. “You were only supposed to be a one-night stand.” He didn’t respond. Damn it. He really was going to make me get it all out. “And you’re not, OK?”

  “Yeah, it’s definitely been more than one night.”

  “Not what I meant.” I shifted my weight on my legs. “I care. About you. The thought of going home and never seeing you again is making me sick. So when you referred to this with me as a vacation thing… it hurt.”

  “Maggie,” he said with a sigh as he pulled me in close so that his body heat radiated into me. “You’re not a vacation fling. Maybe I said it wrong. I just meant that we knew you’d have to go home eventually.”

  “Right.”

  “We’re going to have to figure out how to handle this. Trust me when I tell you that you’re not going home and never hearing from me again.”

  “Yeah?”

  “I care, too, Maggie.”

  Friday morning Eagan pulled me out of bed early. As in literally pulled me. His bed was warm and comfortable and I seriously didn’t want to go to Dublin early enough for the American consulate to still be open.

  As if ignoring the situation would make it go away.

  I said as much to Eagan on Thursday as he showed me some more of his favorite places. I meant it, too. At least until Eagan reminded me that if I stayed illegally, I’d be deported and never allowed back in the country.

  Where he lives.

  Well, that actually lit the fire.

  We still hadn’t come up with a plan for when I left. Hadn’t talked about it at all actually. I sure as hell wasn’t going to bring it up.

  Two hours later, I was sitting across from Clay Barton and a file with my name on it.

  I’d swear I’d sat there all day while he made phone calls and filled out then approved paperwork. When I glanced at my phone, though, I found it had only been forty-five minutes and I wondered how Eagan was passing the time outside.

  “OK, Maggie,” Clay finally said. “We have it all set. You’re booked on a plane Monday at eleven a.m. You’ll have to stop here first to get your new passport; I’d say by eight. That should give you plenty of time to make the flight.”

  “Monday?” I asked, then swallowed hard.

  “I assumed you’d want the first available.”

  “Right.”

  “You really should leave the country as soon as you can. Get back home, renew your license. Take care of anything you’ve been missing.”

  “Right,” I said again, this time actually meaning it. He was right. I also needed to check on my grandma. “Thank you for your help,” I said before standing and shaking his hand.

  “My pleasure. I hope not to see you in here again,” he said with a smile.

  When I stepped out into the daylight, I couldn’t find Eagan right away. Then, as if I’d always find him in a crowd, my gaze landed on him as he sat on a bench across the street drinking a coffee.

  “Is this seat taken?” I asked.

  His head snapped up and he slid over to make room for me.

  “Get what ya need?” he asked.

  “Unfortunately.” I sat down beside him slowly.

  Eagan reached around to rest his arm on the back of the bench around me.

  “He booked me on a plane Monday.”

  “Monday,” he repeated.

  I nodded slowly because this sucked.

  “That’s soon,” he continued.

  “Yup.”

  We grew silent; each of us knew what this meant. Our time together now had an expiration date. It always had, but now it was a concrete, actual time.

  “Ready to meet my family?” he asked.

  “I’m guessing the answer is no.”

  He chuckled but pulled me up by my hand and walked me back to his car.

  It was another half an hour drive to the outside of Dublin before he stopped outside of a house and turned the car off. This had to be his parents’ house, but it reminded me of townhouses back home. It was obviously a single family dwelling but it was attached to others on each side.

  “Is this where you grew up?” I asked.

  He smiled and nodded, then got out of the car. I thought he’d grab our bags, but instead, he took my hand and walked us through the front door without knocking.

  An explosion of noise met us on the other side. I wondered if this was how they were every time they saw each other. Though Eagan had mentioned he had family coming that he only saw a couple of times a year, so the excitement made sense.

  “Everyone, this is Maggie Dwyer.”

  “Maggie Dwyer,” a group of six called out at the same time as if they already knew me.

  I gave them a little wave as Eagan went around with names I promised myself I’d remember. His mother, Anna; father, Brian; brother, Cian. It felt weird that I hadn’t met his brother yet since he lived closer to Eagan. Then again Eagan and I hadn’t spent much time with other people. There was also an aunt and an uncle, whose names I didn’t catch, and another aunt named Cara.

  They assured me that there’d be many more people to meet at the wedding and the thought terrified me. I’d never remember them all.

  “How long are you here for, Maggie?” Anna asked. She’d insisted I call her ‘Anna.’

  “Just until Monday, unfortunately.”

  She raised an eyebrow, but not at me. At Eagan. He shook his head at her.

  Clearly, he didn’t want to talk about it or answer whatever she was silently asking.

  “Where’s your Colleen, Cian?” Cara asked his brother.

  “Honestly, I’m not entirely sure.”

  I joined in with their laughter, having put together that Colleen was the bride.

  We were only there twenty minutes when Eaga
n said he wanted to get settled and run some errands and I realized I’d never asked where we were staying. Actually, I wasn’t sure why we didn’t just drive in tomorrow for the wedding. But he probably wanted to make sure I applied for my passport. It was the push I needed. Left to myself, I probably would’ve procrastinated too long just to stay the extra days with him.

  Then I followed him back out to his car.

  “Where are we staying?” I asked.

  “Here.” He nodded back toward the house.

  “Your parents don’t mind?”

  “Why would they?”

  “My mom would never let me have a guy spend the night. Certainly not in the same room. She’s old school.”

  “Can’t be that old when she left ya here with me.”

  I snorted. “I can’t imagine she thought… never mind.”

  Eagan gave me this look that said he knew exactly what I was going to say. No need to finish it.

  After getting everything settled in his old bedroom, he left to use the restroom, leaving me alone in the room of his childhood. The decoration in the room was minimal. My best guess was that Eagan hadn’t lived there in a long time and his parents used it for occasions such as this one. A guest room, or spare room for company, or for when the boys came back home.

  I wished there was more of him inside to give me a glimpse of young Eagan and the way he was growing up.

  When he came back, he pulled me down the stairs and we slipped by the crowd in the kitchen, which had grown by at least five people, and took us out the front door.

  “Where are we going?” I asked.

  I’d assumed he’d want to have dinner with his family, but it didn’t seem like we’d be back in time. He kept driving until the city fell away and the beautiful Irish countryside surrounded us.

  “We have a tradition in our family,” he said. “Whenever someone gets married ya have to bring them something Irish. So we’re going to get something Irish.”

  “How did that start?”

  “My grandma’s sister married a man from France and was going to move there after the wedding. The family was worried she’d forget how to be Irish, so her mother insisted everyone bring her something to remind her of Ireland.”

  “That’s really sweet,” I said. “Can we find a leprechaun for me to bring?”