by K. C. Crowne
“You know about the show?”
“It’s the craziest thing,” she as she popped a chip into her mouth and chewed and swallowed. “I was at the airport, and I overheard this woman talking about it. Sounds like she was involved somehow.”
I leaned forward in interest. “Wait, was she a blonde?”
“That’s right. Pretty, too.”
There was no doubt in my mind that she was referring to the same woman who Aiden had taken out for drinks that very day.
“Yeah, sounds like one of the production assistants we were working with.”
She smiled broadly. “You’re really going to do this, huh? You and your brothers are going on be on TV?”
“It’s looking that way. We give the final go-ahead on when the filming starts, but I’m thinking we’ll be getting to it sooner than later. Not looking forward to it one bit, I might add.”
Joann shook her head. “Man, there are people out there who’d kill to be in your shoes. But it’s also pretty clear you’re not the spotlight type.”
“It’s all for the cause,” I said. “They sensed I was on the fence about it, so the producer in charge of it threw on top the plan of paying for part of the additions on the property, should I end up buying it. I’m not a fan of having a camera shoved in my face, but how the hell could I say no to that? It would help us do so much good.”
She took another sip of beer.
“I’m curious about something.”
“Shoot.”
“The thing you’re planning on doing with the shelter…it’s amazing, don’t get me wrong. And I do get the impression from you that you truly care about your patients. But why this project specifically? Does someone close to you have some personal experience with what you’re talking about?” Her eyes flashed after she asked the question. “Wait, I’m sorry – that was way out of bounds. I’m a prosecutor; asking tough questions to get tough answers is second nature to me.”
I chuckled, secretly loving how forthright and fearless she was.
“It’s fine. And it’s a good question.” I took a sip of beer, knowing I’d be needing it. “My da died when I was just a lad – I was six when it happened.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry.”
“Thank you. One day he was fine, the next he had an embolism and passed. Crazy thing to wrap your head around when you’re a kid, you know? One day your old man, who’s basically a superhero in your eyes, can just…die like that. Taught me a hell of a lot about the fragility of life when I was at a young age, believe you me.”
I took another sip as I tried to keep the feelings the memories evoked at bay.
“Anyway, things got rough for our family. We’d never been rich, but when da died my ma was on her own with three boys. We had to move to a smaller place in a rougher part of town and try our best to make a go of it. Ma worked two jobs, our aunts and uncles helping out with childcare when they could. And she did it. I can’t imagine what it was like for her, but she did it. We all grew up happy and healthy, our bellies full -not a small thing with three growing boys- and went off to university.”
“She sounds amazing.”
“She is. But while we were in the rougher part of town, I saw a lot of people who weren’t lucky enough to have what my brothers and me had. Lots of families in rough spots.” I stopped myself, not wanting to get any further into it during a date that should’ve been light and fun.
“Like abuse.” Joann read my mind anyway and went for it. Her expression was serious.
“Like abuse. Now, I’m not saying abuse is strictly a lower-class thing only. I know it can happen everywhere in society.”
“You’re right about that. I’ve made cases against people in pretty high-up positions who’ve done some horrible things to their supposed loved ones.”
In a sense, I was glad to hear the words. It meant she was no stranger to what I was talking about, awful as it was.
“You’ve got it. Maybe it was that we simply lived closer to it all, couldn’t insulate ourselves in some house away from it. Either way, I saw a lot of bad things – enough that I was determined to do something about it when I had the means to.”
She smiled, reaching over and taking my hand. “It sounds like you are. And if you ask me, it’s pretty damn admirable.”
I smiled right back at her.
“Thank you,” I said. “Not doing it for kudos, but it’s nice to hear. Anyway, my brothers and I try to help out where we can, all of us going into the city a couple times a month to do pro-bono work at a women’s shelter. But it’s not enough, you know? We’re lucky as hell, so we need to be giving back as much as we can.”
I shook my head when I finished, realizing I’d gone off on a right tear. If Joann felt the same way, she didn’t say it. Instead, she kept her hand on mine, silence enveloping us.
It was a lovely silence, too. Rght up until it was broken by someone slamming down three shot glasses full of whiskey on the table.
“That’s how you know it’s a date with my cousin Ronan,” came a booming voice above us. “Serious faces all around!”
Joann and I looked up to see none other than my cousin Pierce. He was tall and strapping as ever, thirty-something with buzzed red hair and a wide jaw, dressed in tweed slacks and a button-up shirt with suspenders and the sleeves rolled up all the way to his biceps.
“Peirce, you fecking arse,” I said. “We were in the middle of a conversation.”
“I know. And by the looks of it, it was a dreary one. That’s why I decided to cheer things up with a little of our finest!” he leaned down toward Joann, pointedly cutting me out of the conversation. “This a little something I whipped up meself. I only share it with the most beautiful of women.”
I laughed. What else could do at my cousin’s over-the-top come-ons?
“Oh?” she asked. “And what does it taste like if you’re an overbearing Irishman?” I craned my neck to see that she flashed a smile at Peirce, not flustered at all by him.
“Aye, you wound me, lass!” he said, stepping back and placing his hands over his heart. “But seriously, try it. I want you both to sample some of the good stuff while you’re here.” He scooped his glass off the table and raised it up. “Come on, now – sliante!”
“Sliante!” we said, taking our shots.
“Well?” he asked, putting his big hands on the table. “How is it?”
“Pretty good,” I said. “Considering it was made by a man with an IQ in the single digits.” I grinned and Pierce laughed.
“And you?” he asked to Joann. “What you think, gorgeous?”
“It’s not bad. It’s giving me enough courage to tell you to leave your cousin and me alone so we can get back to our wonderful date.”
Another laugh out of Pierce and I, Joann grinning all the while.
“She’s got a tongue on her for a Yank,” Pierce admired, his hands on his hips in a way that suggested he was impressed. “Where’d you find her?”
Joann had a response ready to go. “You’d be amazed at how easy it is to find nice women when you don’t act like a caveman.”
He laughed again, and I did the same.
“Alright, alright!” another voice came from down the way. We turned to see that it was Bradley, the second-youngest cousin. He was as tall as the rest of us, his shoulders broad and his red hair short, with a bit of a curl to it. “Let’s give the lovebirds their privacy, yeah?”
He came over, a grin on his face as bright as the moon. It was all I needed to see to know he was about to lay it on thick, too.
“That is, unless she sees which one of us is the superior O’Neill. It shouldn’t be hard to figure out.” He patted himself on the chest, a proud smile spread across his handsome features. “Name’s Bradley, by the by.”
“Please,” Joann quipped. “If I’m not going for Peirce, I’m not going for someone with the same cocky attitude but shorter.”
That got a rip-roaring laugh out of me. All the brothers were wildly insecure about which one was th
e biggest and strongest, and Joann had been able to zero right in on that. Quite impressive.
“What?” Bradley asked. “I’ve got at least two centimeters on this idjit!”
Peirce gave him a little shove. “You’re only saying that because you wear those big boots to make yourself look taller. But we all know the truth.”
“Right now,” Bradley challenged. “Let’s go down to the cellar and lift a keg. Whoever can do it the most times, wins.”
“Now, why you want to do something I’ve already beaten you at a million times before?”
“What? You’ve beat me once – and that was because I was hungover as hell!”
In that moment, I figured out a good way to get them to shut up. I turned my attention to Joann, then leaned across the table to plant a kiss on her lips.
Sure enough, it did the job. The boys shut their yaps, saying nothing as they watched.
Chapter 20
RONAN
I took my lips from Joann’s, my cock stiff under the table and my hands ready to touch her all over that perfect body.
“Now, that’s just showing off,” Peirce grumbled good-naturedly.
“Yeah, PDA’s are not very classy, you know.”
“But,” Joanne said, raising a finger. “It does send a pretty solid message.”
“Alright, alright,” I said. “As much as I’d love to watch Joann cut you both to shreds with her tongue, I’d much rather have some alone time with her. Away with you both, then!” I waved my hand, sending them both off. Peirce and Bradley grumbled, but they did as they were told.
“Aye, sorry about all that,” I said. “Whole family of bleeding knuckleheads.”
She chuckled. “It was fun, actually. They seem like good guys.”
“They are. You really held your own with them. I’ve seen more than a few women melt at their foolishness. Especially when they’re laying it on so thick.”
She shrugged as if it were no big deal at all. “Like I said, I’m a prosecutor. When you’ve looked murderers dead in the eye, dealing with boisterous men hitting on you is nothing at all in comparison.”
She was smart and sassy and didn’t seem afraid of anything. She was exactly the sort of woman I’d hoped she was when we’d first met. Hell, she was better than that.
Before either of us could say anything else, another figure appeared in the corner of my eye. I glanced over to see that it was Michael -Mikey as we called him- approaching the table, and he had something in his hands.
“Good evening, good evening,” he said as he drew near. Mikey was slender and muscular, his hair the same red we all shared.
“Mikey, Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, if you’re coming over here to pull the same nonsense as your brothers…”
“No, it ain’t like that at all, cousin.” He set the plate on the table. It was a dessert that looked pretty damn good, actually. “Now, I heard me brothers were giving you and your lovely date a bad time. Naturally, I told them that it was terrible manners to bother two people on a date like that. So, to apologize for those idjits, I brought over a bit of sticky toffee bread pudding on the house. Ma made it herself.”
“Speaking of which, where is Auntie?”
“She and Da are taking the night off,” he said. “Going into the city to have a little night to themselves.”
“So, you boys are looking after the place while they’re gone,” I said. “Aren’t you all mighty sweet.”
“You know us,” he said with a wink. “Anything for family.”
After he said the words, he began scooping the empty plates from the table. I waited for something more.
“Well,” I said. “That’s damn decent of you, Mikey.”
“But,” he said with a grin. “If Joann here wanted to ditch you and go out with a real man, I-”
“Away with you!” I bellowed with a chuckle. Mikey laughed, quickly setting down two forks as he grabbed the plates and hurried off.
“Alright,” Joann said, full of laughter herself. “There’s four of them, right? No more surprises?”
“There’s only four of them, thank the good Lord in heaven above. Thanks for being a good sport, by the by.”
“It’s fun,” she said. “Much more fun than when jackass American men hit on me. But you know, maybe you’re right.”
“Right about what?”
She shrugged. “Maybe your family is too much for me. See you.” She pushed herself up a bit from the table, my eyes going wide with shock as she rose.
“Wait, are you serious?” I asked.
She stopped, then grinned. “Man, you should’ve seen the look on your face.”
I laughed. She’d gotten me good.
“You know what you are,” I said, wagging my finger at her. “You’re a real sassy lassy.”
She laughed right along with me. “You Irish sure have a way with words, you know that?”
Joann dropped back into her seat and went for one of the forks that Mikey had left on the table.
“I’m telling you,” I said, picking up a fork for myself. “If those jackasses had spoiled the evening, I’d be downstairs right now turning their arses into the next meat pie filling.” Joann burst out into laughing, and I did the same.
With that, we turned our attention to the dessert. It was delicious as hell, no doubt about it. By the time we were done and had taken the last bites and sips, I was ready to get moving. Though I had to admit to myself that I’d never had this much fun on a date before.
Part of me didn’t want it to end.
When I ate the last bite, I put the fork down and placed my hands on my belly. “Now, I don’t know about you, but I sure as hell could go for a little peace and quiet after a meal like that. What do you say we head down to the beach and get a wee walk in?”
“That sounds amazing.”
I threw back the rest of my beer, Joann doing the same as I slipped my wallet out of my pocket and pulled out a couple hundred Euros, tossing them onto the table. It was a hell of a lot more than the meal would be, but I wanted to give something a little extra to my family.
“No, no,” she said. “Let me…” I watched as she went for her purse and opened it.
“How about this,” I said with a smile. “You can cover the next one.”
That got a grin out of her. “Deal.”
We both rose, and I took her hand as we went through the rooftop dining area, the tables all still packed with people. Downstairs was as raucous as it’d been when we’d arrived, my cousins all working behind the bar as they ran drinks and food here and there. Joann and I both waved to them as we headed outside.
The quiet hit us as soon as we were out, and it was damn nice. The air had a perfect chill, the moon still high in the sky. While I wasn’t even close to being drunk, the mild buzz from all the booze hit me just right.
I glanced over at Joann, half-expecting to see her wobbling from the beers and shots.
“How’re you feeling after that alcohol injection?”
She shrugged. “Pretty alright, really. I may be tiny, but I can still put it away. I think I’ve got an extra high metabolism or something – type-A-personality stuff. Back in law school I used to win bets by outdrinking the guys.”
I placed my hand over my heart as if I were swooning. “She can handle a bit of the Irish banter and can hold her whiskey. I’ve been blessed, no other way to put it.”
Joann laughed as she moved close to me. I wrapped my arm around her and pulled her small, curvy body nice and close as we made our way down the flagstone path that led to the beach. We were soon on the shore, the ocean spread out before us, the waves crashing against the sand.
“God,” she said, shaking her head. “I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen the ocean.”
“That right?”
“Yep. I’m from Colorado, remember? We’ve got mountains – the total opposite of the beach, when you think about it. Don’t get me wrong, I love the Rockies. But there’s something about the water…”
>
“We’ve got mountains here in Ireland, you know,” I said, my arm wrapped around her as we watched the water. There’s Carrauntoohil over in Munster. Granted, it’s about a fifth the size of the tallest ones in the Rockies, but it’s pretty damn impressive if you ask me.”
She glanced up at me and smiled. “I’d love to see it some time.”
“And I’d love to show you.”
What the hell was going on between this woman and me? We’d only just met a few days ago, but even so, the way I felt toward her…it was something different, almost like we’d known each other for longer than we had. I wasn’t sure how else to describe it.
“You know what?” she asked. “There’s something I’ve been wanting to do all night.” Without another word, she raised up onto her tiptoes and puckered her lips.
So, I leaned in and gave her what we both wanted.
Chapter 21
JOANN
The kiss was divine. Together we stood under the sliver light of the full moon, the waves lapping at the shore behind us as we held one another close, kissing deeply. We were once again alone, but unlike back at the house, there was no reason that either of us wanted to stop. We’d had our amazing date, and now it was time to end the buildup and get right to what I’d been fantasizing about since I’d laid eyes on Ronan.
He put his big hands on my hips, pulling me against his body as he opened his mouth and sought my tongue out with his. Ronan’s flavor was like nothing else, his manly, musky taste blending perfectly with the little bit of whiskey that lingered on his breath.
I moaned into the kiss, loving the way my small body felt against his. But he was almost too tall – I had to stand up on my tiptoes just to be able to reach his mouth. I took my lips from his, flashed him a grin, then leaped up into his arms. He laughed as he caught me, his hands holding me under my ass, my legs wrapped around him.
I grinned through the kiss, something occurring to me.
“Now,” he said, taking his lips from mine and regarding me with an amused expression. “What’s that all about?”