Danny

9

DANNY WOKE UP LONG BEFORE DAWN, listening to the sounds of Ballykirk as the village slowly came to life. At first, it was just the fishing boats heading out of the harbor and then a lorry or two passing by.

Tossing the covers aside and swinging his feet off the bed, he stood and stretched. As soon as the dogs heard him, they scampered into the bedroom, anxious for their breakfast. “Hi, boys,” he whispered, giving them each a pet.

Jordan’s plane was due to leave at ten. Danny had insisted on taking her to the airport, but she’d decided to drive herself and leave her car in the car park. She’d promised she’d be back in a few days, after she’d settled everything with her parents.

In truth, Danny still wasn’t sure he wanted her to leave. Even though he believed she was going to settle her affairs and come right back to him, there was a niggling doubt that her father might talk her into staying.

He couldn’t imagine a future with Jordan in New York and him in Ireland. Though the two places were only a six-hour plane ride apart, there was still an ocean between them. They’d be living completely different lives. But it wasn’t just their lives, it was their ideas of what constituted happiness. For Jordan, it was professional success and for him, it had become all about love in the past month.

Here in Ireland, she could be in control of her own destiny. With Kellan’s help, she could build a business to be proud of. There were possibilities in the U.K., in Europe. So many interesting things to do.

But Jordan had spent her life trying to please her father and to prove her worth in her family. It was a strangely dysfunctional relationship, but one that she couldn’t seem to resist.

Danny wandered out to the fireplace and threw some peat on the fire, anxious to take the chill out of the air. Her bag was open on the sofa near the fireplace, packed with a change of clothes. He sat down and picked through it, pulling out a T-shirt and inhaling the scent.

Was this all he’d be left with, Danny wondered. Just faint memories of a woman he’d once loved and then lost. He tucked the T-shirt under his arm. She wasn’t going to stay long, he told himself. There was nothing to worry over.

Danny walked back to the bedroom and sat on the edge of the bed. He pressed a gentle kiss to Jordan’s forehead, then drew a deep breath, committing the scent of her hair to memory. They’d spent nearly every minute together since his first day at Castle Cnoc and now, they’d be apart.

His time with Jordan had brought him a love deeper than anything he’d ever expected. Danny felt as if they had already spent a lifetime together. He’d never known a woman so intimately nor had he allowed any woman to know him in that way. Jordan had become a part of him, the part that made him feel alive and aware.

He pulled back the covers and crawled back into bed, snuggling up to her naked body. She stirred then opened her eyes. “It can’t be morning already,” she murmured.

“It is,” Danny replied. “Although it’s only been about four hours since you fell asleep.”

Jordan groaned, then stretched her arms above her head. “How am I going to do without you in my bed? I’ll have to just get reacquainted with my vibrator.”

“You have one of those?” Danny chuckled. “Make sure you bring that back with you.”

He kissed the curve of her neck. Her skin was so soft and he could feel her pulse beating beneath his lips. God, it was strange something as insignificant as a kiss would seem so important to him. Everything was important-the sound of her voice, the feel of her hand in his, the way she said his name…

The first light of dawn illuminated the room and Jordan glanced again at the clock. “I have to get up.” She raked her hands through her tousled hair as she sat up beside him.

Danny watched as she silently got dressed. When she was finished, she sat on the edge of the bed and smoothed her fingers over his temple, brushing aside a strand of hair. Danny looked up at her. “You could still change your mind,” he murmured. “You could take off all your clothes and crawl into bed with me and go to New York some other day.”

“I don’t want to leave,” Jordan said. “But I have to. I won’t be gone long, I promise. I’ll be back before you know it.”

“What if you decide to stay?” He raised up, bracing his arm beside him and leaning closer to her. This was no time to keep his feelings to himself. He was going to say it all right now, just so she knew exactly how much he needed her. “You have everything waiting for you back there. All you have here is me.”

“And that’s everything,” she said. “To me.”

“Me, too,” he said softly.

Her eyes flooded with tears and Danny groaned, pulling her into a hug. He wanted to say the words. They’d been on his lips for days now, yet he was scared that Jordan wasn’t ready to return the sentiment. He loved her, but did she love him?

Danny reached out and cupped her cheek in his palm. “Promise that you’ll come back to me,” he whispered. “Promise you won’t let your family talk you into staying.”

She drew a ragged breath. “I promise.”

“I’ll miss you, Jordan. I don’t think you realize how much.”

Jordan smiled, then bent close and dropped a kiss on his lips. “I’ll miss you, too, Danny.”

He fell back onto the pillow and laughed, throwing his arm over his head. “I sure hope to hell you aren’t leanan sidhe or I’m going to drop dead the moment you walk out the door.”

She grabbed his face and kissed him again, a kiss filled with longing and sorrow and silent promises. “I’m not a fairy. And you’re not going to die when I leave you. I-I have to go.”

“Let me get dressed and I’ll-”

“No, I want to leave you right here, in this cottage, all curled up in bed with Finny and Mogue asleep in front of the door. This is how I want to remember you, all rumpled from sleep and naked beneath the sheets. And when I come back, I want you to be here just like this.”

“I’m actually contemplating staying in bed until you come back. I’m not sure I’ll be able to do anything else, I’ll be so consumed with loneliness and despair.” He tried for a lighthearted tone.

“Get up and get some work done.” She gave him another quick kiss and then walked to the door. Jordan picked up her bag and gave him one last look. “I’ll talk to you soon,” she murmured.

“Call me when you get in?”

She nodded. “I’ll do that.” She crossed the room and kissed him again. “Let’s just say goodbye like it’s any other day,” she murmured. “I’ll be back soon. I promise.”

As she walked out of the bedroom, Danny wondered what it would be like the next time they saw each other. Would the attraction still be so intense or would it have cooled? Would they pick up where they’d left off or would they need to get to know each other again? These were all questions that worried him. Danny knew they’d have to figure out a way to get through the confusion and back to where they belonged.

He jumped out of bed and hurried to the front door, standing naked in the damp morning air. She saw him and waved from inside the car, then turned on the ignition. “Come back,” he murmured to himself.

If she came back, this would become home. His family would become her family. They said absence made the heart grow fonder. Danny was counting on that to get him through the next few days.

He drew a deep breath of the morning air and then cursed loudly.

“Oh, to hell with this.”

JORDAN STOOD AT the elevator and watched as the lighted numbers above the door moved downward. She’d been back in Manhattan for exactly one day, just enough time to sleep, sort through her mail and do laundry before grabbing a cab to the office.

The flight back had been uneventful, except for one thing. Whether it was the regret at leaving Ireland or the doubts she had about leaving Danny, she’d decided that it was time for her to have a serious talk with her father.

The elevator opened in front of her and she stepped inside, smoothing her hands over the designer suit she wore. She’d assumed that once she was back in her own bed, wearing her regular wardrobe she’d start to feel more like herself. But New York seemed like a foreign country now and she felt oddly out of place in the midst of all the noise and chaos.

When she stepped out of the elevator on the seventeenth floor, a familiar face greeted her. “Miss Kennally! Welcome back. You look…fabulous.”

Jordan frowned at Isabelle, their receptionist. “Fabulous?”

“There’s something different about you. You look…sunny.”

“Well, I feel sunny,” Jordan said with a smile. “Is my father in? I need to talk to him right away.”

“He’s in. You’ll have to check with Anne Marie to see if he’s available.”

“Great,” Jordan said. “Well, wish me luck.”

“Luck,” Isabelle replied. “Miss Kennally?”

Jordan turned back to her. “Yes?”

“I do hope you plan to stay. Rumor around the office was that you quit. That’s not true, is it?”

Jordan smiled. “I think it is.”

When she reached her office, just three doors down from her father’s, Jordan dropped off her coat and briefcase. The sooner she got this over with the better. It wouldn’t do to delay and lose her nerve.

Jordan glanced down at her hands, her fingers twisted together so tightly that they were losing circulation. Conversations with her father had always been very cold and businesslike. But today, she hoped to appeal to his emotions. She wanted, no, she needed his blessing.

In truth, she expected it would be much worse. He’d throw her out on her ear, maybe even refuse to pay her for the Castle Cnoc project. He’d disown her, forbid her to come to family functions. Andrew Kennally hadn’t gotten to where he was today by being a nice guy.

Drawing a deep breath, she headed toward his office. His assistant was sitting at her desk and Jordan pointed at the door. “He’s in?”

“Yes. But I think he’s on the phone. Can I make an appointment for you?”

“No,” Jordan said. “I need to talk to him right now.”

“But, Miss Kennally, I don’t think he wants to be disturbed.”

“I’m his daughter. I’m allowed to disturb him.” Before the assistant could stop her, Jordan opened the door and stepped inside. Her father was sitting at his desk, his back to her, his feet kicked up on the credenza. She listened to his conversation and it was obvious he was discussing the closing on the hotel project.

Jordan sat and waited patiently, silently going over all she planned to say. She was putting her future on the line, but it had to be done.

The entire way home, she’d thought about what she was giving up by moving to Ireland. She loved her family, but she loved Danny more. He was the one who believed in her, who supported all her dreams. Her future was with him.

Her father hung up the phone, then slowly turned around to face her. Andrew Kennally was a handsome man of nearly sixty. His graying hair was set off by a deeply tanned face. He wore custom-made suits and hand-stitched shirts and Italian shoes that cost more than the rent on a one-bedroom apartment on the Upper East Side. And all of that made him very intimidating.

“Hello, Daddy.”

“You’re back,” he said, nodding at her. “It seems like you just left.”

“I’ve been gone for almost eighteen months,” Jordan reminded him.

“Right,” he said. “Well, welcome back. I’m sure you want to jump right back into work so…run along.”

“That’s what I want to talk to you about,” Jordan said. “If you’ll remember, we had a discussion on the phone not too long ago about the hotel project.”

“Yes. I remember. It’s still yours, if you want it.”

“Why?” she asked. “I know you didn’t want to give it to me. Why did you change your mind?”

“Your mother can be very persuasive.”

“So, it’s not because you trust my work. In fact, you don’t think I deserve it, do you?”

“That’s neither here nor there,” he said. “You have the damn project. We close day after tomorrow so I’d suggest you sit down with your brother, Matt, and get up to speed. He’s been doing all the preliminary work.”

“I don’t think that’s going to be necessary,” Jordan said.

“What? You think you’re just going to hit the ground running?”

“No. I’m not going to hit the ground at all. I don’t want the job, Daddy. I’m going to go back to Ireland. I’m quitting Kencor.”

“Quit? Don’t be ridiculous. You’ll never find another job like this.”

“I hope not. This hasn’t been all that great. And you’ve been a horrible boss. You’ve always favored my brothers more than me and I’m tired of that. I proved myself capable of handling larger projects, but that didn’t make a difference to you.”

He shook his head. “Your mother isn’t going to stand for this,” he warned.

“I don’t care. It’s time for me to make my own way in the world. I’ve met a man. I’m in love and I’m happy.”

“This is about a man? You’re quitting your job for a man?”

“No,” Jordan said. “I’m quitting my job because I need to find a place where my talents are appreciated.”

“Oh, we’re not going to get into all that warm fuzzy stuff. We don’t do that here. I don’t run around telling my employees how wonderful they are. That’s not the way I run things.”

“Maybe you should. People might not think you’re such a jerk.”

“You don’t have any loyalty to me?”

“You’re my father and I will always love you. But as a boss, you kind of suck. I’ve worked my ass off here and I deserved more than you gave me. But that’s all water under the bridge. I just want you to give me your blessing and then I’ll get out of your hair.”

“What is this really about?” he asked. “What happened to you in Ireland?”

“Perspective,” she said. “I got some perspective. I realized that there’s a lot more to life than work. And I don’t want to miss out on the good stuff.”

“I don’t like ultimatums,” her father muttered, wagging his finger at her.

“I’m not giving you an ultimatum. I’ve made my decision, Daddy.” She stood up. “I’m going back to Ireland in a few days. I’d like to come out and see you and Mom this weekend. I expect I’m going to have to explain everything to her.”

“She’s going to kill me, you know. She’ll blame me for letting you go.”

“I’ll tell her that it wasn’t you.” She walked around his desk and threw her arms around his neck, kissing him on the cheek. “Thanks for everything. For the job. For the opportunity. I really am grateful.” She slowly straightened to find him smiling at her. “What?”

“You used to hug me like that when you were little. I liked it. I still do.”

Jordan smiled, then walked to the door. She gave her father a wave, then strode down the hall toward her office. Right now, she wanted to find a quiet place to call Danny. And after she was done talking to him, she’d clean out her office, pack up her apartment and figure out how to get her things to Ireland.

She found Marcy, her assistant, flipping through a sheaf of papers on her desk. “You’re back,” Marcy said. She stared at her for a long moment. “You look different. Have you lost weight?”

“Actually, I’ve gained ten pounds,” Jordan said. “I think it looks good on me, what do you think?”

“I think you look…happy.”

“I am,” she said. “I just quit my job. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure you get reassigned and get a really big raise. But I need you to do one last thing for me. Book a flight to Ireland. Make it for Sunday, if you can. I have to go out and visit my parents tomorrow.”

“You’re going back to Ireland so soon? Is everything all right? Did something happen with the job over there?”

“Something did happen.” Jordan smiled. “I met this incredible Irishman named Danny Quinn. And I’m madly in love with him.”

JORDAN GROANED SOFTLY, then sat up and turned on the bedside lamp. She picked up her pillow and punched it, then finally tossed it on the floor. She’d been trying to go to sleep for the past hour, desperate to at least get some rest before she had to face her mother in the morning.

She wanted to look fresh and beautiful and unimaginably happy when she saw her parents. Not tired and haggard and grumpy. Quitting her job had really been the easy part. Explaining to her mother why she couldn’t marry one of the suitable bachelors available on the east coast would be the difficult part.

She’d tried calling Danny three times, but his voice mail had picked up each time. She’d started to worry that he’d changed his mind about her, that leaving had been a critical mistake. Jordan had even thought about calling the pub, for they’d know where he was. But in the end, she’d decided to give it another day and try him in the morning.

She imagined her homecoming in Ballykirk. She’d surprise him at the smithy. He’d be all hot and dirty and she’d throw herself into his arms and admit that she’d fallen in love with him and would never leave him again. And then they’d kiss and their life together would begin.

Occasionally, she’d think about a more gloomy scenario, still nagged by tiny slivers of doubt. She’d return, knock on his cottage door and find some gorgeous, half-naked woman in his bed.

Saying “I love you” was going to be a risk, but Jordan had decided that it was well worth it. After all, she’d taken the biggest risk of all-quitting her job and uprooting her entire life. How much scarier could things get?

She reached over and turned off the lamp and closed her eyes. But the buzzer at her door brought her upright. She scrambled out of bed and hurried to the front door of her apartment to answer the doorman’s summons.

“Yes?”

“Miss Kennally, it’s Arnie. I have a man down here who insists on seeing you. I told him that you were probably sleeping, but he wouldn’t take no for an answer.”

Her father. He’d obviously broken the news to her mother and now had come to try to convince her to stay. She’d half expected her mother to call her by now. Jordan considered refusing him entrance, but maybe it was better to talk to him. In truth, she was starting to feel a bit guilty. “I’ll be right down,” Jordan said.

She hurried back to the bedroom and grabbed her robe, then walked to the elevator. As she descended, she smiled to herself. For the first time in her life, she felt like a grown-up. She’d made a decision for herself and she was happy about it. Sure, she’d miss her work, but she was setting out on a whole new chapter in life.

The elevator doors opened in front of her and her breath caught in her throat. A disheveled Danny Quinn waited for her. A gasp slipped from her lips and she rubbed her eyes. This couldn’t be right. What was he doing here?

“Hi,” he said, shifting back and forth on his feet.

Jordan stepped out and looked around the empty lobby. Arnie sat at his desk, watching her surreptitiously. “What are you doing here?”

“I just have to say something and then I’ll go if you want. I’m not sure that I really made things clear before you left.”

“You flew all the way here to say something to me?”

“Yes. I didn’t really get a chance to say it the right way. And then when I realized that, I followed you to the airport, but you had already boarded your plane and they wouldn’t let me get on and talk to you. So I bought a ticket, but then our plane had to stop in Iceland because of mechanical problems. And when I got here, I realized that I didn’t have your address, so it took me a while to track that down, but-”

“You’re here,” Jordan murmured, with a smile.

“When you left, everything was happening so fast and I know we didn’t get the chance to really say all the things we wanted to. I was trying to act like it was no big deal. And then, after you left, I thought, what if she doesn’t come back.”

“I have a ticket for Sunday, Danny. I tried to call you and let you know. I’m all packed.”

“Really?” he asked, a smile breaking across his face.

“Really,” she said.

He reached out and smoothed his hand along her arm. “Does this mean I get to touch you anytime I want, and I can kiss you and lie next to you and wake up with you in my arms every day?”

“Definitely,” Jordan said. “I’ve been trying to sleep and I can’t because you’re not there.” She paused. “I’ve missed you so much.”

“And what about your job and your family? Won’t you miss all that?”

“Of course I will. But it won’t matter. I think I was throwing myself into work because I didn’t have anything better to do with my time. But now, all I want to do is spend my days and nights loving you.”

“You want to live in Ireland?”

She nodded.

He yanked her into his arms and kissed her deeply, his hands furrowing through her hair as he molded her mouth to his. And as Jordan lost herself in the wave of sensation that washed over her body, she realized that she couldn’t live without him. His strength…his affection…his smile…

When Danny drew back, he glanced over her shoulder. “Can we maybe find someplace more private to talk? This really isn’t the kind of thing that should happen in the lobby.”

Jordan grabbed his hand and pulled him to the elevator. They stepped inside and she pushed the button for her floor. As soon as the door closed, Danny turned around and faced her, his gaze searching her face.

“I have something for you. But maybe I shouldn’t do it here.”

“What? You brought me a present?”

“I don’t know if you’ll want it. You might not even like it.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a ring, a beautiful antique ring with a small ruby set in a Victorian filigree.

“It was my great-grandmother’s,” he said. “My mum gave it to me when I told her that I was coming to see you.” He drew a deep breath. “I promise that I will do everything in my power to make our lives together perfect.”

The elevator door opened and Danny winced. “I should have waited. This isn’t romantic.”

Jordan laughed. “Oh, yes, it is.” She took his hand and drew him out of the elevator. “Keep going. I’m listening.”

“In the hallway?”

“All right.” She ran ahead to her apartment door and by the time she got it unlocked he was behind her, his hands wrapped around her waist.

“Here?” she asked.

“No,” he said, glancing around her apartment. He pointed to the sofa in the living room. “There.”

When she was finally seated, Danny knelt in front of her. “All right. Here it is. Jordan, I love you. I think I fell in love with you the moment I first saw you. I know I fell in love with you the moment I kissed you.”

She stared at him, wide-eyed, her hands clutched in her lap. Jordan tried to maintain a calm facade, but her heart was beating so hard it felt as though it might burst out of her chest.

“I’m willing to work hard. I’ll do whatever it takes. I’m not sure I can give you what you have here, but I will make you happy. I can move to New York if that’s what you want. You’ll never have a day of regret, I promise.”

“I know,” she said. “And what about the ring?”

“Shite, the ring,” he muttered, patting his pockets. “The ring. It’s not something fancy, but it’s a promise.”

“A promise is good. And I don’t need anything fancy.”

He pulled the ring out of his pocket and slipped it on her finger, then pressed his lips to the back of her hand. “I want you in my life, Jordan. Forever.”

“You have me,” she murmured, running her fingers through his hair. “For as long as you want me.” Jordan stood up in front of him and untied the belt of her robe. She shrugged out of it, letting it drop to the floor at her feet. Then she reached for the bottom of her nightgown. Grabbing the hem, she pulled it over her head and tossed it aside.

Danny reached out and splayed his hand across her stomach. “Are you trying to seduce me?” he asked.

Jordan smoothed her hand over his cheek. “Yes, I am.”

“Don’t you think we should talk about this a little more?”

She slowly shook her head. “We can talk later. I want to make love to the man I love.”

He pulled her close and pressed his face into her stomach. “Promise me something, Jordan.”

Furrowing her fingers through his hair, she tipped his gaze up to meet hers. “Anything.”

“Promise we’ll be together forever.”

“I promise,” she said, pulling him to his feet.

Danny stood to remove his clothes. When he was naked, he grabbed her waist and they tumbled onto the sofa in a tangle of limbs. When his mouth found hers, Jordan knew this was the only thing she needed in life. Danny Quinn-his heart, his soul, his body, his love. Maybe there had been fairies at work in Ireland, she mused. After all, they’d found her the man of her dreams.