Kellan

4

THE ONLY LIGHT in the cottage came from the peat fire flickering on the hearth and an oil lamp Gelsey had set on the floor. Outside, a roaring wind from the sea scoured the windows. Though they had a perfectly adequate table at which to dine, Gelsey had chosen to spread their gourmet dinner out on the floor in front of the fire, creating a much more romantic atmosphere.

As Kellan poured her another glass of wine, he studied her features, still rendered breathless by her beauty. What bit of luck had brought her into his life? He could have walked in the other direction that morning. She could have climbed up the cliff on her own and disappeared again, without the two of them getting a second chance. But something had brought them together and he couldn’t help but wonder if there were magical forces behind it all.

Kellan groaned inwardly. This was exactly how it began for his brothers. He’d listened to Riley and Danny tell their tales and he’d heard them both blather on and on about the incredible power of love. And now he was doing the same thing. Turning himself inside out over a woman he barely knew.

Clenching his fist, Kellan fought the urge to reach out and touch her. Was it even possible to resist anymore or was he completely lost? Yes, the sex was incredible. And he did enjoy spending time with Gelsey, talking to her and kissing her. But that didn’t mean he was falling in love.

Still, he couldn’t help but admit that everything that passed between them was different, as if it had been touched with something extraordinary, some little bit of magic.

She drew a deep breath and sighed, stretching her bare legs out in front of her. Gelsey was dressed in nothing but one of his oxford shirts. “I feel like a stuffed hen. I knew I could cook, but I didn’t expect it would turn out so well.”

“It was pretty amazing. That sauce on the salmon was incredible.”

“Capers and lemon,” she said, scooping up a bit on her finger and holding it out to him. “It’s one of the first sauces I learned. I told you I was good with fish.”

He took her finger into his mouth and enjoyed another taste of the sauce. “And potatoes. And turnips. Even the salad was perfect.”

She grinned seductively, then crawled over the remnants of the meal on her hands and knees to drop a kiss on his mouth. “Are you ready for dessert?”

He glanced down, taking in the view. His shirt gaped at the neck and he could see her bare breasts. The long tails covered her backside. “Would that involve taking your clothes off?”

“I don’t know. It would most definitely involve taking all your clothes off.” She reached out for the hem of his T-shirt, then pulled it over his head. Her attention focused on his chest as she smoothed her hands over his shoulders. “I’ve had a good day. The best day in a very long time.”

Kellan nuzzled her neck. “I’m glad.” He pressed his lips to a spot just below her ear. “And what made it so good?”

“Everything. And nothing at all,” she said.

Kellan stared at her. “Where did you really come from, Gelsey? And why are you still here with me?”

“I think I might belong here,” she said. “I don’t want to go back.”

“There’s no one waiting for you? Wondering where you are?”

“No.” She sat back on her heels and looked into his eyes. “I promise. There’s no one. The only person I want to be with right now is you.” She ran her hands through his hair, smoothing it away from his face. “I don’t care about your past, Kellan. Nothing that happened to you before you met me makes any difference at all. We started the moment you rescued me from that beach.”

“And how will we end?” he asked.

“I don’t know. We don’t need to worry about that right now. I’m happy and you’re happy and we should leave it at that.” She drew in a long breath. “You are happy, aren’t you?”

Of course he was happy. What man wouldn’t be? He had a beautiful, sexy woman in his bed every night, a woman who fascinated him, a woman who drove him wild with desire. And yet, he knew nothing about her. But then, maybe she was right. What difference did it make? There was very little he could learn that would change his feelings for her.

Gelsey leaned in closer. “Can I ask you a question?”

“Only if I can ask one in return,” Kellan said.

“When you found me on the beach, why didn’t you just take me to the hospital?”

Kellan thought about his response for a long moment. “I don’t know. I guess I was curious. I wanted to know what happened, how you got on that beach and why. And I knew if I took you to the hospital, I might never see you again.” He kissed her, his lips brushing against hers. “I lost you once, I didn’t want to lose you again.”

“You lost me?”

“My turn,” Kellan said, quickly shifting the subject.

“Make it good,” she warned. “You only get one.”

“What really sent you out to that beach?” he asked. “It must have been something pretty upsetting.”

She shook her head. “Funny, it was then, but now, I barely think about it.”

“It or he? Answer the question,” Kellan demanded. “Honestly. Was it a man who did that to you?”

“I did it to myself. Up until that moment, I really didn’t like the person I was. I think there’s a bit of magic in you finding me on the beach. I’d like to believe there still is.”

Kellan slid his fingers through her hair and drew her lips to his. She went soft in his arms and on a sigh, she parted her lips to offer him a taste. Everything about her was perfect, Kellan mused. When he touched her, sex suddenly made sense. It meant something, something deep and reassuring.

Kellan knew the risk he was taking. She’d dropped into his life so unexpectedly and he suspected she’d leave in the same way. For all he knew, he’d wake up one morning and she’d be gone. And without knowing anything about her, he’d have no way to find her again.

Grabbing her waist, he pulled her close, then threw his thigh over hers, trapping her in his embrace. He reached for the buttons of the shirt she wore and slowly undid them, kissing a path from the first bit of exposed flesh to the last.

“Who are you?” he murmured, his lips pressed against the soft flesh of her belly.

Gelsey groaned, her fingers smoothing through his hair as he moved lower. “I don’t know,” she whispered.

She was the woman he wanted more than any other. She was the woman whose touch could send his need over the edge. And she was the woman who was becoming a part of his life he didn’t want to lose.

Kellan found the spot between her legs and gently caressed her with his tongue. Gelsey arched toward him, her fingers clenching his hair. He knew exactly how to control her release and Kellan took every advantage, knowing that it might be the only thing in their relationship that he did control. But was mind-blowing sex enough to keep her with him forever?

Her breath began to come in desperate gasps and Kellan knew she was close. He drew back and traced his way up to her neck. Her body was made for his touch, her skin so pale and smooth and her limbs long and lithe. He drew a deep breath and pulled her closer.

“Maybe we should go into the bedroom,” he murmured. Kellan got to his feet and reached down to help her up. But instead of taking a step toward the bedroom, she wrapped her arms around him and kissed him, her tongue teasing at his.

“Take your clothes off,” she whispered.

Kellan reached for the button of his jeans, but she was there quicker. She unzipped them, then pushed them down over his hips along with his boxers. Kellan stepped out of them, then pulled her body up against his, her shirt falling down around her elbows.

“Now that you have me naked, what are you going to do with me?”

She gazed up into his eyes, a smile twitching at the corners of her mouth. Then she grabbed his hand and dragged him toward the front door. The moment she opened the door, a huge gust blew icy-cold rain into the cottage. “It’s freezing out there,” he said. “And raining.”

“I’m used to cold and wet,” she said. Gelsey slipped out of her shirt. “Come on. Let’s go commune with nature.”

“Humans are not made for this kind of weather,” he said, motioning down to the erection that had grown so quickly the moment he’d kissed her.

Gelsey reached down and smoothed her hand along the length of his shaft, her touch warm on his already chilly flesh. “It will heighten the experience,” she murmured. Kellan reluctantly surrendered. There was obviously something in Gelsey that was fed by pushing the boundaries and taking risks. But how far would it go?

“All right.”

“You first,” she said.

With a shout, Kellan ran outside, his bare feet skidding on the brick walk. When he was nearly to the gate, he turned around to find Gelsey watching him from the doorway. The feeble light from the cabin outlined her nakedness so perfectly that he felt the breath slowly leave his body.

“Aren’t you coming?” he shouted, the rain stinging his skin.

“No! It’s freezing out there.”

Kellan ran back to the door and stepped inside, pulling her along with him. “I didn’t want to go out there in the first place!”

“I know,” she said. “But I wanted to see how far you’d go for desire. Now I know.”

“This was a test?” he asked.

She slowly slid down along his body until her hands rested on his waist. He watched as she drew her tongue along the length of his shaft, the warmth causing a rush of desire to race through him. The feel of her mouth on his cold body was like nothing he’d ever experienced before. Every nerve in his body was alive, his skin prickled with goose bumps and shivers skittering down his spine.

Kellan closed his eyes and leaned back against the door, losing himself in the feel of her mouth surrounding him, drawing him in deep and then drifting away. And when it was too much to take anymore, he pulled her to her feet and spanned her waist with his hands.

In one smooth motion, Kellan picked her up and wrapped her legs around his hips, pressing her against the door until he was positioned at the damp spot between her thighs. Slowly, he entered her, inch by inch until he was buried deep within her warmth.

“You were right,” he murmured, his mouth pressed against the curve of her shoulder. “It does heighten the senses.”

He drove deep and then withdrew and Gelsey gasped. “Now you can take me to bed,” she whispered.

“I think I’m fine right here.”

KELLAN LEFT EARLY in the morning, after he and Gelsey shared a quick breakfast together. He’d promised to help Riley with some painting at the cottage that he and Nan had just purchased in Ballykirk. Riley had hoped to have the place ready by the end of December, just in time to move in after their New Year’s Eve wedding. Before leaving, he extracted a sleepy promise from Gelsey that she’d meet him for lunch at the pub.

Though Gelsey curled back up under the covers, she wasn’t able to sleep. Her mind was spinning with all the possibilities that life now offered. She’d start a new job next week. She was excited at the prospect, but she was also a bit scared. She’d never held a job before. Would she actually know what to do, how to behave? What if people didn’t like her? Worse yet, what if someone recognized her?

With a curse, Gelsey sat up in bed and pushed her tangled hair out of her eyes. How hard could it be to sell face creams and body lotions? But obviously Maeve didn’t sell much from her shop. What if she too turned out to be a sales failure?

The first thing she needed to do was find something appropriate to wear. She couldn’t go to her first day of work wearing Jordan’s and Nan’s hand-me-downs. She’d just have to make a quick trip back to Winterhill. Looking around the bedroom, Gelsey searched for something to write on.

She found Kellan’s sketch pad on the floor next to the bed and flipped through it for a clean sheet of paper. The pencil that he’d been using last night wasn’t on the floor or on the top of the nightstand. Gelsey rolled onto her stomach and pulled open the bottom drawer.

She pushed aside a rusty old tin box and searched the drawer. Then she opened the box, hoping there might be a pencil inside. Gelsey’s breath caught in her throat as she recognized the objects in it. “Oh, my,” she murmured, pulling out a length of braided yarn.

In a single moment, she was taken back to that day, running through the meadow with Kellan chasing her, the old biscuit tin clutched in his hand. Time seemed to stand still as she pulled each item out of the box and examined it. These were all her magic talismans, bits and pieces of life that she’d kept for the powerful memories they held.

The day he’d chased her hadn’t been the first day she’d seen him. She’d watched him from behind the rocks before, fascinated by his quiet confidence and beautiful face. He’d been her first crush, the very first boy she’d ever wanted to kiss and she’d done just that.

Gelsey smiled at the memory. She’d buried the tin just for him, hoping that he’d find it and touch something that she held dear. It was such a silly idea from a silly young girl, but now Gelsey had to wonder if the magic she believed in back then had actually worked.

She pulled out a shell and held it up to her ear, listening for the sound of the sea. If she could only go back to that time in her life, back before everything had turned upside down. Where had she gone wrong? Had there been a single event that had put her on the path she’d taken?

Her parents’ divorce hadn’t helped, but plenty of children survived that. Was it the endless supply of money? Had she faced her fears and insecurities rather than trying to hide them beneath a party-girl veneer, perhaps she’d have more to show for herself at age twenty-seven.

Gelsey groaned, tipping her head back and closing her eyes. All that time lost. All that money spent. And she still felt like a seabird buffeted by the wind and unable to find a place to land. What if things didn’t work out in Ballykirk? What if this was just another disaster in a long line of disasters?

And how would Kellan feel about her once he found out who she really was? There’d been so many men, so many silly choices-and all of them captured in the tabloids. And the money. How could she ever justify it? It made her look so vacuous and incredibly careless.

And then there was the “incident.” How would she explain that to him? She’d tried to put it out of her mind, but if things didn’t go her way, she might have to spend some time in jail. Gelsey closed her eyes. How could she have been so incredibly stupid? So wrapped up in her silly little world that she’d done something with real and awful consequences.

Perhaps she’d just have to wait to tell him until it didn’t matter, until he loved her so much that nothing she said would drive him away. And if it never got to that point, he’d walk away, none the wiser, and she’d be able to keep her awful secret.

As Gelsey looked through her childhood treasures, she heard a car pull up outside the cottage. She jumped off the bed and peered through the slit in the curtains to see Kellan striding up the garden walk. With a soft curse, she quickly restored the tin to its spot in the bedside table.

“Gels? Are you up?”

With another curse, she quickly pulled a T-shirt over her head and then stood beside the bed, carefully arranging the covers. Kellan walked in. “Hi,” she said. “Just making the bed.”

He grinned, then circled around and grabbed her waist before he pulled her down onto the bed. “Don’t. We’ll just mess it up again.”

Gelsey smoothed her hand over his temple, brushing aside a lock of hair. “Why are you back here so soon?”

“I missed you,” he said. He pulled her body against his. “I missed this. You’ve made it impossible to think about anything else.”

“I find that hard to believe,” she said, unable to hide a smile of satisfaction.

“It’s true. No matter where I go, I’m thinking about your mouth…” He dropped a kiss on her lips. “And your shoulders…” He pulled aside the T-shirt and gently nibbled on the curve of her neck. “And your impossibly beautiful breasts.” Kellan wriggled down until he could nuzzle the swell of flesh beneath her T-shirt.

“You’re pathetic,” Gelsey said, laughing.

“Yes. Yes, I am.” He glanced up at her. “Actually, I came back here to get you. Jordan and Nan are helping with the painting and they insisted I bring you down. They’re making a party of it.”

Gelsey reached out for a pillow and brought it down on his head. “So you weren’t thinking about my naked body? About the naughty things I did to you last night? About the words that you whispered in my ear while you were coming inside me?”

He frowned, then groaned softly. “I wasn’t. But I am now.”

She got up on her knees and pulled her T-shirt over her head. “So, what are you going to do about it?”

His gaze slowly skimmed over her body, as exciting as a caress. Gelsey felt a familiar knot of desire tighten inside her at the look in his eyes. It was so easy to make him want her. It didn’t take much to have him hard and ready.

“Take off your clothes,” she murmured.

As she watched him slowly undress, Gelsey thought of the young boy she’d first met on the cliffs. He was still there, in the twinkling blue eyes and finely sculpted mouth, in the boyish curl at his nape and the grin that made her weak in the knees.

This was fate. They belonged together. And nothing she could say or do would shake a bond that had survived so many years. She wanted to believe it was so. She needed to believe it.

“They’re going to wonder where we are,” Kellan whispered as he pulled her down onto the bed and settled himself above her.

Gelsey drew her legs up along his hips, her toes skimming along his calves. “I’m sure we can keep it under five minutes.”

Kellan gasped, then braced himself on his elbows. “Five? Really? Why even bother, then?”

“Because five minutes in heaven is better than a day in the ordinary world.” She drew him closer and then arched against him, his shaft pressing against her sex. Slowly, he pushed inside her, filling her with his heat.

“Don’t move,” she said.

“If I don’t move, we’ll be here all day.”

“Five minutes.” Gelsey pulled him close and kissed him, lingering for a long time over his mouth until she was sure he was properly distracted. And then, in a soft voice, she began to tell a story of man and mermaid, an erotic story of two people swept away by desire. She didn’t leave out any detail, teasing him with a story of the seduction that had gone on between them from the moment they met.

His eyes were closed and Gelsey knew he was caught up in the images racing through his head. Her lips on his shaft, his teeth grazing her nipple. They didn’t need to do it in order to experience it.

She shifted beneath him, just slightly, and his breath caught in his throat. But still, she wasn’t ready for him to move. Every word she spoke was designed to bring him closer, to make his release come not from physical sensation, but from his imagination.

She sensed when he was close and then whispered in his ear. “Now you can move.”

He drew back and then drove into her in an almost desperate search for pleasure. Again and again, she felt him deep inside her and then, in a single, silent instant, he was there, tumbling over the edge in a powerful orgasm.

When he was finally sated, he collapsed on the bed beside her, his leg thrown over her hips. “I stand corrected. I’m powerless against your rather considerable charms, my dear.”

Gelsey smiled and dropped a kiss on his lips. “Five minutes.”

“Good to know,” he said. “Good for those times when we’re waiting for the water to boil for tea or for football to come on the telly. Hell, it sometimes takes five minutes to get a pint at the pub. And there’s a perfectly good closet just near the kitchen where we can-”

“Stop,” Gelsey said. “We’re only allowed to use the five-minute rule in emergencies.” She sat up. “Come on, quick shower. And then we’re going to go help with the painting.”

“What about you? Should we take another five minutes for you?”

“You can take care of me in the shower,” Gelsey said, jumping up from the bed. She grabbed his hands and pulled him to his feet, then wrapped his arms around her waist. But Kellan quickly turned her around in his arms, pressing his softening erection into the small of her back.

His hands smoothed down her belly to rest at the juncture of her thighs. He slipped a finger inside her, gently caressing her and before long, Gelsey felt her knees growing weak and her body surrendering to his touch.

His power over her body was just as startling as hers over his. She dissolved into deep soul-shattering spasms, grasping the bedpost to keep herself from collapsing. Breathless, she leaned back against him, wrapping her arm around his neck.

This had all begun with a simple kiss years ago. And yet, try as she might, she couldn’t imagine a future without him, without this passion they shared. He had the power to give her incredible pleasure. But Kellan also had the power to break her heart into a million pieces.

KELLAN GLANCED OVER at the three men sitting at the end of the bar. Known as the Unholy Trinity, the trio of pensioners were regulars at the pub. Markus Finn, Dealy Carmichael and Johnnie O’Malley stopped by every day for a pint and a chat with whomever was available to listen to their brand of malarkey.

“What are you three gawkin’ at?” Kellan asked from his spot at the opposite end of the bar. He’d been enjoying a quick beer while he waited for the takeaway lunch Riley had ordered for them all.

Markus leaned forward. “We hear you caught yourself a mermaid.”

Kellan groaned. He couldn’t go anywhere in town lately without having to answer questions about Gelsey. “She’s not a mermaid,” he said.

“How do ya know?” Dealy asked. “Have ya ever come ’cross a mermaid before?”

“No,” Kellan said, trying to tamp down his irritation. “I just know. I’ve gotten a good look at her and there are no gills or scales or any such thing on her body.”

“Of course not,” Johnnie said. “There wouldn’t be then. They disappear once she’s on land.”

“She’s not a mermaid,” Kellan insisted.

“I once saw a mermaid. Of course, I was three sheets to the wind, but it looked like a mermaid to me.”

“Supposin’ she was a mermaid,” Markus said. “Just theoretically. Supposin’ our little village of Ballykirk had its very own…what would we call it, lads?”

“Tourist attraction,” Dealy said. “That’s what you’d call it.”

Markus stood and quickly moved to the stool beside Kellan. “Just hear us out, boyo, for it’s an opportunity we’d be offerin’. You might already know that our little town got some money to help promote tourism and they made me head of the committee. And we’ve been looking for something that sets us apart from every other fishing village in Cork. And now we have it.”

“You want to use Gelsey to bring tourists to Ballykirk?”

“In a word, yes!” Dealy said.

“You’re crazy. She’s not a mermaid,” Kellan repeated.

“Well, I know that and you know that. Everyone in town knows that. But the tourists don’t. That silly Blarney stone makes millions every year and we need a share of the money bein’ thrown about. People come to Ireland because of the leprechauns and fairies and all those other silly legends.”

“I realize that,” Kellan said. “But I don’t think Gelsey is interested in that kind of attention. She seems to be a woman who values her privacy.”

“It’s not like we’d be askin’ her to swim around in a giant tank all day,” Markus said. “We just want to explore the marketing possibilities.”

“Yeah,” Dealy said. “The marketing possibilities.”

“Do you have any idea what that means?” Kellan said.

Markus shrugged. “It was in the pamphlet the tourism board sent. But I know what I know. There’s bleedin’ leprechauns all over this island. But nobody has a mermaid.” He shrugged. “You could mention it to her? See what she thought?”

“She has enough going on already. She took a job at Maeve’s shop and-”

“She’s workin’ for Maeve?” Johnnie frowned. “Oh, Jaysus, that’s not good. A few days with her and she’ll be running as fast as she can from Ballykirk. The woman is mad as a hatter, that one.”

“Not necessarily,” Dealy said. “Maeve has been talking about selling her shop. We need to convince the mermaid to stay. What if we talk Maeve into selling the shop to Gelsey? A new retail establishment run by a clever little mermaid. The tourists will flock to Ballykirk.”

“That’s it,” Markus said. “Now we have a plan.” He clapped Kellan on the shoulder. “And just to make certain, we’d like you to hide the clothes you found her in. This whole scheme will go to hell if we lose her. I don’t want to be takin’ any risks.”

“If you three start bothering her, she might decide to leave.”

“Well, then, it’s your job to keep her happy,” Markus said. “She’s…community property.”

“Maybe it is best that he talk to her about our scheme, boys,” Johnnie said. “He’s the one who rescued her. So she is beholden to him.”

Dealy nodded, his expression serious. “Feel her out. Find out what she’s lookin’ for. She could make a real nice home for herself here in Ballykirk. And we could help her out. It would be mutually beneficial.”

“Yeah,” Markus said. “Tell her that. Mutually beneficial.”

Katie appeared from the kitchen with their lunch order. She set the food in front of him, paper-wrapped sandwiches and bags of crisps tucked neatly into a box. Kellan drained the rest of the Guinness from his glass and pushed to his feet. He winked at Katie. “Thanks, love.”

Katie grinned at him. “Bring your girl down to the pub for dinner so we can all get a look at her. We’ve got herring on the menu tonight. And Danny says she’s a right vixen, she is.”

“You, too?”

“Ah, I’m just playin’ with you,” Katie said. “Everyone is talking. We’re all a bit curious about the girl.”

Kellan headed to the door. Their offer was made. But Kellan was willing to consider anything that might keep Gelsey in Ballykirk. He didn’t hold out much hope for her work at Maeve’s-the woman had been a bit daft for as long as he could remember. But with Gelsey’s beauty and charisma, it might just work.

Kellan recalled the phone conversation he’d heard the first night Gelsey had stayed with him. She had at least one person who cared enough to worry over her and maybe a place that she called home. But for some reason, she’d decided to stay in Ballykirk, at least for the near future.

Tucking the box under his arm, Kellan strode toward the waterfront. Riley and Nan had purchased a small cottage overlooking the harbor at Ballykirk. It was about the same size as the Quinn cottage on the hill, but it was in much worse condition. Riley had already replaced the roof and refinished the floors, but both the exterior and interior still needed painting and the windows were a mess.

Kellan had already contacted a few of the contractors who’d worked on Castle Cnoc and they’d agreed to do new plumbing and electricity at a bargain price. He’d decided it would be his wedding present to the happy couple.

When he arrived at the cottage, his brothers and the girls had decided to start work on the facade. The sun had warmed that side of the house and the breeze had died down, taking the last bit of chill out of the air.

“There he is,” Riley called. “Poor Nan is about to faint from hunger.”

Nan took a swipe at Riley with a paintbrush. “Hush.”

Kellan glanced back and forth between the two of them, watching a pretty blush stain Nan’s cheeks. “She’s been working hard,” he said. “She deserves a break for lunch.”

“Oh, it’s not that,” Riley said.

“You said you were going to wait to tell them!” Nan cried.

“Tell us what?” Jordan asked. Danny and Gelsey joined the group with curious looks on their faces.

Riley slipped his arm around Nan’s shoulders and grinned. “Nan is eating for two.”

“Oh, don’t worry about that,” Jordan said. “I ordered two sandwiches, too. All of this outdoor work makes me so hungry.”

“Don’t mind her,” Danny said. “All this fresh air has made her a bit cabbaged.”

“What’s cabbaged?” Gelsey whispered. “Why is she cabbaged? I ordered two sandwiches, too. Is that bad?”

“I expect this isn’t about sandwiches. Riley is trying to tell us that Nan is going to have a baby,” Kellan explained.

“Oh, my God,” Jordan shouted. “Is that true?”

At Nan’s nod, the entire group surrounded her for hugs and kisses. Even Gelsey offered her congratulations before stepping back to slip her arm through Kellan’s. She looked over at him and smiled. “It’s wonderful news.”

“Yes.” Kellan added, “Riley will make a fine father.” He drew in a deep breath. The news had hit him in an odd way. He was happy for the couple, yet he felt a bit strange that Riley would experience fatherhood before he did. Kellan had always been the oldest boy, always been first at everything. But now, he seemed to be trailing behind in his brothers in all the important things.

“I’m going to fetch us a few more beers,” he said, setting the box of sandwiches down on the front step.

“None for me,” Nan said. “You can bring me a soda. I’m sorry, a mineral,” she corrected, using the Irish word.

“You want to give me a hand?” Kellan asked Gelsey.

She followed him inside. The house was nearly empty, except for a few pieces of tatty furniture and the tools Riley was using to renovate the place. But there was a functioning refrigerator in the kitchen and it was stocked with cold drinks.

“Beer for me,” Gelsey said.

He opened two bottles and handed one to her. “Are you having fun? Or is this too much too soon?”

“I like your brothers,” Gelsey said, stepping across the kitchen to give him a kiss. She ran her hand along his cheek. “And I like Nan and Jordan, too.”

“The two of them together can be a bit intimidating. They’re both American and when they have an opinion they tend to just throw it out there for everyone to hear.”

Gelsey shrugged. “I don’t have many girlfriends,” she murmured. “I think I’d like having a girlfriend if they were like Nan or Jordan.”

Kellan leaned back against the refrigerator and watched a wistful expression dance across her pretty features. “You don’t have any girlfriends?”

Gelsey shook her head. “No. Women usually don’t like me.”

“Why not?”

“Did you get me a corned-beef sandwich?” she asked, deftly changing the subject. “I love corned beef.” Gelsey took the other beer from his hand, then headed for the door. By the time he joined her with the rest of the drinks, she was seated on the step, unwrapping her lunch. He gave his brothers each a beer and handed the mineral to Nan, before he sat down beside her.

Gelsey grabbed half the sandwich and bit into it, then groaned softly. “Oh, this is lovely. Are there any fries?”

Fries. Though he could detect a hint of an English accent in her speech, she sounded more like Nan and Jordan than any Brit he knew. But there was something else there. Occasionally, he caught her talking to herself in French or Spanish. “No chips, just crisps.”

She looked at the bag. “Those are chips,” she said.

“Ah, another little clue,” Kellan said. “You reveal yourself a bit more every day. If you call crisps chips and chips fries, then you’ve spent time in the States.”

“Very astute, Sherlock Holmes,” she said. “My mother is American.”

He leaned back and watched her eat, pondering the information she’d just revealed. It was the first real clue he had to who she was. “What about your father?”

“British,” she said. “Interrogation over.” She took a huge bite of her sandwich, then grinned at him.

Kellan chuckled at the funny face she made. For someone so slender, she certainly enjoyed a good meal now and then. She gobbled down her first corned-beef sandwich in just a few bites and then started on the second.

“Where do you come from?” Kellan asked.

She blinked as she looked at him, continuing to chew. “Come from?”

“You heard me. I don’t get the accent. It’s not Irish, I know that. It’s not entirely American, either, or English. So what is it?”

She shrugged. “Lots of different things. A mash-up, really.”

“Of what?” Kellan could see that she didn’t want to reveal any more. But the woman was living in his house, eating food that he’d provided for her, socializing with his family. The least she could do was fill him in on a few details.

“Does it really make a difference?” she asked, watching him suspiciously.

“I’m just curious.”

Her chin tilted up in defiance as she swallowed. “I spoke French as a child.”

“You don’t want me to know anything about you, do you? Why? What are you trying to hide? There’s no reason. After a week together, we know each other about as intimately as we can.”

She reached for a crisp and nibbled at it, considering her answer silently. “Can’t we just leave it at that? We’re both getting what we want out of this, so-”

“What I want? You’re the one who crawled into bed with me that first night. I didn’t invite you.” Kellan cursed beneath his breath. “You know they’re talking about you all around town. Markus Finn wants to capitalize on all this silly mermaid stuff. He thinks you could be like Ballykirk’s very own Blarney Stone.”

A gasp burst from her lips and then a giggle. Before long, she was laughing so hard, she had to set her sandwich down. “Really? But I’m not a mermaid.” When she regained her composure, she drew a ragged breath and nodded. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to laugh.”

“The tourists wouldn’t care,” Kellan said. “They come to Ireland because of all the magic.”

“So, what would I do?”

“He and the tourism committee are hoping you’ll stay and maybe buy Maeve’s shop from her. She’s had it for sale for a few years now.”

Gelsey crumpled the empty wrapper from her sandwich, then pulled her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around her legs. “I-I really don’t know what my plans are,” she said. “I’m not sure I could make a commitment like that right now.”

“A commitment to Ballykirk or a commitment to me? You can tell me the truth.”

“If I tell you the truth, you’ll want me to leave,” she countered. Gelsey raked her hands through her wavy hair, sighing softly as she tipped her head back. “I just need to have a moment to myself, a chance to take a breath without someone expecting something from me.”

“Are you married?” Kellan asked.

“No!” Gelsey looked surprised. “No, there’s no one. Not anymore.”

“But there was?”

“It’s over. Completely over. I swear to you.”

A long silence grew between them. Gelsey reached out and took his hand, carefully lacing her fingers through his. “What difference does it make who we were?” she asked. “We began when you found me on the beach.”

Kellan’s gaze fell to her mouth, and without a second thought, he slipped his hand around her waist and pulled her into a long and languid kiss. She was right. He didn’t care about anything beyond what they’d shared together. And though he knew she wasn’t an amnesiac or a mermaid, that didn’t matter, either. She was here with him now and that’s all he cared about.