Riley

9

THE SUN WAS JUST brightening the sky when the alarm went off. Riley reached for it and pressed the button before it could wake Nan. He fought the urge to set it back in place and go back to sleep. If they overslept and missed her flight, then she’d have to stay for another day or two.

She was scheduled to leave at 11:30 a.m. The trip to the airport would take a couple of hours and check-in was ninety minutes before departure, which meant they had to leave at eight. In two hours.

Carey had volunteered to drive her, but Riley had insisted that the only person with her during her last minutes in Ireland would be him. Riley turned over in bed and let his gaze take in her pretty face. They’d been up late, making love into the early morning hours, and Nan had fallen into a deep sleep. He had tossed and turned for the rest of the night, unable to quiet his thoughts.

He’d given her every opportunity to change her mind, to extend her vacation, to admit that she wanted to stay just as much has he wanted her to. But Nan was determined to go back.

So he’d resign himself to being away from her for a few months. He’d scrape together enough money for a ticket to Madison, Wisconsin, and he’d go there and try to convince her to return. And if she didn’t want to, then he’d stay with her. It was a simple plan and the only thing keeping him from going mad.

“Nan,” he whispered. Riley smoothed his hand over her face. “Baby, wake up.”

“Umm.” She moaned and then reached out and pressed her fingers to his lips.

“We have to leave for the airport in two hours.”

She opened her eyes and stared at him. “It’s today,” she said.

Riley nodded. “It is.”

She wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him. “Oh, I’m not ready to go.”

He wasn’t going to ask her again, Riley thought to himself. He didn’t want to make their last hours together difficult for either one of them. “We still have a few hours. You packed last night so you just have to shower and get dressed.”

“And make love to you,” she said.

“Yes,” he said. “We can’t forget that.”

“I never expected this,” she said. “Sometimes, I think I’m living in a dream. I’ll get home and I won’t believe that I met you.”

“I’ll call you and remind you,” he said.

“Yes, you have to call me. I don’t even know your phone number. I’ve never called Ireland. And we have to email. And we can Skype.”

“Skype is when we can see each other over the internet?”

She nodded. “You have to get broadband or wireless to use it.”

“Kellan knows all about that stuff. He’ll help me get it set up.”

Nan smiled. “Good.”

“And what time will be you be home?”

“Probably not until really late. My plane gets in after midnight. And then I have a two-hour drive to get home. So maybe about three in the morning. Which would be…”

“Six or seven hours difference. So, I can call you tomorrow morning at about nine my time. And I’ll have slept a whole night without you.”

“I’m sure you’ll manage.”

“I’m going to sleep here for the next month,” he said. Riley pulled the pillow to his face. “This place smells like you. Like that lotion you put on after you shower.”

Nan reached over and grabbed the bottle from the bedside table and handed it to him. “Here. You can keep it. You can rub it all over yourself when you miss me. Or put it on your pillow before you go to sleep.”

“You’re not taking any of this seriously, are you?” Riley said.

“No. If I do, I’ll start crying and I don’t want to start crying.” She kissed him. “I will come back. I promised my grandfather that I would. Maybe even for Christmas. That’s not that far off. Four months. That will go by so quickly.”

“Four months is an eternity.”

“How long had it been since you’d slept with a woman before I showed up?” Nan asked.

“Longer than four months.”

“So, you know you can do it, right?”

Riley laughed. She obviously didn’t understand male physiology. “It doesn’t work that way. I was a starving man and you just fed me the most wonderful gourmet meal I’ve ever tasted. And now, you’re going to take away all the treats again and let me starve. And you expect me not to crave them?”

“We’ll just have to have internet sex,” she said.

“As much as the idea intrigues me, it’s not a substitute for you.” He paused, then kissed her shoulder. “But we can probably make do.”

“Good,” she said. Nan sat up, then crawled on top of him, her thighs straddling his hips. Riley stared up at her, realizing this might be the last time they had sex. He had no idea whether they’d be able to survive months apart.

Nan was beautiful and sexy-the kind of woman that any man would be lucky to have. And there’d be hundreds, maybe thousands who were a lot closer to her than he would be by tomorrow.

She smiled down at him as she settled herself against his stiff shaft. Riley reached out and clasped her hips. The temptation to enter her without protection was almost unbearable. But she didn’t seem to be concerned. When she leaned forward to kiss him, he probed at her entrance, then waited for her to reach for the box of condoms.

But instead, she simply sank down on top of him. A tiny smile played at her lips and Riley held his breath, wondering if this was all she’d allow. Slowly, Nan began to move, her gaze fixed on his, her eyes glazed with desire.

Though sex with Nan was incredible no matter what the situation, this felt more than extraordinary. Every time she moved, waves of sensation coursed through his body. It took every ounce of his control to keep from coming.

But for Nan, she didn’t want to wait. As she increased her pace, he recognized the signs of her pleasure-the tiny furrow on her brow, the way her teeth worried at her lower lip and her quick, shallow gasps with each stroke.

Riley reached between them to touch her and the moment he did, she dissolved into powerful spasms. Bending close, she kissed him and the taste of her mouth was enough to send him over the edge as well.

Though it came quickly, the orgasm was intensely satisfying. It was the perfect end to their time in bed. Riley slipped his hands through her tousled hair and molded her mouth to his. He wanted to say the words out loud. I love you. They were there, on the tip of his tongue, the sentiment so real he could feel it deep inside his heart.

But Riley stopped himself. Until she came to understand her own feelings, nothing he said would make a difference. She knew exactly what he wanted and how deeply he felt for her. But at the moment, something or someone was standing in between them.

A soft sigh slipped from her lips and she looked down at him and smiled. “We are good together,” Nan said.

“Yes, we are.”

She stretched out beside him, her cheek resting against his chest. “I’m just going to lie here until it’s time to go.”

“You don’t want to take a shower?” he asked.

She shook her head. “I don’t want to smell like me, I want to smell like you when I get home.”

Riley reached out and lifted her lotion from the folds of the quilt, then squirted some into his hand. He rubbed it on his chest and drew in a deep breath. “You’re going to have to send me more of this,” he said. “I think I’m going to be using it a lot.”

Nan laughed, then crawled out of bed. She combed her fingers through her hair and then picked up the clothes she’d left out to wear.

“Give me those,” Riley said, holding out his hands.

“You want my clothes?”

He wiggled his fingers and she relented, handing him the dress and her underwear. Riley pulled up the quilt and shoved the clothes underneath.

Nan braced her hands on her hips and shook her head. “What are you doing?”

“I’m hiding your skin,” he said. “You’re my selkie. Now you can’t leave.”

“It’s not the clothes,” she said. “When I set foot in Ireland, I shed my skin. I’m a different person now. I’m your lover and Carey’s granddaughter and an Irish citizen, according to you.”

He took the clothes out and set them on the bed. “I’m not going to keep you here. But, someday, I hope you’ll stay a little longer.” Riley drew a ragged breath. “There are so many places we haven’t seen yet.”

“All right,” she said. “Enough. Let’s get dressed and we’ll have breakfast on the way to the airport.”

Riley watched her from the bed, refusing to get up until she was completely ready to leave. With every minute that passed, he saw her slowly leaving him, resigning herself to the fact that their time was over. It was a feeling that made him angry and sad and frustrated all at once. But he wasn’t about to ruin their last few hours together.

“I think you need to kiss me again,” he said.

She leaned over the bed and brushed her lips over his.

“Just do that every few minutes and I promise, I’ll try to be happy.”

RILEY PARKED IN the loading zone at the airport, pulling over to the curb before turning off the ignition. Nan had insisted that they say their goodbyes outside the airport rather than dragging it out until the very last second.

She fought the lump of emotion in her throat, leaning against Riley and hugging his arm. “It seems like years since you picked me up. And why did you pick me up in that clown car when you had this car?”

Riley chuckled. “I had new tires put on it in Limerick that morning. That’s why I was late. But then, you were late, too.”

“I didn’t like you very much. I thought you were really full of yourself. But I was wrong.”

“And I thought you were the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen.”

“You thought I was a flake,” she said.

“A very beautiful flake,” he said. “But I was wrong, about the flake part.”

She took a long, deep breath, trying to control the emotions that threatened to turn her into a sobbing idiot. “All right. So, we’re just going to say goodbye and then you’ll kiss me and that will be it.”

Riley nodded. “Goodbye, Nan.”

She smiled, tears filling her eyes. “Goodbye, Riley.”

He pulled her into a long, deep kiss, lingering over her mouth until a car behind them beeped their horn. He held her close, his forehead pressed against hers. “Call me as soon as you get home.”

“I will.”

“I love you, Nan.”

Her heart stopped and for a long moment, she couldn’t breathe. “I love you, Riley.” Knowing that she couldn’t take much more, she opened the door and hopped out, pasting a smile on her face. She pulled her bags from the backseat, then stepped onto the sidewalk. Riley got out of the car and joined her, wrapping his arms around her and giving her a fierce hug.

“Go,” he murmured, kissing the top of her head. “Before I lock you in my car and take you back home with me.”

Nan nodded, then stepped out of his embrace. One last look was all she could manage before she turned toward the entrance. The first step was the most difficult, but Nan put one foot in front of the other and walked through the sliding glass doors.

At the last minute, she looked back and saw him standing outside, watching her leave. He raised his hand to wave and Nan bit back a sob. She gave him a quick wave then strode through the airport.

She was grateful that the Shannon Airport had an office for U.S. Immigration and Customs. The last thing she wanted to do at the end of her trip was wait in line to declare the few things she’d purchased. Nan stood in line and when she reached the agent, she pulled out her passport.

The American woman struggled with her first name. “Tiernan,” Nan explained. “Like tears that you cry. Not tires on a car.”

“Where do you live?” the agent asked.

“Madison, Wisconsin.”

“How long have you been in Ireland?”

“Not long enough,” Nan murmured. She glanced up. “Ten days. And nine nights.”

“Has anyone asked you to bring anything into the U.S.?”

“No,” Nan said.

“Have you received any gifts while you were here in Ireland?”

She held out her hand. “This ring.” Nan stared down at the claddagh, the silver heart glinting in the light. She remembered the moment he’d given her the ring, in the fitting room at Burkes. And then again, on top of the wall at the old abbey. The ring had been a pledge, he just hadn’t said the words.

“He loves me,” Nan murmured.

“What?”

“I don’t think I can do this,” Nan said.

“Excuse me?”

“I don’t want to leave. Can I go back?”

“Why don’t you want to board your plane, ma’am?”

“I don’t want to leave him,” Nan said. “He asked me to stay and I told him I had to go home. But he was right. I don’t need to go back. I can stay here with him and be happy.”

“Ma’am, your visa is only for three months.”

“It-it doesn’t make a difference. Can I have my passport back?”

The agent slid it across the counter and Nan grabbed it. “I’m going back,” she said, stepping away from the desk.

The agent smiled. “Good luck. And make sure not to overstay your visa.”

Nan smiled. “Thanks. But I’m an Irish citizen. I can stay as long as I want.” She hurried back to the exit, digging through her purse to find a credit card. She’d have to rent a car, but this time around, she knew how to drive in Ireland. “Bring on the stick shift,” she muttered. “I can handle anything.”

There was a long line at all of the rental desks and it took nearly fifteen minutes to reach the agent. She put down her credit card. “I need to rent a car,” she said. “Something small. A Fiat if you have one.”

“Do you have a reservation?” the agent asked.

“No, do I need one?”

“I’m afraid all our cars are booked,” the agent said. “Try Enterprise.”

Grabbing her luggage, Nan got into another line, but the story wasn’t much different. She didn’t have a reservation. There might be a car available in an hour or two. If she wanted to upgrade to a luxury car for a ridiculous amount, there was a car available now.

She grabbed a wad of cash from her wallet and headed for the money changer. She had Irish money left, but not enough to get her to Ballykirk. This time, she would convince a cabbie to take her. She put three hundred euros on her credit card and then walked back to the front door.

The cabs were waiting in a long line and she hurried to the first one, leaning into the passenger side to speak to the driver. “How much to take me to Ballykirk?” she asked.

“Is that near Bantry?” he asked.

She nodded. “It’s about an hour each way. Two hours round trip.”

“Two-fifty,” he said.

“I’ll give you three hundred,” she said.

“Hop in,” the driver said.

She felt a tap on her shoulder. “Excuse me, do you have a light?”

Nan froze, the sound of his voice sending a thrill through her body. She slowly turned to find Riley standing behind her. This time, when the tears filled her eyes, she didn’t try to stop them. “You’re still here,” she said.

“I decided to wait until your plane left. Just in case you changed your mind.”

“Lass, are you getting in?”

“She has a ride,” Riley said.

“With me,” the driver said. “She agreed to pay me three hundred.”

“Listen, fella, she’s my girl. I think I’ll be taking her wherever she wants to go.”

The cabbie held up his hands. “No problem. I didn’t want to drive to Ballykirk anyway.”

Nan threw her arms around Riley’s neck and hugged him tight. “How did you know I’d come back?”

“I didn’t,” he said. “I just hoped.”

“I was stupid,” she said. “I don’t want to leave. I don’t need to leave. I want to stay with you for the rest of the summer.”

“And what about after that?”

“We’ll figure that out later,” she said.

“No,” he said. “If you love me, I want to be with you forever. Not just a few more weeks.”

She drew a deep breath. “Then I’ll stay forever,” Nan said. “This is where I belong.”

“Well, then, I think we should go home,” he said.

Nan looked up at him and smiled through her tears. “Yes, let’s go home.”

“The car is in the car park. And don’t think I’m going to be carrying your luggage this time around.” He grinned, then stepped off the curb to cross the street.

“Maybe I will take that cab,” she said.

“All right,” he said, grabbing her suitcase and dragging it along behind him. “Don’t get your knickers in a twist.”

“My knickers are none of your business,” Nan said.

“I beg to disagree, Miss Galvin. I happen to be very well acquainted with your knickers. Especially that lovely little thong you like to wear.”

“If you’re not nicer to me, you’re not going to be seeing my knickers for a very long time.” He stopped and held out his arm and Nan slipped beneath it. “That’s much better.”

“Are you hungry, then, or can we just drive home and go right to bed?”

“I could eat,” Nan said.

Riley kissed her on the top of her head, pulling her close. “God, I do love you, Nan.”

“I know,” she said. “And it’s a feckin’ miracle.”