N. Walters: The Seduction of Shamus O'Rourke

"Do you want a child?” Shamus was staring into her eyes as he spoke, but she honestly couldn't tell from his expression how he felt about this issue.

"I honestly don't know.” No, she wasn't being truly honest with herself or with him. “Maybe,” she began. “Maybe a little boy.” She could picture a miniature Shamus running around, getting into all sorts of trouble.

"Or a little girl.” He shook his head and gave her a soft smile. “Doesn't matter if we have children or not. I want you as my wife. Children would just be a bonus."

Drawing in a deep breath, she took the plunge that would change her life forever. “I love you too. And yes, I'll marry you."

Shamus levered himself up and kissed her. Their lips met and clung. It was a kiss of passion, of possession, and of belonging. This was home. Not a place or a building, but here with Shamus.

It was a beginning.

Cyndi fussed with the buffet table one final time. Even to her critical eye, everything looked perfect. Wine glasses sparkled, waiting to be filled. China platters filled with hors d'oeuvres lined the linen tablecloth, and decadent chocolate delights graced delicate, crystal plates.

A heavy arm snaked around her waist. “It looks perfect."

She leaned back against Shamus and sighed. “It does, doesn't it?” The room was one of many that had undergone a total transformation over the past few months. It was light and airy, yet warm and inviting. Seven tables were scattered around the room, five of them would seat four people, and two of them would seat two. At the moment, they were all empty.

"They should be here any minute.” He wrapped his fingers around her left hand and lifted it. The light from the chandelier reflected off the diamond on her finger. She could still hardly believe that they'd officially announced their engagement at Christmas. Unofficially, they'd been engaged since that night back in October, but they'd kept it to themselves for a few months, allowing time for relations to improve with Shamus's family. It was almost the end of January, but she had to pinch herself every day just to reassure herself it all wasn't a dream.

The wedding was set for the first of March, which didn't give her much time to plan, but Shamus was insistent. He didn't even want to wait that long, but Cyndi had put her foot down. She wanted a proper wedding that included his family. He'd given in as soon as he realized how important it was to her.

Even the holidays had gone better than she'd expected. Shamus's family was making an honest effort, and it was starting to pay off. Things still weren't where she'd like them to be, but they were getting better. Cyndi had struck up an immediate friendship with Shamus's nephew, Shane, as soon as the teenager had discovered she liked baseball and was quite knowledgeable about it.

Shannon was accepting and the two women were getting along well. Patrick was still reserved, but even he'd thawed quite a bit over the past few months. Dani and Burke were trying and that was all that mattered to her.

There were still people who turned up their noses at her, but she had just as many people who were friendly. Alicia was now handling all Cyndi's legal and business affairs, but beyond that, they were good friends. Even her Aunt Verna was talking about selling her business in Vermont and retiring to Jamesville. Cyndi knew that her aunt wasn't ready to retire and would probably end up helping her run this place, which was fine with her.

"You okay?"

She realized she'd been quiet for far too long. Turning, she peered up at Shamus. “I'm better than okay.” She cupped his face in her hands and went up on her toes to kiss him. “I love you."

"I love you too.” He wrapped his arm around her and deepened the kiss. The sound of the front bell ringing made them reluctantly separate. “Damn, my family has impeccable timing."

Cyndi laughed as they walked arm in arm to the front door. “I can't wait to see what they think of the place.” Her B & B was ready for business and her first guests would arrive in a week's time on the first of February.

The schedule was light until the middle of March, but already bookings were starting to come in. Cyndi had done a lot of advance advertising and it was starting to pay off. Both Amanda Barrington and Linda Fletcher were booked for later in the spring and Cyndi was looking forward to seeing them both. They'd kept in touch via email and phone calls, but it wasn't the same as seeing them in person.

"The place looks great.” He surveyed the foyer with pride as they reached the front door."

"It does.” Shamus had done much of the work himself. “I'm so glad that things have returned to normal with yours and Burke's working relationship.” That had gone a long way to easing tensions between Shamus and his family.

"Me too."

Cyndi took a deep breath. “Do I look okay?” She normally wasn't this nervous, but this was her first major get together with his family in her home—their home. Shamus had all but moved in as soon as their master suite was finished and was talking about renting out his house.

"You look beautiful.” He kissed her nose as the bell pealed again. He released her and swung the front door wide open. Burke, Dani, Shane, Patrick, and Shannon all stood on the doorstep.

"Welcome.” Cyndi greeted them as they all trooped inside.

She felt Shamus's arm wrap around her and she glanced up at him. The love shining from his eyes made her catch her breath. She felt it expand within her, filling all the empty places that had existed for so very long. The cold and forbidding house was long gone, the past but a distant memory.

Cyndi Marks had finally come home for good.

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