Kate Hoffmann - Riley

“Next week,” he said as he watched Kellan walk out the door. Then Riley leaned up against the door-jamb. Next week. Everything would go right back to normal next week. He’d actually liked his life before Nan had stumbled into it. But now, he knew there would be something missing once she left.

So he’d put more effort into convincing her to stay. And if she refused, he’d put more effort into dating. He’d find a girl who was geographically available and he’d go after her. And if he were lucky, he’d find a girl he liked as much as Nan and they’d start a life together. This wasn’t complicated. There were plenty of available women in Ireland.

Riley grabbed a mug of coffee and stepped out the front door. Kellan was chatting with Nan and they seemed to be on friendly terms for two relative strangers. “Sorry to barge in on your mornin’,” Kellan said.

“I’m glad you found your notebook,” Nan replied with a warm smile.

Kellan walked to the gate, then turned around and gave her a wave and a smile. Riley frowned at him, wondering at his brother’s sudden change of personality. Kellan rarely smiled these days. “Get out of here,” Riley shouted. “And don’t be charming my girl.”

“Feck off,” Kellan said, chuckling to himself. “Nan, if you get weary of hanging around with this culchie, you ring me up. I’ll show you a grand time.”

Kellan hopped in his car and roared off down the road toward the village. Riley cursed him beneath his breath. He sat down on the garden bench next to Nan. “You’d best watch out for him. He’s got the manners of a horny goat.”

“He was very nice,” Nan said. She reached out and ran her hand through Riley’s hair, smoothing it out of his eyes. “You’re awake.”

“I had a very long night last night.”

She leaned over and brushed a kiss over his lips. “I liked waking up to a naked man crawling into my bed,” she said. “What time did you get back?”

“It was past two. I had my way with you and you fell right back to sleep.”

Her cheeks flushed a pretty shade of pink. “Sorry.”

“No problem.” Riley met her gaze. “I’m sorry about last night. I didn’t mean to stick my nose in where it didn’t belong. You’re right. These are your decisions to make and I’ll stand behind whatever you want.”

“I don’t want to talk about it right now,” she said. “I just want to enjoy this beautiful morning. Look at that water. Have you ever seen anything quite so lovely?”

Riley smiled. “Every time I look at you.”

This brought a bubble of laughter. “Charm must run in the family.”

He took a sip of his coffee. “We don’t have a lot of these mornings left,” he murmured.

“I know.” Nan drew a deep breath of the clear morning air and smiled. “I needed this trip. I didn’t realize how much until this moment. It’s filled up my soul.”

“What will you do when you get back?”

“Probably go right back to work. I’ve got my maps to catalog. They’re really interesting. They were used in building the railroads, so they’re some of the most detailed topographical maps of the time.”

“Then you like your job?”

Nan nodded. “It’s a good job. I do interesting work.”

Riley forced a smile. No matter how he tried to figure this out in his head, it seemed more impossible with every day that passed. He reached out and took her hand, pressing her fingers to his lips.

She wore the ring he’d given her and he found a certain satisfaction in that. As long as she wore it, she wouldn’t forget him. “I’m going to miss you when you leave.”

“You like me, don’t you?” she teased.

“Yes,” Riley admitted. “I really like you.”

She stared at him for a long moment, her head tipped to one side. “Maybe someday, I could come back. I mean, I don’t expect you to wait around for that day. And I’ll understand if you meet someone else. But if you don’t, then maybe I could visit again.”

“This would be the longest-distance relationship I’ve ever heard of,” he said.

“It’s not that far.”

He shook his head slowly. “No, it isn’t. When would you come again?”

“I don’t know,” Nan said with a shrug. “I get four weeks of vacation each year. Maybe sometime in the spring?”

Riley groaned and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. He nuzzled his face into the curve of her neck. “That’s too far away,” he said.

“We don’t need to decide now. We can think about it later,” Nan said.

Was that her reaction to every difficult decision she was faced with? She’ll think about it later? When Riley saw something he wanted, he usually went after it without any hesitation. But Nan seemed to be the opposite, carefully considering each decision she made, giving herself time to mull it all over. What had happened to the carefree, spontaneous girl she’d first shown him?

Riley grabbed a daisy from beside the bench, snapping the stem and holding it up in front of her. “Tell me what you want to do today. It’s Sunday so almost everyone in Ireland is in church. We won’t be able to drive anywhere until the afternoon.”

“Why?”

“A lot of times the roads are blocked by cars parked around the churches in some of the small villages. But we could drive to Cashel. It’s an old ruin of a church and abbey set on a high hill. It’s quite beautiful.”

“That sounds good,” she said. “But I’m going to drive. I think I’ve mastered the Fiat.”

“Oh, no, we’re not taking that piece of crap out on the road.”

“Not a week ago you were telling me what a great car it was,” Nan said. “You were extolling its virtues.”

“I was full of shite,” Riley said. “I suppose I have no choice but to let you drive my car.”

“Really?” Nan asked.

“Yes. Really.”

She stood up, quite pleased with herself. “All right. Just as along as we don’t have to stop on any hills. I’m not good at that yet. And I can’t drive in the cities at all. And if I wander on to the wrong side of the road, you have to tell me because sometimes I kind of forget.”

Riley grabbed her hand and pulled her down on his lap. “You are really a giant pain in the arse, Nan Galvin.”

“I know. But you’ll just have to learn to deal with it,” she teased. “At least for a few more days.”

“I am. And it’s not as bad as I thought it would be.”

“Really?” she said, arching her eyebrow and looking at him quizzically. “Tell me what you were expecting.”

“The last thing I expected to do was share your bed,” he said. “I don’t know. I had the picture of you in my head. You looked a little bit like my aunt Sally. You wore sensible shoes and little reading glasses that sat on the end of your nose.”

“I’m sorry to disappoint,” Nan said.

“Oh, sweetheart, don’t ever think that. You had me the moment you walked out that door.”

She curled up in his arms. “Would you like to know what I thought of you?”

“Before you met me?”

“Yes. I had this picture of a handsome Irishman with dark hair and pale eyes. Kind of scruffy but charming. A little dangerous, but with a kind heart. And I was right. I just never thought I’d be attracted to you.”

“What was it then? The sexy smile or the witty personality?”

“It was your eyes,” she said. “I thought you had the prettiest eyes I’d ever seen.”

Riley cupped her face in his hands, staring at her for a long moment. God, there was no way he could deny it any longer. He’d fallen hopelessly in love with Nan. Sitting here in this garden, his life was perfect. There was nothing more that he needed to make himself happy.

He leaned forward and kissed her, his mouth lingering over hers. Riley wanted to say the words, to tell her how he really felt, but he knew she wasn’t ready. There would still be time to make her want him as much as he wanted her. And he’d take every chance he found to make her see the truth in what he already knew in his heart.