Page 19 of Sullivan

“Are you sure it’s not just the, um, sex?”

I shook my head. “Don’t get me wrong, the sex is phenomenal. Best I ever had. But it’s not just that. It’s what you do to me in here.” I tapped my chest.

“Which is?”

“I feel alive. Looking at you makes me smile. Talking with you is fun. Laughing with you is even better.”

“But it’s new—that will wear off.”

“No. It won’t. I’m not that sort of man.”

She was quiet, contemplative.

“How would that work, Sully? I live in Canada. You live here.”

“And you’re unhappy in Canada. So you apply for a place in the Scottish office and move here. If that doesn’t work, you find another job. Or come work for me.” I shrugged. “Or don’t work. Volunteer places. We’ll travel. Have adventures. Be together.”

“You make it sound so simple.”

“It could be. Or it could be difficult. We can get married and sort it out later.”

She gaped at me. “Married? Holy shit, hold your horses, mister. We just met.”

I had to chuckle. “Just putting that out there so you know how serious I am.”

She leaned forward, earnest. “You don’t know me. I might be a kleptomaniac. I might sleepwalk. Maybe I’m a serial killer. I might hog the blankets some nights.” She sat back as if triumphant. “I might have planned this entire encounter to lure you into my trap and steal all your money.”

I burst out laughing. “Yes, no doubt you and Lloyd are in cahoots. He got me here, and you seduced me with your wiles. You conjured up the storm with your hidden powers so we’d be stuck, and you fiddled with the heat pump. I should have known.” I shook my head, feigning sadness. “Too good to be true.”

She sighed in exasperation.

I stood and crossed the room, kneeling in front of her chair and taking her hands. “Maybe I’m a difficult man. Bossy. Irritating. Maybe I can’t keep my hands off you. Maybe I’m thinking I found the best thing in my life and I don’t want to let her go.”

“You are all those things,” she responded dryly. “Except I don’t understand the last one.”

“I know you don’t. Whatever men have been in your life haven’t treated you the way you should be treated. I plan to change that. Everything you find wrong, I find perfect. Even how you snore and drool on my chest at times.” I tapped the end of her nose. “And you do hog the blankets.”

Color flooded her cheeks, making me chuckle.

“I know you’re not perfect, Autumn. Neither am I. But I think we’re perfect together. I love talking to you. Listening. Your voice soothes something inside me. The way you look at me makes me feel invincible. I want to protect you. Find the man who scared you and end him. Keep you safe. Let you feel how loved you are.”

She blinked. “You can’t possibly love me.”

“Because it’s too fast?”

“That doesn’t happen in real life.”

“My cousin Finn met his wife Una when she was eighteen. He walked away because she was too young. But he was never able to get her out of his system. They met again years later and are married and happy. He always knew. Niall helped Anna out of a terrible situation and couldn’t let her go. They’re married now too. I think maybe hard and fast runs in our DNA.”

I drew in a deep breath. “But if you tell me you don’t feel anything, I’ll make sure you get back to Edinburgh and leave you alone. I won’t bother you.” I swallowed. “Is that what you want?”

Her lovely eyes filled with tears, and she shook her head. “I hate thinking of saying goodbye,” she admitted. “But it seems so unreal.”

I wiped away the tears falling down her cheeks. “It is real. I promise. And it might be difficult. But I’m serious. Tell me I can see you while you’re here. Promise me you’ll keep an open mind. We can figure it out together. If you have to go back, we can work toward a future. Because I want that with you. I’m certain of it.” I paused. “As long as you want it too.”

“I do.”

“Then we go back to Edinburgh together. We see each other as much as possible. We make plans.”