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“I’m glad I met her too,” Niall said.

“I haven’t seen her this happy in a long time.” Louise glanced over to where Róisín was pointing out something to Cordelia and Gary. “She and her father were very close.”

“She’s told me a bit about him,” Niall said. “He seemed like a good man.”

“He was,” Louise said, and she swallowed. “My Cordie has been alone for so long.” She looked up at him with hazel eyes, the exact same shade as her daughter’s. “Have you two talked about what happens when this summer ends?”

“Oh, ah, not yet, no,” Niall said scratching the back of his neck. “But I promise you, Mrs. James, I’d gladly follow her wherever she goes.”

Louise tightened her silk scarf and shot him a rueful smile. “Good,” she said. “That’s all I wanted to hear.”

Róisín drove them back to the hotel and they said their goodbyes. Niall saw Cordelia talking quietly with her mother, looking a little exasperated, but then she hugged her tight.

That night, as Niall held a sleeping Cordelia in his arms, he thought about what he’d said to Louise, and the truth of his words seemed to shimmer in the darkness around him.

He would follow her anywhere. He just needed to sort out how.

The days slipped by, and before Niall knew it, the second week of August was staring him in the face.

The more he willed time to slow down, the faster it seemed to go. And still, he and Cordelia did not talk about her leaving. It became an ugly pulsing thing between them that they both seemed determined to ignore, even as it grew larger and more urgent.

Finally, Niall realized that if they didn’t talk now, the thirty-first of August would arrive before he had a chance to do anything. He told her to meet him at the Black Fort that afternoon, then hurried to prepare a picnic, bringing a tarp to put under the blanket in case the ground was wet. It was a fine day, the air warm, the sun shining, and he picked a spot well away from the fort – a little cove of ancient stones that offered protection from any prying eyes but was still on the cliffs of his very favorite spot in all of Inishmore.

She tramped up to him wearing that shirt dress from the first Sunday dinner they’d spent together, kicking off her rain boots and kneeling down to kiss him.

“What’s all this?” she asked.

“I made us a little picnic,” Niall said, opening the bottle of wine and pouring it into two plastic cups. He’d brought cheese and pickle sandwiches, a bag of salt and vinegar crisps, and some fresh cut fruit. For a while they ate and drank and chatted. Niall felt the need to say what he had come here for squirming in his chest and ready to burst free like that scene in Alien. But Cordelia seemed remarkably at ease, holding up her camera to take a quick shot of him with his mouth full.

“That one is not going on your Instagram,” he said as he wiped his mouth with a napkin.

“Nope,” she said, grinning. “This one is just for me.” She sighed and gazed out over the ocean. “I’m going to miss this place.”

And there it was – his opening. “Cordie,” he said and she turned at the seriousness of his voice. “We need to talk about the end of the summer.”

Her face blanched and he saw how much the subject had been gnawing at her too.

“Shh,” she said, crawling over to him and pressing her lips against his. “Not now.”

“Yes, now,” Niall said, willing himself not to get distracted as she kissed the line of his jaw.

“I’m not wearing anything under this dress,” she whispered.

“Oh god,” he murmured, his cock stiffening. He flipped her over onto her back and she shrieked with delight. Her hair spilled across the blanket like a river of sunlight and she was looking at him from beneath heavy-lidded eyes, toying with the button on her dress before opening it to reveal a tantalizing glimpse of skin and the curve of her breast. Niall bent to kiss that curve, then he popped open the next button.

“We are going to have this discussion,” he said, his lips brushing against her sternum.

“Mmhm,” she murmured. He unbuttoned another button, sweeping the fabric aside to expose one breast to the sun.

“You’ll be leaving soon,” he said, kissing in a circle all around her nipple. “And we can’t keep pretending you aren’t.”

“Mmhm,” she murmured again and he kissed the underside of her breast, where the skin was soft and tender. “You’re killing me.”

“We’re having a talk,” Niall said, unbuttoning the dress down to her belly button. He kissed down her stomach, pausing to suck at her ribs or bite softly against her side. She was squirming beneath him, her hands in his hair, her stomach muscles clenching. “Don’t be trying to distract me.”

“I would never. Do you have any ideas?”

Niall returned to her breasts to tweak one nipple between his thumb and forefinger, pinching it nice and hard and tight. “Ideas about what?” he said roughly in her ear, his fingers moving to the last two buttons on the dress. It fell open, revealing Cordelia, naked and perfect and bathed in afternoon sunshine. Niall’s cock ached at the sight of her.