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“Trevor, not so much,” Arthur joked, clapping his great-nephew on the back. “All right, let’s head to theBrazenDonkey. Linc, I’d hoped to talk to you and whoever else you’d like to join us about Malcolm. Perhaps we can trade notes.”
Liam watched as Linc and his mum traded that secret look couples shared. He thought he and Taylor had begun their own silent form of communication. He glanced over at her doing her best to smile, but he could tell she was jittery. He couldn’t wait to get her alone and calm her down. Of course, he would need five minutes of deep breathing to get there himself.
“That would be great, Arthur,” Linc said, gesturing to the door. “It seems you’ve hit it off with Eoghan, and he and his son know this part of Ireland better than anyone.”
“Wonderful,” Arthur said brightly, rubbing his hands together. “I don’t do too many stories anymore, but this one has my blood pumping. Especially since I have family here in Ireland who may encounter Malcolm at some point.”
Liam took that as a sign to stay out of the man’s journalistic ways. He didn’t want to reveal anything about Veritas or be forced to lie to the older man. While it wasn’t his call, Liam thought Taylor could trust the reporter with the truth—Trevor too—and he planned to tell her so as soon as they were alone. But they had agreed from the get-go to keep it between them, and he wasn’t about to break that promise.
He tipped his proverbial hat. “Well, I’m off to do more work on the construction side.” He walked over and kissed Clara on the cheek. “It’s been a delight to meet you. I hope we see you again. Trevor. Arthur. A pleasure.”
Arthur held his gaze a moment longer, making Liam’s pulse race. He was racking up unusual experiences lately. He broke eye contact and gave Taylor the kind of look Linc had given his mother.
She excused herself and joined him outside, well away from the door. “You’re leaving?”
“I thought it best to stay away,” he told her, tucking her hair behind her ears when the wind blew it askew. “Arthur—”
“Yeah, Arthur.” She threw up her hands. “How could I overlook the fact that he’s going to sniff out every detail related to this story?”
He began soothing strokes on her arm to calm her. “I think you could trust him and Trevor if it came to it.”
She looked up to signal they were on the video feed. Yeah, he’d forgotten about that. “I can’t handle that right now. All right, I’m off to…what was it? The Naughty Donkey? I’ll see you after work.” After a quick, hard kiss to his mouth, she was off.
He settled into his work after clearing his mind, but it was an ongoing battle to focus. An hour later, he gave in to the urge to find out how their lunch was going and called Brady at the pub.
“Hiya,” his friend answered while laughter and conversation buzzed in the background. “Where in the world are you? Taylor’s friends have everyone entranced. Did you know Arthur was a huge reporter from America? And Clara a major philanthropist for the arts? Then there’s their nephew. I’ve already booked Ellie and me a room at their lovely inn for the next bank holiday. I swear, this arts center has brought in more interesting people than this village has ever seen before.”
Brady’s enthusiasm could always be counted on. “It’s still a workday here.” He hated that it wasn’t totally true.
“We all miss you at Summercrest, you know. But of course we want you to spend time with your soulmate. What a girl she is, although you can tell things are wearing on her. I can see it in her eyes when she doesn’t think anyone is looking. I thought you’d want me to take care of her.”
A lump formed in his throat. “You’re a good friend, Brady, and I appreciate that. Try and make her laugh for me, will you?”
“When Eoghan stops telling tall tales, you can be sure I will. He’s got the whole group chortling over that time when he went fishing with Donal and caught the giant crab who fastened his claws onto Eoghan’s pants.”
“Which Donal made him shuck off in the cold December rain, only for them to be swept into the water by the wind,” Liam finished.
They both started laughing, and the relief felt good. Liam had needed to release some of the underlying tension his breathing hadn’t taken care of.
“Thanks for looking after my girl, Brady.”
“She’s one of us now. Talk to you later then.”
He signed off, feeling more grounded, and focused back on his part in building the future of the arts center. After the sun set, he realized he should head home soon. No one had come back to the center, and it wouldn’t surprise him if everyone had stayed all afternoon at the pub. It was the Irish way, after all.
The house was quiet as he let himself in, and he decided to use the time to meditate and relax himself some more. When Taylor finally arrived, he rose from his mat and headed to the kitchen. Normally they had a beer when they came home, and he’d keep to that routine unless she told him she’d had enough at the pub. Her heels crashing to the floor was now a familiar sound, one he was coming to really love as much as the way she called, “Honey, I’m home.”
He was smiling easily for the first time since morning as he walked to the front door and handed her a beer. Her auburn hair held a bit of frizz from the soft drizzle outside, and her big brown eyes had dark circles under them. She tapped her now unpainted lips, which held a burgeoning smile, and then he was kissing her lightly on the mouth until they both sighed.
“Sorry about leaving you earlier,” he said softly as he continued to nibble. “I’m not used to subterfuge, so it seemed the best course.”
“Surely you have some Irish saying about keeping secrets?” she asked, cuddling close. “I swear I took my first class in Irish education today, with Eoghan as the teacher. Your history is riddled with pirates and intrigue. I didn’t realize Irish pirates often fought off the bad guys, the ones like Malcolm. Arthur and Clara loved it.”
He was happy to hear the couple had enjoyed themselves, Arthur especially, but he winced as one of the most famous Irish sayings came to mind. “We do have one.Three people can keep a secret if two of them are dead.”
“Better sleep with an eye open then,” she joked, kissing him again as she rubbed her bare heel to the back of his calf. “I’m kidding. It must be Eoghan’s influence. Man, can he tell a joke and thread a story. Master class.”
He put his arm around her waist. “I know. Your journalistic guest is gone then?”
