Kate Hoffmann - Danny

“I have drink. What about food?”

“You’re on your own there,” she said. “I set up the account for you at the market. They’ll have everything you need to make meals.”

“You’re not going to cook for me?” He put on a pout. “I thought that was part of the deal.”

“No, I think I made it quite clear yesterday that I don’t cook.”

“Ah, but I do,” he said. “Good thing.”

Jordan had been surviving on sandwiches and cereal for most of her stay. A few nights a week, she went into town and had a decent dinner at one of the pubs there. But she’d longed to explore a bit further. She just needed a dinner partner. “I’ll pay for dinners out whenever you care to go,” she said.

“If you come along, it’s a deal.”

Danny rested his hand on her hip. Jordan’s breath caught in her throat. Were they at that point already, that he could touch her without even having a good reason?

“It’s a deal,” she repeated.

“I’m gummin’ for a decent breakfast. Why don’t I finish unpacking and we’ll go out and get something. My treat.”

Jordan was tempted by his offer. She usually didn’t leave the worksite during the day. But the men who were scheduled knew their jobs and would keep an eye on the house. “All right,” she said. “Let me just make a few phone calls.”

“Fifteen minutes?” he asked.

“Yes. I’ll be back.”

The minute Jordan got out of the cottage, she ran. Back to the manor house, up the stairs and into her room. Fifteen minutes was just enough time for a shower. She hadn’t shaved her legs in a week, but that would have to wait. Though it was just a simple breakfast, Jordan couldn’t help but be excited. Any excuse to spend time with Danny was worth celebrating.

“TELL ME ALL ABOUT YOURSELF,” Danny asked, staring at Jordan over the rim of his coffee cup. “And spare no details.”

There was no doubt about it. He found her endlessly fascinating and they didn’t even know each other yet. He watched as she spread jam on her toast in a precise manner, then took a tiny bite out of it. It wasn’t just her body, he mused, although that was just grand. He found himself caught up in the chase, the desire to possess a woman who was equally determined to avoid him.

Sure, they’d shared a few kisses, but according to Jordan, it would have to end there. But that wouldn’t stop him from trying. He wanted to know what she looked like naked, how her body felt beneath his hands, what she talked about in her sleep. But even that wasn’t enough. He wanted to know about her life, the people she loved, her dreams, her fears.

Danny had usually satisfied himself with the superficial and left it at that. But there was something about Jordan that made him want to know more. Was it just curiosity or was there some deeper connection?

“Are you going to eat that toast or paint a portrait of the Mona Lisa with raspberry jam?” He grabbed her hand and took a bite, then grinned.

“Hey! Eat your own toast.”

“I like yours better,” he said. Though she did everything to perfection, from buttering toast to renovating the manor house, there was one thing that seemed to escape her-flirting.

“What do you want to know?” she asked.

“Tell me about your family,” he ordered.

“Only if you tell me about yours,” she countered.

“Agreed. You first.”

“All right. There’s not much to tell. I have four older brothers who work for the family business. My father thinks I should decorate houses but I think I should get the same chance to run Kencor as my brothers have. So I work as hard as I can.”

“You and your father don’t get on?” Danny asked.

Jordan shook her head. “I’m sure he loves me just as any father would. But he doesn’t really trust me. I think I remind him of my mother. She drives him crazy.” She took a bite of her eggs. “I suppose you have a normal family life?”

“As normal as it gets,” Danny replied. “Two sisters, two brothers, all older. I know what it’s like to be on the trailing end. I was always following my brothers around. My folks own a pub in Ballykirk. The Speckled Hound. My sisters are both married, both teachers. You know Kell. He’s the oldest boy and then there’s Riley. He’s a musician and he helps my folks with the pub.”

“And how did you become a blacksmith?” she asked.

“I went to art school and studied sculpting and along the way I started working in metal. It was the next logical step. I saw a demonstration at one of the heritage festivals and went to a few workshops. Then I spent my summer holiday working for a smith up in Galway.”

“It seems like such hard work to make that iron do what you want it to.”

“It is. It’s a slow process. It gives you time to think and plan and visualize what you want it to be. All the architectural stuff is just to pay the bills. Someday, I’d like to focus entirely on sculpture.”

“I saw the work in your portfolio. The willow tree that you did, the one that was blowing in the wind, that was one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen. I want it for the garden here.”

“You’ll have to steal it from the lady I sold it to in Dublin,” he said. “It’s sitting in the lobby of her posh hotel.”

“You should show in a gallery,” she said.

“I have a few things in a show opening next month. And I’ve had my own show a few times at a gallery one of my friends runs.” He paused, observing her from across the table. “What about a boyfriend?”

His question took her by surprise and Danny cursed inwardly, knowing he should have waited. But there was no reason not to be honest about his interest in her.

“Sorry,” he said. “Just curious.”

“You first,” Jordan countered. “Do you have a girlfriend? Or do you have five or six?”

“I have no girlfriend,” he said. “There was someone about a year ago, for about a month, but that ended. No hard feelings. Most women are looking for a little bit better than I’m able to provide. Now you.”

“There is a guy I used to see in New York. But we were never in a committed relationship. We were just…” She cleared her throat. “Friends.”

“You’re just dating then?”

“Well, no.” She frowned. “Yes. At least I was. I’m sure we’ll see each other again when I get back to New York.”

“Naked?” he asked.

She gasped. “What?”

“Will you see each other naked? It’s a simple question.”

“That’s none of your business,” she replied.

“Well, it is. I don’t want to cause any problems between you and your man.”

“He’s not my man. I don’t have a man,” Jordan said. “I’m single and that’s all I have to say about it.”

“You sound a wee bit prickly there,” he said. “Did I touch on a sore subject?”

“You’re awfully nosy for someone I’ve just met.”

“Curious,” he said. “That’s a better word for it. So, now it’s your turn. Ask me anything you like. Anything at all.”

He picked up a slice of bacon and bit off the end, then waited for her to come up with an appropriate question. But she seemed to struggle. “You want to know whether I can be discreet,” he finally said. “You want to know that, if we indulge, it won’t blow up in your face. And you really want to know what I look like naked.”

A nervous laugh burst from her lips. “No,” she said, shaking her head.

“Yes,” Danny countered, reaching across the table to capture her hand. “You do.” He opened her fingers and placed a kiss on her palm. “I look feckin’ fabulous, just to let you know.”

Jordan gasped, pulling her hand away. “Are you always so bold?”

“Absolutely.”

A pretty blush stained her cheeks. “I’ll take your word for it.”

“And I can be discreet, too,” he said.

“I don’t need complications,” Jordan murmured.

“It’s very simple, then. Whenever we’re alone, I have permission to kiss you. And we’ll see where it leads? Sound good?”

“It sounds very good. I’m just not-”

He reached out and pressed his finger to her lips. “Leave it at that,” he said. “Talking about it isn’t nearly as much fun as doing it.” He picked up a piece of toast from his plate and held it out to her. “Can you put some jam on this?”

Jordan stared at the toast. “What?”

“I like the way you do it. You spread it out right to the edge. Perfectly perfect without any drips.”

“Are you making fun of me?” she asked.

“A little bit. But I fancy what I see.”

“And in between all this kissing, you’re going to get your work done?”

“That’s what I’m here for,” he said. “I thought I’d start with the big projects first and cross them off the list and-”

“No,” Jordan interrupted. “No, we have to have the hinges first. The doors will be back next week and they all have to be hung. The hardware comes first.”

“All right,” he said, nodding. “Hardware first.”

“I have it all laid out on a spreadsheet,” she explained. “And a flowchart. I can show them to you if you’d like. I’ll make you a copy.”

“No need,” Danny said. “I’m sure I can get along without.” He smiled at her. “I like a woman who takes charge.”

“All right. I’m a little obsessive-compulsive. But that’s not a bad thing. I wouldn’t have gotten where I am if I didn’t care about details.”

“You’ve been in Ireland for how long?”

“Sixteen months,” she said. “But for the first year I went back and forth to New York once a month.”

“You’ve spent too much time shut up in that house. We’re going to have to loosen you up, woman. Show you what Ireland is really like. I’ll wager you’ll become so fond of the place, you’ll never want to leave.”

“And how do you propose to do that?”

“I have my ways,” he said.

The rest of the breakfast passed in lighthearted conversation. He learned more about the project and about Jordan. Though she spent most of her free time working, it wasn’t for lack of interest in the surrounding countryside. She’d visited many of the estates open to the public and spent time at museums and shops in Dublin, Galway and Cork. But she’d never been out to a pub on a Saturday night.

They’d have two, maybe three months together. If he couldn’t provide her with a bit of fun and excitement in that time, then he didn’t deserve to be called an Irishman. “So what do you do for fun if you’re not out at the pubs?” he asked. “When you need a break or you want to relax, what do you do?

She gave him an odd look. “I have fun.”

“How?” he said.

Jordan seemed reluctant to tell him. “I read, I listen to music.”

“That sounds like fun,” he said, grinning.

“And now I’m looking for the brownies that keep stealing things from the house,” she said.

“You believe in brownies now?”

“I don’t know what to believe. But things disappear in the middle of night. I found an old ring in one of the bathrooms. I set it on the sink and a day later, it was gone. Then it turned up in the bottom of a cabinet.”

“Hmm. I suppose I could spend the night with you and we’d search out those brownies soon enough,” Danny suggested.

Jordan met his gaze. “You’re a nice guy, Daniel Quinn. But we won’t be sleeping together.”

“You don’t even know me yet,” Danny teased. “If you did, you’d realize that I’m far from nice. In fact, I’m very, very naughty. As for sleeping together, it’s a little soon to be makin’ a statement like that, don’t you think?”

BY THE END OF THE DAY, Danny had managed to get the old laundry set up as a temporary forge. It had been impossible for Jordan to get any work done and she found herself standing at the second-story windows and staring out over the garden, hoping to catch a glimpse of him in the yard beyond.

By the third visit, when she’d brought him a glass of lemonade and a ham sandwich, he’d finished hanging all his tools from a chain stretched across the old laundry.

The coal was delivered by truck after lunch, and she stood and chatted with him as he filled a wheelbarrow full and dumped it beside the hearth. It was almost too much to bear, watching the play of muscle beneath his smooth skin as he worked. She wanted to reach out and run her hands over his shoulders and down his back; but she was left to pretend that his shirtless state had no effect on her at all.

She was thankful that the two dogs were a constant presence; when she ran out of things to say, she’d toss them a stick or rub their bellies.

The sun was beginning to descend in the west when Jordan decided to ask about Danny’s plans for dinner. She’d promised to provide him with a decent meal and she couldn’t think of anything else that might provide them with more time together.

She grabbed the bag of dog treats she’d purchased in the village that afternoon and headed out to the temporary smithy. Finny and Mogue were asleep in the doorway and she called to them, then tossed a treat up in the air. To her surprise, Finny leapt and caught it in mid-flight. When she tossed one Mogue’s way, Finny cut the smaller dog off and grabbed a second bite. “Don’t be so greedy,” she cried. “You’ve already had one.”