Kate Hoffmann - Kellan

“Do you love him?” Nan asked.

“I think I do. I tell myself I do, but I’ve never said it out loud. But then, I’ve fallen in love so many times, I’m not sure I really know how I’m supposed to feel. I guess I’m just waiting.”

“For what?” Jordan asked.

“I’m not sure. Maybe a sign? Or a moment of clarity? I don’t know what it is, but there has to be something that will make me sure of my feelings. Something that I never felt before with the others.”

Nan and Jordan both turned to look at her, shared concern evident in their gazes. But Gelsey waved them off. “Don’t look at me like that!”

“Well, we’ve been ordered to bring you along to the pub,” Jordan said. “We’re all going to have dinner there and then go into Cork to catch a late movie. A triple date.”

“Does Kellan know about this?”

“Of course he does. He said he’s barely seen you this past week.”

“We were supposed to have lunch on Monday, but he had to cancel. He said he needed to spend some time in Dublin before the holiday.” In truth, Gelsey wanted to see Kellan. Over the past few days she’d been left to wonder whether his feelings for her had cooled.

He called her a few times at the shop, just to check in, but his tone had been distant and his mood unreadable. She needed to look into his eyes, to hold his hand, to kiss him again if only to reassure herself that he still loved her.

Nan turned back to the mirror. “All right. I’m going to have to take this dress off, even though I adore looking at myself.”

Jordan adjusted the veil. “You do look beautiful.”

“Wait!” Gelsey cried. “I have something for you. I can’t believe I almost forgot!” She grabbed her bag and rummaged around in it until she found the flat velvet box. “I know you need something borrowed and if you like these, then I want you to wear them on your wedding day.”

Nan took the box from Gelsey’s outstretched hand and slowly opened the top. Her breath stalled in her throat as she caught sight of the ruby necklace and matching earrings.

“I know you’re using red in your bouquet and I thought this might go. You don’t have to wear them if you don’t like them.”

“No!” Nan cried. “They’re beautiful. Where did you get them?”

“My grandmother left me a lot of beautiful jewelry and I’ve never thought to wear any of it. I sat down and looked at it the other day and thought this would be perfect for you.”

Nan pulled Gelsey into a fierce hug. “Thank you. Gosh, I feel like royalty now.”

Gelsey helped her put the necklace and earrings on, then nodded. “I thought so. They do look lovely.”

“Jordan!”

The sound of Danny’s voice echoed through the quiet cottage. “We’re in here,” Jordan called from the bedroom.

A moment later, Danny appeared in the door, breathless, his hair windblown. “Gelsey, there’s a guy in town who’s been looking for you. I think he’s a photographer. He’s been hanging around asking questions. Kellan sent me over here to get you.”

“Oh, dear,” Nan murmured.

“I guess my past has just caught up with my present.” Gelsey was resigned. “I think it would be best if I got out of town as quickly as possible.”

“Kellan is waiting for you behind the pub. He told me to bring you to him. He’ll get you out of town.”

Gelsey picked up her jacket and purse, then gave Nan and Jordan a hug before she hurried to the door. “I’ll see you both soon. Thanks for inviting me.”

When they got outside, she and Danny walked along the back side of the cottage and the smithy, through an alleyway behind the bakery, and then over a low fence to the small garden behind the pub. Kellan was waiting there, his back braced against the side of the building.

“You’re back,” Gelsey said as he took her hand.

“Just,” he murmured. “Lucky thing.”

“Where is he?”

“Out front. Riley has been keeping him occupied. Although, he did manage to get a fair bit of information from Maeve, before she realized what he was doing in town.”

“How did he know I was here?”

“I suspect Antonio sent him. The guy probably started asking questions in Curryglass and worked his way down the coast. He’s got pictures he’s showing everyone.”

“I’m sorry,” Gelsey said.

“For what?”

“They’re not going to leave me alone. Now that Antonio’s talking, it makes the story even better. I’m sure he’s giving them all sorts of juicy details.”

“What kind of details does he have to give?”

“The kind that sell papers,” Gelsey replied. “There are some things I haven’t told you, but I really want to. First, though, we need to figure out how we are going to get out of here.”

“We aren’t,” he said. Kellan pointed to a stairway that led up to the second floor above the pub. “Riley has a flat next to my parents’ place. He’ll come and tell us when the guy leaves and then we can leave.”

“Where are we going to go? He’ll find me whether I’m at Winterhill or here.”

“He can’t be everywhere at once. And everyone in town knows to send him in the wrong direction. After a few days, he’ll be so mixed up, he won’t know which way to turn.”

“Or he’ll call in a bunch of his friends,” Gelsey said. “They rarely travel alone. It’s always in packs.”

He started up the stairs in front of her, holding her hand as they climbed. “Why do they even bother? You’re not living that life anymore, not that I really know anything about that life.” He turned to face her. “I don’t care, you know. We all make mistakes and then we move on.”

“My mistakes will follow me around forever,” she said.

When they reached the landing, Kellan opened the door and stepped aside. Gelsey walked into the kitchen of the small flat. It wasn’t at all what she expected for Riley’s bachelor flat, then she realized that Nan was living there with him. She heard the door click shut behind her.

In an instant, his hands were on her waist, spinning her to face him and picking her up at the same time. Kellan wrapped her legs around his hips and set her on the edge of the kitchen table.

“Wait,” she murmured. “We need to talk.”

“I don’t care what you have to tell me,” Kellan said. “I don’t need to know. It doesn’t change this.”

Gelsey held tight as his mouth came down on hers in a desperate kiss. All the doubts and insecurities she’d felt over the past few days dissolved and she surrendered to the pleasure that raced through her body at his touch.

She reached for the buttons of his shirt, needing to touch warm skin and hard muscle. Her lips trailed her fingers as she tugged the shirt from the waist of his jeans. Frustrated by her pace, Kellan shrugged out of his jacket, then tore the shirt off his body and tossed it aside.

A long breath slipped out of her body as she ran her hands over his naked chest. It had been only a few days, but it was as if she were parched with thirst for the sight of him, the scent of him, the taste of his tongue in her mouth.

He slipped his hands beneath the hem of her skirt, sliding it up along her thighs as he stepped between her legs. Her fingers trembled as she worked on the button fly on his jeans.

“God, I missed you,” he murmured as Gelsey skimmed his jeans down over his hips.

Grabbing her legs, he pulled her against his body and a heartbeat later, he was inside her. Gelsey moaned softly as he began to move, her body falling into a familiar rhythm. How had she ever done without this? Every nerve in her body cried out for his touch, and the ache deep inside her was suddenly soothed with each stroke.

This man was all she ever needed and everything she’d ever wanted. Yet she couldn’t bring herself to believe that the feelings between them could last. This desire could…but desire was a very different thing than love.

A SMALL CROWD WAS GATHERED on the main street of Ballykirk as Kellan drove into town. “What the hell is going on here?”

Danny peered through the windscreen. “I don’t know. Isn’t that Maeve’s shop?”

Kellan had left Gelsey asleep in the cottage that morning while he and Danny drove to Bantry to pick up supplies for the pub. They’d had a late night, having waited until nearly midnight before leaving the flat above the pub and sneaking back up the hill to the cottage.

Rosie Perry, the owner of the only bed-and-breakfast in Ballykirk, had passed along a message that the photographer had taken a room and was planning to stay for at least another day or two. She’d promised to call Kellan with any news of his movements.

Kellan reached into his pocket for his mobile, then cursed beneath his breath as he noticed the battery levels were dead. “Can you see what’s going on?”

“There’s the photographer,” Danny said. “And it looks like Gelsey is there along with Dealy, Markus and Johnnie. Maeve’s there, too.”

Kellan pulled the car up to the curb and hopped out, closing the distance between him and the crowd in a few long steps. Strangely, Gelsey didn’t seem to be in any distress. She was smiling for the crowd as she spoke.

“Maybe you can get a photo of Maeve and I under the sign.” She pointed above her head and the photographer reluctantly focused on the pair of them and clicked his shutter.

“What about you and Antonio?” he said.

“Oh, that’s old news. Now, let me tell you about our new product line. It’s all natural, made from a special kind of kelp harvested off the coast of the Aran Islands. Here, get a photo of this jar. Isn’t it beautiful? Mrs. Logan has tried the facial scrub.” She drew Ardelle Logan out of the crowd. “Tell this nice gentleman what you thought.”

Ardelle Logan held the jar up for the photographer, smiling as she spoke. “It made my skin so wonderfully soft. It doesn’t smell very pretty, but it works.”

“Perhaps we can get a photo with our tourism committee too,” Gelsey suggested.

“Do you have any plans to return to Europe, Gigi? Maybe to see Antonio? Is it true that he came here looking to take you back?”

“Oh, no. I’m happy right here. Helping Maeve turn this shop into everything that it can be. Would you like to come inside? I’d love to show you around. Wait, maybe we should get a few more photos outside.”

“And what about the charges that are still pending against you? There’s been talk that after the criminal trial, the guy is going to sue you.”

The crowd around her went silent and Kellan glanced over at Danny. “Charges?”

“I-I’m sure that I’ll be cleared of any wrongdoing,” Gelsey said.

“And what if you’re not?” the photographer asked.

Kellan pushed through the crowd to Gelsey’s side. “Listen, I think you got what you came here for. It’s time to leave, mate.”

“Who are you? Are you and Gigi together? Does Antonio know about this, Gigi?”

Kellan grabbed his arm and pulled him along through the crowd. “She doesn’t want you here. Leave her alone.”

The photographer wrenched out of his grasp and began to snap pictures of Kellan. But within seconds, most of the men in the crowd surrounded them both, moving in on the photographer.

He held up his camera. “All right, all right. I get the message.” He hoisted it over his shoulder, then nervously walked through the crowd. “She’s turned into a crashing bore anyway. She was much more fun when she was drunk.” He turned back and looked at Kellan. “You’re not Quinn, are you?”

Kellan shook his head. “Rooney is the name. I run the petrol station near the docks. You’re welcome to come down and take a few snaps of my place.” He slipped his arm around Danny. “This is my brother. He helps out.”

“Do you know Kellan Quinn?”

“Oh, he doesn’t live here. He lives in Dublin,” Dealy said.

“That’s what I’ve been told,” the photographer replied.

“I’m sure he’s in the book,” Markus added. “K-E-double L-A-N. Ring him and he’ll probably let you take his picture, too.”

“Either you’re all crazy or you’re acting like you are,” the photographer said. Kellan watched as he strode down the street to his car, got inside and headed out of town.

The crowd slowly dispersed, chatting amongst themselves about the possibility of being on the cover of Hello! or the Tattler. They didn’t seem to care about the bomb the photographer had just dropped. What kind of trouble was she in? And why would it require a trial?

Before long, Gelsey was the only one standing in front of the shop. “I’m going to take the car down to the pub,” Danny said.

“Great. I’ll meet you there in a few minutes.” Kellan stepped up to Gelsey, then looked over his shoulder to make sure there weren’t any other photographers lurking about. “Are you all right?”

She nodded. “He’ll be back. Don’t think he believed that story you told him. They’re much smarter than that. He’ll pay someone for more information and he’ll catch a photo of us together and he’ll have his picture and story to sell.”