Kate Hoffmann - Kellan

“What story? We’re not doing anything wrong.”

“Gigi Woodson hiding out in Irish village with new boy toy. Do you really want to be known around the world as my boy toy?”

Kellan chuckled softly, then leaned close to drop a kiss on her lips. “I don’t know. Do I?”

“Definitely not,” she replied.

“So, now that you’re the biggest celebrity in town, I suppose you’re not going to want to go out to lunch with me, are you?”

Gelsey shook her head. “Maybe we should-”

“Why not?”

“I just think we ought to-”

“But I’m really hungry.”

Gelsey reached into the pocket of her skirt and pulled out an envelope, waving it in front of her face. “All right. My paycheck. Maeve gave it to me this morning. I’m pretty sure it should buy us lunch.”

“Where are you going to take me?” he asked.

“There’s only one place in town that serves lunch. It’s called the Speckled Hound. You ever been there?”

“I don’t believe I have,” Kellan said, playing along. “Lead on.”

She slipped her hand into his and they walked down the street. “How was your trip to Dublin?” she asked.

“Good,” he said. “Everything went well. It’s another job, this time just outside Waterford.”

“What about the job in France?”

“We’re still considering that,” Kellan said. “It’s a big commitment and I’m not sure Jordan wants to spend that much time away from Danny.”

“Right,” she murmured. “I guess she wouldn’t.”

“And what about you?” Kellan asked, turning to face Gelsey and pulling her to a stop. “I understand you have a little problem with the law in Italy?”

Gelsey stopped short. “Now you want to talk about that?”

“Do you?”

“Do you want the long story or the short?”

“Short,” he said.

“I accidentally hit a photographer and broke his nose. He’s filed assault charges. Antonio is my only witness. The hearing for the case is scheduled for January. If I don’t win, I might have to go to jail-for a little while.” She drew a deep breath and let it out. “There. That wasn’t so bad.”

“Is this why you’ve been so reluctant to talk about the future?”

Gelsey shrugged. “In part. There are some other things that we probably should talk about. Stupid things that I’ve done. I just didn’t want you to think less of me. And sooner or later, someone is going to tell you these things or you’re going to read about them and maybe you won’t like me as much anymore.”

“Well, I don’t think that will happen. But it might help if we didn’t have to sleep in separate beds. Hell, in separate houses. Why are we doing that?”

“I guess I’m wondering that, too,” Gelsey said. “But it’s different now. Before, I was staying with you because I was running away from my old life. Now I have a new life and I have to figure out how I want that life to be.”

“What do you need to figure out, Gels? It’s not that difficult.”

“All right. Where do we live? You have a place in Dublin, we can’t live there. The cottage belongs to your parents, we can’t stay there forever. I have a house, we could live there, but I’m not quite sure I’m ready for that.”

“I see your point,” Kellan said. “But we can spend a few nights a week at your house and a few at the cottage until we decide what to do.”

He pulled open the door to the pub and they walked inside. Gelsey saw Danny behind the bar and smiled at him, but Kellan led her to a booth on the far wall, a spot that offered them the maximum amount of privacy.

Sitting down across from her, he grabbed her hand and brought it to his lips. Their gazes met and for a moment, Kellan saw the fears vanish from her gaze. He was making progress in the right direction. Very slow-but positive-progress.

“Maybe we ought to start dating,” Kellan suggested. “Forget about the sex and the sleeping together. We never really started at the beginning. Maybe that’s the problem.”

“What are we going to do around Ballykirk that we haven’t already done?” Gelsey asked.

“There are plenty of things to do. We can sit down at the harbor and watch the fishing boats come it. We can walk to the library and look at the new books. The greengrocer teaches a cooking class every other Wednesday night. And there’s always Tuesday-night bingo at St. Margaret’s.”

“Bingo sounds lovely,” Gelsey said. “And I’ll drive. Now that I have my own car, I can pick you up.”

“You’re driving a forty-year-old Bentley. That thing should be in a museum, not on the road. Do you know how much that car is worth?”

“No. It was my grandmother’s. She loved that car. It was just sitting in the carriage house, so I thought I’d drive it.”

“And then there’s Nan and Riley’s wedding. I don’t have a date for that and I was hoping you’d agree to come with me.”

Gelsey smiled, then twisted her fingers through his. “I suppose I could be convinced. I don’t have any other plans for New Year’s Eve.”

“That would be a rare one for me,” Kellan said. “I never have a date for New Years.”

Danny appeared at their table, a pad and pen in his hands. “I’d assume the two of you are here for lunch? We have a lovely shepherd’s pie, bangers and boxty, and salmon patties with chips. And the regular sandwiches and salads.”

“Shepherd’s pie,” Kellan said. “And a half pint of Guinness.”

“Same for me but water,” Gelsey said.

After Danny had gone to put in their orders, Kellan asked, “How has work been?”

Gelsey pulled his hand toward her. “Good. Well, maybe not good, but it’s improving. We’ve had a lot of new customers come in. After this morning, I’m sure we’ll have more.”

“That’s good.”

“There’s going to be all sorts of talk, Kellan. It doesn’t bother me, but I don’t want you to get caught up in it.”

“It’ll be good for business. Have you thought anymore about buying the place from Maeve?”

“I have. But it’s a little difficult to make plans with everything hanging over me.”

“Then don’t let it bother you. Go ahead and make plans. Buy the shop. And if things don’t go well in Italy, then figure that out when you have to.”

“I suppose I could do that,” she murmured.

They chatted about the shop until Danny brought their food. As Kellan watched Gelsey dig into her shepherd’s pie, he nodded. “I think we should call this our first date.”

“Why is that?”

“Because a girl like you probably doesn’t kiss on the first date. I’m thinking I might get lucky on our second.”

“You had all the luck you could handle the night we met,” Gelsey teased. “I’m going to take things much more slowly this time around.” He felt her bare foot slowly creep up the inside of his calf until she rubbed his thigh.

Kellan grabbed her ankle and placed her foot squarely in his crotch. “I can see you’re the kind of girl my mother warned me about.” He rubbed her foot over the front of his jeans. “It’s a rare pleasure to meet you, Gelsey Woodson.”

CHRISTMAS WAS ONLY two days away and Maeve Dunphrey’s Potions and Lotions was experiencing what could only be considered a holiday rush. They’d had customers waiting that morning when Gelsey opened and there had been a steady flow of people in and out of the shop, picking up late gifts for friends and relatives.

Gelsey had picked up some colorful wrapping paper and ribbon in Bantry and for the last week had been wrapping every purchase that left the store. To her surprise, customers were stopping in to buy just because of the free gift wrapping.

She had hoped to find a moment to talk to Maeve. After a lot of thought and a few phone calls to her banker, she’d decided to make an offer on the shop. Kellan had been right. She needed to think beyond what would happen in January and this was an opportunity she couldn’t pass up.

She had a life here in Ballykirk. She had friends, a man who loved her, people who were happy to see her each day. And even after the entire town found out who she really was, it didn’t matter. They still treated her like the girl Kellan saved from the sea.

She hadn’t told Kellan about her decision yet. She’d become superstitious since the arrival of the photographer, just waiting for the other shoe to drop. But now she felt confident that no matter what happened, this was exactly where she belonged.

“I haven’t see the shop like this in, well, it’s been years,” Maeve exclaimed. “I bless the day I hired you, Gelsey. Look what you’ve done. It’s a miracle.”

“The shop just needed a bit of modernizing,” Gelsey said as she arranged a display of natural sponges in a wicker basket. “I’d like to sit down and talk with you after the holidays. I’d like to make an offer to buy the shop. I’ll give you a fair price. Enough for you and your sister to take ten cruises around the world.”

Maeve picked up a pot of beeswax lip balm and slowly turned it over in her hand. “About that,” she said. “I-I’m not so sure I want to sell anymore.”

Her words hit Gelsey like a slap in the face. “What? I don’t understand.”

“Well, everything is going so well. We’ve had so many new customers stop in and the shop has never looked better. And I’ve never really gotten on with my sister. She’s bossy and stubborn and she spends far too much time in front of the telly. We’d never be able to live together.”

“But, I thought-”

“I know. And I am sorry, dear. This is just so much fun now and I don’t want to give it up. You understand, don’t you?”

Gelsey felt the frustration bubbling inside her. She was the reason the shop was doing well, she brought the customers in, she gave them what they wanted. Without her, Maeve would have still been digging herself out from beneath dusty boxes of ten-year-old product.

“I’d still love you to work here,” Maeve continued. “The customers adore you. And of course, we’d renegotiate your pay. But, if you want my advice, dear, you’re much too clever to stay in this small town. You should be running your own place in London or Paris.”

Gelsey opened her mouth, ready to argue her point, but then she snapped it shut. “I’m going to take my break now,” she said, trying to keep her voice calm and her manner indifferent. It wouldn’t do to burn any bridges right now. Perhaps Maeve could be persuaded to change her mind.

Maeve glanced at her watch. “Go right ahead. I think I can handle things. And when you come back we’ll discuss that raise.”

Gelsey grabbed her coat and pulled it on over the cashmere sweater and skirt she’d chosen that morning, then retrieved her purse from behind the counter. She couldn’t get out of the shop fast enough, but when she reached the safety of the street, she didn’t curse or scream. Instead, tears erupted from the corners of her eyes and there was nothing she could do to stop them.

She headed toward the pub. Her immediate reaction was to find Kellan and tell him what had happened. But as she walked, Gelsey realized that this wasn’t his problem, it was hers. She’d been the one to naively put all her efforts into improving the shop. She’d been the one to spend her own money on gift bags and wrapping paper and real grosgrain ribbon for the boxes.

She’d dusted and mopped and toted and carried until every muscle in her body ached and she’d been rewarded with happy customers and increased sales. Maeve was right-she was clever. And she did know what she was doing.

Gelsey wiped away her tears. Why was she crying? She didn’t need the job. She had plenty of money left in her trust find.

She walked past the pub and down to the waterfront. The smell of the sea was thick in the damp air. She sat down on a bench that overlooked the harbor, fixing her gaze on a fishing boat that was chugging out of port.

People went to work every day and some of them worked at jobs they barely liked. But she’d wanted to find something to make her life meaningful, something that made her proud of what she did with her day. She’d wasted so much time, and now that she’d finally decided on a future for herself, it had been snatched away from her before she’d even begun.

The tears started again and Gelsey didn’t try to stop them. She was alone. And the emotional release was the only reaction she could muster. But when she saw Dealy Carmichael and the rest of the Unholy Trinity approaching, Gelsey quickly composed herself and pasted a smile on her face.

“Good morning, lass,” Markus called. “What are you doing out here on a chilly day like today?”

“Just admiring the view,” Gelsey said, forcing a cheerful tone into her words.

“We’re working on a shopping brochure for the town,” Dealy said. “We’ll be sure to add your shop to the map.”

“Good. I’m sure Maeve will appreciate that.”

They continued past her, fishing poles in hand. Once they were out of sight, Gelsey drew a ragged breath. Closing her eyes, she tipped her head back and tried to relax.