Page 54 of Wild Irish

I sigh and shake my head. “You should be going back. He’ll need you if anything happens to his brother. I know he acts like he doesn’t need anyone, but it’s just a show. He misses you.”

Aiden smiles sadly. “Ye’re in love with him.”

“Maybe. I don’t know. I’m…I was happy when I was with him. But maybe that’s because I knew our time together was short. That I had to enjoy every minute.”

We stand in silence staring out at the ocean.

“What’re ye going to do?” Aiden finally asks.

“I need to get things straightened out with the car, then I guess I’ll go home.”

Aiden frowns. “He didn’t tell ye?”

“What?”

“Cillian took care of everything. He paid Tommy last week. Ye don’t owe anything.”

My chest squeezes. “Why would he do that?”

“Like I said, he cares about ye. Come back with me. I’ll talk to him.”

I shake my head. “He already thinks you’re against him. He won’t believe you. Even if he does, I still have to go home. I can’t stay in Ireland forever.”

Aiden exhales heavily and rubs the back of his neck. “I’ll drive ye back to Cillian’s. Maybe ye’ll change yer mind.”

“No. There’s a train station in Sligo. If you can drop me off there, I’ll take it to Dublin.”

“What about yer things?”

“I have everything I need with me.”

“Ye know Emer is going to kill me if I let ye leave without saying goodbye.”

A smile tugs at the corners of my lips despite the ache in my chest. “Give her a hug and tell her thank you for everything. I’ll never forget either of you.”

He sighs. “Ye’re sure ye want to leave?”

“Want to?” I shake my head. “No. But I did what I came here to do.”

He gives me a puzzled look. “What’s that?”

I glance out at the ocean, and despite how much my heart is breaking, I know I found what Maeve wanted me to find.

“Found my happiness.”

Cillian helped me do that. It’ll be hard without him, but I know I’ll manage on my own. I have to.

I reach into my pocket and pull out the torn piece of paper. The last of Maeve’s list. “Will you give him this?”

Aiden takes the note and mumbles the words, “Find Your Happiness.”

With a heaviness, I sigh. “Tell him I hope he finds it.”

Aiden wraps an arm around my shoulders and kisses the top of my head. “Ye’re a good woman, Delaney. Cillian knows that. Don’t give up on him just yet.”

A small flutter of hope stirs in my chest, but it’s not something I want to hold onto. Doing so would be too painful. If I’ve learned anything since I’ve been here, it’s that I’ll only be happy when I let go of the things I can’t have.

Chapter 24

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