Page 99 of Tempting Irish

I remove the distance between us, taking her face between in my hands and crushing her mouth against mine, needing her to feel what I’m feeling. That I can’t walk away. Not fromher.

“Stay with me,” I say against her tremblinglips.

She blinks when I pull back, and a tear slips down her cheek. “Don’t make this harder than itis.”

“This isn’t nothing, it’s something. I don’t know what yet, but I can’t let ye go not knowing. Maybe one day, we’ll get to the marriage and babies and stuff, but right now…just give us a chanceto-”

“Owen,stop.”

I know I’m screwing this all up. I write words for a living, sing in front of millions of people, but this girl has my tongue and heart twisted in a million knots, and nothing is coming outright.

“Don’t leave,” I sayagain.

She lets out a quivering breath, and says softly, “I’m not giving up my life for a promise ofsomething.”

I run the pad of my thumb across her cheeks, removing the tears. “Something is better thannothing.”

She takes a step back, picking up her carry-on and starting towards the gate. “Nothingcan’tbreak yourheart.”

Too damn late forthat.

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