Page 65 of An Irish Summer

“You rang?” Collin appeared in the doorway, and Flo and I were both stunned into silence. The edges of the tattoos lining his collarbones peeked out from an open white collar, and adeep-red plaid kilt hit the middle of his thighs, exposing knots of muscle in his legs. He leaned his forearm against the doorjamb, knowing full well we were staring.

“So this is why you invited Chelsea to a ceilidh,” Flo said, gesturing to me. “You wanted to show off those legs, didn’t you?”

“Flo, please,” he said, lifting the kilt an inch higher. “If I wanted to show off my legs, I wouldn’t need a ceilidh to do it.”

“You’re bad,” she said.

“You started it.”

“Good luck with this one, Chelsea,” she said, patting his chest on her way out of my room. I wanted to kill her.

“Classic Flo,” Collin said. “Calls me in here and leaves immediately. You two needed something?”

“Just to make sure Chelsea was ready!” Flo called from down the hall.

We jumped at the sound of her voice. Collin looked me up and down the way Flo had a minute earlier, undoubtedly assessing the black velvet shirtdress I borrowed from Flo and my platform Docs.

“Flo said to wear comfortable shoes,” I said, hoping I didn’t sound as self-conscious as I felt under his gaze.

“Flo could have said to wear a potato sack and you’d still look brilliant,” he said, motioning for me to spin around. I obeyed. “That dress is class, Chelsea.” He ran his thumb over his bottom lip as he looked at me.

“So, you’d say we’re ready to go then?”

“Depends,” he said. “Are you ready for everyone in the place to be having a look at ya?”

“Oh stop.” I laughed. “It’s going to be you they’re looking at.”

“We’ll make one hell of a couple, then,” he said. I stiffenedat the word, thinking Flo might have been right. “Loosen up, Chels. A ceilidh is fun. And you can’t dance if you’re so stiff.”

“I can’t dance at all.”

“Bollocks,” he said. “Follow my lead. I’ll take care of ya.”

I did love the sound of that.

“Lead the way, then,” I said, gesturing out of my room. If we stood in there staring at each other for another minute, I feared we’d never make it to the ceilidh at all.

Once we rallied the rest of the staff who had the night off and a small handful of guests to whom Flo extended the invite, we caught a bus across town to the venue. From the outside, it looked like little more than an old barn, but the inside transformed into a scene fromFootloose.

High-top tables lined the perimeter of a massive dance floor, giving way to a bar on either end. The string lights wrapped around the rafters had bulbs the size of golf balls, which bathed the barn in a warm, golden glow. Between the tartan tablecloths and burlap centerpieces, the whole thing felt a bit like stepping into another time.

“Grand, isn’t it?” Collin said over my shoulder, watching me as I took in the scene.

“So grand, in fact, that I think I’m going to just observe the whole night. Really watch from the sidelines, take it all in. I don’t want to miss anything, of course.”

His laugh was so loud it got the bartender’s attention. “Nice try,” he said. “I appreciate the attempt, really. But no one comes to a ceilidh to sit on the sidelines. Especially not someone on a journey to embrace Irish culture.”

“Perhaps we could start tonight’s embracing with a drink?” I suggested, nodding toward the bar closest to us.

“Spoken like a true Irishman,” he said. “That’s a great start. Come on, then.”

The rest of the group trickled in, meandering toward the bar and friends they recognized across the room. Their dispersal meant Collin and I were left alone, and the heat between us wasn’t coming from the dance floor.

I approached the bar, looking around at the collection of bottles and taps, trying to decide what kind of buzz I needed. What drink would lower my inhibitions just enough to dance but not enough to make a fool of myself.

“What’re you thinking?” he asked, leaning an elbow on the bar and bringing our faces close. I held back the urge to count his freckles.

I touched my fingertips to my lips while I considered my options, running them back and forth as I realized Collin’s eyes were following their movements.

---