Page 29 of Charlie
“Plain.”
“Okay.” She pulled it out and handed it to me. “It has to be a healthy bite. Don’t just nibble on it.”
I followed her instructions and ate half of the croissant. “You’re right; it’s delicious.”
Her satisfied grin spread from ear to ear. “I told you so.” And then she rose to her toes, her feminine scent engulfing me as she looked deep into my eyes. “So, tell me, how do you want me to sample you?”
Damn… With butterflies in my stomach, I lifted a finger and pointed to my mouth.
Liv’s lips turned upward and then she kissed me. It was slow and deliberate and lasted a lot longer than a simple peck. With the two bottles of water in my hands, I wrapped my arms around her and kissed her back.
Her lips were as soft and amazing as I’d imagined they would be. We kept up the kiss for a long moment until she pulled back.
I couldn’t read her expression. “So? What do you think?”
“You taste…” She licked her lips. “Hmm… I don’t know. Can I have another taste to be sure?”
I was smiling when she kissed me again, and this time she sucked on my upper lip like she was really doing a tasting. After releasing it, she declared, “You taste ofmore. Yes, that’s how you taste.”
We laughed together and I tightened my hold around her. “That’s funny. I was just going to say the same about you.”
A loud honk sounded from the bus and made us look over; the guide stood in the door and waved for us to hurry.
Liv and I ran together, and we’d only just plunked ourselves down on our seats when the bus began rolling again.
“I do have a soft heart for people in love, but please make sure you mind the time at our next stop.” The guide gave us a smile before taking the microphone again. “And now with everyone on board, we’ll head for the old ruins of Kilmacduagh Abbey, which is also called the seven churches although not every building there was a church.
“On our way, try and notice the fairy forts on the fields that we pass. You’ll recognize them as circles of stones, earth banks, or trees that the farmers don’t touch. It’s said that they date back to the Iron Age and that we have more than forty-five thousand of them here in Ireland. You might wonder how so many have been protected and the short answer is that’s it’s not because of the law, it’s due to superstition. The fairies were believed to inhabit Ireland before they retreated to a different realm. All these sacred places are their portals and if you disturb one, the fairies will take their revenge. Cutting down a fairy tree might mean that a member of your family will die before the year is out. We Irish don’t mess with the fay. Personally, I’d never cut down a fairy tree or disturb a fairy fort. It’s just not worth the risk.”
Some people were laughing in the bus and it made our tour guide raise her brow. “It might be strange to you, but Irish people have a long tradition of embracing the paranormal. For instance, more people believe in spirits than not. Once we get closer to the abbey, I’ll tell you why the only door in the tower is seven meters above ground, but for now, I’ll leave you with some nice Irish music.”
Soft Celtic music began playing and Liv offered me another croissant. “Do you believe in ghosts?”
“Do you?”
She thought about it. “I’ll have to say yes to that. Not that I’ve seen any myself, but my mom did and she’s a very credible, no-nonsense person, so I believe her.”
“Hmm… I’m skeptical.”
“Because you never had a paranormal experience?”
“I lost my parents when I was a boy and I used to pray for them to come and visit me. I’d cry myself to sleep begging them to come and talk to me.”
Liv gave me a look of deep sympathy.
“If spirits were real, I would like to think that my parents would have answered my prayers.”
She nodded. “I’m sure they would have if they could. I’m so sorry that you lost them.”
“Thanks, but it’s been so many years that I only have scattered memories of them. I grew up with my grandparents in Chicago.”
“I’m from Chicago too.”
My lip lifted on one side. “I know.”
“You do? How? I didn’t tell you that, did I?”
“No, you didn’t.” I scratched my neck, hoping she wouldn’t take this the wrong way. “But after I met you that night outside the bar, I looked you up on social media and I saw that you’re from Chicago.”
