Page 60 of Merrily Ever After
“Uh-huh.”
“That says they’re delighted you’ve accepted.” I blink and read it again. “You’re staying in Ireland?”
“I am.”
“With me?”
“This is where you live, so yes.”
“But—”
“I love you,” she says. “I love you so much and I’ve so missed you much and while I enjoyed making all these places chase me, it never occurred to me to not stay here. I want to spend every Christmas with you. I want to spend every everything with you and—”
She breaks off with a laugh as I launch myself at her, wrapping my arms around her neck as we land with a thump on the quilt.
“You’re staying?” I demand.
“I’m staying.”
“I love you,” I tell her, peppering her with kisses. “I love you. I love you. I love you.”
She smiles against my lips and kisses me back, tightening her embrace in a way that makes me feel like I’m glowing. She feels so familiar beneath me. So much like home. It makes me wonder how we ever spent a day apart. It makes me glad we’ll never have to.
She slips a hand under my sweater, warm fingers reaching up and finding my breast. She makes a small noise of delight when she does and parts her thighs as I settle between them.
This is what I needed. This is what I missed.
And I was right. Privacy is the best gift. No brothers to bother me. No parents to placate. Nothing to interrupt us.
Except the loud knock on the window.
“Are ye all right in there or do you want me to delay the rescue by another few minutes?” A male voice calls outside.
Daniela bursts into giggles as I sit up, tugging my sweater back into place.
“Just a second,” I yell, sending her a warning glance as she scoots up, and I pull on the pajama pants and open the door.
We’re immediately met by the roar of the rain and the fertilizer man from earlier holding a giant umbrella.
“We’ve got some jump leads in the shed,” he says. “Niamh should be able to get you going.” His eyes slide to Daniela, twinkling just a little. “Can come back if you like, though?”
“Dad!” The girl, Niamh, runs over under her own umbrella. “I said I’d talk to them.”
“She’s a mechanic in her spare time,” he continues like she’s not even there.
“I sell Christmas trees in my spare time,” she mutters, before shooting us an apologetic glance. “Let me bring the car around.”
“That would be great,” I mumble. “Thank you.”
“You’re definitely getting a five-star review,” Daniela adds and Niamh forgets to be annoyed at her father for a second as she beams.
“Come on then,” he says knowingly. “Let’s get you to where you need to be and you can pick up where you left off.”
That sends Daniela into another laughing fit and the man grins at his mortified daughter as he pulls the door closed again.
“Well, that’s embarrassing,” I mutter as I sit back down.
Daniela hums, still smiling as she rests her head against my shoulder. “It’s good to be home,” she says, twining our fingerstogether. I kiss the top of her head and press my forehead to hers. I couldn’t have said it better myself.
