He put his hands over mine and stilled them. I glanced up into his eyes and he gave me a soft smile. “Look, now you know I’m not lying. Will you at least let me try to make it up to you? I’m not here because I’m bored, Daisy, I’m here because I love you. For the past four months, I haven’t been able to get you out of my head. Not seeing or talking to you has almost driven me crazy, at times.”
“Who would run this place?” I asked, entertaining the slightest possibility of giving in to him, but ignoring his declaration because I couldn’t afford to be taken in by him again without knowing he meant those words.
“See, you really are thinking about it. I’m serious, and don’t worry, I’ll get you the best kick-ass person in Dublin to manage this bar for you. It’ll only be for a week, and I’m sure Terry and Maria would step up to let you have a holiday.”
“A week? I’m not leaving here for a week. Let me see if I can get a decent manager—and don’t think I won’t be checking references, and I’ll think about going for a few days, maybe.”
“A few days?” he asked, wide-eyed. When he saw me waiver and I wouldn’t consider his offer otherwise, he changed his mind. “Great, we’ll figure a manager out,” he said as he rose to his feet. “Can you get cover today? I’d love to spend it with you since I don’t have much time.”
“How are we supposed to get from me hating you to make up sex in less than a day?” I asked, then blushed because of my ridiculous statement.
Jamie chuckled, but his eyes grew intense as he stared into mine. “I see those thoughts are still falling out of your mouth, sweetheart. Don’t ever change that about you, I love it. But I didn’t come here with expectations of that … although it would be one hell of a bonus.”
“A bonus for what? You still ran out on me.”
“But I get it was a horrible thing I did. If you had left the way I did, and I’d heard nothing at all for months, I’d have been furious with you, too. Believe me when I say, I can’t wait to get you beneath me again, but I get that will happen when the time is right for both of us, even if that isn’t today.” Leaning closer, he took my face in his hands. “I really am serious about you, Daisy O’Donnell, but I do have some other band commitments I have to attend to before we can spend some time together.”
“Where do you have to go to, already?”
“Back to New York, I’m afraid. I’m a principal figure in a global brand that directly employs about thirty people and indirectly employs hundreds more. Since our band has been gone for a while, they need us to do some promotional interviews and appearances for the next couple of weeks to prime our fans for the album’s release. I’d ask you to come with me, but…” He waved his hand in the air, as if to say this is what you do.
“When will you be back, or is that an open-ended question, because if it is—”
“I promise that album lockdown was a one-time thing. It’s not going to happen again. It was the last album with our current record company. We’re starting our own label when this year is over. Paddy wants a family and this time away about killed his marriage to Bernie. We won’t put ourselves in a position like that ever again.”
“I have to admit I’d never allow you to do something like that a second time,” I stated, telling him I forgave him but not in so many words.
“Say you’ll come with me. All I need you to do is find your birth certificate, get a passport-sized photo, and my assistant Donna will help with the rest. Trust me, Daisy, you won’t be disappointed. Can we start again? You trusted me once, let me prove you can trust me again.”
I hesitated and drew in a breath. When I exhaled, I nodded. “If I’m not satisfied with a manager, I’m not going. I’m not leaving this place until I know it’s in safe hands … and those aren’t Terry’s. I could come back and find I’ve been cleared out because he’s forgotten to lock the doors.”
“Get over here, Daisy …,” he said, tugging me gently toward him.
Deep down, despite all the heartache I’d been through, I sensed he’d meant every word he’d said to me during our heart-to-heart. For a long minute, we sat facing each other. Staring intently, his eyes took me in, a serious look on his face, and then he smiled. A look of adoration transformed his gaze and my heart leapt as a thrill of desire ran through my body.
“May I finally kiss you now?” he asked, but without waiting for my answer, he brushed my lips with his, sank his fingers into my hair at the back of my head and pulled me closer to him. Reuniting in that kiss felt electrifying as it held all the passion I’d felt from before, but I was even hungrier than the last time we’d kissed.
After calling Maria to cover my evening shift in the pub, Jamie and I ordered takeout food and snuggled down on the couch to catch up. After our initial hurdle that day, it soon felt like we’d never been apart. Around 9:00 p.m. Jamie yawned and apologized. I glanced at the clock and realized he must have been up for well over twenty-four hours.
“I’m sorry, I forgot you’d been up all night,” I said.
“No, forgive me, I slept a little on the plane, but I’ve had four hours’ sleep in the last thirty-six. I was restless and a bit nervous to face you, and that kind of disturbed my sleep.” Knowing this helped me to know he hadn’t taken my answer for granted.
“Let’s get you to bed,” I told him, standing and grabbing the dinner plates from the table. Jamie stood and picked up the cartons and shoved them into the brown paper carrier bag to recycle.
“Best offer I’ve had all day,” he remarked with a smirk.
“Only offer you’ve had,” I reminded him, with a laugh.
“Ah, so it’s an offer. I was just checking that out with my previous comment.” He winked, placing the wine glasses on the coffee table and sliding his arms around my waist. His flirty comment made my heart skip a beat and I suddenly felt shy and awkward again.
“You have no idea how good this feels,” he told me, tightening his hold on me and placing his other hand on my hip. Curling his fingers into my sides, he pulled me flush against him. Releasing one arm, he slid it up my spine and cupped my head to his chest. “God, holding you like this makes this insanely short visit totally worth every mile.”
“I know,” I replied, and he chuckled.
“Nothing like valuing yourself there, Daisy, huh?”
“Absolutely. I know I’m worth it, and now I know you know it, as well.”
Jamie screwed up his face like he was trying to concentrate. “I think I know what you said, but my brain is fried.”
“Okay, get yourself in the shower and into bed. What time do you have to leave in the morning?” I asked, my heart sank with my question. I wasn’t prepared for him to leave when I’d only just gotten him back.
Wandering over to his weekend bag, he lifted it and slung it over his shoulder, before stopping to look at me again. “Will you lay with me?”
“How can I refuse an offer like that? But get this straight. If you had been hanging around, I’d have made you suffer for another two days.”