Shawn’s cousins own this inn, and they greeted us with open arms. I’ve never felt so welcomed when checking into a hotel before. They even offered us freshly baked apple cake, which I couldn’t pass up.
You’d have to be an idiot to say no to that.
Fiona and Tom invited us to come to dinner at their home for our first night here, and I couldn’t turn them down. I’m beside myself with excitement to see them, and to introduce them to my mother.
Even if Shawn and I aren’t meant to spend our lives together, I’ve made lifelong friends in his family, and that makes me happy.
But the past few days have caught up to me, and I’m exhausted. So, once the water has cooled, I climb out of the tub, towel off, and slip between the soft bedsheets naked, ready for a long nap.
“Now, if you have your victim thrown over the cliffs, it could be ruled as an accident or a suicide,” Tom says later that evening. He and I are sitting at the kitchen table, our bellies full after a delicious dinner made by Fiona. Mom and Fiona are in the sewing room, talking about yarn and things that I really know nothing about.
Murder, on the other hand, has always piqued my interests, and Tom is a wonderful brainstorming partner.
“Yes, but would it be bloody enough?” I ask, making him laugh.
“You’ve obviously never seen the damage a body undergoes when flung down three hundred feet onto sandstone.”
“No, I haven’t. Have you?”
“Unfortunately,” he replies with a sigh. “It’s a bloody mess, and that’s the truth of it. Wouldn’t leave much evidence behind either, so it would make a challenge for your detective to find the killer. Because although bloody, if the body lays there long enough, the surf will carry it away.”
“Increasing the mystery is always what we want,” I murmur, thinking it over. “What if the victim is a woman?”
“Poor lass,” he says, but grins at me with glee. “I do enjoy thinking up stories with you, Lexi girl.”
“You’re so good at it,” I reply. “I see now where Shawn gets his imagination from.”
“And that’s the truth,” Fiona says as she and Mom come back into the room. “Tom was always spinning tales for the babies when they were young. Shawn was always the most interested in them.”
“How many children do you have?” Mom asks.
“Five,” Fiona says. “And every one of them is the apple of me eye.”
“Of course, they are,” Mom says, smiling at me.
“They’re all living in Washington,” Tom adds. “Doing various things, chasing dreams and the like. As it should be. But we miss them.”
“They’re all going to be here for Christmas,” Fiona says. “It will be the first Christmas we’ve spent together in Ireland since Shawn was a wee lad. Maggie’s never had a Christmas here, and she’s a woman of twenty-six.”
“They’re all coming?” I ask, feeling the excitement bubble in my stomach. Mom and I will still be here then, and I might be able to see them.
Of course, that includes Shawn, but I can be an adult.
Probably.
“That they are,” Tom says. “Kane has a glass exhibit opening over the holiday in Galway, and everyone wanted to be here for it. So, Keegan’s closing the pub for a couple of weeks, and the whole brood will be here. Fiona and I won’t know what to do with a whole house full of children again.”
“And soon, we’ll have a wee babe,” Fiona says, clapping her hands.
“What? Who?” How did I not hear this news?
“Anastasia’s expecting,” Fiona says and turns to my mother. “She’s our eldest’s wife. By late spring, Kane and Stasia will be parents, and we’ll have a new sweet baby in the family.”
“That’s so wonderful,” I say with a smile. “You all have so many things to celebrate.”
“And you and Diane will still be here,” Tom says, gesturing to my mom, “so you can help us celebrate.”
“Oh, but this is a family affair,” I say, acutely aware of my mom watching me with wise, curious, blue eyes.
I haven’t admitted to her that I’m in love with Shawn.
That I’m in love with all of them.
But I know she can see it written all over my face.
“Nonsense,” Fiona says. “You’ll join us, and that’s that. Kane’s best friend, Cameron Cox, is coming, as well. Our family is full of those tied to us by blood, and others united by love, and that’s the truth of it, Lexi.”
I have to take a deep breath so I don’t cry like a blubbering idiot.
“Thank you for including us,” Mom says, reaching over to pat Fiona’s hand.
Tom pats my hand kindly. “It’s happy we are to have you here, lass. I hope this won’t be your only trip to Ireland.”
“Oh, I think I’ll be coming here for years to come.”
“Can you please bring me the baby wipes?” I ask, pointing at the wipes in question across the room. “She’s dirty.”
“She had a healthy breakfast,” Shawn says with a chuckle as he hands me the wet wipes and then leans over to kiss our daughter on the forehead. “Didn’t you, sweet Aisling?”
I quickly get her cleaned up and diapered, and once she’s in her pajamas, I pass her to Shawn. “It’s your turn to put her to bed, Da.”
“And a pleasure it is,” he says with a wink. He takes her into the nursery, and I can hear him crooning to her through the monitor. “You’re my best girl, aren’t you, darling? That’s right. Shall we have a story, then?”
I walk into the bathroom and take a hot shower. When I’ve toweled off, Shawn is already waiting for me in the bedroom.
“That was quick.”
“She passed right out during my Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde story.”
“I’m not sure you should be telling that story to a two-month-old,” I say with a laugh.
“She can’t understand the words. Or, she can, and that was a really boring story.”
He tugs me against him and kisses me long and slow. He loosens the towel wrapped around me and lets it pool at my feet.
“You’re a gorgeous woman, Lexi.”
“I’m glad you think so.”
The dream is sexy and almost in slow motion as Shawn makes love to me. There are soft sighs and long, deliberate touches that make my core ache for him. His words of love echo through my mind as I surface from sleep.
I blink my eyes open and stretch under the crisp, white linens. The sun is up, and I feel well-rested.
I glance over and see Shawn sitting in my plush chair.
“Am I still dreaming?”
Chapter 20
~Lexi~
“Do you ever look at your damn mobile?”
I blink, coming fully awake now. I’m definitely not dreaming. The Shawn seated five feet away from me looks angry.
Exhausted.
Frustrated.
I sit up, and the covers fall, and I immediately pull them up around my bare chest. “Good morning to you, too.”