Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 76782 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 384(@200wpm)___ 307(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76782 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 384(@200wpm)___ 307(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
“Oh,” I said, setting down the juicy olive I was about to eat. I wiped my fingers. “Are you sure, Sully?”
He regarded me steadily. “Totally.”
“I know how much she means to you—” I started to ramble.
He covered my hand that was moving restlessly on the tabletop. “As do you.”
“No one has ever asked me to meet their family,” I admitted.
“I have never taken anyone to meet my family,” he countered.
He studied me. “Am I pushing too hard, mo fhiadh beag?” He frowned. “I want to show you off. Spend as much time with you as possible. But I made you move in. I commandeer your evenings. I keep pushing myself into every inch of your time here, don’t I?” He shook his head. “We can wait until you return.”
“No, I would love to meet her. You didn’t force me to move in. You asked, and I said yes. I want you in every inch of my life, Sully.”
He smiled widely. “Yeah?”
I reached out and gripped his hand. “Yeah.”
“Good.” He grabbed his phone. “I’ll book the flights.”
I was nervous as we drove to Roisin’s house. Despite Sully’s assurances, I was worried about what she must think of a woman he’d only met a short time ago being introduced to her as…what exactly?
“Sully?”
“Hmm?” he replied, concentrating on the road.
“What does Roisin think I am?”
“Human, I believe.”
I slapped his arm, and he laughed. “My girlfriend. My lover. My soon-to-be fiancée. Then Mrs. Black.” He paused and squeezed my thigh. “My new world.”
I sat back. “Well, no pressure, then.”
“She is gonna love you.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Because I love you and, more importantly, you love me and make me happy. That is all she will care about.”
“And you’ve never brought anyone to meet her?”
“Once,” he said seriously. “My first love.”
“Oh?” I asked calmly, even though I hated to hear about him loving someone else.
“Rosey Connoll. Bright red hair, freckles everywhere, and the best tree-climber I ever knew.”
“The best what?”
He flashed me a grin. “I was six, and she lived across the street. Dirty little urchin—her mum used to chase her around to clean her up for school. Always in the mud, climbing trees, walking along roofs. Constantly in trouble. Ah, me heart was hers. I told Aunt Roisin I would marry her, I did,” he finished in a thick Irish singsong voice. “Then she broke my wee heart and kissed Robert Baker from down the block.” He shook his head. “I never recovered.”
I crossed my arms. “You are such an arse.”
He laughed merrily. “You are the first and only woman I have ever talked about to Roisin. Ever thought about bringing to meet her. Ever considered anything but a fling with. You, Autumn Briggs, one day soon-to-be Autumn Black, are my unicorn.”
We pulled up to a small house. He turned in his seat and met my gaze. “She will love you. And if she doesn’t, I would still love you.”
“I want her to like me.”
He glanced over my shoulder. “Well, here she comes. No time like the present to find out.” He opened his door. “And I already know she will.”
I took a deep breath. I hoped so.
Roisin Black was a whirlwind with an apron. She hugged Sully, talking a mile a minute, then turned to me with a wide smile. She was robust and tall. Her dark hair was streaked with gray, and her green eyes were warm and friendly.
“Och, Sully, ye didn’t do her justice! What a beauty!”
The next thing I knew, I was being hugged ferociously, then she held me at arm’s length. “Look at that hair! And she’s a wee doll next to you, you lumbering eejit. Come, lassie, inside. I have tea and barmbrack waiting. Sully, get the bags. Your wee girl needs refreshments. And I need to get to know her! Oh, so pretty!”
And she pulled me along, leaving Sully behind us, smiling and looking pleased. I glanced over my shoulder, and he threw me a wink as if to say, “Told you.”
I had no choice but to go where she pulled me. I had a feeling it was only the start.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
SULLY
Isat back, replete. “Damn fine lamb, Roisin. Never had one better.”
She smirked. “Years of practice.”
Autumn hummed around a mouthful. “So good,” she murmured.
Roisin beamed at her. She’d been doing that most of the day. Feeding and beaming. Autumn, as I’d suspected, loved the barmbrack. The tea. The cake Roisin insisted Autumn needed a slice of. The sweets she put in a bowl, pushing her way every few moments. Autumn adored listening to Roisin tell stories of my misspent youth.
“You’re hardly old enough to be his aunt,” Autumn insisted.
“But I am. I was much younger than Sully’s mum. I was fifteen when he was born, and I’m sixty-three now. I used to babysit the little shite.” She tsked. “And what a little shite he was. Always in trouble—then when Niall and Finn were old enough, he taught them all his bad ways.” She laid a hand on her heart. “My poor, sweet Niall led astray by this one. Such an angel, my boy was.” Then she laughed raucously. “I swore the three of them were gonna be the death of me.”