“Thank you for coming with me. I don’t think I could go without you. For a multitude of reasons,” I say earnestly.
She starts the coffee pot before padding back to the couch and sitting on my lap again.
“You don’t need to thank me, Eamon. You aren’t letting me face my demons alone, so why would I let you do the same?”
“You’re so perfect,” I say thickly. “How did I get so lucky?”
“Well, youareIrish…” she begins, but I quickly silence her with my mouth.
“I’m not a fucking leprechaun, you cheeky fire sprite,” I growl against her lips.
Laughing, she pushes me away and climbs off of my lap. “Why don’t you book our flight and I’ll make us breakfast?”
I slap her arse playfully as she walks away, earning a shriek, then get to work booking our flight. I also need to cancel our reservation for the beach rental, but a thought occurs to me. I quickly send an email to the owner, explaining the situation and requesting to put the reservation in Teagan’s name. As I’m typing out the email, my phone buzzes with an incoming text message on the table next to my laptop. I cringe when I see not only the name of the sender but the number of messages they’ve already sent. Of course, she’d know about Caity already.
Small towns don’t have secrets.
Norah
The soonest, and cheapest, flight Eamon could find is a red eye leaving Raleigh at nine o’clock tonight with a three-hour layover at London Heathrow. I’m not complaining though. The flight to Dublin takes roughly eight hours, and we’re already exhausted from our late night and early morning wake-up call. Sleeping on the flight should help with the jet lag. By the time we reach Eamon’s hometown, it will be early afternoon.
“How are you feeling?” I ask him while sitting at the gate waiting to board. He’s been understandably quiet since arriving at the airport.
“Other than completely bushed? I’m not sure,” he admits with a grimace. “I’m anxious but excited to see my ma, though.”
I bring our intertwined hands to my lips and kiss his knuckles. “She’s going to be so happy. I’m proud ofyou for doing this.”
Eamon’s mouth tips up in a small smile, then falters.
“What’s wrong?”
He sighs deeply. “There’s a good chance that we’ll run into my ex. Are you prepared for that?”
“Are you? I’m not worried about her.” I shrug. “She made her choice, and you’re mine now.”
“Aye, that I am, Acushla,” he agrees, pressing a kiss to my temple. “I’m not worried. Just apprehensive. I think it will be harder seeing Declan, to be honest.”
I nod though I don’t really know. I can’t even imagine how I’d feel about being around an ex who cheated on me with my best friend, but I’d like to think if I was in another committed relationship with someone that I loved, I wouldn’t care.
“Do you think they’ll try to see you while you’re home?”
Eamon leans his head back onto the chair. “It’s hard to say. Since they live next door, it will be pretty hard to avoid them.”
A voice calls out over the PA system before I can respond, announcing that our flight is now boarding. Once we’ve stowed our bags, we settle into our seats and mindlessly watch the flight attendant instruct us what to do in case of an emergency as the plane is taxiing towards the runway. It’s not long before we’re in the sky, jetting towards the Green Isle. I should be trying to sleep, but I’m jittery with excitement. I can’t wait to be in Ireland again, even if the circumstances are horrid. For me, a bad day in Ireland beats a good day anywhere else.
Eamon places a hand on my knee, squeezing gently. “You’re about to fidget out of your seat. Are you nervous?”
“No.” I laugh. “I’m excited. I realize that sounds pretty awful considering the reason for going, but I can’t help it. I’ve been waiting so long to go back. I know you don’t love it like I do, so I’ll try to contain my excitement.”
“Norah,” he says, angling his body towards mine as much as the small seats will allow. “It’s fine. Really. I may not appreciate it the same as you, but Idolove Ireland. It’s my home. What I love most though is that I get to take you with me. When we were doing dishes at Paddy’s that night and youwere going on about your trip, I could picture you there, and all I wanted at that moment was to experience it with you. To watch your face as you immerse yourself in my world. It’s not a real holiday, what with Caity and all, but I promise I will make time for us to explore properly.”
He said once that I was perfect, but he’s wrong. It’s not me. It’s him. Eamon is everything good in the world. The way he loves me is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. “As much as I want that,” I say, laying my hand on top of his, “you need to focus on your Mom and sister. I’ll be there to help out in whatever way you need. I knew this wasn’t going to be a vacation.”
“How about this,” he bargains. “We’ll just take one day at a time, yeah? Today, or tonight rather, let’s try to rest. Tomorrow is going to be a very long day.”
“Deal,” I agree with a smile before resting my head on his shoulder.
By some miracle, we both managed to sleep a good portion of the flight. When the plane lands in Dublin, it’s chilly, but the sun is shining brightly. Eamon is quiet as we navigate the airport and go through customs. His shoulders are tense, and his anxiety is radiating off of him, but he seems to be handling it well as long as he has a task to focus on. It’s similar to watching him on the soccer field. The pressure motivates him and keeps him grounded.
