“I’ll try to keep to my side,” Bonnie said with a yawn as she disappeared.
“Suit yerselves,” he acquiesced as he ambled over to the fridge to peek inside. “Declan said to help ourselves to whatever was here. I’m going to have a beer. But there’s cider if you want one?”
“Um, if you’re sure.” She really wasn’t ready to go to bed yet.
“Of course. Come on. We’ll sit out back. Let Siobhàn have it quiet.”
She followed him through the sliding glass door, taking the cold bottle of cider he offered. She’d been so overwhelmed by the gorgeous view earlier that she hadn’t noticed the wooden picnic table out back. He let her sit first, then joined her, positioning himself next to her for a better view of the sea and the stars.
“It’s so beautiful,” she said, for what felt like the hundredth time that day. She really needed to work on expanding her vocabulary.
“I know,” he agreed.
They sat in silence for a while, sipping their drinks and staring at the sky. Penelope was waiting for it to get awkward, but it didn’t. Finn was easy to be around. He didn’t seem to expect anything from her.
“So how often do you gig?” she asked eventually.
She could hear the teasing smile in his voice when he answered. “It doesn’t sound quite right coming from you. Like you’re struggling with the word a little.”
“I’m trying,” she said defensively.
“You don’t need to work so hard at it. You’re grand. But to answer your question, I’ve only been at it once a week lately. As the summer kicks in, I hope to start doing two or three nights. The tourists start coming, and more bars want entertainment. It keeps me busy enough.”
“Sounds fun. We’re planning to come see you.”
“I’d like that,” he said warmly. “And what about you, Penny? Seriously, Bonnie’s told me nothing about you. In fact, your arrival was quite a surprise. How is it that you have the summer free to be here?”
“Oh.” It surprised her that they hadn’t had this conversation yet. “I’m a teacher. I teach second grade.”
“You’re not serious. I….”
“Look!” Penelope cut him off. “A shooting star!” Her finger pointed insistently at the night sky. When she looked over, she found him staring at her instead.
Her stomach flipped as the soft light from the living room illuminated them just enough for him to hold her gaze. She felt her body’s desire to lean in and silently scolded herself to break the connection, only to find herself focusing on his lips, thin, with the lower lip just a little more rounded. His teeth bit into it, and she had the urge to do the same.
A flash of Bonnie in the other room, of Bonnie asking her not to try anything with him, made her turn her head away suddenly. She sensed the lean of his body and cringed as he pulled back. She held herself still, refusing to look his way while her heart pounded heavily in her chest.
Why? She never felt like this, never connected like this. Why now, with the one person her best friend asked her not to be with?
She could feel his eyes on her, watching her. She waited for him to get angry, to walk away in frustration and leave her sitting in the dark, annoyed with her for playing with him. She wouldn’t blame him if he did. She knew she wasn’t being clear.
When he finally spoke, his voice was surprisingly gentle. “Tell me something, Penny, have you ever walked in a graveyard after dark?”
“What?” It was such an unexpected question; she couldn’t help looking back at him.
“You heard me,” he said with quiet confidence.
“No. No. I haven’t,” she said, as if the answer should be obvious.
“Are you afraid to?” he asked, standing, his eyes suddenly twinkling with mischief.
“It doesn’t sound like a particularly good idea.”
“Ah, but then when you go back to the States, you can say you went to a haunted church and walked through the graveyard in the middle of the night in Ireland.”
“That doesn’t sound like something I need to be able to say,” she insisted, staying put.
“Are you scared?” he challenged.
