Awkwardly, she contemplated this before nodding her head. “I don’t think it would be the same if I made you wait until I brushed my teeth. So, yes.”
“I love you.”
Allowing herself to feel instead of think, she responded. “I love you, too.”
After that, she willingly let him pull the sheet from her as he scooped her up into his arms.
They managed to make it out of the room just in time for checkout but not in time for breakfast. Instead, they ordered food from the bar and ate at the picnic tables. Sitting in the same spot as the day before, Penelope marveled at what a difference a few hours could make. Yesterday, the touch of his leg against hers was something exciting to hope for. Today, it felt natural, like he belonged there. They were also finally able to explore the forest without being quite as distracted.
It was well into the afternoon when they climbed back into the car, deciding on their next destination.
“Which would you prefer?” Finn asked. “We can head to Killarney, a bigger town with some great restaurants and good nightlife. Or we could head to Glengariff. It’s only a village, buttomorrow we could take the ferry across to Garnish Island. It’s brilliant there. It feels like you’re in a different country with the variety of plants and flowers. And there’s this building like an Italian villa.”
“That sounds lovely. Let’s do the second one.” In all honesty, she didn’t care where they went as long as she was with him.
They were almost half an hour into their drive when her phone started pinging repetitively, making all the sounds. Penelope dug it out of her purse, wondering what could possibly be wrong.
“Connection’s back,” Finn explained. “You were lucky to get service in the hotel last night. Everywhere else around here is pretty remote for a good connection.”
“Oh. I guess that makes sense.” The first thing she noticed was about ten messages from Bonnie, mostly asking questions she had no intention of answering via text. That would be a whole conversation when she got back. Still, she didn’t like leaving her high and dry.
“What? What’s wrong?” Finn asked, noticing the way she was biting her lip.
“Not wrong, really… Just Bonnie’s asking so many questions. Do you mind if I call her real quick?” Penelope shifted uncomfortably, not sure she’d be able to wait even if he did mind.
“Okay, one, you don’t need my permission. That would be ridiculous. And two, I said we were going away for the weekend. Not cutting her off completely. Of course, you should call her.”
“Good,” Penelope agreed. “I would have anyway,” she said, feeling bolder with him. “I just hoped it wouldn’t upset you.”
“I was upset with her in the moment. I’m mostly over it now.”
Penelope was already calling. She kept it short, very aware that Finn could hear everything she was saying and possibly all the questions Bonnie was asking. Speaking over her, Penelopeprovided the information she was willing to share. “We’re heading to Glen….”
“Glengariff,” Finn supplied.
“Glengariff.”
“Oh,” Bonnie perked up on the other end, “Are you going to Garnish Island?”
“Yeah, that’s the place. Finn says it’s beautiful.”
“It is,” she enthused. “I haven’t been there since I was a kid. But I loved it! We saw seals on the way over, as well as the beautiful flowers and plants and the winding paths. It feels enchanted. You’ll love it!”
“Cool,” Penelope smiled as much in excitement as at her friend sounding excited. “What about you? How are you?”
“Grand,” Bonnie said dismissively. “I’ve been working a lot. Honestly, I think I’m just going to order in some greasy Chinese food and polish it off with a bottle of wine. I haven’t been sleeping well and….”
“Bonnie, that’s no way to….”
“Too bad, Penny. Neither of you are here to stop me, so there,” she pouted childishly.
“We’ll be back tomorrow,” Penelope reassured her.
“I know,” Bonnie acquiesced. “Look, enjoy yourself. I’m grand. See ya soon.”
“Love you, Bon.”
“Love you too, Pen.”
