“Good to hear. Me and the guys need you there,” Donovan said.
Duncan took Kayla’s hand in his and asked her, “You’re falling for me?” He was standing there with his signature smirk on his face, and all she could do was move a little closer to him, get on her tiptoes, and kiss him.
After their soft little kiss, she backed away and looked him in his eyes. “One-woman man?”
He held her head in his hands, his thumbs caressing her cheeks as he said, “Yes, wildflower. Only you.”
Calum sighed. “I think Donovan and I are going to leave you lovebirds alone. I’m going to check into a hotel, and maybe we can talk tomorrow?” He looked defeated, and Kayla hated seeing her big brother like that.
“Calum Walsh, if you go stay in a hotel, you know I’m just going to come over and set fire to your bag, cut your credit cards in half, and then drag you straight back to my apartment by the hair, right?” Hands on her hips and her chin up, Kayla dared him to argue with her.
Duncan and Donovan both bellowed a laugh, and Calum smirked before saying, “I’d like to see you dragging me with you, little sis.”
Kayla went straight into Calum’s waiting open arms and hugged him. “Shut it, Calum. I love you. You are my big brother. I’m sorry for all that has happened and for hurting you. Please don’t stay in a hotel. You’re my blood. You stay with me, and I don’t want to hear anything about the matter anymore, okay?” He hugged her even closer.
“Okay, now we go to Lucky. After all this hugging and kissing, I’m in need of a drink. Happy hour is on its way as we speak. Come on,” Donovan said, leading the way for Calum.
Duncan grabbed Kayla’s hand and pressed his lips to the back of her hand. “Come on, I wanna buy my girl a drink.”
She couldn’t stop smiling the entire drive over to Lucky as she sat next to him in his truck. While he drove, she studied his features. He had a strong, chiseled jaw, and his crooked nose gave his appearance a dark edge that matched the faded scar that crossed his right brow.
He kept his hair closely shaved to his scalp, but she could see the dark little hairs. His black hair stood out beautifully against his light green eyes. His eyes could smile, and that was what they did right now as he looked at her. “If you stare any longer at me that way, I’m gonna take you back to my place instead.”
“Mmm... tempting, Dunc, but let’s go with our brothers for that drink. I really want to meet the rest of your family.”
He looked over at her in a peculiar way.
“What?” she asked as he shook his head.
“You called me Dunc. Nobody but family calls me that.” She felt her cheeks turn red, and it stung a little that he’d said that to her. He must have noticed her hurt feelings, because he instantly grabbed her hand and added, “I love that you’re calling me Dunc.”
After parking the truck on the street of the pub, Duncan moved his upper body over the console and kissed her lips. His hand slipped behind her head, and he held on strong as he deepened their kiss. A soft moan slipped out of her mouth, and he instantly let go of her.
“Come on. One drink and then we’re out the door.”
Kayla’s giggles filled the cabin at his growled words.
“Boyo, don’t keep Kayla from me. Come over here, will ye?”
Kayla smiled at Pops. They’d just entered The Lucky Irishman, and Pops was already yelling at Duncan that he was keeping her from him. Duncan had been stopped by a guy standing next to the entrance who had a question about a fight.
Kayla gave Duncan a kiss on his cheek. “I’m going to Pops.”
“Mmm, I like it,” he said, focusing on Kayla even though the guy kept talking to him.
“What?” She smiled when he tightened his grip on her hand when she was about to let go.
“I like you kissing me here. I love that you want to go to Pops, even when he’s all shouting. It feels right, like it’s the way it should be.” He grabbed the back of her head with his other hand and gave her a long, passionate kiss.
“Now that’s a Mills man for ye. Let her go, boyo. Give us a chance to talk to her, will ye?” Pops interrupted their kiss with his shouting, and Duncan smiled against her lips. She gave him one last kiss and turned to walk to Pops when Duncan gave her butt a little slap. She looked over her shoulder at him and was trying to act annoyed, but when she spotted him smiling at her, she realized she couldn’t fool Duncan.
“Come over here, fine thing. Let me get ye some wine. White, am I right?” Pops had owned this pub, and Kayla figured remembering one’s drink must have been second nature to him.
“Yes, thank you, Pops.”
He gave her hand a little pat and shuffled toward the bar as Kayla looked over at Brennan, who saluted her with two fingers at his forehead. She gave him an awkward little wave and sighed.
Looking around the busy pub, she noticed that the place was packed. No empty barstool was visible and all the booths and tables were occupied. Some guys played pool in the back, and when she looked closer, she could pick out Calum and Donovan playing against two familiar-looking guys. These had to be Duncan’s younger twin brothers Maureen talked about when they were here the other night. My God, these Mills brothers all seemed so tall and handsome in their own way.