Thereareruralroadsin parts of the U.S. with no lights, but I’ll never get used to driving on this road to Waterford. It’s fucking absurd. There’s still no damn cell service.
I called Rian two hours ago with my ETA. After a rocky first call, we’d been talking on and off for weeks about my visit and the reason. He wasn’t as shocked or put off as I thought he’d be. Me, his half-brother who he’s never met, coming to Waterford to take his daughter away to marry a man she’s never met.
I know how it feels to give your precious angel away to a powerful man because I promised Sabine to Kieran. And that blew up in my face spectacularly.
I spent the last two weeks staring at more photographs we found of Darcy, telling myself Kieran would fall for her. She was a gorgeous country girl with the same Irish family values as him. I couldn’t find the words to delicately ask if she’s known another man in thebiblical sense. Twenty-three and living in rural Ireland, she’s either studying to be a nun, or she’s been with half the town.
With war looming in Astoria, I hoped the virgin requirement we put on Sabine wouldn’t matter to Kieran. He’s older now and uses one of those sex clubs in Manhattan. If Darcy isn’t a virgin, Kieran might appreciate an experienced woman in his bed. If she is a virgin, he’ll like that, too. Most men in his position love to claim a woman for their very own. Lavish themselves in bodies never known to another man. It’s all about ego.
I’m reminded of the last time I visited Waterford and fucked my very first virgin. How I felt like a king sliding into an untouched cunt. It still makes me hard, but I will the memory away or I’ll slide down a lush, green hill on this pathetic excuse for a road.
I finally see a message from Rian with last-minute directions. Coming up to a neighborhood of tiny houses made of old cement, it’s not a surprise my offer came with open arms. My brother wants what’s best for his daughter, after all. The lights in his house, behind what I can see are lace curtains, look faint. I question whether I should have gone straight to the place where I booked a room and come back in the morning, rather than at eight o’clock at night.
I hope this goes smoothly and can maybe leave with Darcy the next day.
If she agrees. Which he assured me she had.
I knock on the door and worry when it doesn’t open immediately. Had Darcynotagreed? I press my ear against the worn-out wood to listen for yelling when it flies open.
“Hello,” a sweet voice says from about two feet below.
I look down and see a young girl with reddish-blonde pigtails and adorable little horn-rimmed glasses. “Hello. Um… Is… I’m looking for…”
“Are you lost?” She leans her head on the door.
I chuckle and wonder if I just went to the wrong house. “I might be. I’m looking for Rian and Amelia Quinlan.”
She cocks her head like she doesn’t recognize the names.
“Or Darcy?” I add, fearing our intel was shite. “Please tell meyou’renot Darcy.” Panic fills my chest.
“My name is Sadie.” She holds out her hand to lead me into the house. “Are you coming in? Maimeó asks people who stand there if they want to come in.”
The house smells of cinnamon and coffee grounds. Despite the shabby appearance on the outside, and the dated furniture as far as the eye can see, it’s clean and neat.
Voices sound out from a room we’re approaching, and I feel like the villain, coming all this way to snatch a young girl from her family. Darcy doesn’t seem so young all of a sudden, compared to this angel holding my hand so sweetly. I’m guessing she belongs to my nephew James, Rian and Amelia’s older son. The little girl’s cute freckles remind me of my precious sister, Norah, when she was this age. Quinlans are not hard to spot.
Gasps greet me as Sadie leads me into a room with several people. Rich, dark hair falls across a soft, feminine shoulder, and I catch the scent of roses from across the room.
Darcy.
Heat blooms in my chest as I stand there feeling stupid. Like meeting a woman for a blind date and she’s a knockout you weren’t expecting.
“Hello,” I greet everyone, knowing I look dumbstruck and holding out hope maybe Iamin the wrong house. Maybe this isn’t Darcy, the woman responsible for this growing ache in my jeans and not the woman I want Kieran to marry. I certainly hope she’s not my niece.
“Ewan?” The man I recognize as Rian steps forward and shakes my hand.Ut-oh…“Nice to finally meet you.”Looking down at Sadie, he says wryly, “Did you answer the door again, you little ball of mischief?”
Sadie giggles and shrugs. “You were all busy talking.”
Rian introduces me to his wife and then James. I expect Sadie to let go and go stand with her da. She doesn’t move.
The lanky bloke with light-colored, shoulder-length hair and a face full of scruff shakes my hand. “Uncle Ewan, nice to meet you.”
“Same here.” I nod and then look at the woman.
“And this is our Darcy.” Amelia steers her toward me.
“Pleased to meet you.” She speaks with a lilt that sets me on fire.