“But then you have someone to help you with life,” Danny said. “Two people against the world are a lot better odds than just one.”
There were a few people wandering along the quay and they all recognized Danny and said hello. He found a spot for them to sit. Jordan felt a nervous twist in her stomach. She shouldn’t have said that to him. It wasn’t that she didn’t believe in love. She was just used to looking at life in more realistic terms.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “Don’t listen to me. I don’t know what I’m talking about. I never really took the time to think about romance when I was younger. I was too busy trying to keep up. I never dressed up as a bride or secretly planned my wedding or fantasized about what it would be like to find my Prince Charming.”
“Love isn’t a fairy tale, Jordan. It’s life, as real as it gets.”
“I know. But I’m supposed to be thrilled by it and it just scares me. It would change everything.”
“Yes, it will. It’s supposed to.”
A moment later, a soft, slow ballad drifted into the cool night air from inside the pub. “There wasn’t much room to dance inside. Maybe you’d dance with me here?” Danny asked.
He slipped his arm around her waist then took her hand in his. His body was strong and hard against hers, their movement generating its own warmth. Jordan tipped her head back and drew a deep breath, then slowly let it go. This was her life, this moment in time, with this man in her arms. Nothing else mattered.
She let her hands trail over his body as she danced, creating a soothing counterpoint to the music. But this wasn’t about desire. It was about comfort and protection. Even though the world she’d always known was falling apart, all her dreams disappearing before her eyes, it wasn’t completely tragic.
“Maybe we should go back to the party,” she said.
“We’ve made our appearance,” Danny said. “I don’t think we’ll be missed. And I know you’d rather be alone.”
“There’s plenty of time for that later,” she said. “I think maybe I want to learn another one of those Irish dances.”
“Yeah?” Danny asked.
Jordan nodded. “Will you teach me?”
“I can do that.” He slipped his arms around her waist, then bent closer to kiss her.
When they got back to the pub, Nan rushed up to them both. “We thought you’d left,” she said. She held out the presents Danny had set on the end of the bar. “You didn’t need to bring us a gift. Didn’t you see the invitation?”
“Yes,” Jordan said. “But I wanted to. I won’t be here for the wedding, so that’s what they’re for. And you’ve given me something in return.”
“Can I borrow Jordan for a moment?” Nan asked.
“Sure,” Danny said. “As long as you give her back. I’ve grown rather fond of her.”
She and Nan walked through the pub and into the kitchen. “This is the only quiet spot in the pub,” Nan said. “So tell me, why are you thinking about leaving?”
“Actually, I’m not. I’m thinking of staying. But in case I don’t, I wanted to give you the gifts.”
“So, are you in love with him? It’s all right, you can admit it to me. Believe me, I spent a long time denying it myself. But there’s just something about a handsome Irishman that I find completely irresistible.”
Jordan sat down on a stool next to the work table, exhaustion overwhelming her. “I’ve tried to keep everything in perspective,” she said. “But I can’t seem to help myself. I get lost in the fantasy of living here with him. It’s like someone or something has put a spell on me and I’m seeing everything through magic glasses.”
“I know exactly how you feel,” Nan said. “But don’t be so quick to write it off as a fantasy. Maybe you were meant to be here all along.”
“Danny told me about your search for your father. You have a place here. I have an Irish last name, that’s all.”
“You could make a place for yourself,” Nan replied. “It’s not that hard. And with the Quinns, it seems, the more the merrier.”
It wasn’t difficult to like Nan. She seemed so sweet and friendly. Jordan had never had many girlfriends. She’d always been so obsessed with her career, she hadn’t made time for friendships. And she’d never been interested in hanging out and talking about manicures and boyfriends and designer shoes.
Jordan was amazed at how easy it was to confide in the other woman. Though they came from completely different places, they seemed to have so much in common. She almost felt as if she would have a family here in Ireland if she stayed. “We should probably rejoin the party,” Jordan said. “You
“We should,” Nan said. “But promise that we’ll see you again, soon. And if you leave, you must say goodbye.”
“You should come and see the house. It’s almost done. The furniture arrives this next week. Bring Danny’s mother and we’ll have lunch.”
“Then it’s decided,” Nan said. “Just call when you’d like us to come and we’ll be there.”
Jordan picked up the presents. “Do you want to open these now or later?”
“Oh, now,” Nan said. “I can’t stand to wait for a surprise. And I love presents.” She paused. “You said before that I’d given you something. What did you mean by that?”
Jordan hesitated, but found no reason to hide her feelings. She could trust Nan. “When I saw you and Riley together, saw how you were that first time we met, how he looked at you and how you looked at him…well, it made me think that I might find that for myself someday. And I don’t think I’ve ever felt that way before.”
“Maybe it wasn’t just me and Riley,” Nan pushed. “Maybe it’s Danny?”
“Open it,” Jordan said. “I hope you like it.”
Nan tore at the paper and pulled open the box then gasped. She reached into the box and withdrew the old silver. “Oh, this is lovely. Look at the monograms. It’s hotel silver, isn’t it? My favorite restaurant back home uses it. I love it. It’s so heavy, so much nicer than what you can buy new.”
“Danny didn’t understand why I was giving you old silverware.” Jordan pointed to the smaller package. “Open that one.”
Nan withdrew the book from the paper and smoothed her hand over the cover. Then she opened to the flyleaf. “It’s a first printing?”
Jordan nodded. “I know how much you like books. And Yeats is Irish. It seemed like a good gift.”
“I-I don’t know what to say. It’s beautiful.” Nan smiled, then reached out and gave Jordan a fierce hug. “Thank you.”
Jordan drew a deep breath, satisfied that she’d done well. Someday maybe she’d be planning for her own wedding and her own home. She hoped that she’d have a friend like Nan to talk to when that did happen.
“WHERE ARE WE GOING?” Jordan asked, the bedclothes rumpled around her naked body. “It’s Sunday. We’re not supposed to get up so early.”
“Dress warm,” Danny said, tugging on his jeans. “And put on a jacket and some sturdy shoes.” He picked up her favorite sweater and laid it on the bed.
“Are we going on a hike?”
Danny bent over and gave her a quick kiss. “A short one.”
“Shouldn’t we have some breakfast first?”
He sat down next to her and brushed the hair out of her eyes. “After you fell asleep last night, I was just lying here, thinking. I have a theory and I want to check it out.”
“A theory about what?”
“Our brownie problem,” he said. “I think I might have figured out how they got in.”
“No more brownies? I’m all for that.” A smile broke across her face as she scrambled out of bed and Danny felt a small measure of relief. Since yesterday evening, Jordan had seemed so melancholy, as if the weight of the world were bearing down on her. He’d tried to coax her worries out of her, and she’d put on a smile and insisted that nothing was wrong. But Danny knew her too well.
He didn’t want to think that their time together was coming to an end, or that she’d walk away without a second thought. Hell, how could he compete with a job that she loved and a family who lived on the other side of the Atlantic?
