Kellan

“I expect this isn’t about sandwiches. Riley is trying to tell us that Nan is going to have a baby,” Kellan explained.

“Oh, my God,” Jordan shouted. “Is that true?”

At Nan’s nod, the entire group surrounded her for hugs and kisses. Even Gelsey offered her congratulations before stepping back to slip her arm through Kellan’s. She looked over at him and smiled. “It’s wonderful news.”

“Yes.” Kellan added, “Riley will make a fine father.” He drew in a deep breath. The news had hit him in an odd way. He was happy for the couple, yet he felt a bit strange that Riley would experience fatherhood before he did. Kellan had always been the oldest boy, always been first at everything. But now, he seemed to be trailing behind in his brothers in all the important things.

“I’m going to fetch us a few more beers,” he said, setting the box of sandwiches down on the front step.

“None for me,” Nan said. “You can bring me a soda. I’m sorry, a mineral,” she corrected, using the Irish word.

“You want to give me a hand?” Kellan asked Gelsey.

She followed him inside. The house was nearly empty, except for a few pieces of tatty furniture and the tools Riley was using to renovate the place. But there was a functioning refrigerator in the kitchen and it was stocked with cold drinks.

“Beer for me,” Gelsey said.

He opened two bottles and handed one to her. “Are you having fun? Or is this too much too soon?”

“I like your brothers,” Gelsey said, stepping across the kitchen to give him a kiss. She ran her hand along his cheek. “And I like Nan and Jordan, too.”

“The two of them together can be a bit intimidating. They’re both American and when they have an opinion they tend to just throw it out there for everyone to hear.”

Gelsey shrugged. “I don’t have many girlfriends,” she murmured. “I think I’d like having a girlfriend if they were like Nan or Jordan.”

Kellan leaned back against the refrigerator and watched a wistful expression dance across her pretty features. “You don’t have any girlfriends?”

Gelsey shook her head. “No. Women usually don’t like me.”

“Why not?”

“Did you get me a corned-beef sandwich?” she asked, deftly changing the subject. “I love corned beef.” Gelsey took the other beer from his hand, then headed for the door. By the time he joined her with the rest of the drinks, she was seated on the step, unwrapping her lunch. He gave his brothers each a beer and handed the mineral to Nan, before he sat down beside her.

Gelsey grabbed half the sandwich and bit into it, then groaned softly. “Oh, this is lovely. Are there any fries?”

Fries. Though he could detect a hint of an English accent in her speech, she sounded more like Nan and Jordan than any Brit he knew. But there was something else there. Occasionally, he caught her talking to herself in French or Spanish. “No chips, just crisps.”

She looked at the bag. “Those are chips,” she said.

“Ah, another little clue,” Kellan said. “You reveal yourself a bit more every day. If you call crisps chips and chips fries, then you’ve spent time in the States.”

“Very astute, Sherlock Holmes,” she said. “My mother is American.”

He leaned back and watched her eat, pondering the information she’d just revealed. It was the first real clue he had to who she was. “What about your father?”

“British,” she said. “Interrogation over.” She took a huge bite of her sandwich, then grinned at him.

Kellan chuckled at the funny face she made. For someone so slender, she certainly enjoyed a good meal now and then. She gobbled down her first corned-beef sandwich in just a few bites and then started on the second.

“Where do you come from?” Kellan asked.

She blinked as she looked at him, continuing to chew. “Come from?”

“You heard me. I don’t get the accent. It’s not Irish, I know that. It’s not entirely American, either, or English. So what is it?”

She shrugged. “Lots of different things. A mash-up, really.”

“Of what?” Kellan could see that she didn’t want to reveal any more. But the woman was living in his house, eating food that he’d provided for her, socializing with his family. The least she could do was fill him in on a few details.

“Does it really make a difference?” she asked, watching him suspiciously.

“I’m just curious.”

Her chin tilted up in defiance as she swallowed. “I spoke French as a child.”

“You don’t want me to know anything about you, do you? Why? What are you trying to hide? There’s no reason. After a week together, we know each other about as intimately as we can.”

She reached for a crisp and nibbled at it, considering her answer silently. “Can’t we just leave it at that? We’re both getting what we want out of this, so-”

“What I want? You’re the one who crawled into bed with me that first night. I didn’t invite you.” Kellan cursed beneath his breath. “You know they’re talking about you all around town. Markus Finn wants to capitalize on all this silly mermaid stuff. He thinks you could be like Ballykirk’s very own Blarney Stone.”

A gasp burst from her lips and then a giggle. Before long, she was laughing so hard, she had to set her sandwich down. “Really? But I’m not a mermaid.” When she regained her composure, she drew a ragged breath and nodded. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to laugh.”

“The tourists wouldn’t care,” Kellan said. “They come to Ireland because of all the magic.”

“So, what would I do?”

“He and the tourism committee are hoping you’ll stay and maybe buy Maeve’s shop from her. She’s had it for sale for a few years now.”

Gelsey crumpled the empty wrapper from her sandwich, then pulled her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around her legs. “I-I really don’t know what my plans are,” she said. “I’m not sure I could make a commitment like that right now.”

“A commitment to Ballykirk or a commitment to me? You can tell me the truth.”

“If I tell you the truth, you’ll want me to leave,” she countered. Gelsey raked her hands through her wavy hair, sighing softly as she tipped her head back. “I just need to have a moment to myself, a chance to take a breath without someone expecting something from me.”

“Are you married?” Kellan asked.

“No!” Gelsey looked surprised. “No, there’s no one. Not anymore.”

“But there was?”

“It’s over. Completely over. I swear to you.”

A long silence grew between them. Gelsey reached out and took his hand, carefully lacing her fingers through his. “What difference does it make who we were?” she asked. “We began when you found me on the beach.”

Kellan’s gaze fell to her mouth, and without a second thought, he slipped his hand around her waist and pulled her into a long and languid kiss. She was right. He didn’t care about anything beyond what they’d shared together. And though he knew she wasn’t an amnesiac or a mermaid, that didn’t matter, either. She was here with him now and that’s all he cared about.

5

THE HILLS WERE SHROUDED in a dense mist as Gelsey navigated the battered Fiat toward Winterhill. She’d spent her last four or five Christmases skiing, surrounded by snow and plenty of twinkly lights. It was a bit odd to be staring out at fog.