Kellan

“Let’s go to the pub,” he said. “I think I could use a pint or two. And I left my car there.”

When they arrived at the pub, they found a crowd inside, oddly large for a Monday afternoon. But as Kellan stared at the group clustered around the bar, he suddenly realized why they had all come.

“Looks like your mermaid is holding court,” Danny said.

Gelsey was perched on a bar stool with the Unholy Trinity lined up to her left. Doc Finnerty occupied the stool to her right and a small group of townspeople filled out the rest of her circle.

Kellan strolled to the end of the bar to greet his mother. “How long has she been here?”

“About an hour,” his mother said. “Where have you boys been?”

“I’ve been draggin’ Kellan around the countryside looking for leprechauns,” Danny said with an exaggerated Irish brogue.

Frowning, Kellan watched as Dealy and Markus commandeered the conversation. If they were bothering Gelsey with their plans, he was going to put an end to it right now. He pushed away from the end of the bar and strode through the small crowd to stand in front of Gelsey.

Reaching up, she threw her arms around his neck and gave him a quick kiss. “You’re back,” she said. “I came in here looking for you, but your mother said you and Danny had left together.”

“I thought I’d find you at the cottage.”

“I walked into town to talk to Maeve, then decided to stop here after. Then these gentlemen came by. They said you sent them.”

Kellan glared at the trio over Gelsey’s shoulder. “They did, did they? Well, that’s interesting. As I recall, I haven’t spoken to them since the day before yesterday when I told them to keep their silly plans to themselves.”

Gelsey glanced back at Johnnie, Markus and Dealy. “But they’ve been wonderful,” she said. “They thought I might be interested in a business opportunity and I told them I was.”

“You don’t need to listen to these gits,” Kellan whispered.

“Really,” Gelsey said. “It’s an interesting plan. One I’ve actually been considering.” She grabbed Kellan around the arm and pulled him along with her toward the door. “It was a pleasure meeting all of you and I’m sure I’ll see you again soon. And thank you for the beer, Mrs. Quinn.”

“No trouble,” Maggie Quinn called, a satisfied grin on her face. “Come back soon, Gelsey.”

When they got outside, Kellan drew her along to his car, parked just a few steps from the front door of the pub. He opened the passenger side. “Get in,” he muttered.

Gelsey hopped inside and a few moments later, Kellan got behind the wheel, gripping it with white-knuckled hands. “Gelsey, I don’t want you perpetrating this mermaid stuff anymore. It might have been fun at first, but it will only make things difficult for you.”

“I wasn’t,” she said. “And it’s just silliness. No one really believes I’m a mermaid. Why are you so angry?”

Kellan’s jaw twitched. That was a good question. He’d become so protective of Gelsey, yet he couldn’t figure out his motives. He cared about her, yet he’d been very careful about letting himself feel too much. He enjoyed her company and didn’t want anyone or anything interfering with that. And he sensed that she was searching for something, something she’d never be able to find in Ballykirk.

“It is an intriguing opportunity,” she said. “And with the proper marketing, it might bring more tourists into Ballykirk. The mermaid thing would just be a…what did Dealy call it…a hook, to get people interested.”

Kellan glanced over at her. “I thought you couldn’t commit to something like that. Isn’t that what you said?”

Gelsey nodded. “Yes. But I have to make a life for myself somewhere. Why not here?” She swallowed, forcing a smile. “Unless, of course, you don’t want me to. You can tell me, if that’s the case. I’m perfectly fine with that. And don’t think that, just because I buy the shop, I expect us to continue a relationship. I know what we have might not be…”

“What do we have?” Kellan asked.

“You know.”

“No, I’m not sure I do. At least, I’m not sure what you think we have. What would you call it?”

She thought about her answer for a long moment. “Did you ever see the film Roman Holiday, with Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck?”

Kellan shook his head. What was this about?

“It’s about these two people who know that being together is probably impossible, but they spend a wonderful two days together in Rome. She was a princess and I’m not. And they never had sex. And we’ve been together a lot longer than two days, but…” She cursed softly. “It’s the idea of it. We can still be great together even if it isn’t meant to last forever. Does that make sense?”

Kellan frowned. “It might make better sense if I watched the movie.”

“Well, maybe we should find a place to rent it and we can watch it tonight. It will all make sense then.”

The only thing that would make sense to Kellan would be a complete explanation of who she was and what she was really doing in Ballykirk. And if it took watching some silly chick flick to get her to talk about herself, then he was prepared to do that.

“Our library has a decent collection of DVDs,” Kellan said. “Maybe we can find it there.”

“THIS IS NOT ANYTHING like Roman Holiday,” Gelsey said. She was curled up against Kellan’s body, her gaze fixed on the laptop that rested on his belly. She reached for the popcorn bowl and grabbed a handful, then slowly munched. “This has cowboys and covered wagons. Roman Holiday has ancient ruins and Vespas.”

“The library didn’t have Roman Holiday. But Gregory Peck is in this one.”

“How the West Was Won,” Gelsey said. “Couldn’t we have at least gotten a romance? Or a Christmas film? It’s a Wonderful Life or How the Grinch Stole Christmas.”

“I like this one,” Kellan said. He glanced over at her, then reached for the computer and closed the top. “All right, we probably could have done better for our first movie night.”

“Next time, I get to pick,” she said.

It was odd how something as simple as movie night was so satisfying. For so many years, her idea of an exciting evening involved an expensive dress, an even more expensive bottle of champagne and a nightclub filled with handsome men. Tonight was just one man and a movie and it was perfect-except for the movie.

Kellan leaned over and kissed her, his tongue tracing the shape of her mouth. “Next time, you can choose.” He set the computer on the floor, then crawled beneath the bedcovers. Gelsey stretched out beside him, slipping into the curve of his arm, her head resting on his shoulder.

“I had a really good day today,” she murmured.

“Yes?”

“Yes. And I think tomorrow is going to be even better.” She glanced up at him. “I get to start work tomorrow. I have a real job and I’m going to be gainfully employed.”

“Not everyone is so excited to go to work,” he said. “Are you really serious about buying her shop?”

“Maeve would sell me all her recipes,” Gelsey said. “And we would manufacture them at the shop to start. We’d have to update the jars and the labels. I know they’d sell at five times the price, especially in some of the exclusive shops in Europe.” She paused. “I have a lot of ideas.”

“So, you’ll look for investors?”

She shook her head. “No. I won’t need investors.”

“How will you pay for it?”

“I’ll figure that out,” she murmured. It was an awfully big hole in her plan, at least from his point of view. “I have a little money of my own.”

Kellan cursed softly, then tossed the bedcovers aside and got out of bed. He grabbed his jeans from the floor and pulled them on. “I could really use a walk. I’ll be back in a bit.”

His sudden change of mood stunned her at first. But then she realized that this was bound to happen sooner or later. “I’ll come with you,” she said.

“No, I need some time to myself.”

“You’re angry.”