Kelli couldn’t help but wonder what was going through his head tonight.
“You okay?” she mouthed/whispered into his ear. Through the dim candlelight, she saw him nod.
“Just,” he shrugged, “a bad day. Seamus broke off the leash this morning and ran. I lost sight of him for a few minutes. Found him, but it brought up some old memories and…”
He let Kelli fill in what he wasn’t saying. Seamus had been Mia’s dog, the sweet animal completely devoted to her. Since then, he’d been Padraig’s constant companion. Padraig called him his sidekick and he loved the dog to distraction.
Kelli could only imagine the panic Padraig must have felt when Seamus was lost, and she didn’t want to consider the day the dear dog passed away. Right now, Seamus was Padraig’s strongest, most important connection to Mia, and if—God, when—he lost him, she worried how Padraig would react.
“I understand,” she whispered. “I’m glad you found him.”
Padraig nodded, his face clearing slowly, and he gave her a genuine smile. “I love you, Kell. You’re so sweet.”
“Said no one ever,” she joked.
“You’re my best friend. I couldn’t live without you.”
She knew it was the bourbon talking, so she rolled her eyes in an attempt not to show how much his words meant to her. “I love you too, you drunk lunatic.”
He chuckled as he gave her a kiss on the cheek, and then they snuck out of the room, scanning the area for the monster.
A few minutes later, she ran into Robbie in Oliver’s bedroom. He and Fergus had been silently laughing over Fergus’s girlfriend having to take yet another shot. Aubrey was struggling to grasp the concept of whispering quietly.
Robbie tiptoed over to her, bending until his lips were at her ear. “Thanks for inviting me. What a great night.”
Kelli smiled, twisting until it was her mouth at his ear. “I’m glad you came. And thanks for saying yes to the other thing.”
Robbie’s grin was huge and infectious. He was a nice guy and, for a moment, she tried to recall why exactly they hadn’t worked out as a couple in college.
“I’m honored you asked.” Then he, like Padraig, gave her a kiss on the cheek. She was batting a thousand on platonic pecks tonight.
Story of my life.
Robbie lifted his empty cup and pointed toward the kitchen. She nodded, and they quietly walked down the hall. Through the dim light in the living room, she saw Colm and Brooke leaving.
She smirked. At least someone was getting lucky tonight.
Which led to another thought. There was now an empty bedroom—and it had her name all over it. The wine—she’d had way too much again—as well as the screwdrivers Brooke had given her when her wine ran out, were making her sleepy and sluggish.
She leaned toward Robbie and whispered, “Too much wine.” She pointed above her head. “Might lie down a few minutes. Head spinning.”
He nodded. “Going to play longer. I’ll come up before I leave.”
“Okay.”
They’d driven to the party separately since Kelli had already made plans with Darcy to spend the night here. She’d intended to sleep on the couch, but there were still too many people playing that game, and God only knew when they’d call it quits.
She’d text Colm in the morning and tell him she had shanghaied his bed. He wouldn’t care.
She stealthily made her way up to Colm’s room. It was still dark, so she had to feel her way around. Her phone was in her purse, which she’d tucked away in a closet downstairs. She considered going back down for it, then thought screw it. She was too close to a bed and too damn tired.
She unzipped her dress, sucking in a deep, relieved breath. The corset part was snug, and as the night wore on, it had gotten more and more uncomfortable. It had a built-in bra, so as she pushed the gown over her hips, Kelli realized she was basically naked, only her panties remaining.
She didn’t care.
She tossed the dress into the corner where she thought there might be a chair, then gingerly made her way to the bed. Sinking onto the soft mattress, she crawled under the covers and sighed blissfully.
Colm had a very soft bed.
Kelli closed her eyes, listening to the rush of white noise pulsing through her ears that told her she was going to have one heck of a headache tomorrow.
“Too much wine,” she whispered to the empty room.
When her announcement was met with silence, another thought came to her, one that hurt as she spoke it aloud.
“Alone again.”
Chapter Four
Colm went back up to the Collins Dorm with Brooke and without the vodka they’d gone down to the pub for. She’d been drinking screwdrivers all night, and she’d run out of liquor. Colm had figured that was probably a good thing since they’d both over-imbibed, but Brooke had found Padraig and asked if they could “borrow” some from the pub.
His brother had said yes and offered to go get it, but Colm didn’t want his drunk twin staggering behind the counter, surrounded by all that glass.
He’d offered to go, and Brooke had followed, as he led the way using the flashlight on his almost-dead cell phone. Once they were alone in the pub, Brooke had taken advantage of the ability to finally talk, giving him a rapid play-by-play of the game from her perspective. He hadn’t bothered to mention he’d pretty much been there for the whole thing—and it had suddenly occurred to him, he’d really enjoyed the last couple of hours because it had been peaceful.
Brooke could talk.
A lot.
A fucking lot.
Once he’d had the bottle in hand, he’d rounded the counter, where Brooke waited for him. She’d stopped him with a hand on his chest, lifting her face to his. He’d placed the vodka and his phone on the bar and tugged her closer, attempting a kiss, but his beard was in the way. Brooke didn’t appear to care about that
