‘I can’t seem to stop touching you, April, or thinking about you.’ He tilted his head, taking her lips once more and kissing her like it meant everything to him. ‘We got it sorted today. Tina agreed to everything, and I can’t help but think that this could be something. I’m not an easy man to get along with—’
‘Or live and work with,’ she added, giving him a sneaky smile.
‘Stay with me, tonight?’ He wasn’t laughing now; he looked a little scared even. ‘I don’t mean anything funny, I promise. Orla’s asleep. I have a lock on my bedroom door now. We can wake up early. I’m not trying to complicate things, and I know you’re still working through some stuff, but—’
He kept talking, softly into her ear while they sat together on that porch. Here was a man with baggage, emotional and real, and he was pouring his heart out to her about how he’d worked through his issues with Tina, how Orla was staying with him now, and how grateful he was that she offered him a job and a place to live. How it was more than that for him now, but he didn’t know just what it was. All without a hint of bruised masculinity, and him talking about his wants and needs over others. The differences between him and Duncan were legion, and once more she found herself wondering whether Shady Pines was a place of lost souls after all.
‘I’ll stay,’ she told him, without thought or fear. ‘I’ll go get some bits, and I’ll stay.’
Cillian’s nervous features melted into a relaxed and very sexy grin. ‘Really?’ He looked the happiest she’d seen him since they met, and she couldn’t help but grin back. Today, it was as if something had shifted in Shady Pines, and everything was coming to a head.
‘Really,’ she replied, kissing him again. ‘We take this slow, no labels. Okay?’
He was nibbling at the corner of his mouth now, and she frowned. ‘What?’ She was panicking, panicking that he had changed his mind. ‘Cillian?’
He stood up, taking her with him and leading her over to her chalet.
‘Okay, but I do need to tell Orla, once we figure it out. I don’t like lying to her.’ April beamed. Her whole heart swelling at the care and love he showed his child. She couldn’t help but think of the sonogram she’d seen, and wonder if the father of that little one would be as selfless. She doubted it somehow, but chose to hope anyway.
‘Deal,’ she said, heading into the chalet and grabbing a few bits to shove into a bag. On the table sat the box full of letters, and that’s when it hit her.
‘Cillian,’ she called from the bedroom, as he waited in the doorway. ‘What was the name of that gallery owner we met? Luke?’ She’d had an idea, and once the park was officially open and the dust had settled, she wanted to help both Judith and Martha.
‘Beaumont,’ he said easily. ‘Luke Beaumont. His family bought the gallery. I think they live here now.’
Beaumont. Beaumont. The name rattled around and around in her head, but it wasn’t clicking together. Where had she heard that name before? Hell, she was probably just slightly deranged from all the upheaval of the last few months. It was probably one of Duncan’s pit bulls from work. That was it. It had to be. Packing the rest of her bits and pieces, and looking around at her little home, she linked arms with Cillian, and the pair of them headed to Cillian’s house, her bag slung over his broad shoulders as she headed indoors for a night together.
Chapter 15
‘I do love those eggs,’ Mr Prince said as he came to settle up his bill. ‘Don’t suppose you have a dozen more, to take home?
April, dressed for the late May weather in a maxi dress and pumps, nodded and reached under the counter for a box of Judith’s finest.
‘No problem, Mr Prince, here you go.’
He slipped some coins into her hand, and she ran the payment through the till, grinning again as she saw the healthy drawer full of cash. Now she wasn’t afraid of technology and her phone, she had sorted the website out and the bookings were coming in steadily. A young college student named Amy was the weekend receptionist now, leaving April with some time off bar any arising problems.
Shady Pines was getting into its groove and April found herself optimistic for the future.
‘Bye, Mr Prince.’ Cillian waved to the Prince family as they drove away to travel home. He thumbed over his shoulder at her. ‘Good bloke, eh? Lovely family.’
‘Yep, and he took a fair bit home from the shop, and they’ve booked again for August, same chalet.’
She high-fived him when he raised his hand. Coming behind the reception desk, he wrapped his arms around her waist and dropped a kiss onto her neck before scrambling away when Orla walked in a second later.
‘Morning, April!’ Orla was far chattier now, and she loved the troll slide. Duncan was her favourite, which always made April chuckle. Especially since she’d seen Cillian giving it a swift kick when he thought no one was looking. The big lummox was hopping around, and limping half the afternoon.
‘I’m going to big school today!’
The nursery children were transitioning into full-time school in September, and Orla couldn’t wait. She’d been up since the crack of dawn, even before Kenneth, Judith’s punctual cockerel. Cillian walked back around the counter, squeezing April’s arm as he passed. When he was standing at the other side of Orla, he winked at April. An image of him half naked, helping her get out of his bedroom window that morning came into mind, and she knew that Cillian would know what she was thinking about, her blush yet again giving it away. They’d barely spent a
